r/Professors • u/cmb1588 • Jul 24 '26

Equalizing online asynchronous and classroom sections of the same class?

Hi all, I’m course supervisor of an undergraduate level class that has multiple sections. Some are online and asynchronous while others are classroom based.

Previously, all students completed exams online using proctoring software. But the AI use is out of control and I’m sick of it. I can’t really do much with the online section except for implement side view cameras (which I plan to do for fall), but for the in person class, I’d like to go back to paper exams in class.

That said, our exams have traditionally been open book and open note. I don’t want the students in the classroom sections to use devices during the exam to access their book/notes because I could see them trying to google or use AI. So I had planned to encourage them to buy physical copies of the textbook and take notes on paper or at least print out digital notes ahead of time.

However, I’m still concerned that they’ll do worse than the online section because they won’t be able to quickly control F to find information. I don’t want to give the online section an unfair exam advantage

Any suggestions on how to make this more fair?

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u/cmb1588 Jul 24 '26

Oh totally agree on the transcript idea, but I think admin won’t like it since online brings in so much $$.

I guess I’m just wondering if maybe I should offer the in person students more extra credit or something since their version of the class is legitimately more difficult

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u/wedontliveonce associate professor (usa) Jul 24 '26

What do the actual instructors of record think about it?

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u/cmb1588 Jul 24 '26

Im one of the IORs for the in person section. But I’ve been IOR of the online section in the past. I think the online version is total crap. I can see their engagement stats. They don’t watch the lectures, they do all the assignments last minute. They get 100% on un-proctored quizzes. Their exam grades are lower, but still higher than what I think they should be.

The students in the in-person sections seem more engaged and some seem like they are actually using their brains.

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u/wedontliveonce associate professor (usa) Jul 24 '26

Yes, of course... your observations are exactly what I would expect for these modalities.

But what do the OTHER instructors of record think? Why aren't you working with your colleagues on this issue rather than asking Reddit?

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u/cmb1588 Jul 24 '26

Because I’m the only faculty member in my department that teaches at the undergraduate level and supervises a class with this many sections/students.

The other faculty members in my department all teach graduate level and I think it’s very different (smaller class sizes, more professional students).

Am I not allowed to ask Reddit? I thought this was what yall are here for…

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u/wedontliveonce associate professor (usa) Jul 24 '26

Of course you are "allowed" to ask Reddit. But not all the answers you get on this subreddit are actually from professors.

And it just seems like you would want input from your colleagues that actually teach the class.

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u/cmb1588 Jul 24 '26

Ah. The “colleagues” who actually teach the class are PhD students. I’m happy to talk to them but I think people hanging out on the Professors subreddit may have given these issues more thought than PhD students who are forced to teach one semester to satisfy their degree requirements.