Examinations have always been an essential part of university education and form the foundation for a successful degree. Depending on the department, the size of the student cohort, and the general conditions, different types of examinations are offered and handled. At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), there is a wide range of possible examination formats that can be used for assessment according to the specifications of the General Examination Regulations (APSO). These range from written examinations and oral examinations to practical examinations in sports or drawing (§11 of the General Examination Regulations of the TUM).

Fundamental to almost all university examinations is that students rarely have the choice of selecting their favorite examination format. As a rule, the chosen examination format is based on the respective statutes of the university, or the form of examination specified in the corresponding module description (Art. 84, BayHIG). For us in the examination team of ProLehre at TUM, it was therefore completely unclear which examination format the students would choose if they had the choice among different options. Is there a particular "favorite exam format" that most TUM students prefer? Has there been a change in the favorite examination format in the course of the pandemic?

By combining numerous evaluation results from several hundred individually evaluated examinations, we have now been able to gain an initial impression of which examination variant(s) is (are) particularly desirable for students at TUM or whether there are clear priorities for a particular examination format.

The findings were collected during the six semesters from summer term 2020 to winter term 2022/23 in different digital examination scenarios through supplementary evaluation questionnaires. The questionnaires were – despite different exam types, different departments, and different cohort sizes - very similar each time, i.e. there were some identical core questions and several questions about the specific exam type in each case.

A common core question in all questionnaires was the question about the favorite exam type. Here, students had the choice between a traditional paper exam in the lecture hall, an e-exam in the PC pool, an e-exam in the lecture hall on their own device, and an e-exam at home. Which favorite form of exam did different cohorts of students ultimately choose in different exams during and after the Corona pandemic?

In our presentation, we first summarize existing evidence of preferred exam formats among students. After an overview of the examination formats offered at TUM, the evaluation instrument of the study is presented, and the most important core questions of the evaluation are identified. The main focus of the contribution is the presentation and explanation of the results of the survey on the favorite examination format, which were compiled over several years. The changes during the Corona pandemic are shown, as well as the influence of the examination scenario itself, within which the evaluation is conducted.

Does the selection of the favorite scenario, depend on whether a student has completed an exam in a lecture hall, or when students are surveyed at home after an online examination?

Get these and many other interesting insights in our article! 😉

Keywords: Forms of examination, evaluation, favorite examination.