The Role of the E-Learning Departments in Controlling the Quality of Electronic Assessments in Palestinian Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

TLDR: In this paper, the role of the e-learning departments in Palestinian universities in controlling the quality of the academic processes during the COVID-19 pandemic was identified, and the main study findings indicated that the universities agreed that the assessment at the beginning of the pandemic sought to save what could be saved in the emergency period, which made electronic assessment a complex issue.

Abstract: The research aimed to identify the role of the e-learning departments in Palestinian universities in controlling the quality of the academic processes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was conducted using interviews starting from November 2020 and ending in December 2020 during the academic year 2020/2021. The interviews included a number of questions within the axis of electronic assessment. The population of the study consisted of directors of e-learning departments in a number of Palestinian universities, namely: University A, University B, University C, University D, and University E. The main study findings indicated that the universities agreed that the assessment at the beginning of the pandemic sought to save what could be saved in the emergency period, which made electronic assessment a complex issue in this pandemic. Moreover, the problem of plagiarism and faked identities was one of the biggest problems faced by university instructors in the electronic assessment; consequently, changes have been made to the assessment methods that were used before the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, alternative methods of learning and assessment were sought and arrived at.