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Information for students

Examination timetable

Before checking the timetable, please read the information under 'Examination Policies and Procedures' below, in particular the Rules to be observed by candidates for examinations.

View the current examination timetable.

Please note: all examinations are presumed closed book unless otherwise stated in the notes column of the timetable.

Key dates for Semester 2, 2008

  • DRAFT exam timetable release - Thu 18 Sept
  • FINAL exam timetable release - Thu 2 Oct
  • Seat Numbers (showing the location of the exam) release - Thu 9 Oct
  • Examination period - Monday 10 - Saturday 22 November inclusive
  • Unit of study results - progressively released from Wed 26 November

Examination policies and procedures

Listed below is a comprehensive collection of policy and information concerning examinations which students should review thoroughly. Please select from the following points:

Rules to be observed by candidates for examinations (revised August 2007)

  • Candidates are required to follow all instructions given by examination supervisors.
  • No writing paper, books, papers, manuscripts or notes of any kind are to be taken into an examination room (unless expressly permitted in advance by the examiner). No writing paper may be taken out of the examination room. No pencil cases are allowed into the examination room.
  • Students may take in pens, pencils and drawing instruments, slide rules, small sweets etc and a small bottle of water in a clear container but not cups of coffee, bottles or cans of soft drink, fruit, biscuits or any food or drink in general. A small fruit juice may be taken in by diabetics. Small bags (document size) WHICH MUST BE LEFT IN SPECIAL DESIGNATED AREAS may be taken in to the examination room. Small valuable items such as mobile phones (which must be switched off - not just silent) must remain with the student during the examination and must be left on the floor. All students are warned against leaving money or valuables in bags. The University can accept no responsibility for the loss of students' personal property. Anything taken into an examination room must be made available for inspection by the examination supervisors or other University staff.
  • The use of programmable and non-programmable calculators may be permitted in examinations conducted within the University. Students are not permitted to share calculators, or pass them between each other in an examination. Mobile phones which have a calculator facility are not allowed. Use of a non-permissible calculator will be regarded as cheating.
  • No candidate may be admitted to an examination room after the expiration of 30 minutes from the commencement of writing.
  • No candidate may leave an examination room [even if entered in error] except under escort, until 30 minutes has elapsed from the time of writing commenced. Students who attend an examination at the wrong time and have entered the examination room, will be required to stay in that room for 30 minutes from the time writing has commenced. No candidate may leave during the last ten minutes of any examination.
  • Ten minutes reading time is allowed for most papers. During this time you may complete your attendance form and fill in the covers of your answer books. No other writing is permitted.
  • Once the time allowed for the examination has elapsed the Examination Supervisor will instruct candidates to cease writing but quietly remain in their seats until given permission to leave. The following rules must be observed:
    (i) your examination materials will be collected before you are given permission to leave your examination desk.
    (ii) candidates must remain in their seats until instructed by the Examination Supervisor to leave the room;
    (iii) any candidate not adhering to supervisor instructions (e.g. to stop writing) may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
  • Any student wishing to leave the examination room early must attract the attention of the Examination Supervisor and then follow the procedures outlined above.
  • "Confidential Papers" - Most papers of this type (usually multiple-choice papers) are not to be copied, nor removed from the examination room by students or supervisors. Candidates must not take from the examination room any examination answer book, graph paper, drawing paper or any other materials issued for use during the examination.
  • Smoking is not permitted in examination rooms.
  • Students are not permitted to loiter in the vicinity of examination rooms; during, or at the conclusion of an examination. Nor are they permitted to talk or make noise near such rooms.
  • The attention of all candidates is drawn to the instructions printed on the cover of each examination book.
  • Candidates are required to display their valid USYD Student Identification Card upon entering the examination room and must display their card on their desk in the examination room for the duration of the examination. Students without an identity card will be required to provide other appropriate identification such as driver's licence, passport, etc. Any student failing to provide photo identification may not be permitted to sit for the examination.
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Examination clash information

