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Widespread use of summative online unsupervised remote (SOUR) examinations in UK higher education: ethical and quality assurance implications
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Michael Draper
Quality in Higher Education, Volume: 31, Issue: 1, Pages: 127 - 141
Swansea University Authors:
Phil Newton , Michael Draper
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© 2025 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/13538322.2025.2521174
Abstract
The use of summative online unsupervised remote (SOUR) examinations is associated with high levels of cheating, which increased further during the COVID lockdown. New generative AI chatbots have added further concern, since they can answer exam questions to a very high level. However, it is currentl...
| Published in: | Quality in Higher Education |
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| ISSN: | 1353-8322 1470-1081 |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69744 |
| Abstract: |
The use of summative online unsupervised remote (SOUR) examinations is associated with high levels of cheating, which increased further during the COVID lockdown. New generative AI chatbots have added further concern, since they can answer exam questions to a very high level. However, it is currently unclear how common these unsupervised examinations are. A Freedom of Information request methodology was used to determine whether universities in the United Kingdom used SOUR examinations in the 23/24 academic year. Extensive use of these examinations was found with minimal plans to reduce them for future years. Policies for the security of SOUR examinations often put students in the paradoxical position of being required to work under ‘examination conditions’ remotely, but with no attempt by the university to administer those conditions. This situation raises questions over the validity of SOUR examinations as an assessment format and the quality assurance of degree awards that include these assessments. |
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| Keywords: |
ChatGPT; academicintegrity; validity; qualityassurance; cheating |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
Swansea University |
| Issue: |
1 |
| Start Page: |
127 |
| End Page: |
141 |