E-Examinations for Management Students in Oman

During the past few decades there has been an unprecedented revolution in information technology. Technologies have changed the way people live, work and learn. Educational institutions are also adopting the new technologies to enable a better learning. Many institutions are starting to reconsider their traditional methods of student assessment and are considering the viability of conducting web based testing and assessment. Web-based testing (Electronic or online examination) can be offered at different times and in different locations. Thus they offer greater flexibility than the traditional paper and pen examinations. The test questions can be shuffled to have the same pattern and level but different contents. Electronic examination system can also reduce the effort and time required for conducting an examination. The questions used in the e-examination system are usually multiple choice objective tests and quizzes that can be easily evaluated online. This study was conducted on the students of the College of Commerce and Business Administration, Dhofar University, Oman. Students were administered a questionnaire regarding the various aspects of online examination. Data collected was analyzed using statistical techniques. The findings of this study show that students favor e- examination over the traditional examinations. Also there are no significant differences gender-wise regarding the use of e- examination. This study is an exploratory study and will help in understanding the benefits and problems in online examination for Omani students.