Online Assessment preparations and arrangements

Make sure you’re familiar with all the important information about your assessment so that you can do your best on the day and avoid any problems.

Make sure you are ready by following our guidelines for things you can prepare before the day of your assessment.

Timetable

Your assessment timetable will be published through Minerva. (For dates of publication please see the Timetable Publication Dates webpage.) Please ensure you check your timetable and make sure you are fully aware of the dates and times of all your assessments and remember:

  • You must be available to sit your assessments for the entire published assessment period. This includes Saturdays and bank holidays.
  • Holidays or other social commitments won't be accepted as a reason for missing an assessment. The assessment timetable may change, so you shouldn't make any personal arrangements during the assessment periods.
  • If you miss an assessment without good reason, you will be recorded as absent for that assessment and will forfeit an attempt.
  • If you misread the timetable, this will be treated as deliberately missing an assessment and you'll be recorded as absent without good cause.
  • Your timetable may include a mixture of on-campus and online assessments.  Read the timetable carefully to make sure you are aware of what type of assessment you are sitting.

For online assessments answers to some frequently asked questions can be found on the Timetable FAQs for Online Assessments webpage.

What is an Online Time Limited Assessment?

An Online Time Limited Assessment (OTLA) is a formal University assessment with a duration of 48 hours or less.  Some of these assessments may be remotely proctored, monitored, MCQ or test format.  Others will be open book, and this will allow you to access materials such as summaries, notes and textbooks. This type of assessment does not just test your ability to recall information. Instead, you’ll be expected to engage in a critical and analytical manner, to demonstrate how you have understood your topic and that you can apply relevant knowledge to the question.  More information can be found on the Online Time Limited Assessments webpage.

Preparing and Taking Online Time Limited Assessments

Make sure you take a look at the online assessment guidance on the Library Academic Skills webpages to prepare yourself for your assessments.

Online Time Limited Assessments may be scheduled for a 48 hour period, however that does not mean you are expected to spend 48 hours completing the assessments. Ensure you thoroughly read the instructions of the assessment before your start. The instructions (rubric) will inform you of the actual time you are expected to spend completing the assessment, it may also inform you of the any word count restrictions that apply. The 48 hours is generally to allow for technical issues, time zone differences and assessment access adjustments.  

All assessment question papers have a rubric. The rubric is a set of instructions or an informative list to help you complete the assessment. The front page of the assessment question paper will show:

  • The module code (this should show on every page)
  • The module title
  • The school responsible for the assessment
  • The time you are allowed to complete the assessment

There is also information specifically about the assessment such as:

  • If the assessment is made up of more than one section
  • What marks each section is worth
  • If there are more questions on the question paper than you need to answer.
  • If you need to answer a certain amount of questions from one section 

More information regarding question papers can be found on the Examination and Assessment Question Papers webpage.

Absence from Assessment

  • If you are too ill to take the assessment, contact your GP/doctor for advice and request a medical certificate stating you were unfit to attend and submit a mitigating circumstances online form (available through the Mitigating Circumstances Guidance webpage) to your parent school with (if possible) the medical certificate.
  • You should  check the details of the Mitigating Circumstances Guidance webpage if you are unable to sit your assessment due to illness or for other reasons.

Working with others

During teaching you may have being asked to collaborate with others on tasks.  However, in an Online Time Limited Assessment or On Campus Examination:

  • you must not collude with others
  • the work you submit must be your own
  • you must avoid any practices which could mean that you cannot honestly claim that the work submitted is your own.

See the Academic Integrity webpages for further guidance.