General exam information

The majority of on campus examinations (including deferred and supplementary examinations) will be held in either the Alan Mitchell Sports Centre or Sturt Gymnasium.

Some on campus examinations will also be scheduled in computer labs and smaller venues within the University. 

Please be aware, your venue may be different for each examination. Please make note of the venue within your personalised examination table and familiarise yourself with the location, as well as the closest car parks and bus stops before the day of your examination(s).

Refer to the campus map for details.

Please check the general information for examination conditions and further details.

The Examination rules at Flinders University state that a student must take their Student ID card to all examinations.

At the start of each examination, invigilation staff are required to match the Student ID card with the student sitting the exam. Students that have lost their Student ID card must see Flinders Connect staff for a replacement.

Students who do not have a student identification card must bring other photographic identification such as a Drivers License or Passport, which will be verified against the university database by an examination supervisor.

Women who wear burqas or niqabs who have centrally administered examinations are required to arrive at the examination venue early to have their identification verified by a female staff member.

You are permitted to take the following items into the examination room with you:

• writing materials (eg pens, eraser) in a transparent pencil case or clear plastic sleeve only
• Student ID card or other Photo ID (students must present photo ID at every exam)
• water in a transparent bottle with the label removed and no writing, logos or pictures on the bottle
• soft lollies without wrappers or sultanas only in a clear plastic bag
• analogue and digital watches (non smartwatches), however they will be required to be placed on the exam desk.

If you have an electronic Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) card (or if you updated your details in the Student System by the deadline), you will not be required to present your NESB card at exams. A list of NESB card holders will be provided to exam invigilators to ensure eligible students receive the additional time provisions.  Eligible NESB students are permitted to bring a non-technical dictionary (English only) with no notes, diagrams or pictures on any pages into the exam.

In some examinations, students are allowed to bring selected additional materials into the room, eg programmable calculators, textbook, etc. You will be notified by your Topic Coordinator or this will be listed on your personalised examination timetable if you are permitted to use these.

Students who require alternative exam conditions on the basis of a medical condition or disability need to bring a copy of their Disability Access Plan with them to each examination.

Banned items not permitted in an exam room under any circumstances:

• bags (including handbags)
• wallets
• food (other than soft lollies without wrappers or sultanas in a clear bag)
• nuts
• mobile phones*, smartwatches, fitness trackers, wearable technology, mp3 players, PDAs, laptops and any other electronic devices
• pencil cases (only transparent pencil cases or plastic sleeves are permitted)
• packets of tissues (tissues will be provided in each venue)
• anything which contains, or conveys, or is capable of conveying information concerning or otherwise having reference to the subject matter under examination (other than where such items are approved/permitted).

*Mobile phones will be permitted in Computer labs (CML and IST) where Multi-Factor Authentication will be required to log into exams on FLO. Once signed in, you must place your phone away and it is not to be accessed under any circumstances during the exam. 

Limited bag storage facilities are available at exam venues; the Alan Mitchell Sport Centre and the Sturt Gymnasium for storage of any such non-permitted items. We strongly advise you do not bring any items other than those permitted to your exams due to a reduced capacity to store items.

Students who bring any of the above items into the examination room may be dismissed from the examination venue and reported to the relevant College in accordance with the University's Policy on Academic Integrity.

Eligibility

A Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) student is a student who, at the time of commencement:

• Was born outside of Australia and is from a non-English speaking country, AND
• has lived in Australia or another English-speaking country (i.e New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom or the USA) less than ten years previously, AND
• Speaks a language other than English at home.

Conditions

Students from a non-English speaking background (NESB) will receive the following variations to test and examination procedures for the duration of their course:

• extra time of ten minutes per hour of the test or examination (writing time only), and
• use of an English language dictionary*, except where the topic coordinator determines that the nature of the examination in a particular topic may make the use of a dictionary inappropriate.
  * Electronic, specialised, technical, scientific and notated dictionaries (including those with diagrams or images) as well as thesauruses are NOT permitted unless specified by the topic coordinator.

Cards

NESB cards are issued automatically each year to eligible students after Semester 1 and Semester 2 Census dates. Cards are sent electronically to the student’s Flinders email.

