BOEX Standards & Policies

– Standards applicable to closed-book assessment sessions

– Guidelines for closed-book exam supervisors

– Standards for Online Bhakti Sastri and Bhakti Vaibhava Degree Assessment

– Policy on Cheating and Penalties

• Students should approach the closed-book assessment in a mood of loving devotional service to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada without a spirit of false competition, enviousness, or the desire for prestige.
• No notes, computers, cell phones, student handbooks or sastric texts may be accessed during the closed-book assessment. Computers and cell phones must be turned off at all times.
• Students found to be accessing notes, computers, cell phones, student handbooks, sastric texts, or communicating in any way with others during the closed-book assessment, will be subject to penalty according to the policies established by the ISKCON Board of Examinations in the accompanying document, “Policy on Cheating and Penalties”.
• Students may consult dictionaries during the closed-book assessment.
• Students for whom the language of the exam is not their native language may be allowed extra time.

• Photocopied exam papers must be kept strictly confidential before the exam.
• Arrange seating in such a way that there is sufficient distance between students to ensure that students cannot view each others’ papers.
• Display the Standards Applicable to Closed-Book Assessment Sessions and the Policy on Cheating and Penalties in the classroom well in advance of the assessment session and review them with the students before commencing.
• Before beginning, remind students to approach the exam in a mood of devotion.
• Students may consult dictionaries during the exam. Randomly check dictionaries being used for any concealed notes.
• Ensure that a supervisor is present during the entire exam session. The supervisor must vigilantly ensure that Standards Applicable to Closed-Book Assessment Sessions are maintained.
• The supervisor may take questions from the students, but only to clarify any questions on the paper.
• All question papers must be collected and not taken away by students, and then destroyed. A single copy may be retained under lock and key in the permanent files of the center.

Hearing and Study Requirements

The number of students participating in online classes should not exceed 24.

• Total hours of live streaming and recorded classes, and private study, must be within
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 100 to 200 hours.
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 400 to 600 hours
• Real time interactions in the form of online discussion, break-out groups, question and answer sessions, and personal tutoring must be within
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 30 to 150 hours.
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 100 to 400 hours

Assessment Minimum Requirements

• Closed book short answer questions
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 60 Questions
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 200 Questions

• Closed book short essay questions
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 2500 Words
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 10000 Words
• Open book essays
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 5000 Words
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 20000 Words
• Presentations
  i. Bhakti-vaibhava: 4 Presentations of 45-60 Mins
• Slokas for Memorization
  i. Bhakti-sastri: 45 Verses
  ii. Bhakti-vaibhava: 70 Verses

Facilitators should issue Questions and Presentation Topics from the BOEX Bhakti-sastri & Bhakti-vaibhava degree question banks.

Closed Book and Sloka Assessment Options

1. Individual students, or student groups in a local area, may arrange for a responsible devotee to invigilate the closed book assessments. The invigilator supervises the assessment within the specified time, wherein students cannot consult books or devices, or each other. The invigilator sends scanned copies of the completed papers to the facilitator.
2. The facilitator can conduct oral examinations of individual students via live-streaming video.
3. Facilitators can directly observe a candidate via two live-streaming cameras, providing view of both the student and the student’s screen. The facilitator would then send the question paper to the candidate, to be visible on the student’s screen. The student would write answers with pen and paper and submit a scanned copy of the completed paper to the facilitator.
4. Facilitators can arrange to directly observe a candidate via live-streaming camera together with the use of software such as Google Classroom that guarantees that the computer user cannot switch windows until the completed paper is submitted to the facilitator. The facilitator would then send the question paper to the candidate to be filled up on the student’s screen.

Oral Presentation Assessment Options

1. The student gives the presentations live in view of the facilitator on Zoom/ Skype/ Webbed, etc., followed by questions and answers.
2. The student video-records the presentation and uploads the unedited video file, with a question and answer session on a subsequent call.
3. The student gives presentations at an appropriate location in the presence of the facilitator or a qualified assessor, followed by questions and answers.

It is recommended that wherever possible the other students in the class also hear the presentations and participate in the question and answer sessions.

Note: If due to current Covid-19 pandemic conditions it is necessary for existing classroom-based programs to complete the course online, then the relevant portions of the above shall be applicable. Alternatively, closed book exams and presentations for such programs may be postponed until appropriate circumstances are available whereby assessments can be conducted according to the existing BOEX guidelines for on-site assessment.

Type of Cheating	Category of Offense	Penalty for First Offense	Penalty for Second Offense
Open Book Assessment Paraphrasing significant material from another student’s / author’s paper	One	▪ Rewrite specific papers ▪ 20 percentage points marks reduction on open book grade for unit. ▪ Submission of an additional essay based on the bhakti sastras on the topic of integrity and honesty as a quality of a vaisnava.	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Record of cheating to be made available to all approved examination centers.
Open Book Assessment Copying verbatim from another student’s / author’s paper	One	▪ Rewrite specific papers ▪ 25 percentage points marks reduction on open book grade for unit. ▪ Submission of an additional essay based on the bhakti sastras on the topic of integrity and honesty as a quality of a vaisnava	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Record of cheating to be made available to all approved examination centers.
Closed Book Assessment Communicating with another student during a closed book test (signaling / whispering)	One	▪ Sit for another closed book test ▪ 20 percentage points marks reduction on closed book grade for unit. ▪ Submission of an additional essay based on the bhakti sastras on the topic of integrity and honesty as a quality of a vaisnava.	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Record of cheating to be made available to all approved examination centers.
Closed Book Assessment Passing notes between students during closed book test	Two	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Record of cheating to be made available to all approved examination centers.	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Banned from participating in Board of Examinations-approved programs.
Closed Book Assessment Smuggling notes or electronic devices into closed book test	Two	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Record of cheating to be made available to all approved examination centers. ▪ Five year ban on participating in Board of Examinations-approved programs	▪ Expelled from course ▪ Banned from participating in Board of Examinations-approved programs.