Guidelines for Test Taking at Ben-Gurion University (Translated by the Student Council at the Sede Boqer Campus)
Exam_procedures - Hebrew Version
The following guidelines are intended to clarify the accepted regulations regarding test taking at Ben-Gurion University. These regulations apply to both instructors and students.
1) Purpose Examinations serve as a way to evaluate a student’s accomplishments in relation to the material taught in a particular course.
2) Requirements and evaluations of courses a. Evaluations will be conducted in the exact same manner for every student in the class (exceptions due to disabilities, etc. are listed below). The instructor is responsible, at the outset of the course, for clarifying, in writing to the students, both the objectives of class instruction and the course expectations, including any policies regarding attendance, tests, homework, quizzes, class trips, and the significance of fulfilling the course expectations. b. A description of the relevant course material should appear in the syllabus, as determined by the instructor. c. The instructor will determine, at the beginning of the semester, and must reiterate for all students entering the class late during the two-week grace period how final grades will be determined; the weight of each assignment and how they will be figured in the final grade should be made clear in writing for all students and for the teaching committee in the relevant department. The instructor may not change the components of the final grade during the semester. d. If a course is taught by more than one instructor, one instructor should be designated as responsible for all course matters, including tests and final grades. e. The course instructor will determine the final grade, which will be a percentage between zero and one hundred. In special cases, the teaching committee will be permitted to give, instead of grades, a mark of pass/fail/participated.
3) Requirements for student participation in a course a. The student registered for the course. b. The student fulfilled all of the prerequisite requirements for the course. c. The student has no financial debt to the university. d. There is no disciplinary procedure preventing the student from taking the course’s exam. A student who did not meet these requirements and still took an exam in the course will not have his/her grade accounted for until s/he fulfills them.
4) Types of examinations a. Final examinations or final take-home exams whose grade constitutes more than 30% of the final grade in the course. These tests are administered only at the end of the semester. b. Quizzes administered during the semester. Quiz grades can constitute up to 30% of the final grade. I Quizzes whose grades are included in the final grade regardless of their effect. ii Quizzes whose grades are only included in the final grade if they raise the final grade. c. Surprise quizzes will not be administered at this institution. d. Guidelines concerning test reviews, requests to re-grade tests, and the deadlines by which grades must be submitted are generally the same for quizzes as for final examinations. Quizzes can only be taken once, on the date determined by the teacher. If the student is absent for a legitimate reason, as described in article 7 of the test guidelines, sub-articles 2-9, the possibility to make up the grade in a manner determined by the instructor will be offered. The course instructor has the sole responsibility of deciding the date of a quiz in accordance with the course requirements. Quiz dates should be announced two weeks in advance.
5) The test questionnaire a. The course instructor is responsible for preparing the test questions. The content of the test must fit the design of the class and be according to the instructions posted in the course requirements. The course requirements should not be altered after the end of the two-week grace period at the beginning of the semester during which students can change their class schedule. b. If it is permitted for course material to be consulted during the test, the teacher should notify students of this in advance. c. The percentage of each test question and of the respective sections in each question must be published on the test form itself. If the percentage value of each question is not indicated on the test, equal weight will be assigned to each question and to each respective section.
6) Testing dates a. For first-degree courses, students are entitled to two testing dates for final examinations, according to the rules of the faculty to which the student belongs. First-degree students who must take second-degree courses offered by their department due to a lack of elective courses are also entitled to two testing dates. Students who are absent from one of the test dates, either the first or second, are entitled to ask for an additional test date under the criteria described below. b. In second-degree courses, the students (including first-degree students who choose to participate in second-degree courses of their own accord) are entitled to only one testing date. c. For each scheduled testing date, the course instructor will ensure that the test format and procedures are equivalent for each test regarding the following components: test length, level of difficulty of test questions, allowing or forbidding the use of course material during tests the relative weight of each question etc.’. d. For first-degree courses, there are two examination dates at the end of each semester. e. Students who take the same test on both test dates offered will be awarded the grade of the last test taken, and preceding grades will be forfeited. f. Final examination dates, including the submission dates of take-home exams, will be coordinated between the department/faculty secretary and the Departmentof Testing. g. The official Department of Testing will announce the test dates at least four weeks before the end of the semester.
