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STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR TAKING EXAMINATIONS

The following guidelines are written to ensure that all students have a uniform experience while
taking exams at the College of Medicine. They are based on the NBME guidelines used for shelf
exams in the Year III core clerkships. They also reflect the conditions you will experience when you
take board exams.

A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. For a paper examination, students will be registered and handed a sealed copy of
the exam. For a computer exam, each student will be handed appropriate material
(Scantron, scratch paper, directions on how to access exam, electronic media, etc.)
after they are seated at their desk. If required, College of Medicine calculators will
be distributed at time of check in or will be placed on desks by the computer.

2. Students are to remain quietly in their seats

3. Personal belongings:

Examinees are not to bring any personal belongings into the seating area of the
testing room.

All materials except pencils and erasers must be deposited in the area designated
for personal belongings. Personal belongings are to be placed in front or near the
perimeter of the room. Materials are not to be placed in aisles or by the student’s
seat.

Personal items that are not permitted in the seating area of the testing room
include but are not limited to:

Reference material (books, notes, papers)


Backpacks, briefcases, purses, coats or brimmed hats
Personal Digital Assistants (e.g. palm pilots)
Calculators (unless supplied by the College of Medicine)
Paging devices
Recording/filming devices
Radios, iPods, and any other electronic devices
Watches with functioning alarms (alarms must be turned off)

If a student is found with an electronic device at his/her seat, the student will receive
a zero for the examination.

Cell phones have evolved from simple telephones into highly sophisticated
computers with multiple functions. For the security of the examination and for an
appropriate and quiet atmosphere necessary for examinations, cell phones may
NOT be brought into the examination room; they are to be left in the student’s
locker. If a student is found with a cell phone on his/her person, the student will
receive a zero for the exam. If a cell phone that is inadvertently brought into the
room (e.g., in a back pack) goes off, the phone will be confiscated until the end of
the exam.
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4. Reference materials (books, notes, papers) are not permitted to be free in the
testing room. They must be placed in backpacks and not be left in the seating area.

5. The food and drink rules existing for each examination room will be observed during
exams. For example, food and beverages of any kind, except beverages in securely
closed containers, are not allowed in the computer rooms. If a medical condition
requires food and room rules prohibit food, the student must have made adequate
arrangements with the Disabilities Committee, who will communicate to the course
director that alternative arrangements must be made for this student. Exam proctors
have the right to inspect any food or beverage containers that have been allowed.

B. BEGINNING THE EXAM

1. Record your name and identification number on your Scantron or other answer
sheet. In the case of paper exams this represents the answer sheet; in the case of
computer exams, this is the back-up if there are computer problems. Remember to
record your answers immediately. In the case of computer exams, the Scantron
sheet will be considered only if answers were not submitted electronically due to a
computer malfunction.

2. For computer exams, log onto the exam following distributed directions. For paper
exams, wait for the proctor to announce that you may begin.

3. Questions regarding the exam:

No content questions will be answered during the exam.

Typographical and other errors will be announced to everyone at the same


time.

4. No extra time for transferring answers from test booklet to answer sheet, or from
computers to answer sheet is given. When time is up, no further writing or computer
entry is allowed for any reason. A student who fails to end either a paper and pencil
examination or computer based examination at the end of the exam as determined
by the proctor will receive a zero for the exam. Continuing the exam would be
considered an Honors code violation, and will be reported as such.

5. Technical problems during computer examinations: If you encounter technical


problems during the exam, please notify the instructor or proctor immediately. If
problems persist, you will be given a paper copy of the exam to work with. If the
computer problem is resolved quickly, you may return to the computer exam. You
will receive time equal to the delay to complete the exam, plus 5 minutes to transfer
answers from the back-up answer sheet to the computer.

6. Personal breaks

In large lecture halls, only one student of each sex may use the restroom at a
time. In the computer labs, only one student may leave the room at a time.

All material should be placed face down on the student’s desk.

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6. Personal breaks (continued):

Additional testing time is not given for that time lost during a personal break.

Initiating or receiving telephone calls is not permitted during an examination.

7. Be familiar with the Exam Interruption Policies (e.g., fire alarm; see attached).

8. Students are expected to arrive on time to examinations. It is highly disruptive to all


involved when students arrive late. For this reason and for the security of each
examination, late examinees may be admitted up until 30 minutes into the exam.
Highly unusual circumstances will be entertained on a case-by-case basis. For the
first 30 minutes of an exam, no one will be permitted to leave the room. A
student who arrives more than 30 minutes late for an examination will receive
a zero for that exam.

C. EXITING THE EXAMINATION

1. Students who finish the examination early are permitted to leave the room until the
last ten minutes of the examination.

2. All test material is to be placed in designated spots before the student leaves the
exam room.

3. Fifteen minutes before the end of the exam, a warning will be given that during the
last ten minutes no student is permitted to leave his/her seat. The ten-minute mark
(prior to end of exam) will also be announced. This provides a quiet environment for
students to finish the exam.

4. In computer exams, students are to leave computers on the desk, not put them in
drawers. They are to leave the room immediately upon completing the exam, and
not stay to check e-mail, use the internet, etc.

5. Students who have completed an exam are to refrain from making noise outside the
testing room and are to leave the testing area.

D. INCLEMENT WEATHER: See related policy.

E. IRREGULAR INCIDENTS

Irregular incidents may include evidence of copying, giving or receiving unauthorized


information, making unauthorized notes, continuing to write or click after the exam
has been stopped or engaging in other behavior disruptive to fellow examinees.
These incidents will be handled according to Honor Council guidelines and will be
reported to the Honor Council.

Approved by: Education Policy Committee Date: August 2, 2007


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