Shivani

There were two exams scheduled for the course: a midterm and a final. Exams are an important aspect of any course regardless of the mode used in delivering the course. Exams can not only give us an indication as to how each student is coping with the contents of the course, but also how effective the instructor is in delivering the subject matter to the class. Sometimes, students can be so obsessed by the grade that it becomes their primary objective and learning becomes secondary. Given the important role that exams play in the minds of both instructor and students, it becomes critical that any exam be given in a fair and controlled way. In the traditional classroom exams are relatively easy to administer, since all the students are sitting in a single room and the instructor is there to make sure that students rely on their own knowledge in answering the questions. Unfortunately, this environment is very difficult to emulate in distance learning or in a Virtual Classroom. In this course, I gave the class two options for taking exams. The first option was to invite students to the NJIT campus, typically on a weekend or evening where the exam will be given under my supervision. The second option involved asking the students to nominate a proctor at their end who administered the exam for them. The acceptable proctor nominations are usually a manager at the student's place of work, or a librarian at the local library. Once a proctor nomination is approved, I will send the exam to the proctor (by surface mail, e-mail, or fax) and have the proctor return the exam to me. The first option is acceptable but not practical, since by definition in a distance learning course most students are beyond a commuting distance and only a small number can be in this category. The second option raises some questions as to the fairness of the exam. In most cases I believe that the proctors nominated by the students were very honest and cooperative, but it does present a loophole in the examination process. I have not yet heard of any tool or technology that can address this problem effectively, but it seems to me that until we can resolve this issue there might always be a doubt in some people's mind as to the integrity of the evaluation process.