Exams and related arrangements

The instruction belongs to the following themes

By selecting a degree programme you are able to see the general content as well as the possible degree programme-specific content.

Exams are one way of assessing your students’ learning. The curriculum of a degree programme indicates the completion methods of each course and how student learning is assessed. The exam schedule is decided when planning the curriculum and teaching programme. Read the regulations concerning examinations.

Examinations can be divided into those connected to teaching and those unconnected to teaching. Examples of examinations connected to teaching include examinations held during or at the end of lecture-based teaching. Examples of examinations unconnected to teaching include courses in the curriculum that students can complete by sitting an examination on the relevant literature or other learning material.

Teachers are responsible for organizing and supervising mid-term, final and other course examinations related to their own teaching. Teaching and student services are responsible for the organization of General examinations. At general examination sessions students can complete both examinations connected to teaching, such as resit examinations, and those unconnected to teaching, such as book examinations.

See: Language policy

Different types of exams

There are different ways to organize an examination:

  • A on-site examination is held on a specific date and time in University premises under invigilation. The students are physically present on site, but the examination is completed in an electronic learning environment, such as Moodle, using the student’s own device (laptop or tablet) or by using pen and paper. Examinations can be implementd as either open- or closed-book examinations. In an open-book examination, the students may utilise written or online materials. In a closed-book examination, students may not utilise any materials when answering the examination questions. As the teacher, you decide whether the student can use additional materials (e.g. notes or an online dictionary) or aids (e.g. a calculator).
  • A digital remote examination is held either on a specific date and time or within a specific time period and is organised in an electronic learning environment, usually in a venue selected by the student.
  • The Examinarium exam is created in the electronic Exam system, after which the student can take the exam in camera-monitored facilities flexibly within the examination period.
  • Examinations can also be organised as oral tests or competence tests.

University of Helsinki is expanding the use of electronic exams and assessment as they offer flexibility to teaching and studying and allow you to use a diverse range of assessment methods. Here you can find information on discovering and arranging other methods of completion.

Examinations organised by the teacher

As a teacher, you are responsible for the organisation and supervision of exams related to your teaching. You must notify students of course examination dates and the number of retake opportunities no later than at the beginning of each course. The students must be provided with sufficient information and instructions on preparing for and taking the exam. For example, information on allowed materials and tools must be provided in advance.

As a teacher, you are also in charge of ensuring that the exam is conducted properly, and you must take action in case any disturbances or cheating occur.

In addition, you must organise possible individual arrengements for students if they ask for them, see page Individual arrengements.

If a student has registered for the course, they are normally not required to register separately for the exams organised by the teacher. However, if registration for the exam is required, you must inform the students of this clearly.

In addition to the actual course or final exam and other teaching-related exams, students must be allowed to retake the exam at least once. This means that in addition to the main exam, you must arrange at least one other opportunity to take the exam. You may organise the retake yourself, in the Examinarium for example, or you can agree to organise the retake in a general examination.

General examinations

At general examinations, teachers can organise backlog and retake exams as well as exams not related to teaching, such as book exams. General examinations are organised by Teaching and Learning Services (Exam services).

Book exams and other exams not related to teaching can be available at several different general examinations.The student may register to take an exam that is not related to teaching more than once. Failing to show up at a book exam a student has registered for does not result in any sanctions or quarantine.

The student can attempt to raise the grade of completed studies no more than twice.

The general examination schedule and the exams to be organised on each examination day are decided when planning the curriculum and teaching programme. Each faculty or degree programme may have their own regular examination days or the examination days may be shared by different units.

General examinations are usually organized as digital on-site examinations where the student will complete the examination using their own device.

General examinations normally last four hours (except at the Faculty of Law where the examinations last five hours). However, teachers are allowed to limit the time used for their exams to, for example, two or three hours.

Examinations are organised by University of Helsinki exam services with co-operation with education planning officers and student advisers. Examination services are responsible for individual arrangements for general examinations.

Procedures for organising an general examination

Registration (students)
  • Students must register for general examinations electronically through Sisu. The registration period begins no later than 20 days before the examination and ends 10 days before the examination. The registration period for summer examinations ends on 31 May.
  • Students may not register for examinations after the deadline. As a teacher you cannot give students permission to attend a general examination session if they have not registered for it in the required manner. However, you can organize your own examination for the student.
  • Students may not take more than two exams during the same examination day.
    • If the student has a good reason (such as graduation) to take more than two exams during the same examination day, as a teacher you can give permission to do so if the students asks for it. If you approve of this, please inform your campus' exam services.
  • Students may cancel their registrations through Sisu during the registration period.
Submitting the exam questions (examiner)
  • If there are students enrolled at the general examination for a course you are responsible for, you will receive an email asking you to submit the exam questions. You can see information about the enrolled students, such as their language choices, in Sisu under My teaching, Upcoming implementations. See more in Sisu instructions for teachers.
  • In case of a digital on site-examination, send exam services a Moodle exam link no later than three working days before the day of the examination. In case of a paper and pen examination, send exam services the exam questions (in Word or pdf format) and other possible materials also no later than three working days before the day of the examination.
    • If the students are allowed to use materials (e.g. books) and/or other aids (e.g. calculators), please inform about these materials/aids when sending the examination questions.
  • The exam for a digital on-site examination is created in Moodle using the quiz activity. For further instructions please see Exams in Moodle below.
  • If the digital on-site examination is held using Safe Exam Browser, exam services will add the needed settings for the quiz.
At the general examination
  • General examinations are invigilated by members of the exam invigilation group coordinated by the exam services. Exams must be invigilated by at least two people or as many as is deemed sufficient. The invigilators are responsible for practical arrangements and guiding students during the exam. They also address any disturbances or cheating.
  • Students must return all answer papers and other papers related to the exam (draft papers, etc.) when they leave the exam room. The question papers are normally collected when the students return their answer papers, but some degree programmes allow students to take the questions with them. If you want the students to also return the question papers, please include this on the question paper.
After the general examination
  • Exam services will inform the examinator about possible disturbances or other matters.
  • Exam services will send the answers of paper and pen examinations or information about participants on digital examinations according to your faculty's decision.
  • As a teacher you will grade the exams and publish exam results. Please see Grading exams, grade registration and publishing below.

