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Exam and Paper Submission Instructions and FAQs

URL: https://libguides.law.ucla.edu/finalexams

A. Where can I find a list of exam policies?

Students can find a list of exam policies and procedures in Academic Standard III., Policies Concerning Assessments. These policies should be reviewed before exam day. 

B. How can I find my Blind ID number for my in-class or take-home exam?

Your Blind ID number can be found on MyLaw. For anonymous exams and assignments, either in-class or take-home, you will see a part on your MyLaw Home page called "Your Blind Numbers."  

IMPORTANT NOTE: When using some versions of Safari, you may find that you can't see the Blind Number part. If this is the case, please sign into MyLaw from the latest version of either Chrome or Firefox

C. What technology will I need to take my in-class and take-home exams?

Students will need to have a personal computer, with internet access, to access and take their exams. Examplify will not function on iPads or other tablet devices. 

We also recommend you confirm that you have a working charger or outlet, and that you restart your computer the night before an exam to install any essential updates and clear your temporary memory.

D. What materials am I allowed to use during my in-class and take-home exams?

For fully-secure in-class exams, only printed hard copies of notes and textbooks are allowed (or, as allowed by your professor).  You may not use your cell phones, digital watches, or electronic devices other than your computer during in-class exams. The Examplify software also blocks access to all programs on your computer, so students will not be able to access digital notes or textbooks during fully-secure in-class exams.

For partially-secure in-class exams, digital copies of notes and textbooks are allowed. You will have access to programs, files (notes, outlines, documents, etc.), and electronic textbooks (as allowed by your professor) which are saved on your local drive. You will not have access to the internet, so anything saved on the Cloud will be inaccessible. If you want to access any documents or electronic textbooks during the exam, you need to download a copy to your computer. 

Please note, only the device being used to write your exam will be allowed in the exam room. Again, this means any document or digital textbooks you wish to access during the exam should be saved to the computer you are using to write the exam -- to be clear, no additional devices (iPads, Kindles, etc.) will be allowed to take the exam. 

For take-home exams, students are allowed to reference all materials they wish, unless specifically prohibited by their professor. Electronic copies of notes and textbooks are allowed. 

Foreign language students may use an English language dictionary during their exams. However, they are not allowed to use a legal translation dictionary. For in-class exams, students may only use the physical copy of their dictionary. 

Note that all academic integrity policies and precautions apply during both take-home and in-class exams.  Plagiarism in any form is a violation of the UCLA Student Conduct Code.  Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use of another person’s work (including words, ideas, designs, or data) without giving appropriate attribution or citation.  This includes, but is not limited to, representing, with or without the intent to deceive, part or all of an entire work obtained by purchase or otherwise, as the student’s original work; the omission of or failure to acknowledge the true source of the work; or representing an altered but identifiable work of another person or the student’s own previous work as if it were the student’s original or new work.  Furthermore, students may not collaborate on individual assessments.

E. What should I do to prepare for using Examplify for my in-class exam?

How to prepare before exam day:

  1. Before your first exam, install Examplify on the computer you will use for your exams. Register for Examplify using the login credentials provided by the Records Office.
  2. You can prepare your computer for your exams by checking that your computer meets the Minimum System Requirements. Please DO NOT update your computer to the newest operating system. Disable automatic updates on your computer until the end of the final exam period, to avoid updating to the newest versions of your operating system. We cannot guarantee that Examplify will run smoothly with the newest operating systems.
  3. Also, to ensure the best results, temporarily disable your anti-virus software before your exam. You can find assistance for disabling your anti-virus here.
  4. If you have already installed Examplify in the past, open Examplify to allow the software to update if necessary. 
  5. Practice using the features in Examplify by using the Practice Exam template. We have given students access to download a practice exam to become comfortable with using the software in advance of exams.

How to prepare on the day of your exam:

  1. Open Examplify to download the template for your exam. Every exam will have its own template that typically includes the name of the professor and class. The download will become available the night before your exam. You can download the template at any point after it becomes available, but please do not go further until you are in the exam room.
  2. Look up your blind ID number in MyLaw. You will need your blind ID number to enter your exam in Examplify and to write it on your question booklet.
  3. Arrive to the exam room at least 10 minutes in advance of the start time. The doors to the exam room will close promptly 10 minutes before the scheduled start time, and any students who arrive within 10 minutes of the start time will be asked to report to Student Affairs. If you need to borrow a laptop, report to the IT table in the hallway, opposite the Records Office. 
  4. Listen to the instructions provided by the Records Office in the exam room. Before every exam, Records Office staff will provide important instructions for taking your exam. 

F. What are the partially-secure and fully-secure formats for in-class exams?

In-class exams are now being offered in one of two formats: partially-secure and fully-secure. Both formats use the Examplify software, but the difference is in students' access to digital materials and programs on their computers. Fully-secure in-class exams will have no internet or program/file access and only hard copy materials will be allowed (if open book). Partially-secure in-class exams will allow program/file access but no internet access. You can find which format your exam will use on the Final Exam Schedule.

In fully-secure in-class exams, students will be locked out of all programs and will not have access to digital notes or e-textbooks. For this reason, you must have printed copies of notes and textbooks for fully-secure in-class exams that are open book. Fully-secure closed book exams do not allow you to use any notes or textbooks, whether printed or digital. 

In partially-secure in-class exams, students will have access to digital notes and textbooks and other programs, such as Microsoft Word or Excel. You will not have access to the internet in partially-secure exams, so you must have access to your materials on your local computer hard drive before your exam begins. You will not be able to access your materials stored online or on the Cloud once the exam begins.

