Exam cheating has become a major concern for many universities who are considering administering online exams in South Korea. Across the country, countless cases of exam cheating are offering a glimpse of what the situation will be if the schools universally adapt online exams.
The recent uptick of coronavirus cases in South Korea is causing universities to re-evaluate how exams will be conducted. The school lockdowns in the country meant that universities had to come up with an alternative form of learning, with online learning becoming the preferred mode of learning for almost all universities.
Months after schools started shutting down and online classes becoming the norm, a new headache on how to administer exams across the countries is challenging these schools to think outside the box.
Cheating concerns
The choice of whether to carry out in-person exams, while coronavirus cases are rising across the country or to implement online exams, which will open doors to exam cheating is a dilemma they are contending with. Cases of online exam cheating have been reported across the country for schools that were brave enough to implement online exams at the onset.
At Inha University, more than 100 medical students confessed to online exam cheating by sharing answers through in-person or text messages. Across the country, other incidences of exam cheating were also widely reported, including universities such as Konkuk, Sogang, Yonsei and Hanyang.
These reported cases of online exam cheating have placed university professors and students at odds with each other.
For students, they are open to online exams, citing the recent spike in the number of recorded coronavirus cases in the country. They also indicate the safety reasons on why their exams should be online.
However, for school administrators, professors and lecturers, the risk of carrying out online exams has an increased risk of having students cheat on them. This has led to many taking a conservative approach and refusing to rule out a possibility of exams being done on campus.
Approach by different universities
However, for some universities, the decisions have already been made on how exams should proceed. Seoul National University will let the professors decide on how they want to proceed with exams. They will be free to choose whether they want to administer online exams or otherwise.
Hanyang University also made a decision, by stating that all exams will be carried out on campus. Students have been outraged by this decision and are already petitioning the school to reconsider their position citing coronavirus and their safety.
For Sungkyunkwan University, they have found a creative way to curb online exam teaching. They indicated that they will administer an online test, but with caveats. They will use a service called Webex to monitor students during the entire duration of the exam. This is a compromise that promises security for exams, safety for students and also helps in curbing the spread of the virus.
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