Some students are lucky enough to get to finish an entire university program — such as a bachelor’s degree or an MBA — without needing to sit for any exams. Exam-free study is the reality for a percentage of online college students, and it has helped them achieve career success.
This article will further explain how you can still maximize learning without the stress of exams. Here are some benefits students get by going for online degrees while skipping exams.
Students are Encouraged to be Consistent
Since you don’t need to take exams, your grade will depend more on other assessment components such as essays, assignments, and projects. Let’s say a certain component accounting for 8% grade might increase, becoming 20% of your grade.
Also, you won’t be able to slack off and pay little attention to other assessment components since there’s no exam to make up for it. Students will be encouraged to be consistent in their work due to increased standards. This can greatly improve learning.
No Exams Means Stronger Resumes
Graduates of exam-free courses have more to add to their resume, giving them a potentially huge advantage over their peers. Fresh graduates of exam-orientated courses may be able to fill out the education section well. But this usually not true when it comes to demonstrated skills, relevant experience and professional references.
On the other hand, students who never sat for an exam are better prepared to land a job. Aside from university education, they have plenty of projects to refer to, applied industry experience and could have professional referees. By skipping the exams, they can focus more on job-relevant tasks. This gives them career advantages and could prove very helpful in job applications.
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No Cramming Saves Energy and Time
Preparing for exams can be a hassle, especially when you cram. University and college students usually cram the most during their finals and mid-semester exams. Online students won’t need to prepare for the whole exam process at all, saving time and energy.
Career-Relevant Skills are Developed
Exams are very knowledge-oriented, limiting the professors’ ability to develop student skills to a significant extent. To prepare for an exam, students naturally focus only on the parts that may be tested later.
If learning activities are not focused on exams, the teachers can provide more-effective ways to develop the students’ skills. Long-term learning outcomes, instead of short-term knowledge acquisition, can take center stage with the removal of exam culture.
Grade Assessments are Possibly Fairer Without Exams
Most courses have heavy exam weighting but tests don’t measure a student’s skills very well. To ace exams, you need good memorization skills. But employers typically don’t look for these skills in their applicants.
Other assessment tasks such as group projects are more comparable to what happens in professional work settings. These tasks can beat exams in terms of measuring and enhancing students’ abilities.
Why Degrees Without Exams Have a Place at College or University
Technology has come a long way in tertiary education. College students now have the option to finish an entire university program online, without needing to attend lectures or sit for any exams at all.
Aside from saving you time and energy, going for online degrees give many other career-related benefits as well. Graduates of exam-free online courses gain many advantages over their peers, increasing the chances of landing a job greatly.
Kylie Spencer
Online degrees will gain more popularity over the next couple of years or so, especially with the current pandemic still affecting college attendance rates and exams. Projects, being group ones or not, show exactly how someone can apply the knowledge accumulated and this is what we should teach, not mindlessly memorizing facts and numbers just so they can pass an exam.
Jasmine Hewitt
I could see degrees without exams being highly beneficial in the long run, as far as strengthening a skill set.