If the use of #GenerativeAI continues to grow in academia, are universities which wish to maintain a reputation for excellence going to be forced to move to examining undergraduates by viva?
It is the only thing I can think of that would work, but it would be hugely expensive.
@simon_brooke There was talk of this at the end of my recent undergrad degree course (graduated 2024).
There were always multiple forms of assessment for each module of each year of study, and they usually varied in format, thankfully. I thrived when given more time like coursework and the dissertation allows, but my health and disabilities kick in for everything that’s live and in-person, especially spoken. The health repercussions are long lasting too and tend to build if there are no breaks. My in-person exams were 3rd class level work, my other work was first class and top of my cohort a lot of the time. If I had more live and in-person assessments it would be a matter of time before I failed them or health issues kicked in to make me a no-show. There are other students who are the opposite to me, e.g. I have dyslexic student friends who prefer live presentations and some types of exams that are my nemeses. They didn’t get adequate support back then, either.
Hate how exclusive it all is. I don’t see any of it improving any time soon.
@AnAutieAtUni Much sympathy. I couldn't go to university straight after school, because I left school with zero exam passes, because no allowance was made in the 1970s for dyslexia.
I didn't get into university until word processors had become a thing ordinary mortals could afford, and I could not have been able to complete my degree without them.
If we are, as a society, to place a value on intellectual excellence, then there has to be some means to assess it.
@simon_brooke I hear you. Not an easy time back then! Well done for what you did accomplish!
It’s analogous to my story as well. Didn’t know I was autistic until my late 30s. That explains why my first 3-4 attempts at uni failed in my younger years.
When I discovered I’m autistic during my most recent and final attempt at earning an undergrad degree, finally I figured out how to be supported and support myself. However, if my first year was a “normal” year and not 2020 forcing everything online… all the in person activities may well have led to me getting autistic burnout again and quitting. Instead, I got autistic burnout later with the “return to normal” (haha!) forcing everything in-person again, and was allowed to go part-time but only because it was my final year. It was touch-and-go, even with disability accommodations and lots of help advocating. My younger student friends (who just happened to all be neurodivergent as well!) were in very similar positions to me. It felt like uni chewed us up and spat us out. But a few staff were absolute gems throughout - they made all the difference in a brutal system.
@simon_brooke
Back in the '90s in Scotland, the majority of uni taught courses had exams sat in a hall with writing by hand- books may or may not have been permitted for reference, but nobody had electronic devices to assist. So reverting to that is a simple option.
@simon_brooke I don't think cost is the main issue here. In person exams were the norm in the UK up until 2020. The real issue is whether course work is going to remain viable and the fact that course work is important to particular kinds of students. A viva on every piece of course work really isn't feasible or desirable (for either students or staff)
@UlrikeHahn Uhhmmm... when I got my undergrad degree back in 1986, I just submitted a 70,000 word dissertation (and sat three in person exams for my minor courses, but I don't think they contributed hugely -- I'm not good at exams, which is why I opted for dissertation). These days, that dissertation could be easily faked.
Unless you require hand-written answers in exams, which as a #dyslexic person I couldn't do, I don't see how in-person non-viva exams help much.
@UlrikeHahn @simon_brooke
Provision of a scribe for those with dyslexia or other conditions making hand-writing an issue used to be common.
@UlrikeHahn (But no, I was really only thinking of a final viva at the end of the course).
