eExam rules
Monash University is committed to honesty and academic integrity. There are serious consequences for plagiarism, collusion and cheating.
Cheating can come in many forms, and can occur in exams and other types of assessments. To cheat could be to copy the work of others, to get someone to do your assessment for you, or to bring unauthorised materials into an eExam. Cheating breaches academic integrity and Monash University has various methods of detecting it.
Cheating is a very serious offence and could result in suspension or exclusion from the University.
Learn more about academic integrity, plagiarism and collusion.
- You must sit your eExam in the format and at the location its been scheduled
If you have an on-campus eExam it’s expected that you’ll complete it in person (unless you have special arrangements). You won’t be eligible for an online exam or special consideration if you’re away on holiday or travelling, so plan ahead and avoid booking a trip during the final assessment period (in exceptional circumstances, you may be able to complete your exam online).
If you attempt to sit your on-campus exam from home, you’ll be locked out of your exam attempt – it won’t be marked and you won’t be eligible for special consideration for misreading the timetable. - You can’t cancel or reschedule your eExam
By starting your eExam, you’re confirming that you’re well enough to do the exam. If you suddenly become unwell during your supervised eExam, tell your supervisor straight away – they’ll tell you what you need to do. You should seek medical advice as soon as possible.
To apply for special consideration, you need to provide evidence of your medical condition, and evidence from a medical professional that you were deemed unfit to sit your assessment at the assessment venue (or online equivalent).
We recommend you try to finish your exam if you’re able to because in most circumstances, if you’ve seen and/or attempted to answer the exam questions, you won't be eligible for a deferred assessment.
- You need your M-Pass
You must have your ID – M-Pass (physical or digital), a government-issued photo ID (e.g. your passport) or the Monash Study app M-Pass account screen – when sitting an on-campus eExam or a supervised eExam from home. Make sure the ID you’re presenting has an up-to-date image of you. If exam staff can’t confirm your identity, a report will be sent to your faculty and your exam attempt may be invalid.
- Check your webcam and microphone are working (eExams with supervision)
If you have a supervised eExam, your webcam and microphone must be working – if the online supervisor can't see or hear you, you won't be allowed to sit your eExam.
- Your phone must be on ‘do not disturb’ mode
Your phone must be switched to 'do not disturb' mode and placed face down on your desk. You must only use your phone to log in to your eExam with multi-factor authentication and, at the end of your exam, to upload photographs of any required handwritten responses – don’t access your phone until the instructions appear on your screen.
If you access your phone without permission during your exam, the online supervisor will flag your recorded session and a report will be provided to your faculty.
You can use your phone to contact Exam Support if you encounter technical difficulties during your exam. If you’re still connected with your online supervisor, advise them that you need to use your phone to contact IT Support.
- Set up your exam space (off-campus eExams with online supervision)
You’ll need a space where you can sit your eExam under exam conditions (conditions that are very similar to what you’d expect in an assessment venue):
- You’ll need a quiet, private room where you’re the only person present.
- Let your friends and family know that you’re sitting your exam and must not be interrupted. Interactions with others during your supervised eExam will be flagged and reported to your faculty. Put a sign on your door asking people to come back later and turn your voicemail on.
- The room must have good lighting, but light must not shine directly onto your webcam.
- Study materials must be out of sight and out of arm's reach.
- Ensure there’s no writing, stickers or notes on your desk or computer.
- If you have dual monitors, remove one of the monitors – you’re only allowed to use one monitor in the exam.
- Make sure there are no unauthorised materials on the floor under your desk.
- Check you don’t have any unauthorised materials
You must not have writing on any part of your body, or any device or other materials that haven’t been authorised for the exam. Possession of unauthorised materials, cheating or attempting to cheat in an exam is a disciplinary offence.
Use of blank paper “Working sheets” during an exam are only allowed if authorised for your exam. Check the amount of working sheets that have been permitted – this will be displayed on the landing page of your eExam. You can collect these in the exam room if sitting an on-campus eExam.
What you’re allowed to bring to your eExam
You can check your unit’s Moodle page to find out:
- if your eExam is an open-book or closed-book assessment
- what materials or devices have been authorised for your eExam.
