The Impact of the use of an E Assessment Tool to Deliver Assessment Processes within a Large-Scale Student Development Programme: Pilot Delivered in 2016 and 2017 Academic Programmes

The Centre for Innovative Education and Communication Technologies (CIECT) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) conducted an eAssessment pilot project, within a large-scale Digital Academic Literacy (DAL) Programme. The DAL Programme is a computer literacy programme that was initiated in 2005, specifically catering for the needs of novice users. This programme is integrated into faculty Foundation programmes. The research reported in this article focused on the validity and reliability of eAssessment processes. In efforts to take advantage of emerging educational technologies, an eAssessment tool, namely CompAssess, was adopted and piloted in 2016 and 2017 in 19 departments across all faculties at the UWC. The aim of using CompAssess was to enhance traditional assessment practices. A mixed-method approach was adopted in order to answer the main research question: What is the impact of the use of an eAssessment tool in the delivery of assessment processes within a large-scale student development programme? Qualitative data was collected through an open-ended questionnaire from 19 facilitators of the programme. Quantitative data was collected through a closed-ended online questionnaire targeting 7595 students. Key findings included: eAssessment supports administrative and pedagogical values; the prerequisite for quality student preparation is familiarisation of an eAssessment Tool; opportunities provided by the tool to re-structure questions were advantageous; eAssessment has different implications for different participating groups; feedback on using CompAssess indicated that there are benefits to using the tool.