Completion and Assessment of Studies

In order to diversify study opportunities and to support your studies, the University of Vaasa has an electronic examination service EXAM. With EXAM you can take general exams, maturity exams, literature exams and personal exams, with limited time and access to software and materials. The exams are held in a separate exam room with a computer and real-time video surveillance. The room is also subject to inspection visits.

The examination system EXAM is open to anyone with a valid University of Vaasa user account. The exam rooms are also available to students from other universities participating in EXAM visit. If you take the exam on the premises of another university, you will follow that institution's policies and guidelines. Read more about EXAM visits on the EXAM - Instructions for Students sections Instructions for an exam visit in another organisation and Instructions for exam visit in University of Vaasa.

EXAM-room arrangements

• Use of EXAM is only allowed for those who have booked an exam slot.
• You may only bring a photo ID (plastic student card, driving licence, ID card or passport - no digital student card), a transparent water bottle without a label and a locker key with you to the exam room.
  • Leave your outer clothing (jacket, hat, etc.) outside the room. The student must be recognizable from the video, so a cap or similar that covers your face, is prohibited. If the student wears a headdress that completely covers the face for religious reasons (e.g. niqab, burka), he/she takes the exam in a separate room, where his/her identity can be verified by staff of the same gender.
  • It is not allowed to bring your own belongings to the exam room (e.g. calculator, phone, smart watch or wristwatch). Leave your belongings in a locker outside the room. Long hair must be tied back or in such a way that the ears are visible, so that it can be seen from the video that the student does not have ear phones in his/her ears. If a student wears a headdress that covers the ears for religious reasons (e.g. hijab, turban), he/she is not required to uncover his/her ears in the EXAM room. 
• The EXAM room is fragrance-free. Please consider your fragrance sensitive fellow students when coming to the exam room.
• Hearing protectors and tissues are available in the exam room. If you have a medical reason that requires special arrangements for the exam (allergy, asthma, diabetes, chronic bowel disease, etc.), please contact us at exam(at)uwasa.fi at least 5 days before the exam.
• No discussion is allowed in the exam room.
• You may not leave the exam room until you have returned your answer. You can return an exam even if there is still time left. The exam will automatically end when the exam time expires.

Image

Programmes in use

• Adobe Reader, Word (engl. 2016), Excel (engl. 2016), OneNote, Calculator, Paint, Notepad. 
• The computers have limited access to the internet and only the EXAM application can be accessed with a browser.

In problem situations

• If EXAM program gets jammed, close and reopen the browser and log in to EXAM again. EXAM saves your answer every minute, but this does not apply to attachments.
• If you have problems with the actual computer, you can disconnect the power cord from behind the screen, wait 30 seconds and plug the power cord back in, and then restart the computer from the power button behind the screen. You may have to wait for a minute or two for the computer to reload from the server.
• If you have problem with the lockers, please contact the care takers of the building.
• Form for reporting interruption or start up failure in an electronic exam.

Special arrangements

If you have a medical reason that requires special arrangements for the exam (e.g. allergy, asthma, diabetes, chronic bowel disease), please contact exam(at)uwasa.fi at least 5 days before the exam.

If you are entitled to extra time for the exam, please contact exam(at)uwasa.fi before the start of the exam period. A personal exam with extra time will be created for you, for which you can reserve an exam time.

The doors of the EXAM rooms are not electrically assisted, so if you need help accessing the exam room (you are in a wheelchair, you have walking sticks, etc.), please contact us in advance. 

Conditions of use

By using the Electronic Exam Service you agree to abide by the conditions of use. The student consents to audio and video surveillance and to the combining of information of the examinations systems in order to confirm identity.

• In electronic examinations the evaluation regulations will be those governing studies at the University of Vaasa.
• The rules of IT service use will apply in electronic examinations.
• The electronic examination room is equipped with real-time and recording video and audio surveillance.

Privacy Policy of Electronic exam system (in Finnish)
Privacy Policy of Recording video surveillance (in Finnish)

Accessibility

More information about the Electronic Exam System 

exam(at)uwasa.fi

EXAM rooms

The University of Vaasa has two EXAM rooms. Both of the rooms are available for exam visits.

• F222 is located on the 2nd floor of Fabriikki (Yliopistonranta 10). Use the main entrance on the sea side or the elevator next to it or the staircase. There are 12 exam computers available for examinees, of which 2 are accessible.
• D122 is located on the 1st floor of Tervahovi at the sea end of the building. The entrance to the building is either through the main door of Tervahovi (Wolffintie 34) or through the doors on both sides of the building in the middle of the building. There are 25 exam computers at the use of examinees, of which 2 are accessible.

