Remote graduate exams - love them or hate them?

[waterboy]

We're trying to have a system-wide debate on whether to allow fully/partially remote qualifying and comprehensive exams as well as MS and PhD defenses. This would include allowing the student to be remote and/or the committee to be remote. Opinion seems strongly divided so I'm curious on the wisdom of the fora. Yea or nay?

[arcturus]

We are old-school and have a common written qualifying exam (covers core courses) for our PhD students. During the pandemic, we did allow the students to take the exam remotely.  It involved pre-addressed FedEx envelopes and complete trust that the students would start/end at the appropriate time (and not use reference texts, etc). We have not chosen to continue this option now that our University acts as if there is no virus, since the mechanics of getting the exam to the students, and its return, were messy.

Our PhD defenses have always consisted of a presentation followed by questions from the committee (sometimes questions during the presentation). Thus, these transitioned smoothly to zoom. I think it is better in person - easier to see the body language of the other committee members - but I expect that we will continue to allow remote defenses in the future.

[Puget]

Our defenses are currently hybrid -- candidate is in the room, but part of the committee is often on zoom (almost always the outside member, unless they are from the metro area), as well as part of the audience. This generally works well, besides some inevitable technical glitches here and there. A nice bonus is that the candidate's family and friends from anywhere in the world can watch on zoom.

We do not do quals or comps.

[EdnaMode]

My qualifying exams were, in essence, remote nearly 20 years ago. The questions were established by my committee based on my coursework and additional readings the committee had assigned. The chair emailed the questions to me, let's say at 5:00 PM on Monday, and I had until 5:00 PM on Wednesday to email back to the entire committee a document with all the questions answered - I was even given a limited number of pages and as we know, writing concisely is often more difficult than expounding on everything we think we know. I was allowed to use reference materials but it was on my honor that I would not consult another person. At some point the following week I met with the entire committee in person and they grilled me (I mean discussed) the answers I'd given and also asked follow-up questions. My dissertation defense was me being questioned in person by the committee after giving a general overview of the results of my research, no big presentation involved, think I just talked from a note card, no PowerPoint or overheads (they were still a thing back then). Both my qualifying exam follow up and my defense could, I suppose, been done via Zoom but I prefer doing things in person, easier to get a read on the crowd.

[mythbuster]

We just voted at our last committee meeting to go back to in person defenses as much as possible. We will certainly use Zoom to add in the occasional off campus committee member etc. We will definitely be returning to in person oral qualifying exams, as few students could effectively use the whiteboard function in Zoom to help diagram out their answers to experimental design questions.

I'm sure that remote will happen more often than it did before, but only when there is a good reason for it.

[OneMoreYear]

We have maintained virtual quals and thesis/dissertation defense meetings.
The quals have certainly required some significant adaptation for virtual. One of the quals is an all-day affair, and it is nice for that everyone can be in their own space, and that we do not have to locate a large room that can be booked for an entire day.
One of the quals and the thesis/dissertation meetings require an outside member, and being virtual has allowed membership on the committee from people anywhere in the country and internationally. It also has made scheduling easier, as faculty do not need to be on campus, as most of us have days when we are off-site.
This has, however, led to requests for meeting times that I don't think I would have received if we were in-person. No, I do not want to start your dissertation defense at 5:30pm on a Friday, even if I can do the meeting from my couch.

[Caracal]

My qualifying exams were, in essence, remote nearly 20 years ago. The questions were established by my committee based on my coursework and additional readings the committee had assigned. The chair emailed the questions to me, let's say at 5:00 PM on Monday, and I had until 5:00 PM on Wednesday to email back to the entire committee a document with all the questions answered - I was even given a limited number of pages and as we know, writing concisely is often more difficult than expounding on everything we think we know. I was allowed to use reference materials but it was on my honor that I would not consult another person. At some point the following week I met with the entire committee in person and they grilled me (I mean discussed) the answers I'd given and also asked follow-up questions. My dissertation defense was me being questioned in person by the committee after giving a general overview of the results of my research, no big presentation involved, think I just talked from a note card, no PowerPoint or overheads (they were still a thing back then). Both my qualifying exam follow up and my defense could, I suppose, been done via Zoom but I prefer doing things in person, easier to get a read on the crowd.

Yeah, same for me.

[artalot]

If they are written exams, I see no reason why they can't be remote. I had a friend who flew in from another country to take them. That's just silly, especially in this day and age. Given what we've been hearing, and what many probably experienced, regarding PhD stipends, I think allowing students to leave campus to take jobs, live somewhere cheaper, etc. and complete their exams remotely is going to be the future. 
If you're worried about cheating, I think there are lots of ways around that. Email the questions at 8 am; require answers received by 5 pm and no later. Why can't the exams be open note, as it were? I use notes when teaching and doing research; no one actually expects academics to be able to talk at length on underwater basket weaving, complete with citations, without notes. Plus, we all know that open note exams are a misnomer: you never have time to consult your notes regarding every point, only to check a few specific things.
My defense was partially virtual - we phone conferenced in a well-known scholar at another uni who had agreed to serve on my committee. There was no need for her to fly across the country for a 1 hour conversation. I see why people might resist a fully virtual defense. Having actual conversations can be hard via zoom. But I feel like it could be allowed for students living away from campus.

[Harlow2]

Our defenses have been virtual for 3 years.  I was initially resistant when we began discussing this possibility 5 years ago because our tech was so unreliable.  But our IRT folks made huge strides in the first six months of the pandemic, and it works well now.

[Kate]

If you're worried about cheating, I think there are lots of ways around that. Email the questions at 8 am; require answers received by 5 pm and no later.

At our department, we tried different methods during covid and had lots of cheating cases. For example, some senior students have been solving problems for the current students.

[fizzycist]

My default is in person unless someone needs special accomodations (eg someone is sick or committee member lives in another state).

These exams are major life events and the culmination of years of hard work--theres something to be said for having them in real life in person.

[Parasaurolophus]

My PhD program now allows Zoom defences. I think it's great--it allows for a larger audience, and it also allows them to invite the external examiner (who, before, merely submitted a list of questions which your advisor select from and would pose to you). (My PhD program didn't offer external examiners an honorarium or travel to the defence.) It also facilitates summer defences, since faculty don't have to block off time when they're at home and not travelling. Plus, by the end of the program most grads have moved away somewhere else, where they're working. It's easier all around.