Information for students preparing to sit their exams

Examinations take place in a designated venue on campus on a set date/time. They may be handwritten, where you sit in an exam venue and complete your paper in an exam answer book, or they may be online, where you sit in a PC lab, and you complete your paper using a PC or laptop. For both types of examinations there will be a team of Professional Invigilators in the exam venue/PC lab who will oversee the running of the examination and ensure that it is conducted in accordance with the University examinations code of practice.

Dates and times for examinations are published on the Examination/Assessment timetables here. If your exam is not listed then you should contact your School for confirmation of the date and time.

If you have an exam clash, involving two Keele University centrally timetabled exams, due to take place at the same date and time, you must inform us about this by contacting exams@keele.ac.uk as soon as possible and no later than 1 week before the exams are due to take place.  We will arrange to move one of your examinations so that you can sit them both on that day

You should aim to arrive at your exam venue at least 20 minutes before the exam is due to start. If you are not sure of the location of your exam venue then you should take steps to find out and visit the location in the days before your exam takes place.

All desks in the exam venue will be numbered and each student will be allocated a desk number. A seating list will be produced, listing all students in student number order and the desk number they have been allocated. The seating lists for each exam will be added to the published exam timetable at least 1 week before the examination period commences. Seating lists will also be placed outside the exam venue at least 30 minutes before the exam is due to commence. You should make sure you know your desk number before you enter the exam venue.

If you are unable to find your student number on the seating list outside of the venue you should inform an Invigilator immediately. You might need to enter the exam venue early in order to do this.

All bags and personal items must be left in the designated area in the exam venue. You are not allowed to keep personal belongings, including mobile phones, bags, revision notes, pencil cases, calculator cases etc. with you or near to your exam desks. The only exceptions are pens, pencils, drawing equipment, calculators if allowed, clear water bottle (with no label) and a non smart watch.

If you are sitting an examination using a PC or a laptop there is the possibility that you may be asked to authenticate your credentials when you log in by using Multi-Factor Authentication. You will be allowed to use your mobile phone to do this. Once you have successfully logged into your PC or laptop you must switch your mobile phone off and place it underneath your desk. You should make sure that you have registered for Multi-Factor Authentication before you sit any examination where you will be required to use a PC or a laptop. You can find further information about Multi-Factor Authentication and how to set it up here.

All paper is provided, including space in the examination answer books for making notes. You must not bring any paper into the examination venue. If you are sitting an examination where you are required to answer your questions using a PC or laptop, you will be provided with paper which may be used to make handwritten notes, this must be handed to an Invigilator at the end of the examination.

Yes, you must provide evidence of your identity at the start of each examination. You must bring one of the following forms of ID: Keele Card, passport, driving licence, national ID card, biometric residency permit. If you do not have the correct ID, or if there is any uncertainty over your identity, you will be allowed to sit your examination but, at the end of the examination, you must accompany an invigilator to either the Student Services Hub where an ID check will be undertaken.

You may bring into the examination venue a clear, unlabelled bottle of water. No other food or drink is allowed.

You will be allowed to enter the venue up to 30 minutes after the official published start time. You will not be allowed any additional time if you arrive at the exam venue after the start of the exam.

You are not allowed to leave the exam venue during the first 30 minutes or last 15 minutes of any exam. If you want to leave the venue during any other time you must ask the Invigilator for permission.

Yes, but you must request the permission of an invigilator, who will accompany you; you may have to wait until an invigilator is available to do so.

Unless the rubric of the examination paper strictly prohibits it, students may use a calculator in all University examinations. We do not supply calculators for students to use in exams so you must bring your own.  If you are sitting an exam using a PC or a laptop you will normally be able to use the calculator function on your PC/laptop. Please refer to the code of practice for further clarification on the use of calculators.

You can borrow an English Language dictionary in the examination room, unless this is not allowed for your examination.  If you wish to borrow a dictionary you must raise your hand and ask one of the Invigilators to provide a copy.  You are not allowed to bring your own dictionary into the examination venue.

No you are not allowed to wear any kind of watch during an exam. Smart watches or any other wrist-based technology enabled device, must be left in your bag or handed to an invigilator for safe keeping.  You will be asked to put all other types of watches in a clear plastic bag, which will be provided by the Invigilators, you should place this in the top right-hand corner of your desk for inspection. You are allowed to look at your watch, but it must stay on the desk in the plastic bag for the duration of the examination.

You may bring into the examination venue a pair of small foam ear plugs which you may wear during your examination. The wearing of any other form of head gear or any type of facial covering is not allowed, except for religious observance or medical reasons. For all medical reasons you must provide evidence in advance and get approval from Disability Services.

If you have any problems or queries during an examination, you must raise your hand to speak to an invigilator.  You must not leave your seat without the permission of an invigilator.

If you have reasonable adjustments you will sit your exams in a different venue to the main cohort of students. The Exams Team will contact you directly by email to let you know what your arrangements are. You should contact the exams team exams@keele.ac.uk if there is only one week before you are due to sit your exam and you have not been informed of your individual arrangements. You can find more information about reasonable adjustments for exams here.

If you feel ill during an examination you must inform an Invigilator so that a report can be made and passed to your School. You can find guidance on what to do if you are ill during an examination, including how to apply for exceptional circumstances here.

If you are absent from an examination you must inform your School. You can find guidance on what to do if you miss, an examination, including how to apply for exceptional circumstances here.

In severe weather, updates regarding the timetabling or cancellations of exams at Keele will be published here. We will take every step to make sure your exams take place and if you live on campus, unless the exam is cancelled, you will be expected to attend. If you live off campus then you are advised to travel to campus and attend exams only if you feel safe to do so. If you live off campus and are unable to attend an exam due to adverse weather conditions you will need to register your absence on that day via eVision by competing the Exams Adverse Weather Notification task. You can find more information about sitting examinations during periods of adverse weather here.