Outside the exam rooms there are lockers for personal belongings and coat racks. 

Opening hours

• F222 is open Mon - Fri from 8:00–16:00.
• D122 is open Mon - Fri from 8:00–20:00 and on Saturdays from 12:00–16:00. 

Exceptional opening hours of the premises

• Fabriikki's exam room F222 is closed during Christmas from 23rd of December until 6th of January.
• Tervahovi's exam room D122 is exceptionally open at Christmas time Mon-Fri from 9 am to 3 pm and closed on Saturdays from 21st of December until 4th of January. On friday 20.12. the room closes at 6 pm. Both rooms are open normally again from 7th of January.
• The exam rooms are not open on the public holidays of the academic year 2024–2025: 2.11.2024; 6.12.2024; 24.–26.12.2024; 1.1.2025; 6.1.2025; 18.4.2025; 21.4.2025; 1.5.2025; 29.5.2025 and 20.–21.6.2025.
• Both rooms and the EXAM system are closed on the first weekday Wednesday (7.8.; 4.9.; 2.10.; 6.11. ja 4.12.) of every month from 8:00–10:00 due to a maintenance break.

Centralised examinations are general examinations organized on campus. At the events, it is possible to take final exams, retake exams and exams that have not been held during the teaching period. Exams are paper exams. Education services are responsible for practical arrangements.

If you do not pass, want to improve your grade or do not want to take the first exam offered, two additional opportunities are provided to retake the exam later on. Please note that if you retake an exam in order to improve your grade, the better grade will show in your transcript of records. The transcript will not show the number of attempts in the examination.

Please note: Exchange students might have only one opportunity to take an exam, as the retake exam might be scheduled for the following semester (when the student might already have left Vaasa). Please check exam dates and study for the first exam (period exam) accordingly. Exchange students are also required to stay in Vaasa until they have completed the required exams for the semester or academic year.

The University tries to schedule retakes so that students have an opportunity to retake an exam at least once each semester. However, this is not always possible with courses that run very late in the semester. Some courses may be passed by taking mid-course exams instead or the exam may be included in the class hours and may replace the actual period exam. Some courses may be passed solely by attending enough lessons and lectures. Apart from an exam, course requirements may include, for example, a written assignment. The degree programmes also include courses that are based only on set literature which the student must study independently.

The requirements for completing a course are given in the description of each course. If you need more information on the exam of a certain course, please contact the teacher of the course in question.

Registration for an Exam

Registration for centralized exams will be completely moved to Peppi starting from Autumn term 2023. Webropol forms will not be created for the registration of centralized exams anymore; students will register for exams via Peppi’s new Exams function. Instructions for the exam registration can be found on this site below. In case of any problems with registration you can contact tentit(at)uwasa.

Students must register for an exam at least 5 days in advance (registrations can be made 45 days before the examination date at the earliest). Late registrations will not be accepted. You can not participate in the exam if you have not registered. Notice that your exam is not graded if you have not registered (the Education Council 17.11.2016).

You may cancel your registration for an exam in Peppi three (3) days before the exam date at the latest. If you fail to cancel your registration and do not attend two consecutive exams of the same course or give up two consecutive exams, you should discuss possible need for additional studies or guidance with the reponsible teacher before taking the exam again.

If you want to write two examinations in the same day, please contact Student Services (tentit(at)uwasa.fi). Please also remember to register for both exams.

For any special arrangements in exams, please contact tentit(at)uwasa.fi well before the exam day. For more information about the accessibility in studies visit the webpages Accessible studying.

The exams of the same implementation (first exam and/or retakes) will be arranged at least every 6 weeks, so that there will be enough time to grade the exams and the students will have enough time to enroll for a retake, if needed (and if possible.)

Exam registration in Peppi – Student guide

Registration for centralised exams has completely moved to Peppi starting from Autumn term 2023. Instructions for exam registration in Peppi are below.

Studies -> PSP -> Exams tab

From this view, you can register exams suggested for you, and you can see the exams you have registered for.

Image

1. You will find the exams from which you have received a failed grade
2. You will find the exams for which’s implementations (courses) you have registered and you don’t have an existing grade for
3. You will find the exams for which you have registered
4. You will find the room in which the exam will take place
5. You can cancel your exam registration by clicking here
6. You register for an exam by clicking here

After clicking the Register button, a new window will pop up. Write in the text field if you have any special needs or other things of note, otherwise leave the field empty. NOTE! If you have special needs, you will still need to send a separate e-mail about the matter to tentit@uwasa.fi Click the Register button again in order to confirm your registration.

Image

If you can’t find the exam you’re looking for from the exams suggested for you (for example, when you have an existing passed grade which you want to raise,) search for the exam from the exam search.

