University of Utah

Exam Services Policies for Instructors

Updated on

The following policies must be adhered to when in the UOnline Center and using exam services:

  1. All University of Utah students are required to provide a University of Utah student ID (UCard) when arriving at a University of Utah Exam Services site to take an exam. UCard information is used for internal system tracking. NO other forms of identification are accepted.
  2. All phones and smart watches must be completely turned off including disabling alarms, alerts, vibrations, etc, and secured in a bag/backpack and hung on the hook on the back of the student's chair in the exam lab.
  3. All other electronic devices, including laptops, e-readers, tablets, smart glasses, and all other devices must be turned off and secured in a bag/backpack and hung on the hook on the back of the student's chair in the exam lab.
  4. NO food or drink is permitted in the exam lab. Water bottles are permitted in the exam lab but must be stored in a bag/backpack and hung on the hook on the back of the student's chair. Water bottles are not permitted on the desktop or on the floor. Students that violate this policy may be dismissed from the center regardless if their exam is completed.
  5. Only students taking exams will be allowed in the exam lab. NO children, pets, family members or friends are allowed in the exam lab.
  6. All students are responsible for tracking their own exam duration time and ending their exam on time. Exam Services proctors are not responsible to notify students when a time limit has expired.
  7. Exam Services Proctors are not responsible for advising, counseling, clarifying, or interpreting any exam content. 
  8. Restroom breaks must be pre-approved by instructors. If a student leaves the exam lab for any reason without the instructor's pre-approval, his or her exam may be ended for that session. A make-up exam would have to be arranged for the student to continue or finish the interrupted exam.
  9. ALL activity in the UOnline Center is monitored by live proctors, recorded electronically, and by security cameras at all times. 
  10. Any access to materials not authorized by the course instructor may result in the immediate closure of the exam and a report will be filed with the instructor.
  11. Students should arrive at the UOnline Center on their scheduled date and time to take exams. Late arrivals will be asked to reschedule.
  12. The center will not remain open beyond posted hours of operation. End-of-day late arrivals will be advised to reschedule.
  13. Instructors are responsible to ensure we receive their exam in time for their scheduled exam date. 
  14. Instructors are responsible to communicate our service policies and procedures with their students. We will not compromise or adjust our policies or procedures for any reason. 
  15. Registering/ scheduling, by appointment, allows students to reserve a seat in a center to take a proctored exam. In order to secure a reservation, it is strongly recommended students schedule their exam date and time as soon as they know they need this service. Our centers fill up fast and late attempts to register usually result in no available times left. We are not able to accommodate late registrations/ scheduling when a center is full. We will also not be held accountable for students missing their exam window due to late registration/ scheduling or failing to follow our terms and conditions. 

Academic Integrity Violation Policies

Per the University of Utah Policy 6-400: Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, Exam Services adheres to and is consistent with policies in regard to academic integrity violations and misconduct.

Permitted Items

It is recommended the less items students are allowed to bring into the exam area, the more secure the proctoring session. For this reason the following items are available to students at University of Utah Exam Service sites.

  • Scratch Paper
  • Pencils
  • Ear Plugs
  • Calculators (Basic, Scientific, Financial)

Calculator Types and Policies

Basic Calculator 

Also called a four-function calculator, this calculator provides plus, minus, multiply, divide, square root, all clear. Can be used for a wide variety of exams and is our most used calculator. 

Scientific Calculator

Four-function options plus square root, exponent, natural logarithm, sine, cosine, tangent functions, parenthesis, options for degrees or radians, and all clear. 

Financial Calculator

Includes specific keys for financial calculations and functions such as: compute simple interest, compound interest, cash flow, amortization, conversion, and cost/sell margin. 

Graphing Calculator

All the functions and options of a scientific calculator with the ability to plot coordinates and graph functions. Most graphing calculators have a high-resolution screen. 

TI Inspire Calculator

All the functions of a graphing calculator with the added ability for users to program specific templates and commands and store them on the calculator. TI-Inspire calculators cannot have their memory cleared, but they can be put into testing mode.

Answer Sheets

Exam Services only supports answer sheets for MATH "show your work" exams.

Exams, exam information, materials and answer sheets for MATH exams can be retrieved from the UOnline Center in the Marriott Library on University of Utah main campus. It is strongly suggested instructors wait until all exams have been taken or they are welcome to pick up in stages if needed. Instructors can track and view completion progress from their SmarterProctoring Student Overview Dashboard. The course instructor or an approved associate can pick up the exams. Please provide a valid ID at pick up to verify identification and maintain exam security.

Examination Window

A two-business-day examination window minimum is required for all exams scheduled in University of Utah Exam Services sites due to limited seating and to ensure all students have the opportunity to schedule a time slot within reason.

Exam Open Day Exam Close Day
Monday morning Tuesday evening
Tuesday morning Wednesday evening
Wednesday morning Thursday evening
Thursday morning Friday evening
Friday morning* Monday evening

*It is strongly recommended that exams DO NOT end on a Saturday. Students may need technical or logistical assistance with their exams. Assistance is available during business weekdays.

Testing Outside of Set Semester Dates

All University of Utah Exam Services sites utilize the breaks between semesters to perform scheduled facilities cleaning and maintenance along with computer system updates, upgrades, and maintenance. The centers are not available for exam scheduling during breaks. Exam Services are available to consult with instructors regarding potential examination needs during breaks.

Finals Week

During finals week there is a high demand placed on all University of Utah Exam Services sites. Finals week is reserved for final exams only. All non-final exams, such as chapter or unit quizzes, should be completed before finals week. To ensure students have the opportunity for a positive testing experience, please consider the following:

  • Allow multiple days for students to complete their exams. Please don’t only have the exam open for one day. We have a limited number of seats and it is very difficult to administer an exam to all of the students in a class in one day when we have such a high demand from other classes.
  • Please only schedule final exams during finals week. Do not make other types of exams due during the week of finals. If you have a class in which students can turn in exams at any time during the semester, please require that their exams be due at the end of the week prior to finals week.
  • Encourage your students to make an appointment early to take the final exam. It would be a good idea for students to schedule their finals two weeks before the exam is due.
  • Upload your exam information into Canvas as soon as possible. If we do not have exam information we cannot administer the exam and will not be able to schedule appointments for your students.
  • Multiple attempts on final exams may conflict with scheduling availability. Due to the high demand for finals week, students will have greater difficulty reserving multiple exam times. 
  • Consider allowing shorter exam times.  Many instructors will allow students 3 hours to take an exam when it only takes the student an hour to finish. This means a reserved seat will remain empty for the remainder of the reservation period with no ability to reopen it in the scheduling tool. If you know your students don’t need the amount of time you give them to take the exam please consider shortening your exam time so that we have the space to get all of your students in during finals week.  

0 Comments

Add your comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Previous Article Schedule a Proctored Exam as a Student
Next Article Exam Proctoring Guidelines for Instructors