Online exam guidance

About online exams

• Online ('open book') exams

  Online exams will be ‘open book’, meaning you are free to consult your lecture notes, books and other resources (including online content) during the exam itself. It is important, however, to not spend too much time accessing such material instead of answering the questions; time limits will still be applied to your exam sitting.   

  During such exams, the usual rules on academic misconduct apply:  

  • You cannot copy or paraphrase text or material from other sources and present this as your own work.  
  • Your exam answers should be entirely your own work without unacknowledged input from others. If you are in any doubt, you should clearly acknowledge the origin of any material, text passages or ideas presented (e.g. through references).  
  • Plagiarism detection software will be used. There is no need for a separate bibliography or reference list to be added at the end of your script.  
  • You must not co-operate with any other person when completing the exam, which must be entirely your own work. 
  • You must not share any information about the exam with another person (e.g. another student) or act on any such information you may receive. Any attempt to do so will be dealt with under the University’s Policy for Good Academic Practice and may result in severe sanctions. 

  It is imperative that you are aware of the rules governing academic misconduct by familiarising yourself with both the examination policy  and the Good Academic Practice policy. If you are in any doubt what constitutes academic misconduct, contact a member of teaching staff, such as your tutor, module coordinator or your School's Academic Misconduct Officer (AMO) before the exam. 

• Online (’take-home’) long exams

  Some module coordinators have chosen to offer ‘take-home’ style exams, which have a longer duration of up to eight hours.   

  You are not expected to work non-stop for this entire time period. Look after your own wellbeing and find a pattern of work that makes good use of the time available. Plan rest breaks, meals and time away from your computer screens. Do not leave the upload until the very last minute. 

• Exam timing

  Exam papers will be made available via MySaint at the scheduled UK start times (09:30 or 14:00 UK time). No adjustments will be made for students choosing to sit online exams in a different time zone.

  Starting your exam

  The exam paper download will be stamped with the date and time you begin your exam, along with your IP address.  

  The time allocated for completing the exam will start when you hit the download button for the exam paper. The time allocation will take into account those students who have agreed additional time via Student Services.   

  Time will be added to the exam to account for reasonable time it takes to upload the exam answers. Uploads will be stamped with the date and time and students receive a submission receipt by email.

• Online exam platform

  Students are encouraged to view a walkthrough of the exam platform in preparation for their online exams.

  Students are reminded that they must also view the information on the submit exam papers web page as this contains guidance on preparing answers for submission. 

• Extra time and assistive technology

  Approved additional time allowances will still apply to online exams. 

  Approved additional writing time is calculated within your exam duration displayed in your personal timetable. Rest-breaks will be added directly to the online exam within MySaint and included within your duration there. You should ensure you manage your rest-breaks accordingly. 

  You will have an opportunity to view these timings through the dress rehearsals prior to your online exam sitting and before your download the paper on the day of your exam. 

  Additional time may also be added for exam paper download as well as to allow for collation and upload. 

  If you normally make use of assistive technology, you can still do so. If you do not have access to appropriate technology or have any queries about other types of reasonable adjustment for online exams, please contact the Disability Team at Student Services as soon as possible (disability@st-andrews.ac.uk). They will be able to provide further information on what is available to you. 

• Exam procedure 

  Dress rehearsals are available for students to practise upload and submission techniques during revision week(s). The Examinations office will communicate to students when those are available and provide further information. New rehearsal exams are released throughout revision week(s) until two days before scheduled exam day.

  Guidance documents are provided within the rehearsal exams to assist students with the collation and upload techniques required for each scheduled exam. The guidance documents will be where the exam paper will be downloaded on exam day, but all other features within the online platform reflect what students can expect to see on exam day.

  Details of collation and upload responses to exam papers may vary between Schools. For essay-type answers, uploading procedures will be very straightforward (Word document converted to PDF). For more complicated material (graphs, formulae, equations etc.), guidance notes have been provided should students wish to use MS Lens. Students will be able to view the techniques required for their submission through the rehearsals available to them and are encouraged to make use of the rehearsals to practise the relevant technique.  

  Please make sure that your matriculation number and the module code are clearly displayed on every page of your submission (ideally in the header of any Word document). All pages of your submission must be numbered. The filename must also include your matriculation number and module code. 

  If you identify any irregularities in the provision or content of the exam, please complete the exam as best you can. After you have uploaded your exam answers to the portal, and ended your exam, please provide comment(s) within the platform detailing the irregularity for Exam Office and School review. 

  If you accidentally upload an incorrect or an incomplete exam answer file and do not have enough time to replace it, or if there is a technical problem preventing you from uploading to the portal within the time allocated to you, please send the correct file as an email attachment to the emergency email address assessment@st-andrews.ac.uk. Use your St Andrews email account to do this and enter your matriculation number and the module code in the subject line and explain what happened. This file will either be uploaded onto the platform on your behalf or sent onto the School along with details of any issues you encountered. 

• IT and related problems

  Ensure that you have an appropriate space in which to sit your online exam, with a reliable internet connection. If you anticipate that your domestic conditions, for example a noisy household or another user of your computer, will prevent you from being able to focus on completing an exam, please apply for bookable spaces within the University in which to sit the online exam. The Exams Officer will contact students with centrally delivered online exams ahead of the examination diet and provide more information about the booking process. If after exploring this option you still anticipate disruption, please seek advice from Student Services or the Director of Teaching in your Schools as soon as possible.

  Prepare yourself for the exam. Arrange a place where you can work effectively and ensure your IT equipment is working properly and has a reliable power supply. During the exam, please save your work regularly.   

  If you encounter any unforeseen IT or other technical problems during the exam, please contact assessment@st-andrews.ac.uk. 

• Illness and exam deferral

  If you are unable to sit the exam due to ill health, please submit a self-certification as soon as possible through MySaint and communicate with the School directly to discuss options which may be available to you. 

  Exam deferral  

  Schools may consider granting a deferred assessment based on the reasons for your request. 

  Reasons for deferral would be expected to be significant and usually supported by appropriate evidence.  Exams may be deferred until the end of the current examination diet, to the next full examination diet or to the August reassessment diet, at the discretion of the School concerned.