Student Bulletin – Examinations

A final exam schedule is published in each semester’s registration materials. By registering for a class, students agree to take the exam at the designated time. The School of Law rarely makes changes to the announced exam schedule. When revisions to the exam schedule are necessary, an Official Announcement email is sent as soon as they are made.

The final exam schedule giving dates, and times of day, is posted at registration on the Course Schedule website. Exam room locations are posted two-three weeks before the beginning of the exam period on the exam webpage. All students are expected to take their exams at the times scheduled, except as provided in the Examination Rescheduling Policy.

Individually approved rescheduled exam dates and times are not reflected in Workday.

Exam Rules

These rules apply to all exams. Exceptions may be posted by the instructor. It is the student’s responsibility to check for posted notices prior to an exam. Students should be familiar with and abide by the Academic Integrity Policy.

• Students must write or type all answers on the materials provided by the law school or on the student’s laptop computer using the Examplify software program. Students may not bring any blue books, scratch paper, or other paper into the exam rooms. Most professors require the use of Examplify for multiple-choice questions. If due to technical issues, a student elects to handwrite a multiple-choice exam, they must record answers in a law school-provided blue book unless instructed otherwise by their proctor.
• Students may not bring cellular telephones or other programmable electronic devices into the exam rooms unless these items can be turned off. This includes programmable watches, calculators, or any device that can connect to the internet.  The items must be turned off and stored in student backpacks/bags in the front of the classroom during exams. Anyone causing a disruption will be reported to the Dean of Students. Materials found to be causing disruption at the front of the room will be placed outside of the room by the exam proctor until a staff member is able to retrieve them. The student may contact the head proctor following completion of his/her exam to collect his/her things.
• Students may bring in pencils, and blue or black pens.
• Students must present their SCU Law Identification Card or a photo ID at the time of their exam.
• No desk accessories are permitted (e.g., a desk lamp, laptop riser, etc.)
• Students may use non-programmable laptop accessories such as a separate keyboard or mouse (wired or wireless) at their own risk. Compatibility with exam software is not guaranteed or supported by SCU technical staff. If the accessory creates an audible nuisance and is found to be disruptive by testing staff, the student will be asked to disconnect and accessories will be placed with the proctor until the end of the exam.  Students will not receive additional time on their exams due to technical issues.
• Students may not discuss the exam questions with each other during the exam. Faculty will not be available to answer questions directly during exams. Faculty will only be available to answer questions from the head proctor or dean on duty. Proctors are responsible for being aware of instructions given by faculty, which are printed under “Professor’s Instructions” on the exam cover sheet to determine if the professor has given instructions regarding errors on exams. If there are such instructions, proctors may merely point them out. If there are no instructions, proctors will use the following default instructions:

“Answer the examination as written. If you believe a mistake in drafting the examination has been made or that a question is ambiguous, state your assumptions in your answer. Your professor will review your stated assumption in grading the examination. Do not attempt to contact the professor to secure a clarification. If an examination problem appears to have no solution, contact the proctor.”

