Abstract

We present oPESA, an online examination management system for exam-hall seating arrangement. oPESA is a platform built on PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery and SQL. It is an open platform which can be accessed only by registered users, i.e., professors and students. Professors provide as input course details like title, examination date and room; additional input, like predetermined lists of students or list of constraints regarding the seating plan, can also be given. Students simply register for course examinations by providing their student ID as input. Whenever a student registers for an examination, oPESA immediately responds by automatically assigning an exam-hall seat to the student. Seat assignment is performed by an unbiased algorithm ensuring randomness and fairness. Results appear online but can also be downloaded and saved locally in .xls format. oPESA follows a responsive web design which allows it to automatically resize, hide, shrink or enlarge in order to look good on all devices (desktop computers, tablets, smartphones). oPESA suggests a very useful management tool for modern - highly-populated - higher education institutes which significantly facilitates the examination management process offering clarity and efficiency. Furthermore, oPESA could be also used for more general seat allocation purposes in the context of scientific, social and cultural events.

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