Recommendations for conducting online and hybrid classes

3. Instructions for conducting online exams

Online assessment must be clearly structured and fair. Instructions to teachers should include technical settings (time limit, random selection of questions from the database), recommendations for question design (open/closed, reflective), monitoring tools (if used) and guidelines for ensuring academic integrity. Instructions also often recommend emphasising the importance of transparent communication with students, for example by announcing the exam format in advance and providing practice or test versions of the exam to make it less stressful for students. It is also recommended to structure questions in a way that encourages critical thinking and individual responses, thus reducing the possibility of cheating. The technical aspect is also important - ensuring a stable platform, support during the exam and backup scenarios in case of technical difficulties (unavailability of the server, network connectivity of the faculty building or individual computer labs). In the case of conducting oral exams remotely, it is certainly necessary to create instructions for students on how to test the equipment, how to prepare the working environment/room in which the student will be (silence, absence of other people, room lighting, etc.).

Examples

1. E-Learning Support Centre of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb: Instructions for creating and implementing online exams or Question database or Example of conducting an oral exam remotely
2. Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb: Support for online exams and midterms
3. University of Edinburgh (UK): Exam design with permitted literature