Take-Home-Exam
What is a Take-Home Exam?
In a Take-Home Exam (THE), students complete one or more given assignments/ tasks in writing, independently and without supervision.
The examiners usually specify aids that you may use for processing.
The processing takes place within a specified processing time and within a specified processing time frame, which are also determined by the examiners.
A THE can be performed as a continuous online test, but also offline through a downloaded task, the solution of which must then be uploaded again.
Generally, a time buffer is granted so that technical disruptions do not lead to unnecessary stress. Depending on the testing concept, the buffer can be a few minutes, but also several days. Check when and how the solution is due at the latest and expect that uploading files may take a little longer than you are used to.
Will there be take-home exams only instead of written exams in the fall semester of 20/21?
Due to the pandemic, no onsite exams can be offered in the winter term 2020/21. Instead, digital exam formats such as Take-Home Exams or digital oral examinations will be offered. This also applies to the second exam dates until further notice. Please note the changed registration and de-registration deadlines for exams in the winter term 2020/21 in the next column:
Are the registration and deregistration deadlines for exams changing?
Yes. Until further notice, cancellation (but also registration) is ONLY possible in STiNE up to 7 days before the start of the respective exam date (previously 3 days). Participation in the exam without STiNE registration is excluded.
Where can I find the specific regulations and technical requirements of a THE?
As usual, the exam date is published in the exam in STiNE. In addition, the processing time frame is published in the course offering details, which usually includes a time buffer in addition to the processing time, e.g. for solving technical problems.
Further detailed information on how the examination is conducted, which aids may be used, or whether and which citation guidelines apply, can be obtained from the examiners of the courses. The examiners will also specify how they can be reached by you during the exam and, conversely, how you must be available to the examiners during the exam if clarifications are needed.
In many cases, teachers will conduct mock exams with you to test the process with you and familiarize you with the rules of the game.
What technical requirements do I need?
You need an internet-enabled computer on which standard office programs, a PDF reader and a modern web browser are installed and you need to be able to create PDF files. If, for example, uploading multi-page scanned files usually works reliably, the bandwidth of your Internet connection should be sufficient. You will find out from the examiner whether handwriting editing and thus scanning, for example using a free smartphone app such as Adobe Scan or Microsoft Office Lense, will be required. Please be sure to learn how to create PDF files in advance.
If you participate in THE via OpenOLAT, you are expected to have registered on the OpenOLAT learning platform for the first time at least 7 days before the start of your THE. For this, you need your log in ID and password that you use for STiNE.
Please set in the personal settings in OpenOLAT that you get emails delivered to the internal OpenOLAT mailbox and your university mail address. Then you will receive, for example, the notification when you have been registered for an exam in OpenOLAT.
What if I get technical problems during the exam and can't process it as intended?
Since the processing time frame is usually longer than the duration estimated for the test, in most cases you have a time buffer so that you do not normally have to report technical faults to the examiners. If the time buffer is no longer available to you because you have started processing later, this is your responsibility.
Only in the event that long-term technical problems occur do you need to contact the examiners during the exam. They will then decide whether the exam must be cancelled or whether another remedy is justifiable despite the time buffer.
The prerequisite is that you can provide suitable evidence that you were not responsible for the fault to the examiners immediately after the test. Create evidence of your technical problems with e.g. screenshots, photos, videos, etc. to make it credible that you were not responsible for the fault and keep these ready after the exam.
Before the exam, find out by which means the examiners can be reached during the exam in case of disruptions.
Are there technical support services available?
If, after consultation with the lecturers, you find that your own technical devices do not meet these requirements and you are also unable to obtain devices with the appropriate requirements, you can contact the WiSo research laboratory - if necessary with the support of the lexaminers. There you can inquire whether you can be provided with a laptop for the period of the examination.
Please only resort to this option in an absolute emergency and be in solidarity with students who absolutely need it.
Does the university provide workstations?
Unfortunately, it is currently assumed that the university will not be able to provide workstations with WLAN connections on campus until further notice due to the pandemic-related restrictions. If you are concerned that your internet connection will not meet the requirements, we recommend that you seek alternative options (surf sticks, mobile hotspots, etc.) at an early stage. As soon as circumstances allow us to offer you spatial support, we will inform you immediately.
What do I have to do if I want to cancel the exam?
If you cancel an online test or, in the case of offline tests, do not want to or cannot upload the solution by the deadline, inform your examiner immediately during the examination. The exam will then be graded as failed and you can take another exam attempt later if you have not exhausted the exam attempts. If you do not inform your examiner of your withdrawal, interim solutions that have already been saved will be assessed. If you pass the exam, it cannot be repeated.
Background: In many technical systems in which an exam is taken online, the intermediate solutions entered are saved as processing progresses (e.g. in OpenOLAT). In some cases, depending on the examiner's conception of the exam, the entries can no longer be revised or deleted afterwards.
What if I turn in a Take-Home Exam too late?
If Take-Home Exams are not handed in within the specified processing time frame, the respective exam attempt will be assessed as failed. Please note the information above under the point cancellation of an exam.
What if I have not submitted/uploaded the declaration of originality?
The examiner will provide you with the template for the declaration of originality, usually together with the examination task (e.g. in OpenOLAT). You must upload it with the solution before the end of the processing time.
If the declaration of self-sufficiency is not uploaded before the end of the processing time, the examination is considered incomplete and thus missed/failed. It is left to the discretion of the examiners whether the lecturers grant you the possibility of submitting the declaration of originality at short notice.