Assessments on campus

An exam or assessment period has two exams or assessments a day.

If you have three consecutive exams it means you have two exams in a day followed by one the next morning:

• Monday morning examination (9am start)
• Monday afternoon examination (2pm start)
• Tuesday morning examination (9am start).

You will need to check the seating list outside your exam venue  to find where you need to sit.

If your name is not in the list and there is a statement "If your name does not appear here, please see the supplementary list" then check the supplementary list to find out where you need to be.

If you are not in the supplementary list showing your name in a different venue you should let the invigilator know.

You can enter the exam room at least five minutes before the time listed on the timetable.

If you need to use the bathroom go beforehand.

Go to your seat and sit down. The exam will start when all students are seated.

You should not talk in the exam room unless you need to speak to the invigilator.

If you need to speak with the invigilator raise your hand.

Do not speak to friends at all even to wish them good luck as it is still breaking exam rules.

Leave your student ID on your desk.

Your invigilator will verify your identity by checking your student ID. You need to leave this on your desk during the exam.

If you need to go to the bathroom during the exam you will have to check if the invigilator is available to escort you.

It is best to go to the bathroom before the exam starts.

If you are sick you need to do to your doctor and get a medical note to say you are not well enough to go to your exam. You need to give this to your school as evidence of mitigating circumstances.

You should also check mitigating circumstances guidance if you can't go to your exam due to extreme weather or other emergencies.

Lost property will be taken to the nearest exam sub-office.

At the end of the assessment period uncollected items will be moved to the Assessment and Progress office in the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building.

If you have a query about a specific item left in an examination venue, email the Exams Lost Property team at examinationslostproperty@leeds.ac.uk. You should include:

• the examination venue where the item was lost
• when the item was lost
• a clear description of the item.

Student ID cards left in examination venues will be treated the same as other lost property.

If you do lose your ID card and it hasn’t been handed in at the sub-office, then you can apply for a new student ID card.

Go to your exam and let your invigilator know you are there. You must complete the exam before the end of the planned exam session.

You will not be given extra time because you are late.

The invigilator will add your arrival time to the form and send it to your school or faculty. You can include a reason why you were late on a form. They will consider this when they mark and moderate the exams.

Do not enter the exam room.

Go to the exam sub-office for your exam venue. They will discuss your reasons for being late and let you know if you can take your exam.

If you can still take your exam they will let you know how this will happen.

The examiners can still decide to accept or reject your reasons for being late even if you go to your exam.

Go to the exam sub-office and let someone know what has happened.

You will not be able to take your exam and will be counted absent from your exam.

You can't go to the exam room after an aural or audio exam has started. Go to the exam sub-office and let someone know what has happened.

Ask the invigilator if you can leave your exam.

You can't leave within the first 60 minutes or the last 10 minutes of an exam. If you are told you can leave your exam you must leave as quickly and quietly as possible.

You must stop writing when you are told to. Stay quiet and in your seat until all script books have been collected and the chief invigilator tells you to leave.

If you've used more than one script book you should tie them together with the treasury tag.

If you needed to use a multiple choice question card for your exam you need to make sure you write your student ID number on it. Do not attach it to your script book.

Don't take any unused exam stationery with you. If you do this it may be considered as breaking the rules.

If your course or module requires it you can use basic calculators.

In some cases the question paper will tell you what type of calculator you can use. You should check with your school.

Calculator covers or lids should not be taken into exams.

You should only use black or blue pens unless you are using multiple-choice answer cards which must be filled in using a HB pencil.

If you do need to use a pencil you need to make sure you have:

• a pencil sharpener
• a spare pencil
• an eraser.

Check with your module leader before the exam if you are allowed to use a dictionary.

The exam question paper rubric on the front cover will say if you can use one or not. You can request one from the invigilator by raising your hand.

If you use your own dictionary it must not have:

• annotations or any notes
• highlighted text
• underlined text.

You must check with your module leader if you are allowed to bring a textbook into your exam.

If they are allowed you must check if they can have annotations or notes in them.

You can check with your school or faculty about your specific exam.

For some exams you may find:

• script book
• question paper
• plastic bag
• treasury tag
• MCQ, MRQ, or EMQ answer sheets or cards
• graph paper
• chemistry data, code formula booklet, or statistical tables.

You can raise your hand to check with the invigilator if you do not have something you need.