  • An examination clash occurs when you have two or more exams that have been timetabled for the same day and time. Also, if you have three exams scheduled on one day.
  • Examinations with a 40 minute (or more) break between them are not considered to be clashing.
  • Clash forms are no longer required. The Examinations Office will email you on your University email account to inform you of the arrangements for your examination clash.
  • If you have not received any email notification one week prior to your examination clash, please contact the Examinations Office.
  • You can assume that if you have two exams clashing on one day then you will write those exams on that day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon with a minimum of 40 mins in between the exams.
  • If you have three exams on one day, you will write two on the day and the third one either the day before or the next day.
  • Please note this refers to daytime exams at the University of Sydney only. Any evening exam clashes need to be reported to the examiner/ departments concerned as the department is responsible for making arrangements for evening clashes.
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Students with disabilities, medical conditions or injuries

Students with a disability, including serious medical condition, or recent injury, which puts them at a disadvantage during examinations should contact Disability Services, Level 7, Education Building, Manning Road, as soon as possible.

Phone: +61 2 9351 7040
Fax: +61 2 9351 3320

If appropriate, special arrangements can be made to meet particular requirements.

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Examination seat numbers and rooms

You will require a seat number for most of your examinations. Seat numbers identify your own seat in the exam room and the location of the examination itself. You must look up your seat numbers (when they are released, see Key dates) by logging onto MyUni and accessing student self-administration from the MyAdmin tab.

There are pop-up maps with the seat numbers to help you if you are unfamiliar with an examination room or building. There is also a brochure you can download with specific locations of exam rooms (including those in the Main Quadrangle).

All evening exams (those commencing at, or after, 5pm) are "In Department". You will be given an exam location but no seat number for these exams. You do not need a seat number for "In Department" exams.

Tip: You don't want to be wandering around looking for your exam room on the morning of your exam! Familiarise yourself with room locations prior to your exam day.

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Problems with your seat number

You must attend to these problems well before the day of the examination. Don't wait until the day of the examination to resolve any seating allocation problems!

The Problem

What to do

You have neither a seat number nor a location (room) for an exam

Go to the Student Centre (opening hours: 9am-5pm) and fill out a 'Request for a Seat Number' form

You have a location (room), but no seat number You do not need a seat number for this exam. You will be attended to at the exam room on the day of the exam.

You have two or more exams at the same time

The Examinations Office will email you on your University email account to inform you of the arrangements for your examination clash (daytime exams only).

If you have not received any email notification one week prior to your examination clash, please contact the Examinations Office.

For evening exams (those held from 5pm onwards) you will need to contact the examiner/department concerned, as the department is responsible for making arrangements for evening clashes.

You have a seat number/room for an exam that you are not attempting

Ignore it

Seat numbers will also be displayed outside the examination room prior to the exam.

If your name is not listed you should notify the Supervisor-in-Charge of the room.

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Student misconduct

Students are advised that the University takes a most serious view of any attempt to gain unfair advantage over other students in examinations. Warning is given that by taking into an examination room any aids or materials not authorised for an examination, the risk is taken of confiscation of the aids or materials, which would then be subject to a report, which may lead to misconduct proceedings under the provisions of the University By-Laws. Students should be particularly careful to check with the examiner well before an examination, whether their calculator (programmable or non-programmable), portable computer or device incorporating one of these features (e.g. a memory watch, calculator watch or watch computer) is an authorised aid.

Students found guilty of misconduct may be failed in the unit of study, excluded from the unit of study or excluded from the University.

Students are advised to read the Rules to be observed by candidates for examinations above.

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Illness and/or misadventure - special consideration regarding examinations

Your attention is drawn to the following resolutions of the Academic Board:

"Any student who desires special consideration by any Board of Examiners on the grounds of illness or misadventure must forward evidence of such to the Faculty before the commencement of the examination period concerned, unless the illness or injury takes place during the currency of the examinations, in which case the evidence must be forwarded as soon as is practicable, and not later than the last day of the examination timetable."

