Business Continuity During Online Exams
Examinations are an essential part of both the academic teaching and learning process and of the university’s administration procedures as well.
Currently more and more exams at ETH Zurich are carried out electronically. Procedure is similar to that of paper-based examinations. Students gather in an exam room under the supervision of a proctor. However, instead of paper and writing utensils they will be using a computer workstation. While certain tests can be performed only at the computer, for others there are many processes, like correction, that can be facilitated electronically. These benefits, however, come with their challenges because of the many factors involved in computer technology: network, storage, computer applications etc.
Computer Malfunction
A most obvious and immediate concern is “what happens if the computer crashes?”. Computer malfunction is more than a minor nuisance; it is sure to increase the participants’ already elevated stress level. Consequently, the IT Services is doing everything possible to avoid IT failures. Two ITS groups “Client Delivery” (ID BD) and “Storage” (ID SD) have developed a concept for business continuity specifically for online examination sessions.
Uninterrupted Availability
Storage redundancy ensures almost uninterrupted availability of technical resources during online exams. Should one of the storage systems fail, configuration can be shifted within a short time to an alternate system. After restarting the computer, the exam can continue within a few minutes.
Infrastructure in the Exam Room
Infrastructure in exam rooms continues to be an important component. A serious power failure or breakdown of last mile network can result in interruption or even cancellation of an exam. However, I bet you’ve never seen a paper-based exam take place by candlelight either!
Various ITS groups have joined together to ensure that all systems in the computer labs function reliably. On February 5, 2013 those service operators were invited to a behind the scenes visit at the new exam room HG G 1. The on-site visit helped demonstrate dependencies on ITS services as well as the vital need for excellent inter-cooperation.
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The above is a loose translation of the original German blog by Dr. Tilo Steiger, ITS Sytem Services, Manager Storage, and Thomas Richter, ITS User Services, Manager Client Delivery.
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