In our faculty, various methods and tools are used to measure and evaluate student success. The assessment system applied in the pre-graduation education at Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry is carried out in accordance with the Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry Education, Teaching, and Examination Regulations. In theoretical exams, our professors can prepare different types of questions, including written, multiple-choice, open-ended, fill-in-the-blank, and matching questions. In our examination system, instructors determine the learning outcomes and write them on the cover page, indicating which learning outcome each question is associated with.
The questions to be asked in exams are determined by the course instructors based on the objectives and goals of the course, taking into account the topic weighting. Exams are structured to cover the learning outcomes and are prepared in line with the objectives and goals of the courses. The education information system is accessible to students as well. Since the learning objectives of each course can be accessed by students, they come to class with knowledge of the learning objectives and progress in a controlled manner.
Practical exams are conducted in the form of professional skill examinations in laboratories and are evaluated using specific methods for each course.
Example: Evaluation form for preclinical examination in Restorative Dentistry
The assessment of clinical training courses can be conducted in theoretical (written and/or oral) and/or practical application formats. Oral exams measure the student’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes through short question-answer format. In the skill exams, students are given patients in the clinic, and their knowledge is assessed through questions at the patient’s chair, followed by an evaluation of the treatment they perform. Each Department has its own assessment criteria for the evaluation of clinical education, which are announced to students at the beginning of the academic year.
In the dental education program, the compulsory theoretical and practical courses offered by the faculty departments are complementary to the previous year and prerequisites for the following year. Passing the prerequisite courses is a requirement for successful completion. Students who fail in prerequisite courses can continue to the next class. These students cannot take the theoretical, practical, and/or clinical courses in the next class that are the continuation of the failed prerequisite course unless they have fulfilled the continuation requirement for the failed theoretical prerequisite course. Attendance in practical and/or clinical courses that are failed prerequisites is mandatory.
Students who receive an FD grade due to absenteeism in common compulsory and elective courses must retake the failed course and attend the class again. Students who receive an FF grade due to failure are required to retake the course without the attendance requirement.
The courses in the first and second years of the program provide students with basic knowledge related to medical and dental fields, while the courses in the third, fourth, and fifth years are mainly aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills, and competencies related to the dental profession. The fourth and fifth years are clinical education years. Therefore, different objectives need to be evaluated with different methods from the early years to the last term of the Dentistry Faculty.
In the preclinical and clinical periods at Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry, exams consist of midterm exams, end-of-semester/year exams, exemption exams, make-up exams, makeup grade improvement exams, and single-course exams. These exams can be conducted in written, oral, or both written and oral and/or practical formats. The relevant articles of Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry Education, Teaching, and Examination Regulations are applied regarding exams and course grades.
Short Exams
Biruni University uses the Biruni Course Preparation System (BirDeHa). In this system, course notes are uploaded to the system one week before the course. Short exams are conducted through the system before the course, with 10 exams for annual courses and 5 exams for semester courses. Two questions are asked in each exam. The purpose of these exams is to ensure that students come prepared and informed about the course topics. The results of BirDeHa exams have a 10% impact on the semester/year-end grade.
Midterm Exams
At least one midterm exam is conducted for each course in each semester. Assessments of assignments, laboratory work, clinic work, and field studies of separate course nature can replace the midterm exam. The date and location of midterm exams are determined and announced by the Dean’s Office at least two weeks before the exam date.
Make-up Exams
Make-up exams are held instead of midterm exams for students who cannot attend exams due to valid and justifiable excuses. Students who are unable to attend midterm exams due to valid excuses must inform the dean’s office in writing within five working days after the end of their excuse. If their excuses are approved by the Dean’s Office, they are given the right to take a make-up exam for each exam they missed. Students whose excuses are not approved will be considered unsuccessful in that exam. If a student obtains the right to take the semester/year-end or makeup exams but does not participate in the exam, a make-up exam will not be held, and medical reports will not be accepted for these exams. Exams cannot be taken during the period covered by the medical report.
End-of-Semester/Year Exams
The final exam of a course is held at the end of the semester/year in which the course is completed. Students who fulfill the attendance requirement and/or complete the compulsory workload are granted the right to take the final exam. Examinations for applied courses can be conducted in an applied manner. Students who do not attend more than 30% of theoretical courses and more than 20% of practical courses and fail to succeed in the practical parts are not admitted to the final exam of that course. However, if the applied course is defined as an independent course from the same-named theoretical course, the evaluation of success is carried out independently for these courses. Exams can be in the form of open-ended, multiple-choice, short-answer questions, and may also include oral or practical components. The final exam, makeup exam, and single-course exam are opened once per year for each course, and no make-up exam is held for these exams.
Make-up Exams
Make-up exams are held for the courses failed in the semester/year. Additionally, students who have a grade of CC in a course may apply for this exam to raise their grades. The grade obtained in the last exam is considered in calculating the final grade. Students who want to take the exam to improve their letter grade must apply through the Student Information System within the announced period in the academic calendar.
Single-Course Exam
The single-course exam is conducted for students who have failed the makeup exam and have failed in only one course at the graduation stage. The grade obtained in this exam replaces the course grade. In order to pass this exam, the student must receive at least a CC grade. Students who fail in the single-course exam are given another opportunity to take the exam within one month after the makeup exams of the following semester/year. A student can only take the single-course exam once in a semester. The single-course exam cannot be taken for a course that has not been previously taken or for a course in which the student has failed due to absenteeism. If students cannot attend the single-course exam despite being granted the right to take the exam, their excuse will not be accepted.
