Faculty Projects
Secure Computer-Based Testing

Joe Hummel

Project Manager

Joe Hummel, Professor, Computer Science

Amount Requested

$28,000

Summary

ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools are rapidly changing the way we teach, and assess. To ensure assessment integrity, in-person assessments are critical. However, hand-written assessments do not model how most students work, and slow the grading process. This project plans to create a computer-based testing center with 200 pre-configured laptops customized for secure, online testing. This provides faculty with a trusted testing environment, and students with a fair and equitable assessment.

Planned Activities/Investments

A set of 200 laptops will be purchased, configured, and maintained by the Computer Science department's IT staff. These laptops will be housed in locked cabinets installed in one of the large (200+ capacity) classrooms in the Tech building. The classroom can be reserved in the evenings for course assessments.

Impact

Initially, the project will impact faculty teaching large introductory courses in Computer Science, and the undergraduate students taking those courses. Over time, we believe the project will impact most CS courses, with demand from courses outside CS as well. We'll evaluate the impact through faculty and student surveys. A similar approach is currently in use at UIUC, with very good success: faculty have a trusted assessment mechanism, and students can work electronically knowing other students do not have an unfair advantage. A secure testing environment gives faculty more flexibility in the types of assessments used, and also allows for repeated assessment in a trusted way. Electronic grading is generally more efficient, providing feedback to students more quickly.

Sustainability

We expect this project to seed what becomes an essential assessment strategy for most courses in CS. Demand will grow for access from outside CS, at which point we expect the McCormick School of Engineering to fund replacement machines and other costs.

Deliverables

The money requested will purchase 100 laptops and a suitable cabinets for storage. The CS department will match the funding, allowing us to reach the goal of 200+ computers. The computers will be used in CS 211 and CS 310 this Fall, courses I'm teaching with a combined enrollment of over 400 students. We'll open the testing environment to other CS classes in Winter 2024.

Budget Overview

  • 200 linux-based laptops: $260/each => $52,000.
  • 8 charging cabinets: $500/each => $4,000.

Total: $28,000

Matching Funds

The money requested will purchase 100 laptops and a suitable cabinets for storage. The CS department will match the funding, allowing us to reach the goal of 200+ computers.