Experiences with supervised vs. unsupervised online knowledge assessments in formal education

Online knowledge assessments have a range of well-known advantages over traditional pen-and-paper assessments, and have found their application in many domains of formal education. However, online assessments are still typically used in combination with extensive supervision in order to ensure assessment integrity and avoid cheating. Alleviating the need for assessment supervision, on the other hand, would not only reduce the costs of the institution organizing them, but also of the costs of students, since they would be able to attempt assessments from a remote location of their choice. In this paper, the outcomes of two instances of using supervised vs. unsupervised online knowledge assessments in engineering education are described. Assessments' results, obtained with and without supervision are compared and they are discussed from the perspective of feasibility, academic integrity, and good practices.