Adapting examination and student evaluation at Biomedical Science Institute in the time of COVID-19

Abstract

As COVID-19 pandemic spreads worldwide, universities and academic institutions were forced to shift their face-to-face education to online learning since spring 2020. This shift was termed "emergency remote education or learning", caused many distractions to students, and posed many challenges for both assessment and examination systems and practices at our Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh (ZJU-UoE) Biomedical Science Institute, like other educational institutions worldwide. This necessitated the development of alternative and effective approaches and procedures to teach students, and several changes and adaptions of assessments and examinations at ZJU-UoE institute. In this article, we described the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for student assessment systems and practices at ZJU-UoE Institute. The article is particularly reflecting on alternative approaches and strategies that we have developed at ZJU-UoE institute to change and adapt student assessments and examinations during COVID-19 pandemic. These changes involved developing general examination strategies and settings, including online (MCQ-type) test exam settings and online written exam settings, and developing effective procedure and policy to safeguard academic integrity during the COVID-19 pandemic that can help with facing various education and learning challenges in a time of crisis worldwide.