In-Class Exam Procedures
All students:
At least one business day preceding an exam, the exam length and professor’s instructions regarding the type of access students will have during the exam will be updated in EPMS. The exam type, or exam mode, will determine access to notes, outlines, and other materials located on hard drives and/or the Internet. Depending on exam instructions, students may be required to print materials including notes and outlines in advance. The exam type, or exam mode, will determine access to notes, outlines and other materials located on hard drives and/or the Internet. Depending on exam instructions students may be required to print materials including notes and outlines in advance.
Each student is assigned a unique Exam Number, each semester. You must have your Exam Number with you for all exams and you can obtain it from the Exam Paper Management System.
Students may complete in-class exams by submitting a handwritten response or by using a personal laptop.
Handwritten exam answers must be recorded in an exam booklet provided by an exam proctor. Students should plan to ask the proctor for an exam booklet before the exam begins.
Students completing exams by laptop:
Students cannot use more than one laptop in an in-class exam. Additional electronic devices are not permitted. Electronic translation dictionaries must be approved by the Office of the Registrar. Calculators are permitted if specified in the exam instructions.
Read the Exam4 instructions and materials on the “General Exam Information” webpage. We strongly encourage you to attend an Exam Information Session.
Download the Exam4 Software Application to the computer on which you plan to take your exam(s) at least 48 hours prior to the administration of your first exam of the semester. The Exam4 software should be downloaded once per academic term, even if you are scheduled to take an exam in separate time periods (e.g. the October take-home exam period and the December exam period).
Practice exams are strongly encouraged. Students should run the practice exam in multiple exam modes especially CLOSED mode to confirm that Exam4 is compatible with your exam laptop. You can take an unlimited number of practice tests. Please utilize your exam number to take your practice exams. Do NOT wait until the day of the exam to take your practice test. You will not be able to retrieve the content of your practice exam.
If you have any technical problems or questions that arise during your practice test, contact Exam4 User Support via www.exam4.com/support.
On Exam Day
It is important that you arrive on time.
Late Arrival: A student who arrives late to an in-class examination may not enter the room once the proctor has placed the “Examination in Progress” sign on the exam room door. If a student arrives and the sign is on the door, the student must immediately proceed to the Office of the Registrar’s table, located in the atrium on the 2nd Floor of McDonough Hall for assistance. The student has the following options: (i.) The Registrar will advise the student of the right to take the examination during the remaining scheduled examination time with no grade penalty and, if that option is selected, escort the student to the examination room; (ii.) If the remaining time is insufficient to complete the examination, or the student chooses to reschedule the examination, the student will be treated under section 2 of the Late Arrivals and Missed Examinations policy in the Georgetown Law Student Handbook.
Room Assignments: The room locations will be posted 30 minutes prior to the start of the exams on the Registrar’s website and on TV monitors on the 2nd Floor of McDonough, the Cafeteria, and Sport & Fitness Lobby.
Seating Arrangement: Students are required to sit in every other seat during an exam.
In-Class Exam Announcement: The Exam Video Announcement will play in all exam rooms at the designated times and will provide additional exam administration information. If the exam video fails to play, the proctor will read the Exam Announcement aloud. Please click here for the video transcript: Text
Questions: All questions should be directed to the proctors. Students may not communicate with other students during the exam. If you believe there is an error, inconsistency, or omission in the exam, please state your assumptions about the issue within your discussion of that issue. No clarifications or corrections will be provided.
Exam Materials: Students are not permitted to remove any exam materials from the room during the exam or bring in any additional materials once the signal to begin the exam has been given. You may leave the exam room for short periods of time, but you will not be given extra time for absences. The use of external scratch paper is prohibited. Any notes taken during the exam should be on the exam itself or on the scratch paper handed out by the proctors. These materials will be collected at the end of the exam.
Emergency Procedures: If the fire alarm sounds, you must exit the building immediately. Leave all exam materials in the classroom. Laptop users may take their computers with them but they must close them and may not reopen them until instructed. The proctor will stop the exam and write the time of the interruption on the board. You may not discuss the exam during the emergency. The proctor will add the lost time as a result of the emergency to the exam end time.
NOTE: If a problem arises during the administration of an in-class exam, such as the sudden onset of an illness or a computer malfunction, please notify the proctor immediately and follow the proctor’s instructions.
A student who fails to comply with his or her obligations during the administration of an exam may be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
After the Exam
Once an exam is submitted for grading, no requests to add or revise a word or character count will be accepted. No amendments or supplements will be permitted or accepted.
Exams at the Law Center are graded on an anonymous basis. The Student Disciplinary Code provides that the “unauthorized breach of anonymity in connection with a blind-graded examination” is a disciplinary violation. DO NOT reveal your identity as the author of an examination in your answers themselves, in any communications with the professor, or otherwise discuss the substance of the exam with your professor(s) or with any other student from the time the exam is first administered until after grades are published.
Reminders
- Official time will be kept by the exam proctors. The proctors will start the exam; maintain a record of the official time; provide exam-specific instructions; and give verbal 5 minute and 2 minute warnings before calling time at the end of the exam.
- Calculators may be used during exams only if a professor has specifically authorized their use. Because laptop usage may be restricted, students are strongly advised to have a separate calculator rather than relying upon one installed on a laptop. Likewise, a cellphone or mobile device may not be used in lieu of a calculator. Students may not share calculators or any other exam materials.
- Cell Phones must be turned off completely and placed out of sight; they may not be used as calculators or time pieces during the exam.
- Translation Dictionaries may be used during open book, closed book, and limited material exams by students for whom English is a second language. The device must be approved by Office of the Registrar staff prior to the exam. Because laptop usage is often restricted, students are strongly advised to have a separate electronic translation dictionary rather than relying upon one installed on a laptop. Students may not share translation dictionaries or any other exam materials.
- Earplugs are provided for your exam and you may use earplugs to block out sound, but you may not use any headphones, ear pieces or other devices that produce sound. If you are utilizing your own earplugs please ensure that they are visible to the proctors and not plugged into any device.