Background
The British Dental Association was running a large number of successful courses for students, however when it came to exams they were having to send them to sit them at external examining boards.
There was a desire to be able to come up with one examination system to validate the candidates learning, but with students all over the world this was a real challenge.
The decision was made to look for a distributed exam system that could allow students to sit the same exam wherever they were taking it, yet was secure enough to ensure that details of the exam could not leak out.
One of Stephen’s contacts was already using Maxrevision and suggested that the BDA might want to look at Maxexam. On further examination of the system and given Maxinity’s client base and enthusiasm, a decision was made to trial the system
Current Situation
The first BDA exam run using the Maxexam system was in January 2013 and ran smoothly, and now all exams are held online using the system.
Simple and Cost Effective
The exams are distributed to the individual students and downloaded onto their machines to be sat at a designated time. Even the less computer literate students find the system easy to download and have no issues with using the software to sit the exam.
As the candidates are able to sit the exam where is most convenient (be that at home or at their dental surgery), this has also made it much easier for them than having to sit at a test centre.
The use of Maxexam has also provided a massive cost saving for the BDA and has made administering the exams much easier to manage.
Quicker Feedback
In the past, students had to wait three to four months for the results of their exams.
The use of Maxexam has meant that the BDA has been able to provide verified results to the students within a week – which has been very well received as it reduces their stress
A secure system with safeguards against cheating
Whilst the BDA has a great deal of trust in their students, there will always be a tiny minority of students who will want to try to cheat whether the exam be online or in an examination centre.
The safeguards built into the Maxexam system enables the BDA to identify anyone who might have tried to cheat – and in fact they have been able to use an example of where someone did cheat and was caught to deter others from trying.
In the words of our client:
"The use of Maxexam has totally transformed the way that we run our educational services for the better. It has made administering exams easier for us and sitting them easier for our students, whilst at the same time providing a huge cost saving versus what we were doing before. The team at Maxinity has been 100% supportive of us getting to where we want to - running our own secure, distributed exams"
