Examination Guide for Candidates

All students must read this guide carefully before undertaking any UCL examinations.

1. Introduction

1.1 General regulations

Before taking any exam, you must  familiarise with the student exam regulations in Chapter 4 of the Academic Manual, paying particular attention to Section 5.

UCL students taking examinations at other colleges as part of the University of London’s Intercollegiate Scheme must abide by the regulations of the college they are attending. Similarly, students from other colleges taking examinations at UCL are subject to UCL’s regulations for examinations as detailed in this guide.

1.2 Responsibilities for academic assessment

UCL expects students to engage and comply with the assessment requirements of their programme. 

1.3 Unauthorised absence from assessment

If a student is absent from an examination or other form of assessment without permission, or, although present at an examination, either does not attempt the paper or attempts so little that it cannot be assessed, then the student will be awarded a mark of zero (or grade of F) and will be deemed to have made an attempt.

If you are absent or make an un-assessable attempt due to illness or other Extenuating Circumstances, then you must notify your Department as soon as possible.

1.4 Practical and oral examinations

These forms of assessment will normally be organised by teaching departments. You should contact the teaching department for information about the date, time and location of such examinations.

1.5 Reports, projects, coursework, etc.

All work completed in your own time must be submitted to the examiners as instructed by them. The work must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own ideas and judgements.

 

2. Preparing for your examinations

2.1 Reasonable Academic Adjustments

If you have a disability or other ongoing medical or mental health condition, tTo apply for exam adjustments you must submit an application together with supporting medical evidence by the published deadlines.

Find out more about Reasonable Academic Adjustments (including forthcoming deadlines).

Candidates sitting in main examination halls will not be given additional time for taking prescribed medication, toilet visits or any other purpose. If additional time is required, an application for exam adjustments must be made.

For further information about support for disabled and neurodivergent students or contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

2.2 Module verification exercise

(September starting students only)

You should ensure you verify your module selections when asked in term one. If you do not undertake this task, you may be entered for the wrong examinations, which could result in an exam clash.

2.3 Your individual timetable

Your individual timetable(s) will be emailed to you. These timetable(s) contains details of all the centrally organised examinations for which you have been entered.  If any of the details are incorrect, you must contact your parent department or the Exams and Assessment Services Team immediately.

2.4 Your candidate number

All UCL written examinations will be examined anonymously by candidate number instead of by name. You will be allocated a unique candidate number each year, which will consist of four letters plus a check digit (e.g. ABCD1).

Your candidate number, which you should use for most exams, will be emailed to you in Term 1 and will also be available on Portico. 

You can print your candidate number sheet to take to your exam; however, you must not write on it either before or during your exam.

3. Examination Timetables

3.1 Examination dates

Centrally organised exams will take place in January and throughout the third term. There is also an additional Late Summer Assessment period in August-September for any delayed assessments and resits. Some departments or intercollegiate colleges may also organise examinations. You will be notified about the arrangements for any such examinations by the department or intercollegiate college concerned.

You must ensure you are available to sit all examinations scheduled. Check the dates for each examination period.

If you fail or defer examinations, you may be required to take them in the Late Summer Assessment period. Check the dates and keep them free.

3.2 Timetables

Timetables for centrally organised exams will be emailed to your UCL email address.

3.3 Intercollegiate examination venues

Intercollegiate examinations are usually held at the college where the module is taught with the following exception of candidates with exam adjustments, who will usually sit intercollegiate examinations at their home college.

4. Examination offences

4.1 Examination Misconduct

UCL takes matters of examination misconduct very seriously. Examples of actions that constitute an offence include but are not limited to:

  • Cheating, attempting to cheat or assisting someone else to cheat
  • The use or possession of unauthorised books, notes, software, electronic devices, paper, or other materials in an examination
  • Committing plagiarism or self-plagiarism
  • Colluding with other students. Which is defined as the unauthorised collaboration by two or more students on any assessment
  • Contract Cheating, such a buying the services of essay mills

Check the academic manual for a further examples.

Anyone suspected of an examination offence will be reported to the UCL authorities and may be called to appear before an Examination Misconduct Panel. Penalties for examination offences include, but are not limited to,  a mark of zero for the component or module concerned and, for the most serious offences, exclusion from UCL on a temporary or permanent basis.

4.2 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the representation of another person’s thoughts, words, artefacts or software as though they were your own, without appropriate referencing or acknowledgement. This includes the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) where this exceeds that permitted in the assessment instructions.

Any quotation from the published or unpublished works of other persons must, therefore, be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks, and you should identify your sources as accurately and fully as possible.

A series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source. Equally, if you summarise another person’s ideas, judgements, figures, diagrams or software, a reference to that person in the text must be made and the work referred to must be included in the bibliography.

