October is always a busy month on the examination front and this autumn will see examinations planned on a week by week basis with a high likelihood of examinations being moved. There is however a broad understanding of these relocations and there are also greater possibilities to hold examinations in the evenings or even at weekends.

Together with her colleagues, Heléne Andersson, head of the Administrative Support Unit for Timetables and Examinations, has been planning intensively in recent months.

“Although traditionally the latest permitted finishing time for an examination on weekdays has been 19:00, this has now been extended to between 20:00 and 21:00. Many examinations will be held on Saturdays and Sundays. We enjoy excellent cooperation with staff and departments and they have demonstrated great flexibility in this regard.”

Fewer examination places during the pandemic

A range of measures have been taken in examination halls, including the introduction of a cap on examinees at 50 in one location at any given time. Visors have been issued to staff as PPE, hand sanitiser has been made available both inside and outside the hall, disposable gloves are available to those who wish to use them and plexiglass has been installed between examinees and staff.

“Normally, there are 1,250 examination places available at Uppsala University at any given time; however, given the current circumstances, only 300 places are available. Of these 300 examination places, 150 are adapted for use in both traditional written exams and digital exams.”

The decision on which examination format to use at each examination session rests with the examiner. It should also be ensured that every examination hall is used optimally, twice a day if possible.

New examination premises

While the University is constantly on the lookout for new halls, once identified these do take a certain amount of time to adapt to the new use, something that on occasion may even involve applying for building permits. Ingress and egress options also need to be considered.

“Three new examination halls are currently being prepared, which under current restrictions on total occupation will provide an additional 200 places. The new halls will be operational in late October and early November.”

Prioritisation

Those responsible for the long-term planning of examinations also need to know how each disciplinary domain prioritises its written examinations. There are several reasons for this.

“According to a decision by the Vice-Chancellor of 9 June, first-year students should be given priority. Courses with over 50 students must be split between halls and possibly addresses, something that requires accurate information to be provided to examinees. Those departments that have major problems with cheating should perhaps be offered greater opportunities for written examinations,” says Heléne Andersson.

Increased suspicion of cheating

Among others, the Department of Mathematics has experienced more problems than usual with suspected cheating during this period. The department has identified a digital solution for tests, which are frequent and involve large numbers of students.

“Well, while the faculty should prioritise Year 1 when it comes to written examinations, as there are so many students on those courses (over 500 students are enrolled on the Basic Mathematics course), it proved impossible to place them in examination halls with the current spacing requirements,” says Ingrid Sigstam, director of first and second-cycle studies at the Department of Mathematics.

Digital complement

Students sit at home and complete tasks with pencil and paper as usual and then, when they are finished, they scan their answers and upload them to the Student Portal or Studium. They are given an extra 20 minutes to complete the submission procedure.

“But this isn’t really a completely digital examination; digital means are only used to send out and submit exam papers.”

New methods

Another drawback of take-home examinations is that it is impossible to perform any formal ID checks and students must be trusted to independently complete the assignment. The increased suspicion of cheating generally relates to students whose answers are so similar that collaboration is suspected.

“Teachers can correct papers digitally, directly in the scanned PDF. They can sit anywhere and correct with no risk of mislaying exam papers. Examinations may however contain different types of questions than usual, precisely due to the risk of cheating.”

One example of this is avoiding asking for a definition or formulation of a theorem. The risk of cheating has been the subject of much discussion at the department, with some teachers permitting the use of notes and course literature while others do not allow any aids.

“If anything positive has come out of this, it is that teachers have begun to try new methods of teaching and, in all likelihood, we will learn a great deal from it; for example, some teachers have begun to make videos for students to watch before lectures. While we will probably be able to retain and develop certain digital elements that have been developed during this period, I believe that we will also retain lectures and lessons,” says Ingrid Sigstam.