Bring Your Own Device in Performance Assessments
On this page you will find all the information for lecturers on the topic of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in performance assessments. An overview of the mandatory Bring Your Own Device policy at ETH Zurich and further information on this topic can be found on the BYOD overview page.
The introduction of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) opens up new possibilities for the design of performance assessments.
If you would like to carry out a BYOD performance assessment, please read all the information on this information page carefully and contact the BYOD advisory team in case you need assistance: byod@ethz.ch
Designing digital performance assessments
Incorporating personal laptops into teaching and performance assessments offers many opportunities and presents some challenges. For example, a digital exam can simplify collaboration between examiners when creating, conducting and correcting exams and make these processes more efficient
When planning teaching and assessment, consider how you can align your learning objectives, teaching with BYOD and BYOD performance assessments.
When formulating learning objectives with regard to digital specialist practice, define which digital specialist practices (e.g. programming, statistical evaluations, online research, CAD and writing texts) are directly or implicitly part of them. Determine how these digital specialist practices can be authentically tested on a computer in a performance assessment.
Identify these digital specialist practices and the required software in the Course Catalogue in the catalogue data for your course.
Please note the applicable ETH regulations on performance assessments, data protection and compliance.
It must be possible to carry out all compulsory courses, exercises and performance assessments with the minimum configuration recommended to students. Any additional capacities must be provided by lecturers.
You are free to choose the examination scenario (e.g. closed book or open book) and the examination system (e.g. Moodle), provided that both comply with the applicable external page ETH regulations and directives on performance assessments. ETH Zurich provides a BYOD standard setup.
Make sure that the necessary information is provided correctly and in good time in the Course Catalogue.
Implement technical (e.g. Safe Exam Browser, screen proctoring, etc.), organisational (student ID check, exam supervision, sufficient distancing, etc.) and didactic measures (e.g. transfer tasks) to ensure that dishonest behaviour in the examination can be effectively prevented.
Plan the distance between exam seats is the same way you do for paper exams, according to the exam office’s recommendations, and observe the following security instructions.
ETH Zurich recommends a setup with Exam Moodle and Safe Exam Browser. Lecturers whose application for a BYOD performance assessment has been approved can independently create the exam course for the current semester in the Exam Moodle using the new ‘BYOD examinations’ function under ‘Exam scheduling’ in eDoz.
Individual PDF documents with a file size of up to 50 MB (recommended max. 25 MB) can be uploaded directly to Moodle and linked in the exam.
Detailed instructions are available for the standard setup:
Instructions for BYOD performance assessments with SEB and Moodle for lecturers
Instructions for BYOD performance assessments with SEB and Moodle for students
Please forward the manual for students to your students early on.
The Safe Exam Browser is used to technically secure the exam order to create fair conditions for all students in the examination and to prevent access to undesired resources, such as websites, software programs, files or system functions.
For BYOD performance assessments carried out in the ETH standard setup, replacement devices can be obtained in the HG building in the Zentrum campus and in the HIL building on the Hönggerberg campus. These instructions provide information on how to reserve, pick up and handle these replacement devices.
If this recommended standard setup does not cover your needs – e.g. because third-party applications an open-book scenario with extensive document collections are needed – it is possible to apply for a digital exam on ETH computers.
Please note the following time windows during which certain services will be temporarily unavailable due to important maintenance work or updates. Do not schedule any BYOD performance assessments that rely on these services during these periods.
In rare cases, unplanned, operationally necessary maintenance work on Moodle must be carried out. This work is scheduled outside of lecture times, if possible, and announced with a banner in Moodle.
Autumn Semester
Maintenance replacement devices:
• HG @ Campus Zentrum: KW 43/44
• HIL @ Campus Hönggerberg: KW 45
Maintenance Exam Moodle:
• KW 41 Tuesday – Thursday*
• KW 43 Thursday – Friday
• KW 44 Thursday – Friday
• KW 50 Wednesday, 19:30–21:30
*The maintenance work will take place on one day during this week. The final date will be announced in advance with a banner on the exam Moodle.
