VIEWS & OPINION
Addressing the issue of exam cheating and ‘click through’ culture in universities
Comment by CHIBEZA AGLEY, Co-founder and CEO at OBRIZUM
The issue of exam cheating and the prevalence of “click through” cultures in universities is a growing concern for educators. With a shift to hybrid learning, along with the development of AI tools such as ChatGPT, it has become easier for students to access unauthorised materials to ‘cheat’ assessments. This not only undermines the integrity of the educational system but also puts the credibility of degrees in question.
Rising challenges to the system
require effective solutions that the current process fails to deliver. Students need to be held accountable for their own learning to ensure all degrees earned accurately reflect the appropriate knowledge and skills.
The role of universities
At their core, the role of a university is to provide the next level of education for students and to facilitate the conduction of in-depth research. By offering a variety of courses at both undergraduate and graduate level, universities provide individuals with the resources and facilities to engage in scholarly and creative activities. As centres for curating learning and developing research, Universities act as hubs for the dissemination of knowledge between students and lecturers alike, and play a critical role in shaping the future of society and fostering progress in a variety of fields. Students who decide to enrol in a university course do so to develop their knowledge in a particular subject matter, conduct in-depth research and analysis into a specific topic, and help them to unlock the next stage on their career pathway. To effectively help them to do so, the way in which education is delivered has significant opportunity to be improved.
Addressing inefficiencies in learning processes For as long as there has been compulsory education, it’s taken a linear approach. Everyone is largely treated the same, given the same resources, starts their learning at the same point, and takes the same path through a curriculum or course.
The concept of learning in a linear way is flawed. Learning programmes that are structured to cover everything a beginner needs often result in the more advanced individuals becoming bored and dropping out, causing low completion rates. They can also incite a lack of engagement in the content, with learners quickly clicking through to completion, which is a waste of time for the student and makes the role of the lecturer largely redundant. At the same time, programmes that are structured to find the medium between advanced learners and beginners can cause the latter to be overwhelmed with the complexity, further fuelling dropout and failure rates.
All too often these programmes are constructed against averages. However, there is no such thing as an ‘average’ learner. Expert learners are never going to be served by an ‘average’ journey. They’ll want to get ahead and breeze through the early stages of the course. Whereas those with less confidence will need far more examples and supportive elements throughout the learning process, which a ‘one- size-fits-all’ linear journey will not give them.
The rise of a ‘click through’ culture
As alluded to above, courses that fail to engage the students are responsible for creating a culture where shortcuts are actively sought out as individuals look to bypass many of the examination requirements. Rather than being incentivised to become fully immersed in the
February 2023
content, learners are left looking for ways to accelerate the time it takes to complete assessments. Whilst they are still more than capable of achieving strong results through this approach, the results fail to fully reflect the true extent of a learner’s understanding of a topic. Examinations and assessments that are deemed to be at a lower level of comprehension than a student can deliver are therefore seen as a burden, detracting from the time that could be better spent further developing their skillsets, or engaging in many of the other aspects that university life has to offer.
And then there’s the added challenge from recent technological advancements. Recently, Australian universities announced a return to pen and paper exams after students were caught using AI to write their essays, providing clear evidence that a change is needed to the way that students are assessed.
The future of education as we know it
The “Golden Age” of universities may be coming to an unceremonious end. Rising costs of education are no longer matched by a willingness of students, families, and governments to pay. This is now an existential threat to these educational institutions whose business and operating models are critically reliant on students being prepared to invest three years or more into education, in doing so paying a premium for the privilege. Engaging in a university course is an attractive proposition due to its link to career development and long-term economic benefit. But in today’s world, more than ever before, ‘time is money’. Not to mention the rise of alternative education models that provide the all-needed step-up into good career paths without the extortionate premium, like apprenticeships.
The moment that universities become detached from the labour market, or where good performance in education no longer yields a competitive advantage, the system becomes unviable. There is, however, an opportunity for universities to transform into a new form of entity which optimises existing operations to enhance efficiencies and capabilities. A chance to embrace the technologies which will otherwise lead to the collapse of universities as we know them. In this new future of education, students and learners who are able to demonstrate a higher level of understanding can accelerate their speed to competency, perhaps fast-tracking their way through the course and graduate at a much quicker rate than was previously achievable. If a student can demonstrate full understanding of a subject so that they meet all the examination requirements within a shorter time period than the typical three-year course, why shouldn’t they have the option to do so, fast tracking their pathway to a fulfilling career? For universities themselves, utilising adaptive learning programmes that are capable of automatically analysing and understanding content and assessments, forming tailored learning modules for each user in the process will enable them to focus on generating more relevant, creative content.
Bespoke adaptive learning experiences that take into consideration a person’s level of knowledge and experience will enable the fastest route to completion, helping to identify the individuals ready to take the step into the modern-day workforce.
The key to addressing the issue of exam cheating and ‘click through’ behaviours is to make learning programmes and assessments engaging, verifying understanding at every stage, and being prepared to make necessary adjustments as a result.
Not only will this empower dedicated students, help them enter the workforce and begin a fulfilling professional career, but be instrumental in supporting organisations as they address the well-publicised skills gap which is hindering the progress of many. That is what truly impactful learning looks like.
www.education-today.co.uk
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