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Yousri Cherif, Clara Sayffaerth, Francesco Chiossi, Laura Schütz
Stress by Design? The Influence of Online Exam Interfaces on Student Anxiety
In Proceedings of the 2025 Mensch und Computer 2025. ACM. Chemnitz, Germany. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1145/3743049.3748538 (bib)

Online exams gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be used in various educational contexts. This study investigates how university students and instructors perceive online assessments, with a focus on stress and interface design. Two online surveys were conducted: one targeting students (N = 65) and the other targeting instructors (N = 9). The fndings reveal a preference for paper-based examinations among both participant groups. Around 72% of the students found online exam platforms easy to use and visually comfortable. However, 30% of the students reported that the interface design did impact their performance negatively. One-third of the students reported experiencing anxiety before and during online exams. Factors contributing to reducing stress included the ability to familiarize oneself with the exam platform beforehand and having simpler, uncluttered visuals. The surveys provide valuable insights from both students and instructors, ofering guidance on points of improvement regarding the design of online examination platforms.