Submitting answers for online exams

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• Accessing and downloading your online exam papers

   To start the exam and access your exam papers:

  1. Access MySaint
  2. Select the Sign in link in the top right of the MySaint home page.
  3. Sign in using your University username and password.
  4. Select My courses from the navigation panel on the left of MySaint (select the three lined hamburger icon in top left to open the navigation if it is closed).
     If the My courses link is not appearing, select the Student link at the top of the navigation panel to open the student options.
  5. Locate the appropriate module in the My modules portlet.
  6. Select on the Online Exam link under the module.
  7. Read the instructions available at the top of the page, including the download time, your exam allowance, any extra time you may be entitled to, and the upload allowance. If you have any issues or concerns contact assessment@st-andrews.ac.uk.
  8. Select the checkbox to confirm you want to start the exam, and to activate the start button.
  9. Select the Start exam button. 
  10. Countdown timers are provided to indicate how long you have left:
      • in total
      • to download the paper and prepare for the exam
      • to complete the paper
      • to submit your submission
  11. The exam papers are in the Exam Papers section. 
  12. Select the links to download the paper(s) and any additional documents.
  13. The papers and additional documents will download to your Downloads folder. Open the papers and ensure you can read the questions and additional information.
  14. You can close the exam platform, or leave it open, depending on preference. Be aware that if you close the exam platform you will be required to keep track of the time via another mechanism.

• Internet connectivity concerns

  If you encounter frequent internet issues, please liaise with your internet provider ahead of your scheduled exam to see if there’s anything you can do within your home to improve your wifi signal. You may also find our troubleshooting guide available on the IT Services blog useful. For more help, contact the IT Service Desk.   

  Try and work offline where possible. If you need to type any answers, opt to use the Word desktop app rather than the online version.   

  If you have sufficient data allowances, use your mobile as a hotspot. If you have worked mostly offline, you’ll only need the internet to download your exam papers (and possibly files from OneDrive) and upload your answers to MySaint. See the following guides for information on setting up a hotspot:   

  • Apple
  • Android

  For other providers, check their websites to see if you can use your mobile for this.   

  If you have a mobile plan with a limited amount of data, using your phone as a personal hotspot means that any data used for this will be taken from your monthly data allowance.

  If you think your internet connection is not reliable enough to download exam papers or upload your answers, contact your School and the Exams office in advance to discuss alternative arrangements. 

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• Preparing typed answers for submission

  Technologies you will need 

  • Microsoft Word  

  If you don’t have Microsoft Word, you can install it for free with your student login.   

  If there isn’t enough space on your device to download it, you can also use Word Online. Find Word Online by signing into Microsoft 365 and selecting ‘Word.’    

  If you’re worried about your internet and you don’t have enough mobile data to hotspot, you may use an alternative word processor if it’s already installed.  

  You will be required to upload your work as a PDF. If you don’t know how to do this, read the ‘Export to PDF’ guide in advance.   

  Preparing your answers for upload

  1. Additional collation and submission time of 15 minutes will be allocated in addition to your exam duration.
  2. Open Word. 
  3. If you are working offline, save your answers regularly. 
  4. Once you’re finished, select File > Export > Create PDF and save it to your computer. If you’re using Word Online, select File > Save As > Download as PDF. 

• Preparing handwritten answers for submission

  Students must keep their handwritten answers safe until after exam results are published. 

  Technologies you will need 

  • Office Lens 
  • OneDrive for Business  

  Office Lens

  Download Office Lens to your phone. Office Lens is a mobile application which uses the camera on your smartphone as a portable scanner. This means you can scan your handwritten pages straight to your University OneDrive as a single PDF.  See the following guides:   

  • Android
  • Apple

  Note that Microsoft are withdrawing Lens for Windows 10. Please download and use the latest version of Office Lens for iOS or Office Lens for Android on mobile devices.

  If you don’t have a smartphone, photographs of your exam answers taken through other means, such as a digital camera or scanner, will still be accepted. This also includes photos taken with the camera built into your laptop using Photo Booth (Apple) or Camera app (Microsoft).

  The University recommend Office Lens to upload images as PDFs for exams, however, you may have more experience using a different scanning app such as the Windows Camera app. You are free to use whichever, though the University can only provide technical support for Office Lens. 

  OneDrive for Business 

  To retrieve your document and submit it to be marked, you’ll need to sign into your OneDrive for Business at your computer. Make sure you’re able to sign in using your University email address and download files from OneDrive for Business to your computer.   

  In advance of your exam, try and create a PDF file in Office Lens and download it from OneDrive. In addition, try and upload a large PDF file to see how long this may take. Contact the IT Service Desk if you have any issues.   

