Student and staff perspectives of open-book versus closed-book assessments – a case study from an undergraduate biology course

Following the global pandemic in 2020, programmes were forced to abandon traditional closed-book end of unit exams in exam-halls and adopt an unfamiliar style of end of unit examination: open-book assessments. This study set out to evaluate student and staff perceptions and experiences of open-book assessments. A mixed method interpretivist approach was used via a survey which included closed Likert scale and binomial questions as well as open ended text-based questions. Following quantitative and thematic analysis we found open book assessments improved student perceptions of deep learning, improved self-regulated learning, increased wellbeing through being a less stressful experience. However, such assessments also highlighted the misalignment of values between staff and students within assessments. Overall, the majority (89.7% of year 2 and 88.2% of year 3 students surveyed) of students preferred open-book assessments compared to traditional exams. This evaluation has proved invaluable in terms of informing our future practice, and the pandemic experience has transformed our programmes for the better, with opportunities for greater inclusivity, stress management and deeper, more self-regulated learning for students. We recommend programme leaders consider including open book assessment in their courses in the future.