Student desktop -> Studies -> Exams

Image

Exam search window -> Search with the implementations (courses) code or name

Image

Choose the correct exam and click the Register button. You can also cancel registrations from this view.

Image

Exam instructions

Practical Information when participating in an exam:

• Do NOT speak in the exam.
• Be on time. The doors of the examination venue will be locked 15 minutes past the hour and no one is allowed to enter after that.
• The invigilator of the exam will allocate a seat for each student. When taking seats in the auditorium, leave one empty seat on your both sides (sometimes two, please follow the invigilators’ instructions).
• You are allowed to have only writing equipment and the instruments specifically allowed for the exam with you (for example dictionary or pocket calculator – teacher will inform the invigilators about the allowed items). Bags and jackets have to be left on the side of the exam hall. Mobile phones must be switched off during the exam.
• Any kind of communication with other students is strictly forbidden after you have received the questions. Ignoring this regulation may result in an allegation of cheating in examination.
• You are not allowed to read the exam questions until the supervisor gives you permission to do so. Thus keep your paper turned upside-down before you get a permission to start the exam from the invigilator. If necessary, the supervisor will clarify unclear points in the examination paper. You can attract the attention of the supervisor by raising your hand if you need to clarify something, more paper is required, you wish to go to toilet, etc.
• You are allowed to enter the exam hall max. 15 minutes after the exam has started.
• You are not allowed to leave the exam hall during the first 45 minutes from the beginning of the exam.
• You are not allowed to leave the exam hall for a cigarette etc. and come back to write your exam.
• Before leaving, everyone has to hand in the exam paper and answer papers to the invigilators. Please check that each exam paper you submit has your name, your student number, name of the exam, and name of the examiner. You have to show your identity card when returning the exam papers to the invigilator.
• If it is found out that a student is cheating in an exam, he/she will receive punishment which can lead to a termination of studies at the University of Vaasa.
• Please notice that all exam rooms have video recording.

• NB! Plagiarism and cheating in exams is considered serious offence at Finnish universities. Plagiarism or cheating in examination may lead to disqualification of the course result and dismissal from the University for a maximum of one year. The University of Vaasa will inform the immigration officials and police about possible offences if the officials ask for this information when processing e.g. residence permit applications. In addition, if possible employers ask for information about former students of the university, abovementioned offences will be informed to the employers.

  In case of exchange students, the International Office of the University of Vaasa will terminate the student’s exchange period immediately and inform her/his home university about the incident.

  Please avoid even any suspicion of plagiarism or cheating in examination.

Evaluation of the exam

Exam results are to be announced within 30 working days after the exam date. The results of the exams that are organized during June and July are announced by the end of August.

Exam results are to be announced within 30 working days after the exam date. In case of delay, the lecturer or other person responsible for announcing the results will have to inform the students about the delay within the 30 days after the exam.

The assessment criteria are public and you may inquire about the criteria from the examiner. You may have a look at your corrected exam or course work and receive information about the assessment details by visiting the examiner during their office hour. Exam answers are kept in an archive for at least six months after the exam day.

Exam results are displayed in Peppi system. Credits for entire courses are registered to the student register. Courses that include compulsory written exercises or other partial credit units will be registered only after all parts have been completed. For this reason it is important that you, whenever possible, complete the course and all its parts simultaneously.

Transcript of Records

The student either fails or passes a course. Students who pass the course are graded according to the University of Vaasa grading system in which 1 = sufficient, 2 = satisfactory, 3 = good, 4 = very good, and 5 = excellent, or on a pass/fail basis. In the latter case, the mark ‘hyv.’(pass) appears on the student’s transcript. The transcript of records includes an explanation of the grading scale.

You can check your own record in Peppi system and order You can download an official, digitally-signed transcript of records and study certificate from Peppi.

If the party concerned does not accept your digitally signed document, you may request a signed and stamped paper document by this e-form.

Dissatisfied with the result?

In case you consider the assessment of your examination or course work inadequate, you may ask for a rectification from the respective lecturer within 14 days after the result has been properly announced.

If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of the request for rectification, you can take the matter to the Degree Committee within 14 days of the time the result was served. The Degree Committee is appointed by the Rector of the University.

Members of the Student Union (all degree students and those postgraduate students who have paid the Student Union fee) may also contact the Secretary of the Student Interests at the Student Union of the University of Vaasa (e-mail: edunvalvontasihteeri(at)vyy.fi) in questions about the studies.

ECTS Credit System

You can find information on the ECTS credit system and the comparison between the grading system of the University of Vaasa and the ECTS system here.

Distribution of Grades per Course

Information on distribution of grades per individual courses can be found on Moodle dashboard (login needed).