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Industry: Higher Education (Medical School)
Institution: Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul (USCS) – School of Medicine
Role: Prof. Tales Lyra de Oliveira, Professor of Human Physiology and Supervisor of the Functional Practices Laboratory
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
As medical schools increasingly adopt digital assessments, maintaining academic integrity at scale has become both a technological and institutional challenge.
At the Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul (USCS), one of Brazil's municipal public universities, the School of Medicine conducts thousands of assessments each year for large student cohorts. Ensuring fairness, reliability, and transparency in this environment requires more than just basic online forms.
In this interview, Professor Tales Lyra de Oliveira explains how USCS enhanced exam security, reduced faculty stress, and strengthened academic integrity by using Quilgo.
An Interview with Prof. Tales Lyra de Oliveira
Quilgo: Could you introduce your role and how assessments are managed at USCS?
Prof. Tales: I have been a professor at the School of Medicine at USCS for six years. I teach Human Physiology and serve as the Supervisor of the Functional Practices Laboratory, which includes Biochemistry, Physiology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Pharmacology.
In addition to teaching, I coordinate assessments. This involves developing exam questions in Physiology, compiling and integrating questions prepared by my colleagues, and organising the structure and logistics of examinations to ensure academic quality and standardisation.
Quilgo: Can you tell us more about USCS as an institution?
Prof. Tales: USCS is a municipal public university that operates as a non-profit, autonomous institution. While faculty salaries are funded by the City Hall of São Caetano do Sul, students pay tuition fees that are significantly lower than those at private universities. This model enables us to maintain high academic standards while ensuring broader access to medical education.
Our Medical School admits 66 students each semester. With a six-year program and two campuses, we currently serve a total of 1,584 medical students: 792 at the São Caetano do Sul campus and 792 at the São Paulo campus. This scale requires a highly structured, standardised assessment process.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, digital examinations have become central to our academic workflow. Many of our exams feature image-based questions in subjects such as Anatomy, Radiology, and Pathology. Administering these exams digitally ensures high-resolution image quality and reduces paper usage, supporting our sustainability goals.
Quilgo: What were the biggest challenges before adopting Quilgo?
Prof. Tales: Before using Quilgo, we primarily relied on Google Forms for online assessments. While Google Forms was flexible and easy to use, it lacked the necessary monitoring and access control mechanisms for high-stakes medical exams.
Over time, students became increasingly adept at circumventing supervision. Professors found themselves walking behind students’ screens during exams, which created stress for both faculty and students.
We were particularly concerned about issues such as:
- Access to external search engines
- Use of AI tools
- Opening additional browser tabs
- The presence of unauthorised devices, such as smartphones or smartwatches
Without automated monitoring, maintaining exam integrity required constant manual oversight.
Quilgo: Why was it particularly important for a public university in Brazil to find the right solution?
Prof. Tales: As a municipal public university, any technological adoption must demonstrate clear cost-effectiveness and institutional value.
In Brazil, exchange rates make international software subscriptions more costly. Additionally, all technology purchases must comply with public procurement laws, including competitive bidding requirements.
Adopting Quilgo required both technical justification and economic viability. We needed to demonstrate a measurable institutional impact before wider implementation.
Quilgo: What specific outcomes were you seeking in a solution?
Prof. Tales: Our goal was to enhance exam security in Google Forms while reducing faculty fatigue during supervision. Additionally, we needed objective documentation for suspected misconduct cases. In the past, when students denied inappropriate behaviour, we lacked formal evidence to support our evaluation decisions.
Quilgo provided us with the following features:
- Automated monitoring
- Screen capture documentation
- Access restriction capabilities
- Transparent activity reports
This combination of security, efficiency, and accountability effectively met our requirements.
Quilgo: What made Quilgo stand out?
Prof. Tales: Quilgo integrates directly with Google Forms, functioning as a seamless extension without requiring a separate, complex system. Since faculty were already familiar with Google Forms, the adoption process was fast and intuitive.
The platform also supports conducting simultaneous exams, which is crucial for managing multiple cohorts. Additionally, the onboarding process was smooth, and technical support was responsive whenever it was needed.
Quilgo: Which features have been most impactful?
Prof. Tales: The ability to restrict access to other browser tabs or external programs is particularly valuable. This significantly reduces the risk of academic misconduct involving AI tools or online searches.The built-in timer helps manage exam sessions clearly.
Most importantly, individual activity reports and automated screenshots provide documented evidence when reviewing suspicious cases.With Quilgo, supervision has shifted from constant manual monitoring to structured oversight. Faculty now focus primarily on ensuring that students are not using unauthorised physical devices, while digital activity is automatically recorded.
Quilgo: How has your testing process changed since adopting Quilgo?
Prof. Tales: Our assessment process has greatly improved in terms of security and reliability. In the past, supervision relied heavily on manual monitoring, which was intense and physically demanding. Professors had to move around the room, constantly checking screens.
Today, automated monitoring provides structured oversight. The exam environment has become more organised, calmer, and significantly less stressful for faculty.
Importantly, Quilgo’s impact is strongest in strengthening academic integrity rather than accelerating grading speed.
Quilgo: How widely is Quilgo used today, and what does your assessment volume look like?
Prof. Tales: Each discipline administers one cognitive assessment per month. Currently, three disciplines within the Medical School actively use Quilgo.
As a result, we conduct between 9 and 15 assessments per month on the platform, including both cognitive and formative evaluations. This number is expected to increase as adoption expands.
Quilgo: Have you noticed improvements in academic integrity?
Prof. Tales: Yes. Quilgo has enabled us to identify cases of misconduct and present objective evidence, including recorded screenshots, when necessary.
This documentation is essential not only for discussions with students but also when reporting cases to the Medical School administration. The availability of verifiable data strengthens accountability and ensures that evaluation decisions are supported by clear evidence.
As a result, our assessment process has become more ethical, transparent, secure, and reliable.
Quilgo: What broader impact has Quilgo had at USCS?
Prof. Tales: Quilgo has strengthened trust among faculty and students alike. The examination environment is now more structured and professionally managed.
By reinforcing transparency and security, the platform directly supports our institutional commitment to academic integrity and quality assurance in medical education.
Quilgo: How do you see Quilgo evolving at USCS?
Prof. Tales: At present, adoption is concentrated within the Medical School, but interest from other disciplines continues to grow.
Our goal is for Quilgo to become the primary monitoring platform for Google Forms exams across USCS. Expanding its implementation would:
- Standardise digital assessment procedures
- Enhance academic integrity university-wide
- Support environmental sustainability by reducing paper usage
As digital assessment becomes increasingly central to our academic model, having a reliable monitoring solution will be critical for long-term institutional development.
Final Thoughts
Quilgo: How would you describe Quilgo in one sentence?
“Quilgo brings security, transparency, and confidence to online assessments.”
For USCS, digital transformation is not merely about adopting new tools - it is about preserving academic standards at scale.
By combining structured digital monitoring with established academic workflows, Quilgo helps ensure that medical education assessments remain fair, evidence-based, and aligned with the ethical responsibilities of future healthcare professionals.
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