We built Online Exams to make assessment feel simple for the person creating it and serious for the person taking it. To solve the problem of unauthorized access without adding heavy, complicated login portals, we encourage educators to use Verified Student Lists.
This feature gives you a clear, lightweight way to ensure only your enrolled students can take your exams, all while keeping the experience completely account-free.
A simpler setup for educators
For educators, the setup is as frictionless as always. Open Students on your exam and paste your class list: a column of email addresses copied straight out of Moodle, a spreadsheet or an email. Save it, and the exam is open only to the students on it.
When class time arrives, you start the exam and project the QR code on the board. You don’t need to manage complex student accounts or troubleshoot login issues. The platform handles the heavy lifting in the background.
The student experience
This feature focuses deeply on the student experience. Assessment should measure learning, not technical patience, so we built the verification process to be calm, fast, and intuitive.
When you present the QR code on the board, students simply scan it with their phones, tablets, or laptops. Instead of immediately jumping into the questions, they are prompted to enter their name and email address. Behind the scenes, our server instantly checks if that email exists on your approved roster.
If the email is approved, the system automatically sends a secure, 4-digit One-Time Passcode (OTP) directly to their inbox. The student simply checks their email, types those four digits into the screen, and submits. The system verifies the code, confirms their approval, and the exam instantly unlocks so they can begin.
It is a seamless, focused workflow. There are no passwords to remember, no accounts to create, and no confusing navigation. The student sees exactly what is expected of them, enters the code, and gets straight to work.
What happens when access is denied
Transparency is one of our core product principles, and that applies to access control. If a student enters an email that is not on your approved list, or if they try to use a forwarded QR code from a friend, the system politely blocks access.
They will see a clear, non-technical message explaining that the exam is restricted to enrolled students. They are prompted to double-check their email address or contact you. This prevents unauthorized participants from accessing the exam content, while keeping the interaction respectful and clear.
If you would rather let a student in who isn’t on the list, switch on Allow students not on the list. They still confirm their email with a code, and they are marked External in Responses, so you always know who sat the exam from outside your roster.
Honest, transparent security
We believe educators deserve security controls they can understand, not promises no platform can guarantee.
Verified Student Lists and the 4-digit email OTP ensure that only approved email addresses can access the exam. This effectively stops casual link-sharing and keeps outsiders from participating.
However, we want to be transparent about what this feature does not do. Matching an email and verifying an OTP proves that an approved email address is being used, but it does not biometrically verify the physical person holding the device.
Better access, without the friction
Our mission is to make fair, trustworthy assessment simple for every educator and accessible to every student. Verified Student Lists prove that you can have secure, intentional access control without burdening your classroom with complicated software.
We invite you to try this new feature in your next lecture or tutorial, and experience how easy it is to ensure the right students are taking the right exam.