EXAMINATION RULES

The rules help keep examinations as fair as possible. To learn the specifics of the exam you are taking, please ask your teacher or the subject’s administrative office. Here are a few important rules to be aware of before your examination.

Registration

You must sign up to take the exam at least 14 days before the exam date. You cannot write your exam if you are not registered. If there is a long weekend in that period, the registration deadline may be earlier. The registration window usually opens one month before the exam date.

Sign up for distance exams as early as possible, at least 14 days before the exam date. Students who have not signed up will not be permitted to take the exam at an off-campus location.

If you change your mind after signing up, it is very important that you deregister.

Registration for both on-campus and distance exams is done via My Kau with a link to Ladok. You will automatically be registered at the Karlstad location. After registering, distance students have to click a link to choose another location. The link leads to My Kau and My Distance Exams, and a drop-down list of options. Please note that some locations are marked with a * and/or ¤, signifying that these locations charge a fee and/or have their own registration protocol.

• For more information, please go to the Distance Examinations page on kau.se

Distance students are advised to find out the protocol for their location. After registering, log on to My Kau and My Distance Exams to view your selected location or select another location. To view your registration and anonymity code, log on to Ladok.

Deregistration

If you signed up but cannot take the exam, deregister as soon as possible to let campus or your local study centre cancel invigilators and make other arrangements. Some local study centres will charge a fee for late deregistration or failure to deregister.

You can deregister after the sign-up deadline has passed. Go to Ladok using the link on My Kau/Examination and then go to Current Education and Result.

Exam location (campus)

Between one week and one day before, go here to find out in which hall the exam is held.

• Today’s exams
• Exams the next 7 days

When you take a distance exam, it is your own responsibility to follow local instructions, so make sure to double-check information about the address, scheduled time, venue, and similar. If the study centre charges an exam fee, they may require payment ahead of time.

Be on time and bring ID

Be at the location well ahead of time. Being late gives you less time to complete the exam, and it is also distracting to the other students. Examinations begin at the stated time, and the hall is opened no more than 30 minutes before. The invigilator will check your name off the sign-up sheet and assign you a seat. You will need a valid photo ID to be checked in and to submit your exam. Bring your ID to your seat. You must follow the instructions given by the invigilator during the exam.

From March 13, 2023, the rules of examination are going to change

In the past, it has been permitted to leave the examination hall after you have shown your ID and registered for the exam. That will now no longer be possible. From March 13, you may no longer leave the examination hall after you have identified yourself and been registered. Therefore you must stay in the examination hall until the exam starts, and you may leave the hall no earlier than 45 minutes after the start of the writing time.

But keep in mind that in order for the exam to start at the scheduled time, you still need to be in good time for registration and identification.

Late arrival

You can still take the exam as registered if you arrive within 45 minutes of the scheduled start time. If you are late  for your exam and the door is closed, you need to wait 45 minutes before you are allowed to enter the exam hall. To ensure that late arrivals still have the opportunity to take the exam, nobody is allowed to leave the exam hall during the first 45 minutes of the examination. This does not apply for exams on learning centers with start time at 9. 

Aids

Making sure that any aids you bring are allowed is your own responsibility. Your teacher will let you know ahead of time which aids (apart from pencils, erasers, and rulers) are allowed during the exam, for instance calculators, tables, or dictionaries. There will also be a list of acceptable aids on the cover sheet of the exam. If calculators are allowed, the teacher will specify if preprogramming is permitted and if memory units must be wiped. Coats, bags, and phones may not be brought to the desk. Phones must be switched off and kept in your coat, bag, or a safe-deposit box.

Anonymous exam

Your answer sheets and a cover sheet should be inside an exam envelope. On-campus exams are generally anonymous, and you must fill out the information requested on the cover sheet.

If the exam is not anonymous, state the course, module where applicable, course code, exam code, exam date, name, and personal identity number, and write down which questions you have answered.

Answer sheets

You must give your answers on the paper provided by the University. Write your anonymity code on each sheet. If the exam is not anonymous, write your name and personal identity number along with the question number and page number on each sheet. You must add this info within the allotted exam time, and it cannot be amended once time is up. Only use the front of each answer sheet for your answers!

Counting the papers submitted

All the submitted answer sheets must be counted, including the exam itself if answers are provided on the question sheets. Students must mark each sheet with their anonymity code, or course code and personal identity number if the exam is not anonymous. Do not count the cover sheet or aids, for instance formula collections.

Exam scanning

Since 1 February, 2013, all on-campus exams are scanned for electronic filing, allowing students to download their exams once graded. All the sheets must be filled out according to the instructions on the cover sheet, or the electronic recognition will fail. For example, answers must never be provided on the backs of the answer sheets!

Cheating

The Higher Education Ordinance allows for disciplinary measures like warnings or suspensions against students who “use prohibited aids or other methods to attempt to deceive during examinations or other forms of assessment of study performance”. An invigilator who suspects cheating will confront the student, confiscate possible evidence, and immediately contact the teacher in charge. The student cannot be made to leave or stop taking the exam on the grounds of suspected cheating. The suspicion is immediately reported to the Vice Chancellor by the invigilator or teacher who discovered it. The Vice Chancellor then decides if it is a matter for the disciplinary board.

• Find out more about cheating and plagiarism here

Disruptive behaviour

A student that is unequivocally disruptive or obstructive during an exam may be asked to stop taking the exam and leave the room immediately. The invigilator will report the incident to the Vice Chancellor and teacher in charge.

When the exam is over

You must submit your exam within the allotted time. Even if you have not answered the questions, you have to submit a so-called “blank” exam, meaning a completely filled out cover sheet. You may not submit your exam until at least 45 minutes have passed since the exam started. You are required to show a valid photo ID when you submit your exam.

Exam results

Exam results are posted on My Kau and/or the subject’s or course’s bulletin board. You are entitled to find out your result within 15 working days after the exam, and no later than 10 working days before the resit is scheduled. Exceptions may be made due to extremely large classes, illness, or similar. If so, this will be announced on the subject’s bulletin board or the course website.

Where to pick up graded exams

You can download your graded exam via My Kau and My Exams. All of your electronically filed exams should be visible here and available for download. Any objections to the grade must be submitted separately. “Appeals for a review of grades” can be picked up at the Welcome Centre or downloaded here:

• Forms