E-Exams

E-exams are supervisory examinations whose creation, processing as well as execution and/or assessment are computer-based electronically. They can take place as a face-to-face examination on the premises of the TU or as a distance examination – both in writing electronically by means of an examination system and orally via video conference. The support of the E-Learning group focuses on written e-exams. The Directorate II helps with questions about oral exams. All services in this segment were developed in the context of funding from the "HessenHub" project.

Learn more about the HessenHub project

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General Conditions at the TU Darmstadt

Any written supervisory examination may be conducted electronically on the computer. This means, any written exam may be transformed into an e-exam. A change to the module handbook is not necessary.

E-Examination Statute

E-exams are governed by the Statutes for the Conduct of Electronic Examinations (E-Examination Statutes), which were passed in the Senate for the TU Darmstadt on 14 December 2022.

E-Examination Statute (PDF file) (opens in new tab)

Moodle Exam

A separate Moodle instance is operated at the TU for e-exams. This has server capacities exclusively allocated for exams. The selection of tools is also extended compared to that of the central Moodle learning platform.

https://moodle-exam.tu-darmstadt.de (opens in new tab)

E-exams must be announced to the students at the beginning of the course or at the latest at the beginning of the examination registration period, as well as which technical requirements are associated with them.

Examinees must be able to choose their own device (if allowed) or a computer pool room space or the TU device at least four weeks before the exam.

So plan early! – The e-examination team of the E-Learning group will be glad to support you.

Examiners, supervisory staff and students must bring their TU-ID (opens in new tab), the corresponding password and at least one token for two-factor authentication with them to log in to the Moodle Exam plattform.

Information on the available tokens for two-factor authentication:

For E-Exams in computer pool rooms, on personal devices (“bring your own devices”) in lecture halls, and for “Exam On Demand”, a second factor in the form of a TOTP token (e.g., on a smartphone) must be available on a device you bring with you. The device should be stored muted, with vibration disabled (and if necessary in airplane mode), and with wake functions turned off until the start of the exam working time. This ensures that, in exceptional cases, a token can be retrieved quickly without having to boot up the device and without causing any audible disturbance in the exam room.

If a personal device with a preinstalled Safe Exam Browser is used, locally stored TOTPs via KeepassXC or 2fast cannot be used.

If a TOTP fails shortly before the exam, this must be reported to the supervisors. Measures are in place to ensure that participation in the exam is still possible.

Various solutions for setting up TOTP tokens are listed on the HRZ information website: Setting up two-factor authentication (opens in new tab).

For proctored exams using SMOWL, all available tokens (e.g., WebAuthn) can be used. Smartphones, if used as a TOTP device, are generally only required again as a second camera after successful login at Moodle Exam.

For e-exams held on site at the university under supervision in the premises provided by the TU for this purpose, loaned devices or computer pool rooms must be made available. Likewise, private devices of the examinees can be permitted.

If there are capacity bottlenecks in computer pool rooms and invigilators, which must be available at the same time due to the cohort size, it is also possible to plan several runs for the e-examination.

In the event of failures of private terminals, some loaner devices or computer pool workstations are to be kept available so that these examinations can be completed.

Remote (supervisory) exams can only be offered in addition to the face-to-face examination, so that students can decide which form of examination they would like to take. If possible, they should take place at the same time as the face-to-face examination.

The rules of the E-Examination Statute (PDF file) (opens in new tab) apply to distance examinations. The legal basis for the e-examination statutes is §23 of the Hessian Higher Education Act.

Remote (supervisory) examinations lend themselves to this:

  • if many candidates have long journeys.
  • if the journey is disproportionate, e.g., because of a stay abroad.
  • in the case of admission examinations or entrance examinations for Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes, especially with many foreign applicants.
  • if hardly any rooms are available for the examination.
  • if there are hardly any supervisory staff available at the time of the test.
  • No printouts necessary
  • Tasks can be updated at any time (even in the exam, errors in tasks can still be removed)
  • Less error rate in the calculation of points – no more reading, offsetting, changing of points in various tables necessary
  • Assessment work is location-independent
  • better readability due to typewritten reply texts
  • Automatic evaluation can be implemented in many tasks
  • Task generation possible
  • Use of subject-specific software feasible, as well as research or limited research for application-related tasks

Our Service

Please contact us for:

  • counselling and, depending on capacity, supervision in the overall process for the preparation and implementation of a written e-exam.
  • Moodle course template that already provides the framework for conducting an e-exam on Moodle Exam.
  • technical application support for the use of assignment types on Moodle Exam and support in converting/transforming traditional paper assignments into digital assignment formats.
  • training on request on the topics of task design, automated assessments, and the latest news on conducting e-exams at the TU Darmstadt.
  • if necessary, communication with computer pool room operators within the departments at the TU.
  • equipment rental & power supply if required.

In the previous semester or in the first four weeks of the current lecture period:

Preliminary discussion with the E-Learning group.

With or before the start of the exam registration period:

Exam candidates are informed about the upcoming e-exam (including technical requirements).

Four weeks before the exam:

Examinees choose their mode of examination (own device, computer pool room, loan device, request for remote proctoring if necessary, etc.).

Three weeks before the exam:

Examination papers are ready.

One week before the exam:

  • Logged out test takers are set to inactive for the final time.
  • Space and supervision are finally planned.
  • Test runs are completed.

For remote proctored exams, SMOWL is currently used, which makes recordings with markers in the video streams of the webcam and the desktop recording.

For e-exams on-site, the Safe Exam Browser is usually used or SMOWL with presence settings.

If students do not have examination-ready devices for e-exams, these can be borrowed on a limited basis from the E-Learning group via the examiners.

The majority of these devices consist of Microsoft Surface Pro tablets with Intel Core i5 processors with an associated Surface Pen and a USB keyboard. Additional display port interfaces can be used if required via an additional USB-C hub that can be borrowed.

If you want to offer an e-exam on-site at the university, please note that only a limited number of lecture halls at the TU Darmstadt offer a full build-out with power sockets for all intended exam locations. These include rooms L4|02 1+2, L4|02 201, L4|02 202, S105/122, S3|06 51, S3|06 52, S3|06 53 and S2|08 171, which offer a total of approximately 390 examination places.

Examiners book these rooms themselves with their respective study offices. The E-Learning group also offers the possibility of equipping other lecture halls with power distributors on examination day. This coordination is carried out in a preliminary discussion with the examiners upon request.

You can also get further support here:

Question Types

Information and examples of possible question types for e-exams on Moodle Exam

Moodle Demo Course

For students & instructors: try out and get to know e-exams

Directorate II

For questions about oral exams or matters relating to examination law

HDA: Higher Education Didactic Counselling

For questions about the didactic content of the tasks