FAQ E-Exams

If possible, try to clarify this before the examination. Information can be obtained from the Examination Office. The decentralised examination offices are responsible for faculties 1 to 5, the central examination office for faculties 6 to 12 and all student teachers.

In an emergency, contact your teachers directly. Only if this is not possible in time, bring a printout of your registration certificate with you. You will then be re-registered on site - subject to the approval of the Examinations Office or the person responsible for the examinations and if time permits.

Except that you answer your questions on the PC instead of on paper, the procedure is largely the same as a normal written exam. The examination hall will be opened for you approx. 5 minutes before the start. Please store your jacket and bag, including switched-off mobile phones, in the cloakrooms and lockers and look for a free seat with a switched-on PC. Remember to take an official photo ID and a certificate of enrolment with you to your seat. Drinks in closed containers are allowed, all other food is not. You only need your matriculation number to log in. Smart devices, cameras or other recording and playback devices at the seat may be considered an attempt to cheat.

The exam system is very easy to use, no special computer skills are required. You can access an anonymous demo exam on our online platform or watch our tutorial on it. For more complex exams, where e.g. Excel or a programming environment is used, there are usually trial exam dates in the semester.

You can apply to the examinations board ("Prüfungsausschuss") for compensation for disadvantages (academic adjustments). This often includes an extended examination time for written examinations. Technically, this is not a problem, but must be arranged in advance with the exam supervisors and the e-assessment team (adjustment of the supervision time, allocation of a suitable session, activation of the additional time by the administrators). Please note: In most cases, the time extension will run into the changeover to the next round or the follow-up examination. If you would like to interrupt your exam during this unrest phase, please discuss this in advance with your exam supervisors. They can then adjust the supervision time and instruct the ZMML staff to extend the time extension by the relevant break time. Of course, you are not allowed to continue working on the exam during the break (there is no stop button in the software).

Further information:

• Students with visual impairments can use at all workstations the Windows functions for easier operation (screen magnifier, inversion of colors). Contact us to discuss the procedure.
• You are welcome to use your own USB input devices, e.g. a special mouse or a keyboard with larger letters. Unfortunately, Braille keyboards cannot be used with the examination software (LPLUS Teststudio), as a large part of the content is implemented as an image. Please make sure to make an appointment at the test centre about two weeks before the exam so that we can check the correct function together in the test centre. Spontaneous use is not possible due to the limited user rights at the examination stations.
• For the disadvantage compensation "separate room/low stimulus environment", there are different solutions to be agreed with your lecturers. One of these is to use a separate examination place in the admin room next to the testcenter. Please note that at the beginning and end of the examinations, ZMML staff and invigilators are also present here, so absolute quiet and privacy cannot be guaranteed.
• If you need personal assistance, you can of course bring your assistant with you. If required, a workstation is available for your exam in the administration room attached to the test centre by arrangement.
• Access to the test centre is barrier-free, but unfortunately the toilet is not. Alternative facilities are available in the Studierhaus and in the SUUB.

Write to infoprotect me ?!eassessment.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de, so that we can organise the handover.

Viewing appointments are organised by the examiners at the request of the students, not by the ZMML. Viewings in the test centre take place under examination conditions, taking the examination printouts with you is neither permitted nor possible. Attention: Not all viewings take place in the test centre; if necessary, ask your lecturer.

The starting point for the introduction of electronic examinations in 2004 was the goal of relieving teachers in mass study programmes, who were often busy correcting written examinations for several weeks, without sacrificing examination quality through automated correction procedures as well as support in the organisation, execution and evaluation. However, the potential of e-exams goes well beyond economic advantages. In detail, these are:

• Improvement of feedback quality for students, for example through immediate result feedback with automated evaluation, result statistics and weak point analyses.
• Increasing the objectivity of implementation, evaluation and interpretation
• Technical support for web-based post-assessment of (clearly readable) free-text questions in teams
• Progressive quality assurance and improvement of question catalogues through evaluation of student feedback (comment function), result statistics and item analyses
• Expansion of examination didactic possibilities through IT, especially through the integration domain-specific software applications, multimedia elements such as video, audio and simulations as well as the use of complex, digital attachments (e.g. PDF files with case studies, table collections, scripts, etc.)
• Job-related and action-oriented training and examination by integrating subject-specific software or conducting internet research

Attention: Due to the test center load and the insufficient cost/benefit ratio with low student numbers, there is an admission stop for new e-examinations with participant numbers below 50!

The first step is a non-binding consultation with the e-assessment team of the ZMML. We clarify your needs with you, discuss the framework conditions, help you choose the appropriate examination design and draw up a timetable with you until the examination date. The counselling interview and the setting of the examination date should take place at the beginning of the semester, if possible, because planning takes time and the test centre is usually already heavily booked at the end of the semester.

Please write to infoprotect me ?!eassessment.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de, ideally stating the lecture concerned, the expected number of examinees, the duration of the examination and any date requests.

Generally speaking, examinations in the answer-choice procedure in general and e-examinations in particular should be mentioned in the general and subject-specific examination regulations as an admissible form. As with written examinations, some requirements must be met. These include:

• The required competences must be adequately tested.
• The tasks must be clearly identifiable as well as clearly and permanently assigned to the candidates
• Data protection regulations must be observed
• Students must be given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the examination system.
• Examination viewing must be guaranteed and supervised by qualified personnel.
• Assignments, marking schemes, individual examination results and protocols must be archived.