7) Special test dates a. Students who are absent from one of the two testing dates for one of the reasons listed below are entitled to request to take the test on an additional date after presenting the proper permission slip indicating a sufficient reason for their absence. The permission slip should be submitted to the faculty teaching committee according to the faculty guidelines on this matter. The matter should be settled no later than two weeks after the end of the testing period for the semester in question. b. Along with the announcement of the two regular test dates, the faculty should also announce, either on the local bulletin board or online, the guidelines for submitting a request for an additional testing date. c. A student for whom an additional test date has been permitted is required to sign up for a testing date ahead of time, according to the regulations determined by the faculty. A notice of the date of the test will be sent to the student at least three weeks before the test date. d. A student who registers for a testing date but fails to show up for the test without notifying the relevant department personnel of his/her absence beforehand will pay a fine of 200 shekels (the exact amount of the sum is subject to change). e. A student qualifies for a special testing date if on the scheduled test dates, the student is in one of the following situations: The student is required to take two exams that are scheduled with less than 24 hours between them (according to the student’s exam table) Army reserve duty Hospitalization Pregnancy-related issues Giving birth Mourning period (seven days) Commonly celebrated religious festivals and holidays Participation in an official competitive sporting event f. If two tests have been scheduled for the same time and date, the student is required to take the test in the course that is mandatory for his/her degree and re-test in the second course either on the second testing date or at some other time. g. If army reserve duty continues for longer than two days during the testing period, students are entitled to be absent from all the tests taking place during and a number of days after the last day of army duty, according to the following equation: Number of reserve duty days * 0.8 The result obtained from this equation should be rounded upwards to the nearest whole number. Under no circumstances should a special testing date be scheduled for less than four days after the end of the reserve duty.
*Students called for one-day reserve duty, not to update personal information or for an interview but for a military operation that cannot be re-scheduled, should present a permission slip with the following information: 1. Exact hours of the service; 2. A notice from an army official declaring the impossibility of re-scheduling the army service.
h. Students who give birth are entitled to skip tests until three months after the birth and to re-take the missed tests after this period during appropriate test dates that will be determined in consultation with the secretary of the relevant department. i. Students participating in official competitive sporting events that take place on the dates of scheduled tests or the during the evening of scheduled test dates are entitled to special testing dates upon presenting a notice signed by the Director of the University Sport Center.
General: The equation 0.8 * the dates of absence from school will also be applied for cases of hospitalization, pregnancy issues and mourning.
8) Test regulations a. Open-book tests The course material permitted to be used during open-book tests will be announced to students before the test and will be clearly specified in writing on the test itself. The use of any other material is strictly forbidden. The circulation of material from student to student during the testing hour is strictly forbidden. b. Test language 2.1 Unless otherwise indicated, Hebrew is the official testing language. 2.2 First-year students are entitled to write tests in English or in their preferred language, with the permission of the course instructor in charge of the test. Students must submit a request to test in a language other than Hebrew to the faculty secretary two weeks before the testing date. c. Test-taking instructions for students 3.1 Upon arrival at the testing site, students must place a photo identity card on the desk 3.2 It is forbidden for students to bring the following items to their seats during the testing period: personal bags, books, notebooks, cell phones or other communication devices, calculators, computers, palm-pilots, cheat-sheets, lists, or anything else except what is permissible for the test according to the instructions written on the test forms. (For students who have special needs, refer to the “special needs” section below). 3.3 If a student leaves the testing room after test questionnaires have been distributed, the student is considered to have forfeited that particular testing opportunity. 3.4 It is forbidden for students to talk during tests, move around or leave the room without permission. 3.5 Tests must be written in pen and not in pencil, in clear and clean script, on one side of the test notebook. Nothing should be written in the margins, and white-out should not be used to cover mistakes. The right-hand side of the test notebook can be used for scratch paper, and a line should be drawn through all notes that are not part of the answers to the test questions. It is forbidden to rip pages out of the test notebook. 3.6 If a student is accused of transgressing the test rules and regulations, the student will be allowed to complete the examination, and the case will be dealt with by the discipline committee in accordance with the “student disciplinary regulations” of the university. 3.7 The duration of the test will be written at the top of the test questionnaire. When the end of the time allotted for the test is announced by the test administrators, the students should stop writing and put down all writing implements next to the test notebook. 3.8 Students should receive a written notice of test completion upon handing in their test notebooks. Additional certification of the students’ completion of the test can be arranged, in exchange for the original slip received at the testing site. 3.9 It is forbidden for the students to remove test notebooks, used or unused, from the test room. Students should return test notebooks to the test administrator before leaving the room. Failure to submit test notebooks is considered a transgression of the “student disciplinary regulations.” 3.10 It is forbidden to copy anything from the test questionnaire unless explicitly stated otherwise. 3.11 Nothing should be written in the labeled margins. 3.12 Students will not be permitted to enter the testing room a half hour after the start of the test. 3.13 Students will not be permitted to exit the testing room during the first half hour of testing.
