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Examinations Waterford Campus
Exam Procedures & Rules

Rules Governing Written Examinations

Candidates are advised to familiarise themselves with the rules and regulations governing written examinations. Breaches in any of the published rules will be considered under the University's policy on unfair practice in formal examinations detailed in the following.

Written Examination Rules

  1. The candidate must arrive and be seated in the Exam Hall at least 5 minutes before the start of the examination.
  2. Books*, notes*, and bags must not be taken into the Exam Hall, the candidate must remain absolutely quiet from the time the candidate enters to the time the candidate leaves the hall. (*Approved Open Book exams exempted)
  3. The candidate is required to carry an University identification card for presentation, or Drivers Licence, Passport, or official form of photographic ID.
  4. A candidate is only permitted to have pens, paper, ruler, calculator or other approved items on their desks. 
  5. SETU Waterford operates a clean desk policy at all examination venues. Only paper or items issued by the Invigilator are permitted on the desk. Any other paper, notes or material found on or around the candidate’s desk area constitutes a breach of exam regulations.
  6. The candidate must ensure the candidate has no written material on their person. Any such material constitutes a breach of exam regulations.
  7. The candidate must not communicate in any way with other candidates or share pens, erasers, calculators or other materials. The candidate must not look at the exam paper or start to write in the answer book until instructed to do so by an Invigilator.
  8. The candidate shall ensure that the candidate is in possession of the correct examination paper and must comply with the instructions printed on the examination paper and on the answer book. The candidate should ensure the correct name, programme, year and subject is on each answer book.
  9. The candidate may not submit the examination script, or leave the exam venue until one hour of the exam has elapsed. No candidate will be permitted to enter the Exam Hall after the first hour.
  10. The candidate may not leave the examination hall at the end of the examination until the examination script has been collected. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure the script has been handed to the Invigilator. Answer books are the property of the University and may not be removed from the examination hall under any circumstances.
  11. Candidates who require use of the bathroom facilities must be accompanied by an Invigilator.
  12. A defined seating schedule is presented for each examination session. The candidate must familiarise themselves with the seat(s) allocated to them, in advance, and use that allocated seat.
  13. The candidate must comply with an Invigilator’s directions at all times. Breach of, or non-compliance with, any University regulation, policy, procedure or rule will constitute misconduct.
  14. The candidate shall not bring into the Examination Hall, nor have in their possession, any computing equipment, including electronic organisers, programmable calculators, mobile phones, recording equipment [or any device with a facility to store or display text], radio, books, note paper or any other sources of information: I. Possession of any unauthorised material shall be construed as a serious breach of Examination Regulations and a disciplinary investigation will be initiated. II. The candidate is reminded that severe sanctions are attached to any such breach of regulations (see Circumstances of Unfair Practice). III. Candidates will be required to handover such materials to the Invigilator. When an electronic device is confiscated i.e. programmable calculator or mobile phone, the device will be retained for the duration of the investigation. IV. Refusal to hand over the materials will make void the examination for the candidate and a disciplinary investigation will be instigated.
  15. In the case of illness, certified evidence must be provided within 5 days of that examination being held. All medical certificates must be presented to your School's Administration Office, attached to a Mitigating Circumstance (MITC) form.
  16. Examination Results: The official result of a candidate's examinations will be made available on the University's website.
  17. Examination Appeals: A request for an appeal in respect of examination results must be received by the Office of the Registrar, on the appropriate form, available on the University's website.

Dr. Derek O'Byrne, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Teaching and Learning

A breach of rules constituting unacceptable practice may be detected:

  • During invigilated examinations.
  • During the marking of written examination answer books.
  • During the marking of other examinable material.

Instances of plagiarism are considered unfair practice. The procedures for dealing with allegations of plagiarism are given in Chapter 11 of this document.

Where such a breach is suspected, the Academic Administration and Student Affairs Manager shall coordinate an investigation into the allegation by meeting with the student, and shall prepare a report for the Office of Academic Affairs on the meeting

1. Where the Academic Administration and Student Affairs Manager:

  • Is satisfied that no breach has occurred, the case may be closed without further action and the student notified;
  • Has evidence that notes or other prohibited material has been taken into the exam hall or other breaches of examination regulations that could impact the student’s mark have occurred, an automatic penalty of zero will be applied to the exam component;
  • Considers the breach to be technical in nature, can apply a formal warning.

2. The student will be advised in writing of the decision by the Office of the VP for Academic Affairs. Where there is an impact the mark for that subject, the student’s School/Faculty will be informed.

3. Where the student disputes the finding, the student has the right to appeal by writing to the VP for Academic Affairs. On receipt of this appeal the VP for Academic Affairs may form a Panel of Enquiry

In circumstances where the VP for Academic Affairs deems the breach to be of a serious nature and constitutes a Panel of Enquiry or where an appeal has been received, the candidate shall be notified in writing through the office of the Registrar at least five days in advance of the meeting of the Panel of Enquiry in relation to the following:

  • The precise allegation(s).
  • The entitlement to present a response either orally or in writing to the Panel of Enquiry.
  • The entitlement to be accompanied or be represented at all hearings conducted by the Panel of Enquiry.
  • The enquiry schedule. 

The candidate shall notify the Registrar in advance of the person(s) to accompany the candidate, and their status to the meeting of the Panel of Enquiry

The reports and/or written submissions shall be made available to the candidate in advance.

The inquiry procedures shall be carried out by the Panel of Enquiry. The VP for Academic Affairs will form as appropriate the Panel of Enquiry which ordinarily would consist of:

  • Registrar or nominee from Academic Council (Chairperson);
  • One Head of School/Faculty;
  • One member of academic staff;
  • President of Students' Union or nominee 
  • If deemed appropriate by the VP for Academic Affairs, a technical or legal advisor may assist the panel in their work
  • The Panel of Enquiry shall assemble to consider the allegation(s) as soon as possible. The panel will consider evidence presented by the University and the student. The panel shall only consider the circumstances relating to the alleged breach and base its findings on the evidence relating to it. Each case shall be considered separately and only on the basis of evidence available to the Panel of Enquiry.
  • The Panel of Enquiry alone shall adjudicate on the allegation(s) based on written and oral submissions and shall determine the penalty to be applied. Other than the Recording Secretary, no other person shall be present during the period of adjudication.
  • The candidate shall be notified in writing through the office of the Registrar of the outcome of the inquiry.
  • The decision of the Panel of Enquiry shall be final. However, in matters relating to the expulsion of a candidate, see 7.9.12 (v) below. 

The panel of enquiry shall make a determination as to whether: 

  • Notes or other prohibited material were present in the examination;
  • Other breaches of examination regulations have occurred
  • Or the student has satisfactorily answered the allegation. In such a case the Examination Board shall be instructed to consider the assessment or examination results in the normal manner.

In a situation, where it is determined that prohibited materials were present, the panel of enquiry shall assign at least a zero mark to the exam component and may additionally apply penalties as prescribed below.

In circumstances were the student is found to have breached examination regulations the panel may apply one of more of the following sanctions: 

  • Assign a mark of zero to the examination component or to the full module mark
  • Apply a Fail to a stage or year of the programme
  • Define a period before the student may take the repeat assessment
  • Suspend the student for a period of time
  • Recommend expulsion of the student from the University. In such circumstances a report should be produced for the Governing Body.

Plagiarism is passing off the work of others as one’s own. It gives the false impression that the student is the author and denies the genuine author their due acknowledgement. Plagiarism at postgraduate level is a particularly serious academic offence.