Assessments & Exams 2024/25
This year, written examinations (both online and in person) will be run in two assessment periods:
The Spring Term Assessment Period (SP-AP): Monday 13 to Friday 17 January 2025
and
The Summer Term Assessment Period (SU-AP): Monday 5 May to Friday 6 June 2025
Both assessment periods will include assessments held online and in person.
The ‘Type of Assessment’ section below outlines the different types of assessments that will be running this year. If a module is being assessed by a written examination in the summer term, confirmation of the exam type and duration is included in the university Examinations & Assessment Timetable. For any other assessments, the type and arrangements for the assessment will be confirmed by your School.
- Our College Regulations set out the guidelines that we expect all of our students to follow and what the consequences are if they’re not followed. When you started at the College you agreed to read, understand and abide by them.
- The Assessments Guidance for Students gives you important information about the regulations surrounding assessments and results at the College. Not knowing is not an excuse so it is very important that you take the time to read and understand them.
- The Results webpages include the key information on results, including when and how module and degree results will be released to students, and what to do if you need to retake.
- We know that events can occur which will impact your ability to complete assessments. Please see our Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances webpage for further information on these processes, if you are impacted by illness or unforeseen circumstances.
- The College takes allegations of academic misconduct very seriously. The Regulations on Academic Misconduct explains what an assessment offence is, how they are investigated and penalties which may be imposed.
Candidate Numbers for the 2024/25 academic year are now available to view on Campus Connect. (You will receive an email informing you when it becomes available). Your Candidate Number is extremely important as it allows us to mark your work anonymously. You must use your Candidate Number for official written examinations and assessed coursework.
To view your Candidate Number, you’ll need to log into Campus Connect with your username and password, then:
To ensure anonymity, it is important that you don’t put your Candidate Number on any work where your name is also listed and you mustn’t give the number to anybody else – including members of staff.
In registering for your module you’re also registering for the assessments and examinations associated with those modules. You must ensure that you’ve been registered for the correct modules, including any modules that you’re retaking as a first sit, resitting or repeating (and for PGT students and modules you have deferred from the previous academic year)
If you don’t register for a module, you will not be entered for the examination or assessment. Equally, if you’re registered on the wrong module(s), you will be entered for the assessment and you’ll eventually be graded as failing the module.
To check your module registrations, you’ll need to log into Campus Connect and click on the ‘My Study Information’ card, then click on the ‘Active Registrations’ section.
Please note that Moodle is not a reliable way of checking your course registrations as this may not contain a complete list of your courses!
The deadline for students to make changes to Autumn Term and Full-Year Module Registrations is Friday 18 October 2024, and the deadline for Spring and Summer Terms Module Registration is Friday 31 January 2025. Schools may set earlier internal deadlines so it is important you check when you need to notify your School.
If you find any errors you must contact your School immediately so that the registrations can be corrected.
Modules are assessed in a variety of different ways to test that students have met the learning outcomes of the module. The table below summarises the key types of assessments that run for students on taught degree courses. Noting that this list is not exhaustive and other assessments may be undertaken as outlined in the course and module specifications.
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College Invigilated Exams
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- In-person formal invigilated examination
- Duration up to 3 hours
- To be held Monday-Friday during term time in the Univeristy Assessment Periods
- Extensions and late submissions are not permitted
- Exams usually start at 09:30 or 14:00 (UK Timezone)
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In-Class Tests & Exams
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- In-person invigilated tests or examinations
- Duration variable as appropriate to the assessment.
- To be held Monday-Friday during term time in timetabled teaching sessions
- Extensions and late submissions are not permitted.
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Open Book Exams
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- Open book exams to be distributed and returned electronically
- 23 hour period for completion – usually launched at 11:00 with a deadline of 10:00 the following day (UK Timezone)
- Exam designed to be completed within 4 hours or less
- To be held during term time or very exceptionally within 1 week of the start/end of term
- Extensions are not permitted
- Late submission is not permitted - if you have technical difficulties on the day of an online assessment which may prevent you from submitting in time, you must contact your School as soon as possible for advice
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Online Exams
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- Exam to be distributed and returned electronically or completed online.
- Exam time is appropriate for completion of the exam, plus a period of additional time for uploading where required. The maximum exam duration, including upload allowances, is 6 hours.
- Usually launched at 10:00 (UK Timezone)
- To be held Monday - Friday during term time.
- To be scheduled around teaching activities.
- Can be held during the university examination periods.
- Extensions are not permitted.
- Late submission is not permitted - if you have technical difficulties on the day of an online assessment which may prevent you from submitting in time, you must contact your School as soon as possible for advice.
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Online Tests
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- Tests and quizzes completed online
- Window for completion with an in-built timer for the duration of the exam, which starts when the student begins the test.
- Duration as appropriate to the assessment.
- Includes MCQ Tests and Quizzes
- To be held Monday - Friday during term time
- Can be held during university examination periods.
- Extensions are not permitted
- Late submission is not permitted - if you have technical difficulties on the day of an online assessment which may prevent you from submitting in time, you must contact your School as soon as possible for advice
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Practical, Oral & Performance Exams and Individual & Group Presentations
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- Practical examinations as appropriate to the discipline
- To be held during term time
- Extensions and late submissions are not usually permitted
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Coursework
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- Any form of written assessment including essays, reports, dissertations and short assignments including video essays.
