COVID-19: Managing the Challenges of Professional Accreditation in University Accounting & Finance Departments

Professor Joan Ballantine, Chair, British Accounting & Finance Association, CDAF; Vice-Chair, Accounting Education Special Interest Group

The UK University sector has suffered enormous upheaval as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a very short space of time, university doors have closed, students have vacated the campus and academic staff have had to move quickly to online platforms to complete their teaching. In the absence of formal campus-based end of semester examinations in May-June and July-August (and possibly longer), academics have had to think about how to best assess their student cohorts. As a subject area, accounting has been particularly affected by the pandemic given the need to not only meet subject learning outcomes, but also the need to address the accreditation requirements of the UK professional bodies. In an attempt to provide some understanding around how accounting and finance departments have dealt with the uncertainty around meeting accreditation requirements, the Committee for Departments of Accounting and Finance (CDAF) sought the views of its members to the following questions:

1. What plans for alternative assessment/replacement of exams were being proposed? (e.g. 100% assessment in place of exams)
2. How these were to be delivered? (for example, online or take home)
3. How did academics plan to ensure that the learning outcomes were still assessed in full as per the professional body requirements/ accreditation requirements?
4. If online assessment was planned, how were academics going to deal with the large numbers of students who had already left the UK to go home, those who may not have access to the university’s virtual learning environment and/or geographically located in different time zones?
5. Any other comments.

Eighteen universities, located across Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, responded to the above questions. What is clear from the responses received from heads of Departments of Accounting and Finance is the variety of alternative assessments that are being used to replace traditional closed-book examinations. It is also interesting to note that many are actively considering how they can move towards open-book examinations as an alternative. Whilst there appears to be variety in terms of assessment type to replace traditional closed-book examinations, it is reassuring that responses are consistent across the piece in their need to ensure that module/ programme learning outcomes and accreditation requirements are achieved. With respect to the delivery of alternative assessments, virtual online platforms are key. In this regard, it is also reassuring to note that Departments of Accounting and Finance are providing an element of flexibility in terms of ensuring sufficient time is allocated to enable students to complete alternative assessments and upload them onto virtual learning environments.

With regard to meeting professional accounting body accreditation requirements, the responses suggest that some Departments of Accounting and Finance will continue to use the same examination format as they have done in the past. Where alternative assessments are to be used, a person with sufficient programme oversight will be required to certify that such assessment meets all learning outcomes for accreditation purposes. Only one department of Accounting and Finance indicated that they will provide additional assessment during or at the end of the first semester 2020–21 to address accreditation requirements.

With respect to the issue of access to virtual learning environments , the commonly held assumption is that the vast majority of students will be able to remotely access their respective VLEs. Where this is not possible, deferment of assessment is an option being considered. In terms of the difficulty associated with different time zones, feedback suggests that scheduling will take place to accommodate the majority of students, with early morning exams being preferred.

Finally, in terms of other issues, three aspects were reported as giving cause for concern. First, the potential for plagiarism to occur; second, an increase in appeals; and third, issues around some students having to cope with caring responsibilities and home environments not conducive to study.

We will continue to collect views on how accounting and finance departments are coping with the accreditation challenge and will provide another update in the coming months.

The following details the various responses received from CDAF members.

Responses to Question 1

· Mix of alternative assessments in place of the traditional closed-book exams which now cannot take place. Alternative assessments will test all the required learning outcomes and will include: cases/scenarios (often starting with questions that would have been in a closed book exam but extending /adapting them to add depth and make them more open-ended to recognize the now open-book environment); timed, short question or multiple choice questions (MCQ) tests/quizzes: essays: creative assignments where students write cases/questions (and solutions) and professional guidance notes.

· No assessment for 1st year students. Remote assessment for 2nd/3rd years.

· We are considering the use of take home exams and/or replacement with coursework assignments.

· For all modules:

o Coursework element — this will remain as set, except for class presentation assessments which are to be replaced with online submissions as appropriate.

o Invigilated, time constrained exam element. The submission deadline will be 24 hours after being made available to students. This will be replaced. Exam papers already prepared will be distributed as online open — book assignments, with revised guidelines for completion and submission. Exam papers as prepared will be distributed as open book assignments with revised guidelines for completion and submission.

