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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Colleges at Makerere University have clarified the selected modes of online assessment of students ahead of the examinations scheduled to start on September 13 and run to September 30, 2021.
On Tuesday this week, the Makerere University Academic Registrar, Alfred Masikye Namoah informed students that the University Council had approved alternative modes of assessment submitted by different colleges. Management had asked the colleges to hold consultative sessions with students and lecturers in order to come up with suitable assessment modes.
“College/School Academic Boards have met, reviewed, selected and submitted the most appropriate alternative modes of assessment for the respective programmes/course units,” Masikye said. The university presented nine online modes of assessment last month for college academic committees to choose from. Some of these included; open book examinations, quizzes, oral assessments and recorded videos among others.
Time tables dispatched to students from different colleges this week indicate the selected mode of assessment for each course unit with explainers how it will happen. From the timetables, the students are also able to know what platform to use for each assessment.
Some of the platforms include MUELE-Makerere University e-Learning Environment, zoom, WhatsApp and email. Maureen Ayebare, a student of Water and Irrigation notes that one of her course units, Engineering Art and design will take eight days because it involves drawing and students have been given that time to borrow computers.
Another student who only identified himself as Lexis, who is pursuing a Bachelor in Social Sciences explains that one of her course units, Gender and Development will be accessed on MUELE and answers handwritten. She however says that they will have to scan the answers and upload them to the same platform for submission.
Paul Kawuma from the College of Engineering Design, Art and Technology, says that all his examinations will be in real-time and accessible on MUELE. He notes that he is familiar with this mode as he has been doing tests and quizzes on the same in past semesters.
Stella Nakirija another student pursuing Agricultural Engineering explains that for one of her course units, the questions will be accessed on MUELE. However, as students respond to the questions in a handwritten format, their course instructor will supervise using zoom.
“This mode is exclusive as it requires a student to have both a phone and laptop at hand. A phone for working with and laptop for zoom,” she said. Other students like those from the School of Liberal and Performing Arts will be subjected to group assignments and presentations, oral assessments and recorded videos among others.
However, some students are still uncertain how to approach examinations since they have not received timetables. For instance, some continuing students from the School of Medicine are simply speculative of what they will do.
In a bid to sensitize students on the different modes of assessment, examination dates were extended by the University from September 6 to September 13, 2021. While a few of the students are able to attend zoom training organized by colleges on the subject and are aware of the development, a number without smartphones and good network connectivity are lagging behind.
Makerere University opted to administer alternative online modes of assessment to end the first semester that was disrupted by the second nationwide lockdown effected on June 7, 2021, to contain the second wave of COVID-19. Continuing students were to start their physical examinations on the same date.
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