Exam conduct: Useful things you need to know

We know lots of you have an exam or assessment this month, which is why we’ve compiled this list of things you need to know.

Best of luck and remember, if you’re struggling, support is available. You can find out more about the help you can receive via our Student Services webpages.

Exam conduct

  1. Make sure you double-check your personal exam timetable on Liverpool Life. Don’t rely on friends or other students to give you the dates, times or locations of your exams. They might get it wrong and you could risk missing your exam.
  2. You need to arrive at the exam hall 15 minutes before the start of the exam and you should enter the hall in silence.
  3. Make sure you have all your writing implements with you in a transparent bag.
  4. Remember to bring your student ID card and place it on your exam desk.
  5. You are not allowed to bring any unauthorised material (this includes any notes, even if they don’t relate to the exam) into an exam hall. If unauthorised material is taken into the exam hall, this will be treated as cheating and you will likely be referred to the University’s Board of Discipline. If a charge of cheating is proven or admitted, the penalties (which usually involve a mark of zero for the module and a suspension of studies for a year) have serious consequences for your overall degree classification and could result in your studies being terminated.
  6. Make sure you switch off your mobile phones, smart watches and other electronic devices. You should either place your devices in a bag at the front of the exam hall, or in a sealed transparent bag under your seat. If you have a mobile phone, smart watch or other electronic device with you during the exam this will be considered to be unauthorised material.
  7. Any cover on your calculator case should either not be taken into the exam hall or removed and placed in a bag at the front of the hall before the start of the exam.
  8. Make sure you check before entering the exam hall that you haven’t accidentally left any unauthorised material in your pockets (for example, notes, mobile phone, smart watch or other electronic devices) and that you have removed any revision notes written on any object such as your hand or any eraser. It does happen, so make sure it doesn’t happen to you.  If you do find that you have any unauthorised material with you once the exam has started, please inform an invigilator at once.
  9. You need to follow all instructions given to you by the invigilator.

If you have any queries about the exams, please contact the Exam Team on examsenq@liverpool.ac.uk or contact your academic department. 

Exam conduct regulations

Please read the Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations and the Notes for Guidance of Examination Candidates. We recommend that all students taking exams read and digest this important information.

Extenuating Circumstances

We have well-established processes in place to deal with situations where students, through no fault of their own, have missing marks or have assessments affected by extenuating circumstances. Our procedures work on the principle of fairness and no detriment to the student. The relevant examinations board will consider all cases at the end of the academic year.

If you think your performance in an exam or assessment was affected by illness or other unforeseeable circumstances, you should submit an Extenuating Circumstances claim with appropriate evidence to your department or school.

Make sure you check the deadline by which any claim must be submitted with your department or school – the expectation is normally within five working days.

You can read the Extenuating Circumstances Policy here and read the Extenuating Circumstances Policy Guidelines here.

Industrial action

We know that you will be concerned about the potential impact of industrial action on your ability to complete coursework or answer examination questions and would like to reassure you that we will make certain that no student is disadvantaged as a result of the strike action. We will be aware of where missed teaching sessions may have an impact on some coursework or exam questions and we have processes in place for our Board of Examiners to ensure that your attainment and progression is not unduly affected, whilst maintaining academic standards.

Once work has been marked, consideration will be made by a Board of Examiners as to whether the work has been significantly impacted by the industrial action. In these circumstances you will be notified of the action to be taken.

Please note, if you feel that issues related to the industrial action have impacted on your performance, you will not need to apply for extenuating circumstances to ensure that you are being treated fairly. However, if you wish to notify us about any personal circumstances unrelated to the strike action which you believe may affect your performance, please follow the normal process of extenuating circumstances as described above.