3.14 For tests extending longer than two hours, students will not be permitted to use the bathroom during the first and last half hours of the test. One student at a time will be permitted to use the bathroom, and only upon receiving permission from the test administrators. Students given permission to use the bathroom will have their names and the length of time they were out of the room recorded in a “test report,” and they will be accompanied by a test administrator to the bathroom entrance.
9) The presence of an instructor during tests a. An instructor or someone filling in for the instructor must be present in the room for at least the first and the last half hours of the test. Likewise, the instructor or whoever is filling in for the instructor should not be continuously absent from the testing room for more than a half hour. b. If the instructor or whoever is filling in for the instructor does not arrive by the end of the first half hour of the test, students are entitled to forfeit their participation in the test. Students who are still interested in taking the test, despite the circumstances, have permission to write the test and will not be allowed to request to forfeit participation in the test later on. c. Students who decide not to take the test due to the instructor’s absence during the first half hour of the test will be entitled to re-take the test on another date. d. If the course instructor is not able to be present at the test, a substitute should be arranged in advance by the department which is administering the test.
* In the Faculty of Health Sciences, the instructor should arrive after a third of the time allotted for the test has passed and should remain until the end of the test.
10) Extending the time allotted for tests Requests to extend the time allotted for an exam by an instructor or a substitute instructor should go through the Department of Testing. Students must be notified of any changes at least a half hour before the end of the original test time.
11) Exam time extensions a. The following students are entitled to time extensions: new immigrants, in accordance with the year of Aliyah as it appears on the student’s identity card; students with learning disabilities; and students who suffer from medical problems of any kind, as determined by the Dean of Students in the form of written permission. b. Separate test rooms: the Department of Testing should make an effort to separate students who have time extensions on tests from the rest of the class while writing exams in order to enable the maximal use of the time extension. The Department of Testing should notify the head of the Student Council each semester of the deadline for scheduling test times. Students who receive permission for time extensions on exams before this date will be placed in the testing room allotted to students with time extensions. Students who receive permission for time extensions after the deadline for arranging the test schedule will be included with the other students with time extensions, in the separate room, according to the amount of space left in the room during the test. If the student is placed with the students who do not have time extensions, and is then moved to another room at the end of the scheduled time for the test, that student will be compensated for the time required to move from room to room. c. Time extensions for tests: students who receive a permission slip from the Dean of Students for a time extension should present it to the test administrators at the beginning of the exam. d. Time extensions should be uniform for all students, according to the following criteria:
*New immigrants: until three years from the Aliyah date (not including any kind of army service).
e. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting up to two hours should amount to 15 minutes. f. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting longer than two hours should amount to 30 minutes.
*Students with learning disabilities and medical problems:
g. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting up to two hours should amount to 25% of the time allotted for the exam. h. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting from two to two and a half hours should amount to 30 minutes. i. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting from two and a half hours to four hours should amount to 60 minutes. j. The time extension for exams and quizzes lasting longer than four hours should amount to 15 minutes per hour.
*For blind and visually impaired students:
k. Students holding documents verifying a visual impairment or blindness are entitled to a time extension amounting to 100% of the exam time.
*For students who took the psychometric test in a language other than Hebrew:and are not new immigrants, according to the first category listed above, are entitled to a time extension amounting to 25% of the total quiz/exam time, but not more than 30 minutes, for each test during the first year of studies.
