The following rules apply to supervised written exams, whether they are conducted during the end of semester exam period or during the semester. The information provided here is a summary of the rules; for full details please consult the Directive and Ordinance on exams in the Polylex (Lex 2.6.1 and 2.6.0.1).
Planning
The teacher responsible for the course is also responsible for personally supervising the preparation of the examination. This includes making sure that confidentiality is maintained during all phases of the assessment development procedure. New questions must be used for each examination. Whenever possible, the teacher selects questions requiring detailed answers in order to make cheating difficult or
easily detectable.
The teacher also:
- resolves, before the examination, any problems arising with regard to written examinations,
- checks the level of difficulty of the exam, and
- verifies that all the necessary information for solving the set problems appears
on the question papers.
For multiple choice tests, the teacher prepares several versions of the test, varying the sequence of the questions. Software for automatic randomisation of MCQ exam papers, as well as their automated marking, is available at EPFL. More information can be obtained from the Propedeutic Center (CePro),
moodle.epfl.ch/course/view.php?id=16420.
The language used for exams is the same as that used for teaching the course. A student is entitled to give their answers in French in exams set in English, and the student may be authorised to give answers in English if the exam is prepared in French. In the second case, however, the student must make a written request to the teaching staff member at the time of enrolment for the examination or test concerned (normally at least ten days before the exam period begins).
If a teacher wishes to have further feedback on their assessment, they can request it from the academic commission of their section.
The lecturer is responsible for laying out the exam room:
- You must check in advance to ensure that there is enough space for the exam in the room allocated. The Registrar’s Office (SAC) will generally allocate exam rooms towards the end of April for spring semesters and in mid-November for autumn semesters. You can find the plans of the rooms on go.epfl.ch/salles-examen.
- Places should be pre-allocated to each candidate in order to avoid communication between students.
- It is advisable that students are seated in such a way that there is sufficient distance between them to avoid cheating. Students should occupy only every second place in the rows of seats and should not be placed in staggered rows. NB: In a lecture theatre with tiered seating, alternate rows must be left empty (a higher student density is possible if different examinations are to be conducted
simultaneously). - Students should be sent the seating plan one week before the exam at the latest, to avoid congestion at the start of the exam. Remember to also prepare several copies of the seating plan for posting in the exam room on the day of the exam.
Supervising the written exam
The course lecturer is responsible for personally supervising the exam. For exams held during end of semester examination sessions, the teacher must be present at the examination. In the event of unforeseen circumstances preventing a teacher from attending, the associate vice president for education appoints a substitute (a professor, a MER or a lecturer) based on the suggestion of the teacher.
The course lecturer is also responsible for organising the supervision of the examination, instructing assistant invigilators about their duties and behaviour and about how they should reply to students’ questions.
Information on how to respond in the case of suspected cheating is found here.
In an exam, a student may only use those materials (documentation, forms, notes, electronic instruments, etc.) which have been explicitly specified by the teacher prior to the examination (at least one week before the exam).
During the exam session, each student must have their student card or another form of photo ID such as a passport or residence permit on the desk in front of them. The teacher (or invigilator in the case of multiple rooms) is responsible for checking the identity of students, who must present their student card or some other form of identification bearing a photo when requested to do so.
A pre-prepared attendance list (e.g. exported from IS-Academia) must be used for checking students’ presence, and any late arrivals noted.
Students are in principle allowed to leave the exam room to go to the toilet during the exam, provided that appropriate supervision is available.
If a student asks to leave the room before the end of an examination period for another reason, they must first hand in their exam script, which will not be returned to the student.
A student may only interrupt an exam for a duly justified reason, such as an illness or accident which has occurred or become apparent during the exam. The student must immediately inform the Registrar’s Office and submit the necessary supporting documents within three days. For written exams during the end of semester exam period, the associate vice president for education decides if the reason given is valid. For written exams during the semester, the decision is taken by the section director, informed by the teacher concerned.
At the end of the exam, the teacher makes a list of returned scripts and checks that each script handed in is complete.
Teachers must fill in a report on written exams completed during the end of semester exam period. This needs to be uploaded to IS-Academia together with a copy of the exam paper in pdf format. The deadline is the same as for the submission of exam grades.
French and English language versions of the exam report forms are available here:
“Make-up” written exams
Extra exams, for example to allow a student who was close to passing to improve their grade, are expressly forbidden.
The only exception to this is in the case of a student missing an oral exam for a valid reason. Here, the oral can be rescheduled within the current assessment period.
Request an exam to be ignored for medical reasons
If a student chooses to sit an exam despite feeling unwell or knowing that they are ill, their grade will be valid and cannot be ignored. If a student feels so unwell that their grade may be affected, they should not sit the exam and submit a medical certificate within the required deadline (currently three days).
If one of your students is absent from one of the evaluations of your course, please consult the page Withdrawal of subjects and tests and absence during tests – Absence from tests. It is important to differentiate between justified absences (medical certificate, military certificate, …etc) and unjustified absences.