Introduction
The Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL), in accordance with the provisions of the Academic Regime Regulation issued by the Council of Higher Education (CES), determines that the evaluation of learning is a key element of the educational model because it allows to know the performance of students during their training process.
Learning activities at UTPL are managed considering the following components:
• Learning in contact with the teacher
• Autonomous Learning
• Practical-experimental learning
The student evaluation system is characterized by being formative, continuous and summative; and in it two moments of evaluation are distinguished: formative and summative evaluation, and recovery evaluation.
In the autonomous learning component, the “face-to-face assessment” is included. In general, it is established that it will be developed, on the planned and socialized dates through an academic calendar, and will be physically applied at the headquarters and support centers.
On March 16, 2020, the Ecuadorian state, according to decree 1017, declared: "the state of exception due to public calamity throughout the national territory, due to confirmed coronavirus cases." This provision restricted and suspended all the possibility of mobilization, in such a way that the institutions had to modify their activity favoring management with telematic resources. In accordance with what is established by the Ecuadorian state, the plenary session of the Higher Education Council (CES) approved a transitory regulation for the development of academic activities in Higher Education Institutions (IES). This regulation sought to guarantee the right to education by making the processes established for HEIs more flexible.
The pandemic conditions forced the UTPL to make modifications in the way of applying face-to-face evaluations, moving from face-to-face assistance to synchronous assistance using telematic means. This change implied the design of a model for the application of controlled online evaluations, in this document we present the results of the applied model and its main results, which in general are positive for all: Students, teachers and institution.
Methodology and designed work models designed for online assessment
Controlled online assessment
The “controlled online assessment” model integrates the necessary and sufficient elements so that the student enrolled in the UTPL can take the exams, which before the pandemic had a face-to-face format.
• Within the strategic component, three elements were considered: students, evaluators and communication. Regarding the application, we worked with technological systems that allowed an adequate interaction, gave reliability to the process, and guaranteed that the results are on time, complete and correct.
• The main strategy used included the use of Zoom as a tool to support the student and visual supervision of the process in a synchronous way; Through this, I can verify the identity of the student, deliver the access credentials to the exams generated in the SIETTE evaluation system - this system has been used by the UTPL since 2016. It has multiple advantages, but its simplicity stands out and versatility - and finally register your attendance to the process and the incidents if any.
• As a result of these actions, the results of the evaluation were obtained and the grades were published to the students in a timely manner. Likewise, once the results of the evaluations were published, the digital file of the exam was sent to the student's institutional email, which contains the evaluation questions given by the student with their respective answers.
Controlled online evaluation
The online assessment events required detailed planning that covered the needs before, during and after the administration of the exams. The planning was developed in harmony with the strategic model proposed and accepted by the institution. The key elements of planning are summarized below:
The planning was aimed at covering the various scenarios that the heterogeneous profile of the student raises. In an online evaluation model, the particular conditions of individuals become more evident. Likewise, computer systems and support in the processes for the main actors - students and evaluators - are a priority in planning.
During the evaluation event, the student's experience was sought to be positive and for this the monitoring and support was permanent through a group of people with sufficient knowledge in the processes and systems. The assistance was at the moment and the group that needed help did not reach 3% of the entire population.
Once the event was held, the biggest challenge was the publication of the results, in the shortest time possible - the waiting time was cut in half - complete and correct. The information management also allowed to determine risk scenarios, mainly associated with the quality of the internet with which the student was evaluated.
Attention and support in the evaluation processes
The online evaluation, under the model used by the UTPL, required dedicated work to attend to the needs of students and evaluators. In the case of students, minimum conditions of connectivity and equipment were requested, despite this and due to the diverse conditions - students connected from the 24 provinces of Ecuador, in urban and rural areas, and students abroad - a service and support model, always with the presence of an advisor at all times.
The following is the care scheme:
The students, according to institutional regulations, were informed of the conditions of the evaluation process - similar to those established in the presence -. On the planned day and time, they entered a virtual room (Zoom) through the evaluation system application (SIETTE), in that room the evaluator verified certain conditions and delivered the login credentials to the system. For the cases of students who reported problems, the evaluator had a protocol that included the support of specialized supports in processes and computer equipment.
The evaluator of each room had access to the evaluation computer system (SIETTE), to generate entrance and exit credentials, verify the development of the exams, and certify the development of the exams. The evaluator configured the room in such a way that the interaction with the evaluated person was mainly written.
The systems and other technological resources had the capacity to meet the demand of students and other users according to the planning of the event.
Results
Assessment results and grades were released to students in a timely manner. The information on the evaluation application events carried out in 2020 is presented in the following table.
The good quantitative results - not an analysis of academic performance - were the result of:
• Model established in all its components.
• Process management for the different moments of the evaluation.
• Repowered computer systems.
• Regulatory deployment and adjusted to online evaluation.
• Effective communication for students and other actors.
• Integration of the undergraduate and graduate levels in the same evaluation model.
Conclusion
The online evaluation, under the model proposed by the Private Technical University of Loja, preserved the qualities of efficiency and effectiveness that have characterized the face-to-face evaluation of the distance study system. Having an online evaluation model with the characteristics described in this document has generated confidence in the students, because they have felt the permanent support of their evaluators. Likewise, the model made it possible to cover the diversity of scenarios that were generated from the heterogeneous profile of the thousands of students evaluated.