Calculation of Course Achievement Grade
The success status in a course is determined by the course achievement grade. The course achievement grade is set at 60 and is obtained by evaluating the student’s performance during the semester (including quizzes, assignments, practical work, etc.) together with the final or makeup exam. The course achievement grade is calculated by adding 30% of the average score of the midterm exams, 10% of the short exam score, and 60% of the final exam score for theoretical courses. For clinical/practical applied courses, it is calculated by adding 40% of the midterm exam score and 60% of the final exam score. Additionally, students are required to score at least 50 points in the final or makeup exams in order to be considered successful.
For a student to graduate from the Faculty, they must have taken and successfully passed the courses required for graduation according to the education program, completed practical work, internships, and similar activities successfully, and have a graduation weighted grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00. In practical courses, students are responsible for completing the practical work within the designated time frame. The scope and method of practical work are announced to students by the relevant department at the beginning of the academic year/internship period. A student who fails to complete the practical work in accordance with the criteria set by the department will be considered unsuccessful in that practical course. All the information can be found in our exam regulations.
The principles regarding internships and applied courses are as follows:
a) Professional clinical practices are considered as internships in the fourth and fifth grades. In these grades, each clinical practice is considered as a course, and students perform internships in groups in the Faculty clinics according to the principles determined by the Faculty Board. The internship groups and durations are announced to students at the beginning of the academic year.
b) In applied courses, it is mandatory to have at least a CC grade to fulfill the attendance requirement of 80%, complete the applications without any deficiencies, and be considered successful in the course.
Students can file objections regarding exam results individually to the Dean’s Office within 5 working days after the announcement of the results. These objections are reviewed by the respective course responsible faculty members, and if there is a change in the grades, it is evaluated by the Faculty Board and communicated to the Student Affairs Directorate by the Dean’s Office within one week after the announcement of the exam results.
Various and up-to-date assessment methods and tools are used in our Faculty to measure the levels and types of learning objectives of courses/internships.
In our education program prepared under the guidance of DUÇEP, the aim is to provide students with basic knowledge in the first 3 years. Therefore, in the midterm and end-of-semester exams conducted in the first three years, the measurement of students’ cognitive levels is generally targeted. In the first and second grades, exams that primarily measure theoretical knowledge are conducted.
Preclinical Period (Year 1, 2, and 3):
1. Written, multiple-choice exams
2. Practical exams
In addition to theoretical exams in the first and second grades, practical exams are also conducted. Skill exams are performed in laboratories and evaluated using specific methods for each course.
Oral exams assess students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes through patients, patient records, or short question-answer formats. In skill exams, students are evaluated based on the treatment they perform after being given patients in the clinic, and their knowledge is assessed through short answer questions.
Clinical Period (Year 4 and 5):
1. Written exam
2. Practical exam, patient assessment
3. Individual clinical performance
In the 4th and 5th grades, post-internship exams are conducted in the form of written exams, oral exams, and/or professional skill exams. The evaluations of students generally aim to measure their knowledge levels as well as their skill and attitude levels. These exams in the 4th and 5th grades are conducted to determine whether students have met the prerequisites of the respective clinical education before different clinical trainings. For example, when starting the 4th-year clinical training in Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, students are expected to be fully responsible for the content of Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology I, which they took in the 3rd year, and in addition, the content of Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology II, which 5th-year students took in the 4th year. At the beginning of the academic year, all 4th and 5th-year students are informed about general rules and procedures in clinics and hospitals, the use of the patient system, and reminders regarding sterilization and disinfection rules are given.
Additionally, on the first day of internship in each department, 4th-year students are given theoretical information about the functioning of clinical rules by the faculty members. Later, students observe the patient-based applications performed by faculty members at the bedside. During this observation, they are expected to answer short-response questions related to patient-specific diagnosis and treatment methods. The results of midterms, finals, makeup exams, excuses, and single-course exams are delivered to students through the automation system.
The education automation system (BirDeHa) has been used in our Faculty since 2015. Through this system, students can access the current course materials, download them, and provide or receive feedback by accessing the BirDeHa system whenever they want.
During the first week of the academic year, a presentation is made by the Dean in the orientation meeting held for first-year students, covering the Education and Examination Directive. This presentation provides information on exams, types of exams, class promotion, and the evaluation of exams.
Furthermore, at the end of each semester, feedback is obtained from students regarding assessment methods. This enables the teaching staff to familiarize themselves with the evaluation system and contribute to its improvement.
All the information regarding the processes implemented in our Faculty, how they affect student promotion/retention, student rights and responsibilities (objections to exam questions and results, etc.), and the responsibilities of the Faculty, are described in the “Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry Education and Examination Regulations.” This document is published on our website in a way that meets the information needs of teaching staff and students and can be accessed when necessary.
In the preclinical and clinical applied courses offered at Biruni University Faculty of Dentistry, various evaluation criteria have been established and rubrics have been prepared to enable students to objectively evaluate their own work.
Example: Endodontics Preclinical Course Assignment Evaluation Form
These criteria are announced to students through the BirDeHa system at the beginning of the academic year/semester or during theoretical classes. By familiarizing themselves with these criteria, students are expected to be able to evaluate their own assignments and clinical procedures more accurately and identify their mistakes at an early stage. The teaching staff of the relevant courses also adhere to these criteria when conducting assessments.
Within the scope of instructor training at regular intervals, training sessions are organized on assessment and evaluation methods, clinical educational skills, and determining questions and learning objectives. Participation certificates are provided to the instructors attending these sessions.
Furthermore, regular assessment and evaluation training sessions on Medical Education are conducted by faculty members who are experts in the field within the university. This ensures that the knowledge of teaching staff is updated.
Orientation regarding education is provided to every new faculty member who starts working in the Faculty.