Recourse to the services of ‘ghost-writing’ agencies (for example in the preparation of essays or reports) or of outside word-processing agencies which offer ‘correction or improvement of English’ is strictly forbidden, and if you make use of the services of such agencies you render yourself liable for an academic penalty.

Use of unacknowledged information downloaded from the internet also constitutes plagiarism.

Where part of an examination consists of ‘take away’ papers, essays or other work written in your own time, or a coursework assessment, the work submitted must be your own.

For some assessments it is also illicit to reproduce material which you have used in other work/assessment for your programme. You should make yourself aware of your department’s rules on ‘self-plagiarism’.  If in doubt, you should consult your personal tutor.

UCL uses Turnitin®, a sophisticated detection system, to scan work for evidence of plagiarism. This system has access to billions of sources worldwide (websites, journals, etc.) as well as work previously submitted to UCL and other universities.

Failure to observe any of the provisions of this policy or of approved departmental guidelines constitutes an examination offence. Find out more about academic integrity at UCL.

5. What should I do if..

5.1 I lose my candidate number sheet?

A replacement can be obtained by logging into Portico under MyStudies. Your candidate number will also be displayed on Portico.

5.2 I’m unable to sit an examination?

You may be able to postpone some exams through the Delayed Assessment Scheme.
If illness or other extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending an exam, you must submit an Extenuating Circumstances (EC) Claim. Find more information about Extenuating Circumstances in Chapter 2 of the Academic Manual. Failure to submit an EC claim is likely to result in you being awarded a mark of zero (Grade of F) and to be deemed as having made an attempt.

5.3 My examination performance is adversely affected?

If Extenuating Circumstances (EC) affect your performance at assessment, you must submit an EC Claim, together with appropriate supporting evidence, as soon as possible and no later than one week after the circumstance has taken place to your home department/faculty. Your student handbook/Moodle specifies where EC claims are to be submitted for your department/faculty.

Circumstances for which adjustments have already been made (e.g. extra time allowed for exams) should not be notified in this way. However, an acute episode or sudden worsening of a long-term or chronic condition will be considered under the EC provisions.

6. General regulations

Students should read these general regulations in conjunction with any faculty or programme specific derogations or variations as detailed in Chapter 8 of the Academic Manual or their departmental handbooks.

6.1 Unauthorised absence

If a student is absent from an examination or other form of assessment without permission, or, although present at an examination, either does not attempt the paper or attempts so little that it cannot be assessed, then s/he student will be awarded a mark of zero (or grade of F) and will be deemed to have made an attempt.

6.2 Re-assessment

Students who fail up to 60 credits are expected to re-enter the examination(s) at the next normal occasion (normally the Late Summer Assessment period), unless they have met the criteria for the failure to be condoned, been interrupted or have been suspended or withdrawn. Students who are on a Study Abroad year at the time of the next normal occasion will be re-examined during the late assessment period in the summer following their period of study abroad. 

Students who fail more than 60 credits will normally be required to repeat their attendance in those modules in the following year.

6.3 Number of permitted attempts

Students who are eligible to resit, may re-enter for assessment on one, and only one, more occasion.

Resitting students must only be reassessed in the failed module component(s).

6.4 Re-sit marks

Where a student passes a resit, the overall module mark will be capped at the pass mark.

Where a student fails a resit, the higher mark from the two attempts will be recorded against the affected module component(s). 

6.5 Interruption of Study

An Interruption of Study is available for students who require a temporary break from their studies and plan to resume their studies at a future date.  Students who want to interrupt because of a disability, an illness or other Extenuating Circumstance should discuss the all available options with their departmental/programme tutor.

7. Useful contacts

7.1 Student Lifecycle Services

This section is responsible for the co-ordination of UCL’s central student record keeping function, from enrolment, module registration, through to results and award.

7.2  Exams and Assessment Services

This section is responsible for the organisation and delivery of UCL’s centrally managed examinations.

7.3 Student Support and Wellbeing Services

Student Support and Wellbeing Services provide support for students that have long-term conditions that meet the criteria of a disability as set in the Equality Act 2010. This support can include reasonable adjustments for academic courses. Reasonable adjustments can be made across various areas of their academic journey including examinations and the team can discuss and implement potential exam adjustments with students.

7.4 Student Support and Enquiries

You can visit the Student Support and Wellbeing Services team in person at the Student Centre and UCL East. Staff there can advise you on how to complete many UCL processes and how to access the core services that UCL provides.

Visit the Student Support and Enquiries team

Although normally located on Floor 1 of the Student Centre Building, our service is currently operating on a remote basis and can be contacted via askUCL

You can get in touch with any of the above teams through the askUCL student enquiry system

Other useful contacts are:

7.5 Security Systems (for replacement ID cards)

7.6 ISD Service Desk (for password enquiries)

7.7 Portico Helpdesk