Expertiza

Overview

Expertiza is an academic assignment and peer-assessment application for instructors who want students to review one another’s work. It suits courses built around feedback on varied submissions, but manual review allocation adds instructor work. Its focused assessment workflow and self-hosting option are useful; the Moodle connection needs administrator involvement.

Instructors can create and deploy assignments, while students submit work, review assignments, form teams, and sign up for topics. The project describes use in selected NC State courses and by professors at other colleges and universities. Expertiza is open source under the MIT license.

For more options, see our Peer Assessment Software list.

Key features

Assignment and review workflow

Submissions can include almost any document type, as well as URLs and wiki pages. That makes Expertiza suitable for courses assessing more than conventional written papers. Rubric scoring and moderation tools support structured review and oversight. Reviewer anonymity is one-way, so it should not be treated as a promise of mutual anonymity.

Review allocation is manual. Instructors retain control over who reviews what, but must handle that work themselves; courses needing automatic distribution may be better served elsewhere.

Moodle connection

Expertiza can launch assignments from Moodle through LTI and pass grades back to the Moodle gradebook for assignments launched that way. Setup requires a Moodle administrator to register and activate Expertiza as an external tool provider. A 2024 project description says its initial single sign-on implementation was LTI 1.1 and recommends considering LTI 1.3 for stronger security. That implementation did not include deadline or course-grade synchronization, so Moodle users should not assume those workflows are covered.

The project also describes a generic synchronization interface intended for LMS platforms such as Blackboard or Canvas. The documented Moodle grade pass-back is the clearest described workflow; institutions considering another LMS should account for integration setup and scope.

Hosting and support resources

The repository documents local operation and use of an NC State VCL image prepared with the needed environment. Deployment and development guides cover production, virtual machines, Ubuntu/Debian, macOS, and RHEL Linux. Developers should have a JVM installed because Expertiza has a Java dependency. The project also links security guidelines, instructor and student manuals, presentations, and videos, and invites contributions through GitHub pull requests.

No security certification or compliance standard is stated, so organizations with a formal compliance requirement should verify suitability before adopting it.

Pricing

Expertiza is free and open source under the MIT license. There are no commercial subscription plans or published commercial prices. The practical cost is therefore not a per-seat or per-course fee, but the work of hosting and administering the application, including the manual review allocation and any LMS setup. That model suits institutions able to manage their own deployment; buyers seeking a priced, vendor-managed service should compare other options.

Platforms

Expertiza supports Linux, macOS, web access, and self-hosting. The development documentation names Ubuntu/Debian, macOS, and RHEL Linux, and the repository describes local setup and production deployment. This gives technically capable institutions flexibility over deployment, while requiring more operational responsibility than a web-only hosted option.

Who it's for

Expertiza is best suited to instructors and institutions that want students to assess academic work through structured assignments, rubrics, and moderation. Its broad submission support is useful for courses involving articles, code, websites, or other learning objects. It is a less natural fit for instructors who need automatic review assignment, a turnkey Moodle connection, or documented deadline and course-grade synchronization.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Flexible submissions: Support for varied document types, URLs, and wiki pages accommodates assignments beyond standard papers.
• Structured peer assessment: Rubric scoring and moderation tools give instructors ways to shape and oversee student review.
• Open-source deployment options: The MIT license and documented self-hosting paths let institutions run and adapt the software within their own environment.
• Moodle grade pass-back: Grades can move to the Moodle gradebook for assignments launched through the integration.

Cons

• Manual review allocation: Instructors must manage reviewer assignment, which can become an operational burden across many students or rounds.
• Administrator-dependent Moodle setup: A Moodle administrator must register and activate Expertiza as an external tool provider.
• Integration scope has limits: The described initial LTI 1.1 implementation lacks deadline and course-grade synchronization, and points toward LTI 1.3 as a more secure option.
• Self-hosting calls for technical capacity: Deployment guidance and a Java/JVM dependency make this a less direct choice for teams seeking a managed product.

Alternatives

ComPAIR is another free option for teams looking for a self-hosted or web-based peer-assessment tool.

CrowdGrader is worth comparing when web access and a free instructor-sponsored assignment for up to 20 students fit the course; its student-supported assignment plan is priced at 1.99 USD per year, billed every six months.

Eli Review may suit instructors who want free instructor access with unlimited courses and all platform features, while student access has paid term options.

Kritik360 is an alternative for professors seeking free educator access that includes account and course activation, instructional design, and ongoing support; its student-facing access has a paid option.

Peerceptiv may fit institutions seeking campus-wide subscriptions with unrestricted campus use, an administrator dashboard, and a custom API, though its subscription pricing is by inquiry.

Marka is another freemium web-based option.

Student Peer Review is another freemium web-based option.

PeerEvals is another free web-based alternative.

Verdict

Choose Expertiza if your course needs flexible assignment submissions, structured peer assessment, and the option to self-host without paying a commercial subscription. Its strongest case is the combination of instructor assignment tools, rubrics, moderation, and Moodle grade pass-back. Look elsewhere if manual review allocation or administrator-led LMS setup would hinder adoption, or if your institution requires a more fully specified LMS workflow or formal security compliance.