- Deadlines to be set during term time or very exceptionally within 1 week of the start/end of term.
- Extensions can be permitted in line with the University Extension Policy
- Late submission penalties apply as outlined in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Regulations.
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The Spring Term Assessment Period (SP-AP) in 2024/25 will take place from Monday 3 to Friday 17 January 2025. Invigilated, Online and Open Book Exams will be held in this period.
The Summer Term Assessment Period (SU-AP) in 2024/25 will take place from Monday 5 May to Friday 6 June 2025. Invigilated, Online and Open Book Exams will be held in this period.
Timetables for Invigilated, Online and Oben Book Exams in these periods will be published on the following dates:
- Spring Term (SP-AP) examinations: Thursday 28 November 2024
- Summer Term (SU-AP) examinations: Wednesday 19 March 2025
Students will be e-mailed on the day the timetable is released.
Modules assessed by assessment types other than written Invigilated, Online and Open Book Exams , and those examined outside the university Examination and Assessment period, will not be listed on the timetable, but information about these will be available from your School.
Our Examination Timetabling Policy includes important information about the main university Examination and Assessment period and the process for timetabling examinations. As the policy explains; the university appreciates the importance of exams and will do whatever it reasonably can to ensure that the exam schedule is as fair as possible. However, having multiple exams in a short space of time is not regarded as being detrimental to performance in exams and it’s just as important that you have a realistic expectation of what demands your exam timetable may place on you so that you are able to plan for this in advance in your studies and revision time.
Accessing the Timetable
When you log in to Campus Connect you’ll be able to find your exams timetable the 'My Exam Info' cardunder the heading ‘Exam Info’. Please read the examination information provided and make sure you scroll down fully to see all of your exams.
For each exam the following information will be listed:
- Exam title and module code
- The date of exam
- The start time of the exam - For example 09:30 is 9:30am UK Time
- The venue of the exam - For invigilated exams this will be the venue on campuus where your exam will take place. Open Book Exams and Online Exams do not have a venue, as they are completed online. This will state 'Open Book Exams' or 'Online Exam'
- The duration of the exam in hours and minutes - For example 0130 is 1 Hour 30 Minutes and 2300 is 23 Hours
The Disability & Neurodiversity team are available to support all disabled students who have registered their disability, including adjustments to assessments. A number of different adjustments can be made for invigilated exams and these are known as ‘Exam Access Arrangements’. Arrangements are also available for other types of assessment, including marking guideline adjustments for students with a specific learning difficulty (dyslexia & dyspraxia) and additional time to respond to oral questions, for example, when delivering a presentation.
The Disability & Neurodiversity team should be contacted regarding any adjustments. They can assess the requirement and determine whether requested adjustments can be put in place. Email disability@royalholloway.ac.uk fo further advice.
Exam Access Arrangements
There are three main groups of students who might need alternative examination arrangements:
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Students with a medically diagnosed disability/condition
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Students who have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010 and are registered with Disability and Neurodiversity team will only need to apply once to be considered for and allocated Exam Access Arrangements appropriate for their disability or condition. These Exam Access Arrangements will then be carried over from one year to the other for the duration of their study at the College, unless there is a change in their impairment.
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Students with a specific learning difficulty e.g. dyslexia
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Students with Specific Learning Difficulties who have registered with the Disability & Neurodiversity team will automatically be allocated Exam Access Arrangements in accordance with the recommendations contained in the Educational Psychologist or Specialist Teachers report. These Exam Access Arrangements will be put in place for the duration of their study at the College, unless there is a change in their circumstances.
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Students with a temporary condition or illness
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Students who are not registered with Disability & Neurodiversity team but have a short or medium-term condition may apply for Exam Access Arrangements for a single assessment period. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible so that arrangements can be put in place in good time and where at all possible by the appropriate deadline for the assessment period. We cannot guarantee Exam Access Arrangements where applications are made after these dates..
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Academic misconduct is anything which is against the rules which govern the assessment of work, and includes things like plagiarism, commissioning and collusion. There are definitions of all these words in the Regulations on Academic Misconduct.
The College takes allegations of academic misconduct very seriously. We will be checking assessments for academic misconduct as for all coursework assessments and any suspected offences will be investigated.
It is important that all students take steps to ensure that they do not commit academic misconduct, unintentionally or otherwise. Please remember:
- The work submitted is expected to be your own work and only your work. You may not ask for help with the assessments from any source, including commissioning a person or artificial intelligence tool (paid or unpaid) to write or rewrite work for you.
- Avoid plagiarism: Don’t copy and paste someone else’s words into your notes or drafts; including your own words from previous assignments.
- Avoid collusion: You must not discuss your work or give help to anyone else, including sending them any parts of the questions or copies of your solutions, even after the time period has finished.
- If you are completing a set duration online exam you must not communicate with anyone for the duration of the examination, in the same way that you would not be allowed to talk during an examination on campus.
You are strongly encouraged to undertake the Avoiding Plagiarism course in Moodle and to familiarise yourself with the principles of academic integrity and good scholarly practice.