The rapid rise of transformative technologies like Generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping industries and academia across the economy. This shift presents a challenge – and an opportunity – for UK universities in both counts: to ensure graduates are equipped with the skills employers need and prepared for lifelong learning in a fast-changing world whilst protecting the academic value of economics degrees.
The Royal Economic Society (RES), founded in 1890 to promote the study of economics and which has emerged to be the most prominent organisation for professional and academic economists in the UK, has commissioned a new report: Rethinking Economics Assessments for a GenAI World. This report calls for action to uphold the integrity of economics degrees and ensure assessments remain fit for purpose. It recommends aligning with national standards, such as those from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and Degree Apprenticeship Standards, which highlight the value of varied assessment methods – including traditional unseen exams.
However, many universities have moved fully away from in-person, timed, closed-book exams, often replacing them with online assessments. While this shift offers flexibility, such assessments are essentially take-home coursework. Whether they are timed or not, their disproportionate use poses risks to academic integrity, especially within the context of widely accessible GenAI tools. This in turn may undermine the reliability of assessment outcomes. Such assessments add to the breadth of modes of assessments available to the discipline, but should be regarded as complementary to, rather than replacements for, in-person exams.
Economics graduates are expected to apply complex data analysis and quantitative methods to real-world problems. While some skills are best assessed through coursework or projects, some core foundational knowledge may best be assessed in a closed timed environment. Comparable disciplines, such as mathematics, face similar challenges, as noted by the London Mathematical Society, IMA, and Royal Statistical Society. And research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that economics degrees significantly boost employability and lifetime earnings – benefits that depend on maintaining the credibility of the qualification.
The RES supports innovation in teaching and assessment and values a mix of methods tailored to learning outcomes, as laid out in the 2023 QAA Economics Subject Benchmark Statement. But it is concerned about the complete removal of in-person exams by some institutions. For technical subjects, timed and invigilated exams remain a fair and reliable way to assess essential skills as part of a mixed assessment strategy in economics degrees.
That’s why the RES is calling on university leaders and economics departments to use this new report as a guide to protect the full range of assessment tools. This includes ensuring access to in-person, timed, closed-book exams where appropriate. Only by doing so can we continue to deliver high-quality economics education that prepares students for the future – and maintains the integrity of the degree.