Unisa says it communicated all it needed to about the rules governing the use of its Invigilator App to its students.
The university has clarified its position after thousands of its students were accused of violating the Invigilator App for its online examinations.
Unisa has maintained that the Invigilator App is a critical tool being used by the university to prevent students from cheating.
This comes after a large groups of students who were found by the university to have violated the rules for the usage of the Invigilator App are expected to retake their exams.
Students have claimed that the app suffered technical glitches which resulted in them not being able to upload scripts in the allocated time. The system has reportedly affected hundreds of final-year students who have now been scheduled to sit for the May/June supplementary exams next year.
In a statement, Unisa said it sent messages to students reminding them of the implementation of the provisions for those who have logged out of the app for more than 10 minutes during exam time.
The university said following media reports on the issue, they have decided to clarify matters.
“The Invigilator App is a critical proctoring tool used by the university for the invigilation of online exams. The usage of the app and the attendant rules are very important and necessary to uphold the credibility of our examinations and protect the integrity of our qualifications. It is one of the aspects of the assessment process that the university cannot compromise upon.
”Prior to commencement of the examinations, the rules about the usage of the Invigilator App were clearly communicated to all students as part of our online examination rules and guidelines through various communications channels, including email, MyUnisa announcements, SMS and social media,“ it said.
According to the SABC, affected students who were set to conclude their remaining modules at the end of this year and had job offers or further studies lined up are concerned about lost opportunities.
“We aware of the situation and as a result, the affected students whose exams have been deferred have been afforded an opportunity to write supplementary next year for free,” SRC president Nkosinathi Mabilane told the SABC.
The Star