High-Stakes Online Exams

COVID-19 has affected university assessment procedures on a large scale. This empirical study aims to understand the types of high-stakes exams delivered online at the Lucerne School of Business in Switzerland during the “Corona Semesters” of 2020 and 2021 and the decision-making factors that influenced their implementation. To do so, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with eight faculty members across a variety of disciplines. Requirements from the exam workflow (preparation, proctoring, grading) were identified and analyzed by course type. Four factors emerged that significantly impacted design and delivery for high-stakes exams online: 1) Digital exam formats significantly impact the nature of exams for procedural subjects such as mathematics; 2) “Group Exams” are not the answer to preventing student collusion on online exams; 3) interrater reliability and low answer variance are considered a central factor for exam quality assurance; 4) second-order effects such as stable wifi and device compatibility will continue to hinder widescale adoption of digital exams. The findings suggest that online exam delivery significantly affects institutional exam practice beyond mere consideration of learning outcomes. The authors conclude by speculating that similar dynamics may have impacted other business schools during their Corona semesters and invite future research on whether the findings from this article can spark discussion and reflection for policy makers in other institutions on post-pandemic legacies.