Stellenbosch University students have had to adapt to online teaching and examinations due to national lockdown regulations that have been in place since the end of March. PHOTO: Octavia Spandiel
Stellenbosch University (SU) examinations, which have been proceeding via SU’s online platform, SunLearn, during the national lockdown, have been running smoothly thus far. This was according to SU spokesperson, Martin Viljoen.
SU’s online examinations commenced on 8 June, with the first cycle of examinations ending on 26 June. The second examination cycle started on 27 June and is running until 11 July.
According to Viljoen, SU’s senate decided to grant students 30 minutes extra per assessment, to allow for the uploading of hand-written or typed assessments to the learning management system.
“The lecturers and staff members from IT, Learning and Teaching Enhancement, academic administration and various other professional academic support divisions have worked extremely hard to make online learning opportunities and support available to students so that they can complete their academic year,” Viljoen told MatieMedia.
Issues that have cropped up during the exams, have been addressed, said Viljoen.
Theological Professor in Public Theology and Ethics, Dion Foster, said that he found the process of marking examinations online much easier than the traditional mode of marking.
“It has been quite good for many of us [lecturers], because we don’t have to decipher students’ handwriting. We have Turnitin reports so we can see if this is the student’s own work and we can give audible comments to students as feedback. Essentially, the marks get recorded automatically on SunLearn,” said Forster.
Forster said he hoped SU has learnt from the online examination experience, and has learnt what could benefit the students’ learning experiences in the future.
Professor Dion Forster is optimistic about the online examinations journey. AUDIO: Supplied/ Dion Forster
“The exams went well on my side, because I got used to the ‘new norm’,” said Amelia May, a second year student studying Bachelor of Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy. May remained in SU residence during the national lockdown. “Timing was a bit challenging. I managed to finish and submit my exams on time.”
Second year BEd (Intermediate Phase) student, Marcel Adams, believes that the online examination process has been implemented very well.
“I feel positive about the online exams. Some of our lecturers are very supportive at this time. They really try to accommodate us in different ways,” said Adams.
Adams added that he believed the online examinations should be implemented as a choice for writing.
Second year student at Stellenbosch University, Marcel Adams, embraces lockdown and said he was positive about the online examinations. PHOTO: Supplied/Marcel Adams