Attitudes and Satisfaction of Medical Sciences Students with Electronic Exams at Birjand University of Medical Sciences

 Assessing student attitudes and satisfaction with electronic exams (e-exams) is crucial to evaluating e-learning.

 This study aimed to evaluate students' attitudes and satisfaction regarding e-exams during COVID-19.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 620 volunteer students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS), who were selected based on random sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with three sections of demographic information, attitude (including six dimensions and 19 questions), and satisfaction (including nine dimensions and 19 questions). A 5-point Likert scale was used for scoring, and the data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient at the significant level of 0.05.

 In this study, 620 students (56% women and 44% men) participated from June to September 2020. The mean age was 21.97 ± 3.27, and the mean students' attitude and satisfaction score was 59.18 ± 7.99 and 65.73 ± 10.05, respectively. The mean attitude and satisfaction scores by gender were not significantly different. The mean attitude and satisfaction scores regarding academic semester (P-values = 0.001 and 0.019, respectively), faculty (P-values = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively) and degree (P-values < 0.001 and = 0.006, respectively) were significantly different. A positive and significant correlation was found between students' attitudes and students' satisfaction, as well as between students' age and attitudes.

 According to the results, overall attitude and satisfaction were excellent and above average. Better attitudes toward e-exams were associated with a higher satisfaction level. E-exam validity and reliability concerns should be addressed in order to improve students' attitudes.