Universiteit Leiden

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Organising digital exams

Below you will find all information on hosting digital exams, the support available, and how you can prepare to ensure a smooth assessment process.

On this page:

  1. Assessment tools
  2. Assessment locations
  3. Requesting digital examination
  4. Getting started with Ans and digital assessment timeline
  5. Technical support and workshops

Assessment tools

Digital examination can take different forms. Generally, all on-campus exams use Ans, the university's assessment software. Take-home exams are usually administered via Brightspace.  

More information on available assessment tools can be found here.

Assessment locations

There are several options for hosting digital exams on campus in Leiden and The Hague. Depending on the content of your exam and the number of students, certain locations may be most suitable. Always inform your education administration when you have a preferred location for your exam.

University Sports Centre (USC) or Universiteitsgebouw Spui

In the University Sports Centre and Spui, large groups of students (up to 1300 and 500) can take exams on university Chromebooks. The Chromebooks are secured, allowing students access to the testing environment only.

In addition to regular invigilators, online invigilators are present to help students with technical problems. 

Note: switching keyboard input to different layouts/characters and audio/video is currently not supported at the USC/Spui.

Computer rooms (PC)

In the computer rooms in Lipsius and Wijnhaven, there are fixed computers on which exams can be taken. The PCs are also secured, allowing students access to the testing environment only. The PCs allow students to install any keyboard they may need, and all forms of media are supported. Hosting exams in PC rooms reduces the risk of technical problems for students.

Students need to bring their own headphones for exams containing audio or video.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Students can also take exams on their own device (BYOD). There is a variety of rooms available with sufficient power outlets or power banks for students to take a BYOD exam. They are especially suited for smaller groups of students (<30).

BYOD exams are especially convenient for exams that call for the use of foreign alphabets and/or characters.

The use of tablets or personal Chromebooks is not supported. Students who do not have a laptop can request a loan laptop. Loan laptops are also available as backups to accommodate students without a laptop or technical issues.

Take-home examination (Remote)

Digital exams can be hosted remotely (from home). Remote exams cannot be monitored/protected, but are suitable for open book exams or exams where students are allowed to collaborate. These exams are generally administered through Brightspace.

You can choose to use Ans if you want to:

  1. reuse questions from your question bank in Ans;
  2. use a question pool from which each student is randomly assigned a selection of questions;
  3. want to restrict students from going back to previous questions or already completed blocks of questions.

Requesting digital examination

In preparation for the coming academic year, the Education Coordinator of your program will inquire about how you plan to host your exams. Please inform them:

  1. whether your exam will be digital;
  2. whether the exam will be hosted using Ans or Brightspace;
  3. if you prefer the exam to be scheduled at USC/Spui, a PC room, as a BYOD exam, or remotely.

Please note: ECOLe can only accomodate technical support during office hours. Take this into account when requesting your exam timeslot.

ECOLe will receive the exam schedule at the beginning of each semester and will send a confirmation of registration to teachers who have their exams scheduled as digital.

Changes during the semester

Do you want to change and have your exams scheduled as digital during the semester? Contact your Education Coordinator as soon as possible. Provided a suitable room is available, the coordinator will forward your request to ECOLe. Note: ECOLe maintains a deadline of at least 20 working days before the exam for such requests.

Request changes to time, date, and place with your Education Coordinator. They will inform ECOLe of any changes.

Getting started with Ans

If you are hosting an exam on campus, you will make use of Ans. Ans is a user-friendly tool that allows teachers to easily set up digital tests themselves. 

Is this your first time using Ans? Walk through the onboarding module to become familiar with the system. In addition, you can watch this webinar, in which ECOLe walks you through all the steps in the Ans digital assessment process.

More information about Ans can be found here.

Onboarding module

Before your first exam, you must go through the Ans onboarding module to get familiar with the assessment process and determine the level of support you want to receive from ECOLe. If needed, you can request ECOLe to digitise your exam for you.

To the module

Timeline of the digital assessment process

ECOLe will assist and support you throughout the entire testing process and will ensure the exam is hosted as smoothly as possible. To ensure this, ECOLe will request information from you and will also inform you of the procedures during specific steps in the digital assessment process. 

The timeline for this is as follows: 

  1. Beginning of the semester
    You will receive a mail from ECOLe confirming your scheduled digital exam(s). This will include instructions and deadlines to submit your exam questions and/or settings form by.
  2. 3 weeks before the exam
    You will submit your exam questions and/or settings form to ECOLe.
  3. 2 weeks before the exam
    If you have requested us to do so, ECOLe digitizes the exam for you, and we will ask you to check the exam content once it is ready.
  4. 1 week before the exam
     You will receive information about your tasks during the exam as well as information for students on how to take the digital test. 
  5. Day of the exam
    You or a colleague must be present at the exam and follow the teacher's instructions received to start and monitor the exam. 

Technical support during your exam

Technical support is available for exams on campus that make use of Ans. Whenever possible, somebody will be on site at the start of your exam to solve any issues starting up. In addition, ECOLe is always available online to resolve technical issues remotely. Information on the chat tool we use for this will be provided to you via email once your digital exam has been scheduled.

 

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