Higher Education Act 2008

From FerrisConnect KnowledgeBase

The Higher Education Act states that colleges must demonstrate that the person taking an online exam is indeed the person who is enrolled in the course (they are who they say they are). The options presented include delivering a proctored exam, as well as using biometric devices such as fingerprint scanners and webcams. However, the DOE has yet to make a decision as to which of these they will consider as appropriate. According to the following article this may not take effect until the 2009/2010 Academic year. There are several U.S. Dept of Education Rulemaking Committee meetings scheduled through mid October 2008 to gagther input from stakeholders and to consider what form these assurances may take. In addition to attending these meetings, written comments will also be accepted.

At Ferris we have for the past several years, encouraged alternative strategies to the online exam. There have been several conversations about the challenges of high-stakes online exams and preventing cheating. Many of those who have moved their courses from the classroom to online have elected to pursue a more authentic assessment process, including writing and online discussion as evidence of understanding and achievement. For those who have opted to continue high-stakes testing, many require proctored exams (however this should be made clear to students before students enroll).

References:

Article: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/legislation/index.cfm?i=55224

DoEd: http://www.ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html