DOES CHEATING INCREASE WHEN UNIVERSITIES ADOPT E-TESTING AND E-PROCTORING?

Abstract

This paper presents a faculty participant’s perspective to the online testing and proctoring challenges faced by a Social Science faculty during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns. Preliminary data on available e-testing and e-proctoring solutions were collected online whereas e-learning data were collected over three months by participant observation and interviews. Choosing from a list of e-testing and e-proctoring solutions, the faculty was able to bring online malpractice under control. Though the propensity to cheat increased online, effective e-proctoring with relevant technologies brought cases of online cheating under control, maintaining a pattern similar to student offline cheating behaviour. This study exposes the inadequacy of available learning applications, drawing attention to the need for more precise proctoring technologies that could go beyond objective testing, especially for Social Science and related disciplines. It also provides a useful list of online cheating methods, proctoring strategies and proctoring software in one document.