• Students may not refer to notes, casebooks, textbooks, study aids, or other references during the exams unless approved by the professor on the exam instructions. If class notes are permitted, students may not use additional laptops, tablets, and/or e-readers to access notes unless expressly permitted by the professor’s instructions. Students may utilize the Internet at the discretion of the professor. Please note that e-texts will not be available for use with the exam software settings of semi-secured or secured exams. Examplify will block all access to the internet and cloud-based platforms.  Students who purchase electronic tests must print out any needed materials for their final exams that allow for access to notes.
• Students may only use foam ear protection. SCU Law provides ear plugs in the exam classroom. Noise-canceling headphones are not permitted. Students may not wear anything over their ears during an in-class exam. This includes hats or hoodies that cover the ears.
• All testing materials are provided by the exam staff. No outside scratch paper is permitted in the exam room.
• Students may leave the exam rooms for restroom breaks but must return to complete the exam. Students must sign in and out of testing rooms. No exam material is to leave the testing room. The Law Library is off-limits during in-class exams.
• No aromatic or noisy food or drink is permitted in the exam room.  Only beverages in spill-proof containers are permitted.
• Due to allergies and other sensitivities, we ask that students refrain from using perfumes, cologne, aftershave scented lotions, essential oils, in the testing room.
• To protect anonymity, students should use only their SCU School of Law anonymous grading ID number (AGID) on exam questions and answers. Prior to the posting of final grades on the Workday system, students may not reveal their anonymous grading ID number to their professors. Students should not include their names on any exam materials. In the case of Research Papers where the nature of the course requires self-identification names may be used.
• When finished with an exam, it is the student’s responsibility to place all the exam components, questions, used and unused scratch paper, and all other specified exam materials, in the plastic exam bag provided. Each item should be identified with the student’s anonymous grading ID number. It is also the student’s responsibility to ensure that all testing materials are returned to the proctor. Professors may refuse to accept any portion of an exam that is missing or taken out of the testing room.
• Time is called at the end of the exam period by the exam proctor. If a student continues to write after time is called, it is a breach of the law school policy, and the proctor will report that fact to the professor and the Dean of Students.
• If the proctor observes a student who appears to be using unauthorized materials, looking at another student’s work, talking with another student, or otherwise behaving in a manner suggestive of cheating, the proctor is obligated to submit a written description of the behavior observed to the head proctor, professor, and Dean of Students.
• In order to begin exams at the time designated, proctors begin reading exam instructions ten to fifteen minutes prior to the exam start time. Students arriving late to an exam must enter quietly. No extra time will be given to launch their exam software or complete the exam. Students who arrive significantly late for an exceptional reason should petition to reschedule the exam.  Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late will not be permitted to sit for their exam without speaking with the head proctor.
• In the event an exam is turned in late, a faculty member is not required to accept it. If a faculty member chooses to accept a late exam, absent an acceptable excuse, the faculty member is free to reduce the student’s score as they see fit in consultation with the head proctor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
• Students who finish earlier may turn in their exams to the proctor and quietly leave the building. To avoid undue confusion, disruption, and noise, students who finish their exam within the last five minutes of the allotted time must remain in their seats until time has expired. When the final time is called, students should remain in their seats to allow the proctor to collect the exams in an orderly manner.

Illegible Exams

When an instructor finds an exam answer to be illegible, the professor contacts the Law Office of Assessment to make arrangements to have it typed at the student’s financial expense if staffing is available to assist. The student may be required to assist in decoding the paper. Whether or not a student is consulted in the typing is at the discretion of the faculty/staff member involved in this process. The student is notified that an exam was typed and will be notified that they have the right to request a review of the typed exam.

Exam Rescheduling

Exams are rescheduled for a date following the regularly scheduled exam and not before the class scheduled exam; they are postponed. A rescheduled exam will be placed in the next available exam slot that does not create a conflict. Students must petition for an exam reschedule by the posted deadline. Under no circumstances should the rescheduling of an examination be discussed with the instructor of the course.

An exam may be rescheduled for one of the following reasons only:

Administrative Conflict

1. Any exam scheduled to start within 24 hours of another in-class exam. 
   An example of a valid administrative conflict: 1:30PM exam on Monday followed by a 9:00AM exam on Tuesday.
   An example of an invalid administrative conflict: 9:00AM exam on Monday followed by a 9:00AM exam on Tuesday. 
2. Three exams scheduled over three consecutive days (72 hours).

It is at the discretion of the Office of Assessment which course exam is rescheduled. Priority is set at a senior administrative level.

IMPORTANT: For the fall and spring semesters students must request an administrative reschedule within the first eight weeks of the start of the semester. Summer students must request a reschedule within the first four weeks of the start of the session. Requests must be submitted through the Exam Reschedule Request form. Late requests may not be approved.

Personal Conflict

1. The student’s serious illness or other documented medical emergencies
2. Extraordinary and compelling reasons beyond the student’s control

The student must submit a request for rescheduling of the exam to the Office of Assessment as soon as possible, but prior to the scheduled start of the exam. The Office of Assessment determines whether the exam will be rescheduled. All final exams must be completed within 30 days of the original exam date.

Note: Students who are ill at the time of their exam should consult the head proctor prior to opening their exam packet. Once students see the exam, it is not possible to reschedule.

Use of Laptop Computers

Law students use laptops for taking exams. Students must use the exam taking software, Examplify, from ExamSoft, which provides a simple and secure word processor.  Exams require the use of Examplify to take the multiple-choice portion of the exam. All students are provided an account that allows them to download Examplify and use the “Drop Box” (Performance Assessment) feature for take-home exams. Each year in the fall students must login to the ExamSoft website at www.examsoft.com/sculaw, download and install the latest version of Examplify, then register their copy using the credentials they are emailed early in the semester. The software vendor may require updates or re-installation at any time during the school year.

Examplify versions are available for 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Only genuine, U.S. English versions of Windows operating systems are supported. Surface Pro and tablets are not supported.

Macintosh operating system versions Mac OS X 11 (Big Sur) and Monterey or later are supported. Only genuine versions of Mac Operating Systems are supported. Apple iPad tablets are not supported.