The first point is the responsibility of the examiners, all other requirements can be met without difficulty in the case of e-examinations in Bremen (legal issues in the case of e-examinations). The general Bachelor examination regulations of the University of Bremen have been adapted accordingly.

Very safe! The ZMML has conducted more than 4000 e-examinations so far, none of which had to be cancelled due to technical problems. There have been no examination delays since the test centre went into operation. There has been no loss of data due to technical issues in any of the more than 200.000 examinations so far. Should a computer fail, there are sufficient alternative workstations available, and the constant synchronisation of the entries with the database then allows the examination to be continued immediately at the point where it was interrupted. If there was a loss of time additional time can be granted. By the way, the test centre is not dependent on the campus network but works autonomously. Of course, even we are not immune to power cuts, in which case this exam, like any other, would have to be cancelled for security reasons alone (failure of the alarm system, no light) ;)

It is important to comply with the quality assurance upstream of the audit

Are all questions correctly rendered and scored? Are all settings as desired? Are the question selection and examination time correct? Are all participants correctly registered? To ensure that everything goes smoothly on the day of the exam, we will go through these points with you using our checklists and rely on your help.

And what if a mistake does creep in?

Using the re-assessment options of the software, you can carry out examination-wide or individual re-assessments and, for example, exclude individual questions from the assessment altogether.

Examinations, especially e-examinations, generate a lot of personal and highly sensitive data. Lists of participants, examination results, question catalogues, etc. must not fall into the wrong hands. Even the combination of names and matriculation numbers may only be made accessible to authorised persons. Technically, we counter this by solidly securing the examination servers via exclusive VPN connections and firewalls. Lecturer access to the LPLUS Teststudio for catalogue tests and post-assessments is only granted temporarily and in compliance with password regulations. The exchange of sensitive files between lecturers and the ZMML takes place via a separate, password-protected page, the Testcenter Management Tool (TMT).

However, all these measures can only be as secure as the handling of the access data. Keep them as safe as if they were data for online banking! The discovery of a catalogue of questions can destroy many hours of development work. In any case, refrain from sending such data by e-mail, please use the TMT.

The test centre offers 120 places Experience shows that even if all 120 seats per run were planned for, there will be enough free computers as a reserve.The number of participants influences the probability of passing on questions to subsequent participants. This results in the following possible examination scenarios:

With a very large number of participants, an increased effort for catalogue creation must therefore be expected. However, the repeat examinations also require additional question sets, so that already with 2 to 3 repeat examinations the effort is identical in comparison to direct selection and random selection.

The displays in the test center are equipped with transparent, satin-finished privacy screens (similar to blinders) that prevent a direct view onto the neighboring display. In addition, if there are more than 64 participants (i.e., students sitting directly adjacent to each other), you have the following options:

• The exam can be set so that the questions appear in different order.
• For multiple-choice questions, the order of the answers available for selection can be varied randomly. The more questions that need to be answered, the more difficult it will be for neighbouring candidates to coordinate.
• If more than 2 runs are necessary, you should use A/B versions or have equivalent questions drawn at random from sufficiently large catalogues.

If concept papers are distributed, they must be collected consistently at the end of the examination. Mobile phones and other electronic devices must not be left in place, and the use of programmable calculators must be prohibited if necessary. The workstations in the test centre do not have an internet connection in the default setting, i.e. online communication and internet research are not possible via them.

The best protection against cheating is, as with written examinations, consistent supervision and sanctions for attempted cheating.

Students with disabilities can apply to the examination board for compensation for disadvantages. Compensation for disadvantages includes, for example, an extension of writing time, special aids (e.g. adapted input devices) or writing in a low-noise environment. Important: All compensation for disadvantages must be agreed with you in advance for each examination date; the approval of the PA does not replace the obligation to make prior arrangements. As soon as you are aware of any compensation for disadvantages, please clarify with the ZMML whether and how these can be implemented. Some examples:

• Writing time extensions can be entered by the ZMML in the examination system when the examination is released or alternatively activated after the examination has started. Please bear in mind that there is a lot of restlessness between the sessions, so that this should be compensated for in consultation with the students if necessary.  Your supervision time will be extended accordingly. If your exam has several sessions, it is advisable to assign students with writing time extensions to the first session.
• Windows functions can be used at all workstations to facilitate operation for students with visual impairments (screen magnifier, color inversion, etc.).
• A separate exam station is available in the admin room of the test center. Since this room is also used by the ZMML and the invigilators for the start of the exam and for changing between passes, this is only an insufficiently low-stimulus environment. An alternative is to allow the persons concerned to write in their work area (e.g. in an office). If you do not have a suitable room available, please contact us. The separate examination should then
  • at the same time as the examination in the test center,
  • under supervision and, if possible,
  • on an appropriately secured PC.

We will be happy to assist you in setting up the PC in question (VPN access, installation and setup of a Safe Exam Browser), and a loaner device can be organized if necessary.

Important: You will find a number of hints and tips on how to behave in the event of disadvantage compensation in the test center in our checklist for supervisors.

The right to view exams can also be organized in the test center, apart from individually in the office via the report folder exported as PDF, if there is sufficient demand (>8, max. 120 per run). Please arrange an appointment with us. In the requested period the insight will be activated in the LTS, a personal registration of the students is not necessary.

The procedure is the same as for an exam, except that instead of the "Ready" button during the exam, the report can be called up via a PDF icon. This report can be configured individually for each subject. Possible elements are:

• Cover sheet with percentage result
• Result by subject
• Result overview and
• Exam printout with question, answer, solution, attachments and comments of evaluators. Individual elements such as sample solution, comments and points can be hidden if desired.