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2.6 Examination arrangements and coursework extensions

The submission and checking of examination entries is a huge operation involving both the candidates themselves and a number of different individuals. The University is obliged to operate a very tightly controlled system. It is therefore vital you follow the procedures outlined below. Please be aware that precise arrangements vary by year of study and by Tripos, so don't assume that your arrangements will necessarily be identical to those for other students. 

In Michaelmas Term, most students will be asked by your DoS to complete an examination entry form on-line via CamSIS. During the Lent Term, the Tutorial Office Manager will ask you to check and confirm in CamSIS that your entry is correct. If it is not, you will be able to request an amendment from that page. The Tutorial Office Manager will check with the Director of Studies that the amendment is agreed and submit that request to the Examination Access and Mitigation Committee.

No corrections to exam entries are accepted by the University after the end of Lent Term. If an exam entry is subsequently found to be incorrect, the University will normally insist on the candidate sitting the papers as entered on the form. In the exceptional event of a late change of paper being allowed, the University will always insist on that paper being taken in College, in which case the full cost of invigilation will be passed on to the candidate.

2.6.1 Examination Adjustments

Some students require adjustments to be made to the examination process that mean they sit their examinations under special conditions. If you think that you may need to vary the standard conditions for an examination you should discuss with your Tutor as early as possible, if at all possible by the end of Michaelmas Term. Tutors are experienced in supporting students who face such issues and can help you navigate the University processes. In a number of circumstances sketched below, the Tutor makes the case on behalf of the candidate to the Examination Access and Mitigation Committee of the University (EAMC). A full medical report, which remains confidential to the Committee, is normally required as part of that exercise. It is of the utmost importance that any undergraduate who feels that their work is being adversely affected by illness, family circumstance or other issues discusses them with their Tutor at the earliest opportunity, and, if at all possible, well before the start of the examinations. There is full guidance on such matters on the University’s exam information web pages.

 

2.6.2 Examinations under special conditions

In the interests of fairness to all candidates, the rules governing the taking of exams under special conditions are strict. The University provides central exam rooms for use by candidates whose adjustment is solely the provision of an extra allowance of time. That may include some who take their examinations on a computer for medical reasons. (The only exception to this is when such a candidate has two exams on the same day. This may require one or both papers to be sat in College.) If you are granted extra time, once exam entries have been made you will be sent the relevant document about examinations taken under special conditions.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may allow a candidate to sit their papers in College, with appropriate allowance of extra time or other adjustments. Such permission, which must be sought in advance by the candidate’s Tutor, can only be granted when students are suffering from a serious disability or illness that makes it impossible for them to get to the examination room and/or write their answers in the usual way. If you believe that you have good reason to need to take your exams in College you must discuss this with your Tutor by the end of the Michaelmas Term. Supporting medical evidence will be required. It should be noted, however, that the support of a doctor or other professional consultant for an allowance of extra time, while it will always be given serious consideration by the College and by the EAMC, will not automatically lead to such an allowance being granted. No consideration will be given later than the end of January to cases based on pre-existing medical conditions. After that date, applications will be made to the University only in cases of unforeseen illness or injury, and, it is emphasized, when the illness or injury is of such severity as to make it out of the question for the candidate to sit their papers under normal conditions.

Where permission is granted for special conditions, the Tutorial Office Manager invites candidates to come and see her to talk through their precise requirements. In all other cases, the University expects candidates to take their papers as usual, even if they feel they are suffering from factors which they consider could detract from their performance.

When a specific learning difficulty has been formally diagnosed, an allowance of extra time is granted only in severe cases and based upon a Student Support Document issued by the Accessibility & Disability Resource Centre (ADRC), or other appropriate medical evidence. In less serious cases, examiners, provided the University has been given due warning following an application by the candidate’s Tutor, are asked to disregard errors of spelling and other minor mistakes of a purely linguistic nature.

If permission is granted to take papers in College, it will apply solely to the year in question. On-going medical conditions must be re-assessed for this purpose each year.

2.6.3 Examination Warnings

Every year, some undergraduates find their preparation for their examinations, or the actual examinations, hindered by serious illness or other difficulties (e.g. bereavement). The University does not allow candidates in such circumstances to have additional marks awarded to them to change their level of performance, but the University does take a sympathetic view of candidates who are so affected by illness or other grave cause that they are unable to pass their examination. In such circumstances it is possible for an exam warning to be lodged with the University and notified to examiners, alerting them that serious issues have arisen and to ensure that they are properly considered. In the event of failure, the EAMC, in consultation with the examiners, then determines whether the student should be allowed to progress to the next part of the Tripos, or, in the case of final-year students, to graduate with honours.

2.6.4 Coursework and Dissertation Extensions

Students who find that for medical reasons they require an extension for the submission of coursework or a dissertation may, where their department permits it, self-certify for short extensions (up to 7 days) where the course allows. For extensions longer than 7 days, or where the course restricts self-certification, an application is required to be submitted to the EAMC. It is expected that Faculties and Departments will make their policy clearly available to students and staff. Further guidance and details on both types of extensions has been issued by the University. Before self-certifying you must consult with both your Tutor and your Director of Studies and weigh up with them the benefits of the extra time and the potential detriment to other academic activities.