  Preparing your answers for upload 

  1. Additional collation and submission time of 45 minutes will be allocated in addition to your exam duration.
  2. Once you’ve finished writing your exam answers, open the Office Lens app on your phone.  
  3. Fit the red square which appears on the screen around your first A4 piece of paper and take a photo. 
  4. For a clearer image: 
     • Dim the lights so no shadows are cast 
     • Turn the flash on within the Office app 
     • Tap the screen to focus the camera before taking the photo 
  5. Once you take the photo, it will appear as an image. 
  6. Select Add new and do the same for your second piece of paper. Repeat for all of your answers, just make sure they’re in the right order. 
  7. When you’ve taken photos of every piece of paper, select Done. 
  8. Select PDF then Save. 
  9. This will save the PDF to a folder in your OneDrive called ‘Office Lens.’ 
  10. Go to your computer and sign into OneDrive for Business. 
  11. Open the 'Office Lens' folder and download the PDF to your computer. 

• Preparing both typed and handwritten answers for submission

  Technologies you will need

  • Microsoft Word  
  • Word Mobile app  
  • OneDrive for Business 

  Microsoft Word

  If you don’t have Microsoft Word, you can  install it for free with your student login.  

  If there isn’t enough space on your device to download it, you can also use Word Online. Find Word Online by signing into Microsoft 365 and selecting ‘Word.’    

  If you’re worried about your internet and you don’t have enough mobile data to hotspot, you may use an alternative word processor if you have one already installed. 

  Word mobile app

  You will also need to download Word to your phone. The Word app allows you to scan paper documents using your phone and insert the images into an existing Word document. If you’re prompted to link the Word app to an account, use your University email address. 

  If you don’t have a smartphone, photographs of your exam answers taken through other means, such as a digital camera or scanner, will still be accepted. Just ensure your answers are submitted as a single PDF file.

  OneDrive for Business 

  You’ll also need to use OneDrive for Business on your computer during your exam. Make sure you’re able to:   

  • sign in using your University email address   
  • upload files to OneDrive if you’re working in the Word desktop app   
  • edit Word documents online if you can’t download the Word desktop app and need to use Word online (just opening the document from your OneDrive should open Word online)   
  • download files from OneDrive to your computer   
  • export Word files as a PDF.

  In advance of your exam, try and create a Word document online and insert a scanned image of a paper document in the Word mobile app. Contact the IT Service Desk if you have any issues.   

  Preparing your answers for upload

  1. Additional collation and submission time of 45 minutes will be allocated in addition to your exam duration.
  2. Once you're finished, upload your answers which you've written in Microsoft Word to OneDrive.
  3. Open the Word app on your phone.
  4. Select and open the document containing your answers.
  5. Select Edit, this might appear as a pencil icon.
  6. Place your cursor to the point in the document where a handwritten question should start.
  7. Home > Insert > Pictures > Camera.
  8. Select 'Document' and fit the red square which appears on the screen around your piece of paper. For a clearer image:
  • Dim the lights so no shadows are cast
  • Turn the flash on within the Office app
  • Tap the screen to focus the camera before taking the photo
  9. Repeat steps 5-7 until all of your handwritten answers are inserted into your document.
  10. Return to your computer and open your OneDrive document in Microsoft Word.
  11. Select File > Export > Create PDF and save it to your computer. If you’re using Word Online, select File > Save As > Download as PDF.

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• Uploading exam scripts

  To upload your exam script:

  1. Access the Online exam tool again if you have navigated away from this or closed your browser by following the guidance in Accessing and downloading your online exam papers. 
  2. The submission is made using the online exam platform.
  3. (Optional) Some schools may ask you to indicate which optional questions you have answered. If your online exam is configured to allow this, you will have a section labelled Questions answered. Select the optional questions you have answered by ticking the checkbox next to the question. It will save automatically.
  4. Select the Browse button.
  5. Select the file.
  6. Select the Upload button.

  Ending the exam

  The platform includes an 'end my exam function' and once you have uploaded your submission within the online exam tool you should:

  • Select the checkbox to confirm you want to end the exam
  • Select the End exam button
  • A comments section will appear should you need to leave any comments about irregularity for that particular exam sitting

• Upload deadlines and late submission

  Exam answers must be uploaded by the end of the allotted examination and uploading time. Students submitting later than this must still upload their work (either to the upload portal or, if this is not possible, email assessment@st-andrews.ac.uk) and provide reasons for the delay in upload.

  Students will not be penalised should they provide good reasons for the delay in uploading.

  If a student fails to provide a reason, Schools will email the student reminding them that they need to do this for late upload, and asking them to explaining their reasons for the late upload.

  The exams of students who fail to provide a good reason for the late submission will be considered void and the students will be awarded a grade of 0X by the module board.