> The exams will be proctored and in person. If someone is using a digital device it will be obvious enough.
This is only true if the proctors really care and are paying close attention the entire time, which unfortunately, from what I've seen, isn't the case most of the time.
Note that now students can cheat using smart glasses, so proctors have to check glasses for cameras which isn't trivial. Are your proctors doing this?
Also when students are caught cheating, most of the time there are no serious repercussions. There are too many disincentives in place to prevent professors from holding students accountable. It's tough when the institution has a philosophy that all students should graduate and any student failing is a failing of the institution.
I think this cheating epidemic is one of the hardest problems I know about and I'm extremely skeptical of any single "simple" solution (including pen and paper).
It's a cultural problem, a values misalignment problem, it's a social problem, it's an incentive system problem, it's a technical problem, it's an ease of cheating, benefit of cheating, downside of getting caught balance problem.
My theory is that any sustainable solution will have several components and require significant cultural, economic and social support on behalf of the institution, and no institution I know of seems ready to lean into it yet. From what I've seen most institutions downplay how bad it is and some even to so far as hide evidence of it.