When a new version of an operating system is released, either Windows or Mac OS, students should not upgrade their computers until informed it is safe to do so by Office of Assessment, University Academic Technology, or Law Technology Support.

Examplify cannot be used on virtual operating systems such as Microsoft’s Virtual Machine, Parallels, VMware, VMware Fusion or any other virtual environments.

PDF readers such as Adobe Reader (11 or later) are required for exams containing PDF attachments.

Examplify should be installed and exams are taken using an account that has Administrator-level account permissions on both Windows and Mac OS-based computers. Students who wish to use their laptops for exams are responsible for installing the latest version of Examplify ahead of time. These files may be downloaded from www.examsoft.com/sculaw. Students must ensure that the date and time on their computer match the date and time in California; failure to do this may prevent the exam from being taken and force the student to handwrite the exam.  Support for installation and setup for exams is available from Law Technology and the vendor, Examsoft.

Any attempt to disable or tamper with the security features of Examplify will be prosecuted as a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. The software itself records all keystrokes, and any attempts to override the system’s security will be noted.  Attempts to start the exam before the proctor starts the exam or to continue after the official time has elapsed are also recorded.

Students must be familiar with their equipment by the time of the exam. Students are not permitted to delay the start of an exam due to computer problems. In the event of a computer malfunction, proctors and other support staff will provide a limited amount of support. Students should be prepared to complete the exam by handwriting if the problem cannot be resolved in a timely fashion. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that she or he is familiar with Examplify, the software used to take exams, by taking one or more of the mock exams that are available.  The mock exams all have a password of “bronco5,” not including the quotes or comma.

The option of using a computer to take exams is offered to students as a convenience and a privilege, not as a right. Students assume all risk of equipment or power failure and should take appropriate steps to aid in the successful completion of their exams. Students should bring a power cord for their computer and not rely on its battery.  Students should make sure their computer’s battery is well-charged. While wireless network connectivity is available and very reliable in our exam rooms, there is a slight possibility that an Internet outage can occur. In the event that an Internet outage or loss of access to the campus WiFi, you will be instructed by the proctor to seek other Internet access sources at your convenience. The exam-taking software, Examplify, saves your exam every 30-60 seconds during the exam and at the end of your exam makes a local encrypted copy to your local storage drive on your computer. At the conclusion of your exam and during the exam submission process, if Examplify does not detect a WiFi connection, then Exampify will simply retry until an Internet connection is made.

All computers are subject to inspection before and after an exam. See law.scu.edu/exams  for more information about laptop use and support.

Students should not make significant changes to their laptops, such as updating the operating system or replacing any of its hardware on removing Examplify, until all of their grades are in.

Some classes are graded based on a take-home exam or assignment.  Take-home exams are downloaded from the ExamSoft website using a web browser such as Firefox or Google Chrome. Take-homes do not require the use of Examplify but do require an ExamSoft portal account.  The answer file is uploaded to the ExamSoft website using a web browser. It is the student’s responsibility to upload the answer by the deadline that the professor has specified.  The answer file is time-stamped by the ExamSoft website. This timestamp is irrefutable evidence of the time that the take-home final was submitted.

LL.M. in U.S. Law Student Exams

LL.M. in United States Law students for whom English is a second language in which they have not reached academic competence may request additional time, up to time and a half, for exams. These students may also request the use of a translating dictionary. No legal dictionaries or electronic dictionaries are permitted.

Absent an approved request for language accommodations, students are required to follow standard exam rules. Language accommodations may only be requested for exams in courses that are being graded on a Pass/No Pass basis. Students taking exams in courses on a graded basis are not eligible to petition for language accommodations. Students are required to follow standard exam rules.

IMPORTANT: For the fall and spring semesters students must request language accommodations within the first eight weeks of the start of the semester. Summer students must request language accommodations within the first week of the start of the session. Summer session deadlines will apply to off-cycle and short-term courses.

Accommodated Exams

Students with disabilities may receive accommodation in the assessment process. Students must submit requests for accommodation to the Office of Accessible Education (OAE)  as soon as possible, no later than the end of the fourth week of classes. All registration and accommodation procedures are housed with the OAE, and will take 14-21 business days to review.  Late requests may not be possible to accommodate. All requests must be supported with appropriate documentation in keeping with the law school’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) policy. Further information for documentation requirements is located on the OAE website.

Distribution of Graded Materials

Faculty members individually determine if and how their graded exam materials may be returned or accessed by students. They may distribute the materials to the students, meet with students on an individual basis to review the exam, or return materials to the students through the Office of Assessment Exam Return process. Exam materials are retained for a period of one year only.