Maintenance Course Moodle:
• Tuesday, 4. February 2025, 18:00–22:00 (HS24)
• Wednesday, 12. February 2025, 18:00–20:00 (HS24)
• Wednesday, 8. October 2025, 18:00–20:00 (HS25)
• Wednesday, 10. December 2025, 18:00–20:00 (HS25)
Spring Semester
Maintenance replacement devices:
• HG @ Campus Zentrum: KW 17
• HIL @ Campus Hönggerberg: KW 18
Maintenance Exam Moodle:
• KW 7 Wednesday, 19:30–21:30
• KW 14 Tuesday – Thursday*
• KW 15 Tuesday – Thursday*
• KW 16 Wednesday, 19:30–21:30
• KW 17 Thursday – Friday
• KW 18 Thursday – Friday
• KW 24 Wednesday, 19:30–21:30
• KW 33 Wednesday, 19:30–21:30
*The maintenance work will take place on one day during these two weeks. The final date will be announced in advance with a banner on the exam Moodle.
Maintenance Course Moodle:
• Wednesday, 16. April 2025, 18:00–20:00
• Wednesday, 11. June 2025, 18:00–20:00
• Tuesday, 12. August 2025, 18:00–22:00
BYOD performance assessments must be carried out under supervision on ETH Zurich premises. Plan the distance between exam seats is the same way you do for paper exams, according to the exam office’s recommendations.
BYOD session examinations will be scheduled by the Examinations Office of Academic Services in a suitable location.
We recommend scheduling BYOD semester performances and BYOD end-of-semester examinations in the HG building on the Zentrum campus or in the HIL building on the Hönggerberg campus, as replacement devices are available there.
Many lecture halls, seminar rooms, laboratories or work areas do not currently have enough sockets to supply all seats with electricity. Instruct students to attend the exam with a fully charged battery. Students can also voluntarily bring a power bank as a backup battery.
Instructions on how to connect to the WLAN and further information about the WLAN can be found here.
For the successful implementation of a BYOD performance assessment, test the technical examination setting in detail with the students in advance, e.g. by means of mock examinations or exercises that are carried out in the examination setup, and explicitly prepare the students for the examination format during the course, for example with the help of formative questions.
See RefreshTeaching (07.05.2024) Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): Opportunities and Challenges for experience reports on BYOD in teaching and in performance assessments.
FAQ
BYOD performance assessments are written examinations that you (as a lecturer) conduct independently on student laptops on ETH Zurich premises with supervision. Akin to paper examinations, you are responsible for the contents of the examination, as well as for conducting, supervising, correcting, viewing and archiving the examination.
In the introductory phase of BYOD, an application must be submitted in order to conduct a BYOD performance assessment. Academic Services will check whether a BYOD performance assessment in your course is currently possible based on regulations and capacities.
Due to the gradual introduction of the mandatory BYOD policy for students starting a new degree programme, there will still be cohorts that are not subject to it in the coming years. If you wish to conduct a BYOD performance assessment, you must therefore ensure that all your students are subject to the mandatory BYOD policy. Otherwise, you must obtain the explicit, individual consent of any student who is not subject to the mandatory BYOD policy and, if necessary, provide them with replacement devices that meet the recommended minimum configuration.
Performance assessments that are conducted as a BYOD performance assessments must be clearly labelled as such in the Course Catalogue (VVZ). In the introductory phase, this is done centrally and is part of the processing of your application.
It can be assumed that students have the basic equipment of a web browser and word processing programme. If additional software is required for your course, you must enter this information in the catalogue data in the Course Catalogue.
The information must be available in the Course Catalogue at the beginning of the semester.
You are free to choose the examination scenario (e.g. closed book or open book) and the examination system (e.g. Moodle), provided that both comply with the applicable external page ETH regulations and directives on performance assessments.
It must be possible for students to carry out all compulsory courses, exercises and performance assessments with the minimum configuration recommended to students. Any additional capacities must be provided by lecturers.
Detailed instructions are available for the recommended setup with Moodle, SEB and SEB-Server, which facilitate a smooth examination process:
Instructions for BYOD performance assessments with SEB and Moodle for lecturers
Instructions for BYOD performance assessments with SEB and Moodle for students
We recommend you carry out several trial runs of your examination set-up with your students during the semester. Mock examinations, formative tests or exercises are suitable for this, preferably well in advance of the actual examination date.
BYOD performance assessments with Moodle and any associated mock examinations take place on the Moodle examination instance. A new examination course is created each semester.
After your application has been approved, you can independently create the exam course for the current semester in the Exam Moodle using the new ‘BYOD examinations’ function under ‘Exam scheduling’ in eDoz.
Please note the maintenance time windows during which the Moodle services are temporarily unavailable due to important maintenance work and updates.