To ensure eligible students receive their cards automatically, the following details need to be entered in the Student System, via the “My Details” tab, at the time of enrolment or before the semester census date:

1. Year of entry into Australia
2. Country of Birth
3. Main language spoken at permanent home residence.
   

If you believe you are eligible for a NESB card and do not received your NESB card shortly after the semester census date, please submit an Ask Flinders request. If the details you have registered in the Student System are verified as correct, a card will be generated and emailed to you.

In accordance with the University's Assessment Policy and Procedures, students are eligible to apply for a deferred assessment if unforeseen or exceptional circumstances prevent them from either sitting or remaining for the duration of the original examination.

Unforeseen or exceptional circumstances may include, but are not limited to:

• illness of the student or a close relative;
• unanticipated personal circumstances of a compelling nature;
• unanticipated and significant work-related circumstances of a compelling nature; and
• sporting commitments for recognised elite athletes.

A deferred assessment can be in a wide variety of formats, however, if you miss your final examination due to illness or compassionate circumstances, your deferred assessment will normally take the form of an examination.

Medical or compassionate grounds

If you need to apply for a deferred assessment based on medical and/or compassionate grounds, you need to complete a Deferred assessment application form and submit it to the College responsible for your topic within three (3) working days of the examination taking place or assignment due date. The college contact details are on the form.

You can also submit your application online and attach the supporting documentation.

Deferred assessment applications based on medical or compassionate grounds must have supporting evidence obtained from a doctor (medical certificate) or an appropriate professional. Please ensure supporting evidence covers dates applicable to this application (eg. medical certificate is for the date of the exam).

On campus exams
If you are unwell on the day of your exam, or are displaying any COVID symptoms please do not come on campus. Phone your medical practitioner or health professional to make an appointment or alternatively phone the University’s Health, Counselling and Disability Service to make an appointment and obtain the necessary supporting documentation. You must then submit a deferred assessment application within three (3) working days of the exam taking place.

Online exams
If you are unable to complete your online exam due to medical or compassionate reasons, complete the Online Examination Incident Report to record your early departure.

Phone your medical practitioner or health professional to make an appointment or alternatively phone the University’s Health, Counselling and Disability Service to make an appointment and obtain the necessary supporting documentation. You must then submit a deferred assessment application within three (3) working days of the exam taking place.

Your application will be considered by the College and you will be notified of the decision. 

If you have been offered a deferred assessment, you will see a deferred assessment indicator on your results. Eg I/M (*/M indicates that a deferred assessment has been awarded on medical or compassionate grounds).

If you are unsure which College your topic is aligned to, you can check here on the topics mapped to College page.

If you fail a topic and receive a mark between 45-49%, you will automatically be awarded a supplementary assessment. This will be indicated by an indicator on your results. Eg F/A (*/A indicates a supplementary assessment has been awarded on academic grounds).

Please view the Assessment Policy and Procedures for further information.

Some deferred and supplementary examinations held by the Topic Coordinator or College may be scheduled outside of the dates stated above. You will be notified by your College if this is the case.

Keeping students safe is Flinders’ number one priority.

Additional COVID safety measures will be put in place at exam venues for the November 2020 exam period, in line with current health guidelines. This includes:

• COVID marshals in attendance
• additional cleaning between exam sittings
• fewer students sitting exams at the same time
• strict social distancing measures
• new bag storage procedures; and
• new processes for entry to, and exit from, the venue. 

Please note: it is your responsibility to ensure you do not attend on campus examinations if you are unwell or if you are displaying any COVID symptoms. If you are unable to attend your examination due to illness, you can apply for a deferred assessment.

New bag storage procedures

You are strongly encouraged, where possible, to avoid bringing a bag to the exam venue. If you do have a bag, or items you need to store during the exam, please ensure you allow sufficient time to do this. Students waiting in storage queues will need to maintain appropriate social distancing and this may take additional time (compared to previous years).

For information about what items are allowed at exam venues, please see permitted items.

New processes for entry to, and exit from, exam venues

To ensure social distancing is maintained when entering the exam venue, you will be placed in queues based on your allocated seat number. You will then enter the exam venue in these respective queues. Your seat number will be emailed to you a week prior to the exam period commencing, so please ensure you take note of this.

As this is a different process to previous years, please allow additional time. It is recommended that you arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the start time of your exam, to avoid any unnecessary last minute stress.

There will also be a separate exit point for students to leave the exam venue.