COVID-19 and Final (State) Examination: Strategies of International and Russian Universities

COVID-19 pandemic has changed the functioning of all levels of education systems. Schools and universities had to quickly adapt and change their procedures according to conditions created by the epidemic. Long perceived as additional and backup solutions, different distance learning technologies, particularly internet-based, became the main solution for the continuation of education on all levels. Several issues have stood out particularly with this seismic change – one of those is the issue of final examinations in universities. This issue is especially crucial in Russia, where the successful passing of a state final examination, which combines majority of the topics from the study program, is a prerequisite for graduation. This paper aims to analyze and present different strategies which were used for final university examinations in different countries and universities of the world and compare it with the Russian practices.