Centrally managed exams to be 24-hour, with option for shorter time limits

 In 2021, all centrally managed exams will be online, open book assessments. 

The default duration of examinations was set as 24 hours, as in summer 2020. Departments had the opportunity to review the durations and request any changes to the 24 hour default via the exam timetable data collection task in Decemeber. 

Where an exam has a shorter duration within the 24-hour window: the clock will start when the student logs in and selects their exam to commence.   

Setting a shorter duration will stop students spending too much time on the assessment and reduce opportunities for collusion, while still accommodating students in different time zones. However, it will not be possible to offer remote technical support for the full 24-hour period, which may affect students in other timezones. Any technical difficulties will be more likely to have significant impact where the overall duration is shorter. 

Examination Adjustments 

Where examinations have a duration of 24 hours, no additional time adjustment is required. The arrangements for additional time in those examinations with a timed element are currently under review and will be confirmed shortly. 

Grace Period 

The grace period provides additional time for the submission of examinations. For examinations that are 24 hours in duration there will be no requirement to offer a grace period to students.  For any examination that has a timed element a 1 hour grace period will be applied to allow students sufficient time to save their document and upload their submission to the assessment platform. 

Contact email for further information: examinations@ucl.ac.uk