Digitalization and automation in all sectors of the economy have increased the efficiency and effectiveness of various systems and processes. Online technologies are also widely used in the higher education system. Online learning, e-learning, e-learning tools and digital assessments are not innovations in the full sense of the word, but the widespread use of these technologies took place in mid-2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The using the online format of training by universities and schools in the spring of 2020 was mostly spontaneous and forced, but later, due to the complication of the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the world, as well as in order to improve electronic pedagogical technologies in the field of certification of university students, this technology became the subject of consideration by specialists from different industries and, above all, from the field of pedagogy. The authors made attempts to study the main problems of University students passing exams and tests in an online format in order to avoid them in the future, and also developed ways to improve this technology. © 2020 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.