Prior to your exam, you can check if you have access to your digital materials on your local hard drive and not only on the Cloud by turning off your WiFi and attempting to access your materials without WiFi. This will most closely emulate the environment of the partially-secure exam. You can also familiarize yourself with the exam format by using the Partially-Secure Practice Exam template loaded to Examplify. 

**We strongly advise that students have access to a second copy of their notes and textbooks on a USB drive, Cloud folder, or printed hard copy, in addition to their local hard drive, should they need to access their materials on a different laptop. If there is an issue with their computer when they arrive to the exam room or during the exam, they can quickly and easily transfer their materials if they need to complete their exam on a laptop loaned by the IT Office.**

G. Will I be locked out of all programs during in-class exams? Will I be able to access my notes or e-books?

You will have access to your programs and digital notes and textbooks during partially-secure in-class exams only. Please make sure you have access to your digital notes and textbooks on your local computer hard drive, rather than only on the Cloud. Because Examplify will block your access to the internet, you will not be allowed to access your materials online or on the Cloud once the exam begins. 

Please note, only the device being used to write your exam will be allowed in the exam room. Again, this means any document or digital textbooks you wish to access during the exam should be saved to the computer you are using to write the exam -- to be clear, no additional devices (iPads, Kindles, laptops, etc.) will be allowed to take the exam. Use of a second monitor will be allowed.

Please review the details about partially-secure exams above for more details.

H. What materials does the Records Office provide during in-class exams?

Students are provided a hard copy of the exam questions for every in-class exam. The last two pages of each exam booklet contain scratch paper, which must be turned in at the end of the exam, along with the questions. Each exam room will also have ear plugs, cough drops, and basic calculators (if needed).

I. Do I need to turn in my scratch paper at the end of my in-class exam?

YES! You must turn in all your exam materials, including every page of the exam and the two pieces of scratch paper at the end of your exam. Any and every piece of scratch paper that you obtained from the Records Office must be returned at the end of the exam, even if unused. 

Please make sure that any notes or work that you want your professor to see is written on our scratch paper. We will throw out any scratch paper that is not ours, so please make sure that any material that you want the professor to see is written on scratch paper provided by the Records Office.

If you do accidentally take a piece of the exam, including scratch paper, with you out of the exam room, please contact the Records Office immediately by email or by visiting our service window.

J. What if my computer freezes or shuts down during my in-class exam?

If you encounter any computer issues during your exam, you should raise your hand to notify the proctor immediately. Students will not receive extra time for computer issues, so it is imperative that you notify the proctor as soon as possible so that you can continue with your exam.

The proctor will instruct you to continue working in a BlueBook. Whatever answers you write during this time will be uploaded to Examplify later by Records Office staff. The proctor will then notify Records Office staff so that someone can attempt to troubleshoot the issue with your computer while you continue working on your exam.

K. What should I do if I cannot connect to the internet while trying to upload my exam answer in Examplify?

When you click "Submit Exam" in Examplify, the software attempts to reconnect you to the internet to upload your exam submission. You may potentially receive an error message at the end of your exam indicating that you could not upload your exam due to internet connectivity issues. Please click the Retry Upload button. You may also try connecting to a different WiFi network (UCLA Web or UCLA WiFi) and then click Retry Upload. If you are still unable to upload your exam, please ask a Records Office administrator in the exam room to assist you. DO NOT close the software or your laptop until you receive a green confirmation screen indicating that your upload was successful.

Please see the In-Class Exam Instructions regarding submitting your exam for more details.

L. What do I do if I cannot find the exam template for my exam in Examplify?

If your exam is not appearing in the "My Exams" list on the left side on your screen in Examplify, click (B) "Refresh Exam List" in the very bottom left corner of the screen. You may need to click "Refresh" a couple of times for the exam to appear. Click on (C) "Download Exam".

If you still cannot find your exam, log out of Examplify and log back in. Once you have logged back into Examplify repeat the steps above and click "Refresh Exam List." If your exam template is still not appearing after logging out, logging back in, and refreshing your exam list, please let the proctor in your exam room know for in-class exams or contact the Records Office for take-home exams.

M. Should I type my essay responses in a separate Word document or directly into Examplify?

We recommend typing answers directly into Examplify using the essay spaces provided whenever possible. Although, in the case of partially-secure exam formats, students may choose to type in a Word document and then copy and paste their response into Examplify, we cannot guarantee the formatting used in Word or another word processor will transfer exactly to Examplify. In order to minimize time spent re-formatting your response and to minimize any copy/paste errors*, we advise typing your response directly into Examplify. 

*Please note: Please never use the "cut" function to move parts of your essay response within Examplify. Please use "copy" and "paste" functions rather than "cut" whenever you move text within your answer.

N. Can I speak to my professor about my exam?

Students are allowed to communicate with their professors up until the point the exam window has opened for that particular exam.  Professors have been encouraged to offer additional office hours leading up to the availability of their exam. 

Once the exam window has opened, students are no longer allowed to speak to their professors about the exam, even if the student intends to take the exam at a later time in the case of a take-home exam.  Students should not make any remarks that will jeopardize their anonymity, either on the exam or in any other context, before the exam grades are posted.  Any questions during or after the exam should be addressed to the Records Office or Dean Martí.

O. Can I speak to my classmates about any exams that I have finished or am currently taking?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Students are prohibited from discussing the contents of any exam with any other person until the exam period is completely finished.  Students may be taking their exams at different times, in different time zones, and throughout the entire exam period, so students cannot discuss exams until the entire exam period has concluded.  Doing so is a violation of the Law School’s exam policies, as well as the University’s Student Honor Code.