An EdTech Kobayashi Maru: The No-Win Predicament with Online Testing

When institutions of higher education (IHE) shifted to remote and hybrid instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, existing controversies concerning electronic proctoring were exacerbated. Promising to bolster academic integrity and provide students increased access to their class activities, e-proctoring aligns itself with many other digital platforms (e.g., LMS, web conferencing, etc.) that offer students remote access to higher education. However, just as critical discussions about use of big data in learning analytics emphasized security and privacy risks, and just as plagiarism detection software invited critical discussion about student intellectual property and less-than-ideal pedagogy, so too has e-proctoring come from problematic territory. In fact, e-proctoring may be the most problematic of solutions IHEs employ to provide access to distance learning. This discussion-based, interactive session will follow a Big Ten university’s assessment and pilot of e-proctoring, comparing remote solutions to their long-running and successful on-premises testing center, using a systematic pilot that assessed academic technology beyond standard criteria. Regarding post-pandemic lessons learned, presenters will review recommendations and conclusions made by UNL’s pilot task force.