For more information on the organisation of general exams, please contact the exam services on your campus and or education coordinator in your faculty.

See also General examinations in studies.helsinki.fi.

Examinations in Examinarium

Examinarium is an electronic examination system that allows students to complete examinations whenever they choose within the given examination period. The teacher creates the exam in the system in advance, after which the students complete the exam in a specific examination facility equipped with computers, closed network and a recording camera surveillance system.

Examinarium exams are particularly suitable for literature exams and other exams with long exam period, but also for small and middle-sized course exams and retakes. Examinarium makes studies more flexible and releases the teacher from the duty of organizing separate examination events throughout the academic year.

At the University of Helsinki there are examination facilities on every campus. Some of them are equipped with drawing tablets and special software.  The exam facilities are open in accordance with the opening hours of the buildings all year round (some also during evenings and weekends). 

The University of Helsinki is taking part in the exam visit, which means that students can, with certain restrictions, take their examination in the EXAM facility (known as Examinarium at the University of Helsinki) of another university.

The exam procedure in Examinarium
  1. The teaching must first be created in Sisu (all exams are connected to teaching in Sisu). 
  2. The teacher creates the exam in the system and publishes it. 
  3. The student signs up for the exam or course in Sisu. After this, they can reserve a place in the exam system. 
  4. The student takes the exam in an exam facility (the teachers receive a weekly message from the system stating the number of students signed up for an exam and exams that need to be assessed). 
  5. The teacher assesses the exam in the exam system (and grades marked as whole course grades are in most cases automatically transferred to Sisu.). 
  6. The student receives a message about the evaluation by e-mail.
Further information and support for organising exams through Examinarium:

Examinations in Moodle

Moodle in digital on-site examinations

Digital examinations in specific venues are implemented either as open- or closed-book examinations. In a closed-book examination, students may not utilise online materials other than those allowed, such a dictionary, their own files or word processing software when answering the examination questions; in other words, the students have been prevented access outside the Moodle area. This is achieved with the Safe Exam Browser (SEB) software, which the students download to their computers before the examination. Students launch Safe Exam Browser from Moodle before the examination begins. Safe Exam Browser limits the device's access only to Moodle and possible allowed materials. In an open-book examination, the students may utilise online materials or their own files either freely or with restrictions.

If Safe Exam Browser is used in an examination in general examination, exam services will instruct the students on how to download, test and use the program. Instructions for downloading SEB are available on the Instructions for Students website. Exam services will help the teacher to check the Safe Exam Browsers setting if it`s necessary. 

Students must have at their disposal a device with which they can complete the examination. It is each student’s responsibility to download on their device, well in advance of the examination session, any software required to complete the examination. Students must also test the functioning of the software before the examination begins.

The organiser of the general examination must keep a reserve of devices and other equipment required during the examination session in case the devices or other equipment at the students’ disposal do not function.

The examination can be done with the quiz or assingment activity module

If you are organising a digital on-site examination yourself, you can choose to create the exam in Moodle either as a quiz or an assignment. If Safe Exam Browser is used, the exam has to be created using the quiz activity module. For more help see Contact and support information .Learn more about Safe Exam Browser (SEB) via the Moodle course (will be updated) : SEB-tentit/SEB exams 2023

The quiz activity module allows the teacher to design and build quizzes consisting of a large variety of question types, some of which are calculated. In addition, you can use essay questions, which must be manually graded.

In general examinations using the quiz activity module is recommended, or required if Safe Exam Browser is used. Exam services will review exam settings such as Safe Exam Browser settings (if SEB is used). Exam services will bring devices that the students can use in case the devices or other equipment at the students’ disposal do not function.  In addition, exam services are responsible for take care of general examinations individual arrangements.

Remote examinations in Moodle

Exams held in Moodle are normally home/open book exams that students can take anywhere using their own computer, with course literature and the internet freely at their disposal. The exam can be, for example an essay exam/a writing task, a multiple choice exam that Moodle evaluates automatically or an exam with different types of questions. Moodle can be used for submitting different types of files, so the task/exam assigned to the student can also require them to, for instance, submit a video they have created.

More information: Data protection instructions for monitoring remote exams

Support for creating exams in Moodle

 

Grading exams, grade registration and publishing

Grade the exam in accordance with the curriculum, either using a scale from 0 to 5 or pass–fail. Click here for more information on assessment criteria. 

Examination papers are not graded if the student fails to register for the examination appropriately or does not hold the right to complete the examination. Studies completed by students are evaluated in Sisu, Examinarium or Moodle, depending on the platform and evaluation method you use. Click here for more information on registering grades.

 

Contact details for exam services

For more information on organising general examinations, please contact the exam services at your campus:

See also the Instructions for Students

You will find related content for students in the Studies Service.