• food or drink unless it is a clear water bottle with all labels removed
• coats
• bags
• pencil cases including clear or transparent ones
• tip-ex or things to cover ink in white. If you make a mistake in pen you should cross it out
• unauthorised material, such as blank paper, graph paper, revision or study notes
• any notes including on your skin or clothing
• headwear unless it is for religious reasons
• mobile phones (unless required for DUO authentication)/tablets/bluetooth devices/smart watches
• personal music players
• calculator covers or lids.

Invigilators will let you know where to put these items if you bring them into the exam room.

The area will not be watched or monitored by invigilators so we advise you not to bring these items.

For some exams such as computer exams you may be required to log on to one of the University’s systems. For this you may need to use your phone for DUO authentication.

If you do not need to use your device for authentication you must:

• switch the device off
• turn off all alarms you may have pre-set into your device
• put the device in the clear plastic bag given to you
• place the device in the clear plastic bag on your desk or as the invigilator tells you.

If you use your device or it is switched on during the exam it will be investigated for breaking exam rules.

You may put your purse or wallet under your desk or chair during your exam.

You can take a white question paper away with you at the end of the exam.

You should answer some or all questions on the exam paper and you may have to write other answers in your script book.

The instructions on the front of the exam paper will tell you where to write your answers.

Write your student number and seat number on the front of the exam paper.

You need to hand in blue or yellow exam papers at the end of the exam.

You must leave the paper in the exam room. You cannot take this paper away with you.

All exam papers have a rubric or a list of instructions on the front cover. When you are told to do so you must read the cover carefully before you start your exam. You should check the module code and module title are for the exam you expect to take.

Rubrics or the front page of your exam include:

• module code
• module title
• school responsible for assessing it
• how much time you have to complete the exam
• how many pages are in the exam paper
• what you may need to complete the exam such as graph paper, MCQ card or a Cambridge Statistical Table
• if you can use a calculator or dictionary
• if you can use notes. 

It may also include:

• if there is more than one section
• how many marks each section is worth
• where sections should be answered such as on a blue exam paper or on a multiple choice answer card
• if there are more questions on the exam paper you need to answer
• if you need to answer a number of questions from one section.

Use a script book to answer exam questions if you need to.

They are available in different colours. Each desk will have one script book if it is needed for your exam question paper.

Read the information and fill in the front cover of the script book. You should write:

• your student ID number
• the date
• room
• seat number
• the module code on the exam question paper cover
• the module/exam title on the exam question paper cover
• the course or programme you are studying.

Until the invigilator tells you to you must not:

• make any notes in the script book
• make notes on anything else on your desk
• turn over any items on your desk.

You need to hide your name and details from the cover of the script book at the end of the exam.

1. Fold the edge of the front cover back towards the centre of the cover.
2. Take off the white tape from the front cover.
3. Press down the edge of cover to seal it.

Write which questions you answered at the bottom half of the front cover.

For some exams you need to use an answer sheet or card.

There are 3 types of multiple answer exams:

• extended multiple choice (EMQ)
• multiple choice questions (MCQ)
• multiple response questions (MRQ).

Each of these are used by different schools and some have their own designs on them. This may be confusing if you get different designs for different exams. The information needed for each will be the same.

For these exams:

• There will be five statements for each question.
• You need to fill in one or more of the five boxes. They will be labelled A to E.
• There may be up to 100 questions depending on the subject of your exam.
• Check the instructions on the front cover for how many questions you need to answer as the sheets will show 100 for all exams.

For some answers you may need to choose true or false.

These vary depending on your school. Check the instructions on the front cover of your exam and at the start of each section.

Usually these are:

• labelled A to P
• either have 5 answer choices A to E or 8 answer choices A to H
• anything up to 210 questions.

The instructions on the front cover will let you know how many you need to answer.

You should have the right sheet or card on your desk depending on your exam. The exam front page or rubric as well as the start of the multiple answer section will give you the instructions.

You should use a HB-grade or softer pencil.

Make sure you:

• don't use ink, ballpoint or felt-tip pen
• don't use ticks, crosses, or circles
• don't fold, crease, or punch any holes in the answer sheet or card.

You should write in the boxes on the top left of your answer sheet or card:

• your name
• the date
• the module code from the top left of the question paper
• the exam title from the question paper.

Write your student ID in the section labelled student ID number on the top right of the answer sheet or card. This is a 9-digit number printed on your student ID card like 123456789.

Fill in the answers to the questions using the bottom half of the sheet or card.

If you make a mistake use an eraser to remove the pencil mark. Be careful as you do this and try not to smudge the answer sheet or card.

At the end of the exam make sure you hand in all your:

• sheets or card
• script books (if any)
• pink, yellow or blue question papers.