Higher education needs to move with the times. Just like the old reason of “you won’t always have a calculator with you” for not allowing a calculator in an exam is outdated, writing essays and reports as assessment is outdated.
The entire system should be built around preparing people for the real world, giving them the knowledge and the skillset to succeed in their chosen field. Determining this by how many formulas, definitions, rules etc they can remember in a test environment does not do that. Asking them to write an essay or a report in their own time doesn’t do that, nor does saying they can’t use all the tools available to do so.
Higher education needs to move with the times. Just like the old reason of “you won’t always have a calculator with you” for not allowing a calculator in an exam is outdated, writing essays and reports as assessment is outdated.
The entire system should be built around preparing people for the real world, giving them the knowledge and the skillset to succeed in their chosen field. Determining this by how many formulas, definitions, rules etc they can remember in a test environment does not do that. Asking them to write an essay or a report in their own time doesn’t do that, nor does saying they can’t use all the tools available to do so.