It is currently not possible to integrate Polybox into BYOD performance assessments. In the recommended standard setup, individual PDF documents can be uploaded directly to Moodle and linked in the exam. To do this, closely follow the instructions for lecturers and students as well as these instructions. Make sure that the document opens in a new window and that the documents are uploaded to the examination course. The recommended file size of 25 MB must not be exceeded and the maximum file size of 50 MB must not be exceeded under any circumstances.
In order to create fair conditions for all students in the examination and to prevent access to undesired resources, such as websites, software programs, files or system functions, we recommend securing the examination using external page Safe Exam Browser (SEB) and SEB Server or other suitable software systems. Please note that conducting an examination under fair conditions is a process consisting of several components. SEB and other software systems offer additional technical security, but in no way replace on-site examination supervision.
You can find detailed information about SEB and SEB Server on the external page Safe Exam Browser Website. The BYOD advisory team can provide further information on this: byod@ethz.ch
There is a contingent of replacement devices that are configured for the standard setup. These are available in the HIL building on the Hönggerberg campus and in the HG building in the Zentrum campus. These instructions provide information on how to reserve, pick up and handle these replacement devices.
Please note the maintenance time windows during which the replacement devices are temporarily unavailable due to important maintenance work.
BYOD performance assessments take place on ETH premises under supervision.
- We recommend scheduling BYOD semester performances and BYOD end-of-semester examinations in the HG building on the Zentrum campus or in the HIL building on the Hönggerberg campus, as replacement devices are available there.
- BYOD session examinations will be scheduled by the Examinations Office of Academic Services in a suitable location.
Plan the distance between exam seats is the same way you do for paper exams, according to the exam office’s recommendations.
Instruct students to attend the exam with a fully charged battery. The recommended minimum requirement for student laptops states that the battery life for standard applications, such as word processing and web browsing, must be at least seven hours. Students can also voluntarily bring a power bank as a backup battery. A solution for equipping the premises with socket towers for BYOD session examinations is in the works for the HS 2024 examination session.
Instructions on how to connect to the WLAN and further information about the WLAN can be found here.
BYOD performance assessments are subject to the same regulations regarding backup and archiving as paper-based performance assessments. You must keep the marked and graded examination for two years. To do this, you create a backup copy, which you keep for two years in compliance with the data protection guidelines. You must then delete the data after two years.
The procedure for creating a backup of BYOD performance assessments with Moodle is documented as part of this guide.
Students have the right to review their marked and graded BYOD performance assessment in accordance with ETH regulations.
The procedure for reviewing BYOD performance assessments with Moodle is documented as part of this guide.
Well ahead of time, find out about the applicable regulations on this website and submit an application. Carry out several trial runs of your examination set-up with your students during the semester. Mock examinations, formative tests or exercises are suitable for this. It is best to do this well in advance of the actual examination date.
In the event of a device malfunction or similar technical complications that cannot be resolved, it is recommended to have replacement devices available for students as a backup plan. Make sure to check available options well ahead of time. On the day of the exam, allow students 15 to 30 minutes preparation time for taking their seats, starting their laptops and logging into the exam system. Only start the exam when all students are ready. In the event of persistent problems, the following procedure may help: (1) restarting the exam browser or exam software, (2) restarting the entire device, and finally (3) switching to a replacement device.
If problems occur during the exam, you can proceed as described above. Also make a note of the time at which the problem was reported and when the problem has been resolved. You can then credit the lost exam time individually to the affected student(s).
Detailed information on the procedure can be found in the instructions for BYOD performance assessments with SEB and Moodle for lecturers.
If you have any questions about BYOD performance assessments, please contact the BYOD advisory team: byod@ethz.ch
We are currently working on establishing service structures for BYOD performance assessments.
All ETH regulations apply, as well as Swiss law (in particular regarding data storage), which must be complied with - among others:
- Download ETH Zurich Ordinance on Performance Assessments (PDF, 352 KB)
- Download ETH Zurich Ordinance on Performance Assessments: Implementation stipulations determined by the Rector (PDF, 352 KB)
- Download Directive – Viewing and transfer of performance assessment records (PDF, 86 KB)
- ETH-Data protection regulations
- ETH-Compliance guide
- ETH-Compliance guide teaching
- Download Directive mandatory BYOD policy HS2024 (PDF, 22 KB)
The central coordination of the BYOD initiative is carried out by the BYOD advisory team consisting of employees from Educational IT Services (EduIT), Academic Services (AkD) and the Unit for Teaching and Learning (UTL). If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the e-mail address below directly.