“Anytime Exams” at AKAD University with Cirrus

In a world where technology is evolving at break-neck speed, AKAD and Cirrus have joined to push the boundaries even further. Together they’ve embarked on a journey to use Cirrus’ blueprint technology in a visionary way.

AKAD required an e-assessment platform for formative and summative exams that were both randomised and equally challenging in terms of the subject area and length for its 11,500+ students.

The challenge

Founded in 1959, AKAD University aims to provide its students with a flexible, individualised distance learning and examination experience. The institution has over 90 degree programs and strives to cater to a vast demographic. AKAD’s study program is 100% online, has no semesters and can be started at any time, and exams are completely flexible – the student decides when to take them.

AKAD’s looming challenge was to provide its 12,000+ students with exceptional online exam preparation and the flexibility to take exams from home at their convenience. Despite AKAD’s students predominantly learning online, they sought to leverage technology to create a more connected experience than what traditional lecture halls can offer.

To prepare students for their exams, AKAD utilises the same pool of assignments for the actual exams, along with small practice sessions and simulated exams. These formative exams provide students with constructive feedback not only on what they did right or wrong, but also why.

In compliance with German law, AKAD required an extensive collection of questions for formative practice and summative exams that were both randomised and equally challenging in terms of subject area and length. So, a tool had to be found to solve these requirements.

To summarise, AKAD faced a significant challenge in creating randomised exams of identical difficulty for its 11,500 students, to be taken at different times, with personalised feedback and learning guidance during formative exams. Despite the challenge, AKAD was confident it would find a platform to overcome these difficulties.

“Without the assessment software from Cirrus, we would not have been able to achieve our goals in such a short time. Especially for exams, it is important to use highly secure technology. Our students expect perfect service and university degrees with integrity.”

Norman Grötzbach, CTO of AKAD and Director of Digital Services at Galileo Global Education.

The hunt for a solution: AKAD’s needs

AKAD recognised their challenges and knew they had some hurdles to overcome in finding the right e-assessment platform.

First, they scouted the market for a standard solution to meet their needs. The most important feature was a matrix/blueprint solution that could be used to define how the content of the same taxonomy level could be randomised from defined subject areas. But AKAD could not find a software solution that met this requirement in Germany or the international market.

They then considered developing the technology themselves. Development was already in full swing when AKAD became aware of Cirrus’ solution. It didn’t take long for AKAD and Cirrus to realise that they could be more than just a supplier and client. AKAD and Cirrus operate as partners, continuously collaborating on the Blueprint technology and optimising it to meet all of AKAD’s needs.

AKAD identified that several of the functions they required were already present in the Cirrus solution, and any missing requirements were developed collaboratively between AKAD and the Cirrus team.

Solution

AKAD trials Cirrus’ solution in a first-of-its-kind pilot.

AKAD initiated the project with five distinct exam types in fields such as Translation, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, and Marketing. The primary focus was to devise tasks that could be automatically evaluated, provide qualitative feedback, test fundamental knowledge, and correspond to Bloom’s highest taxonomy levels. In conjunction, AKAD and Cirrus developed the Blueprint model, grading system, and authorisation matrix for admins and authors.

After the first five exams, an evaluation period followed, providing numerous lessons learned. AKAD fine-tuned the difficulty levels, answering times, and repetition cycles, discovering that a two-hour exam duration can be reduced for tasks that require less writing.

Presently, AKAD offers more than 500 online exams with over 70,000 tasks. Remarkably, 92% of students take their exams online, and students use the preparation resources over 500,000 times annually.

“Our students expect perfect service and university degrees with integrity. In Cirrus, we have found a reliable partner with whom we can offer our examinations at the highest level around the clock, every day of the year.”

Norman Grötzbach

Implementation

AKAD has developed an effective process for optimising online exams, including a quality assurance program. The authors are guided through the first 30 exams to ensure questions, taxonomy levels, and feedback are on point. Before the exams go live, a formal and technical quality check is performed, and three months after launch, the exams are reviewed again. Students can also provide feedback on individual questions.

AKAD succeeded – particularly with mathematics exams – in developing tasks that effectively utilised the Cirrus platform, ensuring exams retained their quality and ambition when mapped online.

The student satisfaction ratings speak volumes, with students giving AKAD’s online exams an impressive 8.6 out of 10. Furthermore, with a rating of 9.9, students report that they can study more flexibly thanks to this innovative exam format.

Results

• 93% of AKAD students now take exams online by choice with Cirrus, as per German Law, the option to take them in person is a possibility.
• AKAD’s fail-rate has decreased by 50% without affecting average grades. Some subjects have a 30% fail-rate while others have a 10% fail-rate, and AKAD was able to cut all across the board by 50%.
• The introduction of practice options and exam simulations has lowered exam anxiety and contributed to the decrease in failure rates.
• AKAD won the e-Learning Award 2022 in ‘Assessment’ category for their innovative exams using Proctorio and Cirrus.
• 8.6/10 student satisfaction rate overall.

“With Cirrus as our partner, we can continuously improve our online exam offerings and are without a doubt trendsetters in the student and learning experience!“

Norman Grötzbach