Sloan Effective Practice Award Nomination

eduKan manages the online courses for a consortium* of 6 colleges in Kansas and wanted to reduce proctoring costs and deter online cheating while meeting verification regulations for distance education as required by the Department of Education and their regional accrediting agency. Dr. Sarver worked with the team at Biometric Signature ID (BSI) and Pearson to pilot test BioSig-ID(TM) as part of the LearningStudio authentication process since BSI’s technology matched eduKan’s needs versus other webcam-based, hardware intensive technologies. The pilot ran from March-April, 2011 with 174 students from multiple classes using BioSig-ID(TM) to authenticate their identity 6 times before their final exam. There were 6,300 verifications and only 9 help desk calls during the trial period. eduKan conducted a survey after the pilot ended and found that 97% of the students preferred BioSig-ID(TM) to finding a proctor or driving to a facility for physical proctoring while 94% of them had a positive experience with the verification process.

The final results of the pilot including the survey and cost analysis proved that the BSI technology would more than meet their goals. The faculty and administration were also very positive about their user experience making it a “win-win.” The outcome has been impressive and has allowed eduKan to achieve their goals of reduced costs, increased compliance, dramatically lower student fees to help gain a competitive advantage, and ensure academic integrity. eduKan now meets and exceeds the requirements for verification of online student identities and can be confident that the same student who submits assignments, takes exams, and earns a final grade is the same one who enrolled in that course and has received financial aid. *Pratt Community College, Barton Community College, Garden City Community College, Seward County Community College, Dodge City Community College and Colby Community College.

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