In the case of illness, a Special Consideration form with Professional Practitioner Certificate signed by the student's medical practitioner must accompany the request. Such certificates should:

  1. describe the nature of the student's illness
  2. indicate the degree of incapacity of the student and its duration or probable duration
  3. indicate the date(s) on which the student sought attention

A Special Consideration form, with Professional Practitioner Certificate, is available from the Student Centre, the Faculty Offices, the University Health Service or by downloading from the Special Consideration webpage.

All forms must be lodged at the appropriate Faculty Office.

Students who become ill immediately before or during an examination should notify an examination supervisor, who will arrange an escort to the University Health Service where they will be seen by a medical practitioner and where they may, if appropriate, continue their examination.

Misreading of the timetable will not be accepted as a reason for failing to attend an exam.

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Open book/open note examinations

Where known at time of printing, open book/open note examinations are shown as such in this timetable. If you are in any doubt about a particular paper being open book/open note, you should check with the examiner well before the examination.

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Use of linguistics dictionaries

The answers in all examinations and in all work submitted must be in English unless otherwise directed.

Use of an electronic dictionary is not permitted, unless expressly allowed by the examiner concerned.

Students from a non English-speaking background are eligible to apply for permission to use a standard linguistic dictionary in examinations.

Normally, this would be restricted to students who did not sit the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (or equivalent) and enrolled at the University through the International Office.

The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery does not allow the use of dictionaries from 3rd Year in the Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-Registration). Translation dictionaries may be used in examinations by ESL (English as a second language) students who are sitting for examinations in Year 1 of the Master of Nursing (Graduate entry) including those enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing (Post-registration). Year 2 ESL students in these degrees are not permitted to use translation dictionaries.

Dictionaries must be single-volume editions.

Present your dictionary to the Examinations Office (Student Centre, Level 1 of the CarslawBuilding) for approval - this must be done at least two weeks before the examination period commences. It will be checked and stamped and you will then be able to use it in examinations at any time throughout your university enrolment.

Your dictionary may be checked at random during examinations for unauthorised notes/materials, the presence of which may result in charges of academic misconduct .

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Standard calculators

The University supplies standard Casio fx 85MS calculators in specific examinations nominated by the examiners, as indicated in the examination timetable. The calculators will include scientific, engineering and statistical (mean and standard deviation) functions. When the University provides these calculators candidates are not permitted to use their own.

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Bags in examination room

Students are permitted to take small bags into most examination rooms (some have nearby areas for the purpose). These bags must only be placed in the area designated by the Presiding Supervisor. Anything taken into the examination room must be made available for inspection by the examination supervisors or other University staff.

Small valuable items such as purses, wallets and mobile phones (which must be switched off, including alarm - not just silent) must remain with students during the examination and should be left on the floor under their desks.

All students are warned against leaving money or valuables in bags. The University accepts no responsibility for the loss of students' personal property.

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Further tests

Any further tests or assessment granted to students who qualify, will be administered completely by the department offering that unit of study. All enquiries should be directed to the department concerned.

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Access to completed examination scripts

The NSW Freedom of Information Act provides that students may, upon request, obtain [a copy of] their examination scripts or any other written answers to examinations questions, provided that;

  1. the request is made within three months of the release of the results of the examinations.
  2. the examination involved was not a confidential examination paper.
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Lost property

The Examinations Office regularly hand property left in examination rooms to the Security Service's Lost Property Office, which is located at

Level 2, SecurityServicesBuilding
Codrington Street, Darlington

The office is open 8.30am to 4.00pm Monday - Friday (Phone: +61 2 9351 5325). Outside office hours contact the Security Patrol Service on +61 2 9351 3487.

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Assessment policies

Information about the University's examination and assessment policies can be found in the Academic Board Resolutions: Assessment and Examination of Coursework.

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