· Current exam would be sat remotely under time constraint (to be determined) as open book. This would be the case for level 6. For levels 4 and 5, we are reviewing current exam papers and seek to convert to MCQs if possible or shorten the paper while still meeting course learning outcomes. Levels 4 and 5: ideally shorter assessment time and marked electronically where possible.

· Online exams with an extra 30 minutes to download the paper and upload the script via Turnitin. All late submissions zero marked, even by one minute. Hand-written answers are accepted which Turnitin cannot read.

· Level 4: 3 hour closed book exam

· Level 5: 3 hour closed book exam

· Level 6: 3 hour closed book exam; Essays with time limitations or in-class tests. Essays with have a 2-day window for preparation, the word count with be scaled for each Level.

Responses to Question 2

· All alternative assessments will be made available to students on the virtual learning environment (VLE). A small number will have short time releases (i.e. must be completed within a matter of hours), but most will have a longer time release due to concerns re: students access to high quality broadband; pressure on the VLE; the potential that students may get sick — longer time frames will allow more students to complete at this sitting.

· Online but there is an issue as to whether all students will have access to a computer to answer.

· Everything will be run through our VLE as either quizzes (time limited) or assignments.

· Online.

· Online using VLE, answer to be submitted through time limited drop box.

· Level 4: 1-hour MCQ paper testing all learning outcomes — exception for law paper which is being converted to coursework; Some modules already have some assessment banked from earlier in the year.

· Level 5: core modules are already completed so not an issue; impacted modules included Tax and Audit, both of which are being converted to 90-minute exams; tax is likely to be time limited MCQs; audit is likely to be short form application questions with students given a 24-hour period to complete.

· Level 6: as per our previous guidance, these will be completed at home with students given a 24-hour window to access, complete and upload. They will use Excel/Word.

Responses to Question 3

· We plan that our mix of alternative assessments will address all learning outcomes. We have discussed our provisional plans with relevant professional bodies and they seem comfortable with them.

· We expect to provide further assessment during/at the end of the first semester 2020–21 to address accreditation (but waiting for more details). Otherwise we will not comply with ICAEW’s requirements.

· Module leads are being asked to certify that any assessment change they make meets all learning outcomes. The Head of undergraduate or postgraduate will sign off all changes and check the learning outcomes are being met.

· The exam papers used will be those already prepared and which would have been set in normal circumstances.

· We are examining the accreditation requirements in case we need to amend the content of current papers (e.g. we have not yet taught something that is on the professional syllabus). We need to be confident that online coverage of new topics is robust and sufficient for students to be able to answer questions in the exam.

· We are using the exam papers as set before the pandemic as these ensure that the learning outcomes are assessed. Unsupervised examinations call all that into question.

Responses to Question 4

· We are limiting the number of assessments which will have short time frames, due to the range of potential issues that may arise.

· The initial proposal is that students will sit the exam in a time window (e.g. 24/36/48 hours) to ensure they can sit it in a suitable time.

· We understand that all students will have remote online access. If students do not, then separate arrangements will be made for them. A 24-hour deadline for submission, from the time of each paper being made available will give all students sufficient time to complete and submit.

· We will consider the timing of exams so that the majority will be able to sit at a reasonable time in their own country. For those with no access they may need to be deferred as I am not sure what alternatives we can realistically put in place.

· Online assessment has to fit into British (Summer) time. We do not think that this will be a problem if we schedule exams for 9am. There may be a few students who have a problem (e.g. from the US) but the majority of students are located in the UK, Europe or the Far East so this is likely to be unproblematic.

Responses to Question 5

· We are struggling with the number of students where their home environment is not conducive to study. Many are caring for younger siblings who are not at school. Some have no suitable information technology resources at home.

· There are potential issues around plagiarism. For this reason, we are switching to essays for resits which will enable us to assess the learning outcomes better than an exam in the current circumstances. There are also likely to be problems with appeals committees being overwhelmed.