The instructor or substitute should visit the testing room during the time extension at least once if the time extension amounts to more than 30 minutes.
12) Special-needs students a. Students who have been permitted special physical testing conditions, such as a separate table and chair, should make sure that their requests have been submitted to the head of the student support group in advance. The issue will then be taken up with the Department of Testing to ensure that the student’s needs are met. b. Students entitled to special testing conditions, such as stickers on illegible handwriting or on spelling mistakes, should present their permission slip to the test administrator before the exam. c. Students who have been permitted to write an examination using a computer can bring only the computer of the Dean of Students into the testing room, and must give their permission slip to the test administrator. At the end of the test, the test administrator should permit the closing of the computer by signing the student’s written permission slip. d. Students who have been permitted to bring in calculators, standard or more extensive equation sheets, etc., must inform the instructor or the teaching assistant (TA) of the course of this permission before the testing date and not during the exam. e. Students who have been permitted to use a test form with enlarged fonts should present their permit and request for the enlarged-font form to the Department of Testing two weeks before the scheduled testing date, and should verify that their request has been fulfilled. f. Students who have been permitted to take an oral examination instead of a written one, or to submit a project instead of writing a test, must inform the course instructor or the TA of this permission in advance of the testing date.
13) Grading examinations a. As a rule (except for tests that are graded electronically), the instructor or substitute should receive the test booklets personally, by hand, the same day as the examination. b. The instructor should grade all test booklets (except for tests that are graded electronically) by marking wrong answers and commenting on the answer and by noting the amount of points earned for each answer. c. After grading the tests, the instructor should submit the students’ grades (students are not labeled by name but by identity card number) to the department secretary. d. If the final grade comprises a number of factors, the instructor should report to the department secretary the students’ grades earned in each area, and the weight of each factor in the final grade. f. The department secretary should publish the grades upon receiving them from the instructor, once permission is granted by the head of the teaching committee or another certified body in the faculty. g. Grades will be published anonymously (according to the student’s identity number and notebook number), 10 days after the date of the test, and at least four days before the second scheduled testing date in the same course. The date grades are published should be clearly announced on the grade printout. If the grades from the first testing date are not announced four days in advance of the second testing date, students are entitled to take the test on the second testing date and to choose whichever of the two grades will serve as the final grade. Test notebooks and grade sheets are kept by the department for four years from the date of the exam. f. If the grading process for a test is delayed for any reason, the final grade will not be reported to the department secretary or published along with the rest of the class.
14) Saving the test notebook cover slips and grade sheets in the Department of Testing The test notebook cover slips and test grades will be kept for two years from the date of the exam in the Department of Testing.
15) Invalidating a final semester exam due to disciplinary action The final grade of a student whose final exam was invalidated as a result of disciplinary action will be zero.
16) Lost test notebooks If a student’s test notebook is lost before being graded, and the student is not responsible for the notebook’s absence, the final grade for the course will be based on one of the following options, as decided by the student: 1. Re-taking the test 2. An average of the grades earned on other class assignments (mid-term/ quizzes) 3. The student’s grade point average overall for the semester 4. An exemption from the course
17) Contesting test grades Students are permitted to contest test grades. For this reason, students are allowed to look over their test notebooks according to the faculty’s procedure (either setting a date for students to come and look over their exams, or publishing the test results online). Contestations of test grades will be addressed by the instructor re-grading the test.
Submitting an appeal for test re-grading student must submit an explanation for contesting the test grade within three days of the publication of test grades.
A special date will be assigned for tests, the grades of which are contested, to be re-graded; the instructor will re-grade the entire test, not just the contested sections of the test. While the test grade may rise as a result of the re-grading, it may result in no actual change in the test grade, or even a lowering of the grade.
The result of the appeal process
The instructor should respond to contestations of the test grade within a week, and should inform the department the grade no later than two days before the second scheduled testing date. After re-grading the test, the teacher should note the final grade, along with an explanation as to why the grade was either changed or left as is. Any grade changes will be valid only after permission is granted from the head of the department or the teaching committee or some other certified individual. If a response to the appeal for re-grading is not returned two days before the second testing date for the same course, the student will be entitled to take the test a second time and then choose the highest of the two grades from both testing dates for the final grade in the course, provided that the appeal for re-grading was received.
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