This information will also appear on the landing page of your eExam – read this information carefully before you start your eExam and make sure all of your materials and devices are authorised. We'll regard any material or item on your desk, chair, or person to be in your possession. Having any unauthorised materials in an exam is a disciplinary offence.
eExam type | Permitted and non-permitted items |
---|---|
Closed book |
You’re not permitted to use any notes, texts, websites or other reference material to assist you in answering the questions. If your assessment contains file download/upload questions, you’re permitted to use the required application to execute the downloaded file. |
Closed book with specifically permitted items | You may only use the specific items authorised by your Chief Examiner (listed on the eExam landing page) to assist you in answering the questions. |
Open book |
You’re permitted to use any or all of the following hard-copy reference materials only: notes, books, dictionaries, a physical calculator, molecular modelling kit, unlimited blank working paper. Soft-copy reference materials are not permitted. |
Open book with additional device |
You’re permitted to use any or all of the following hard-copy reference materials: notes, books, dictionaries, a physical calculator, molecular modelling kit, unlimited blank working paper and you’re permitted to access soft-copy reference materials on a secondary device. You must not access soft-copy materials on your primary device. Important: You’re not permitted to access the internet or communication applications on either device. The secondary device must not be your smartphone or a second monitor plugged into your primary device. You can use a second laptop, desktop PC, tablet, Kindle or iPad to access soft-copy reference materials only. |
Open access |
You’re permitted to access and use physical/digital notes, physical/virtual calculator, reference materials, software, websites on the device you’re using for your eExam. You are not allowed to use a secondary device during your exam, unless this is specified on the landing page of your eExam. |
- Log in before the start time
To ensure you get your full exam time, log into the eAssessment platform 30 minutes before the scheduled start time (if it’s supervised) or 10 minutes before if you have an exam without supervision.
If you’ve got an on-campus eExam, we recommend you arrive on campus one hour before your start time to allow time for parking, finding your way to a check-in point, completing the check-in process, finding a seat in the exam room, getting your device set up and connecting with your online supervisor so you’re ready to start on time.
- No talking
You must not speak with other students or people outside the University during your exam. Colluding with others to gain an unfair advantage in your assessment is a disciplinary offence.
If you’re doing an on-campus eExam and you need to communicate with your online supervisor or exam staff, please do so quietly so you don’t disrupt others in the exam room.
- Stay in sight of your webcam (eExams with supervision)
You must stay in sight of your webcam throughout the session if your eExam is supervised (unless you’re a AAA student with pre-approved alternative arrangements).
If you need to leave the room to use the toilet, you’ll need to leave your phone and any exam materials in the exam room in front of the camera so it’s visible. The session will continue to be recorded while you’re out of the room.
There’s no time limit on breaks; however, lengthy and/or repeated toilet breaks that appear suspicious may be reported to your faculty for further review.
- Copy/paste to OR from external sources
You’re not permitted to:
- copy question text and paste it to an external document or source outside the eAssessment platform
- copy and paste text from an eExam question to the notes or response window for a question, or from the notes window to your response window (within the eExam)
- copy or paste text from external sources, if you have a closed book or open book eExam with permitted items.
- Stop writing when your exam time ends (if you have handwritten responses)
If your exam requires handwritten responses, you must stop writing when your exam time ends. If you’re seen writing on your answer sheets after the exam has finished, it will be reported to your faculty.
- Rest and movement breaks
If you're registered with Disability Support Services and have been approved for alternative assessment arrangements that include rest/movement breaks, you'll need to let your online supervisor know when you want to take a break and again when you return. If you final assessment is unsupervised, you'll need to self-manage your rest time. Rest/movement time can't be converted to working time.
During your rest/movement break:
- you're not allowed to access exam material or continue to work on your exam responses
- you must remain inside the designated rest break area when sitting an on-campus eExam
- you'll need to stay in sight of your webcam when sitting an off-campus eExam
- let your exam supervisor know before you leave the room/rest area.
- Prayer break during a supervised exam
If you’re sitting a supervised eExam, you can take a prayer break during your exam, but you’ll need to stay in your room in sight of your webcam. No additional exam time will be provided for this break though.
- Bringing food to your exam
You can bring food to help keep up your energy throughout your exam; however, you need to consider other students in the room. Don’t bring food items that could disrupt others – i.e. strong smelling food, food that’s noisy to eat and food in noisy packaging.
You should also use the sanitising wipes provided to wipe down your desk before you leave the room to minimise risk to other students who may have food allergies.
Breaches of eExam rules
Where any of our monitoring identifies a suspected breach of exam rules, footage of your exam session and session logs may be referred to authorised Monash staff for investigation.
There are serious consequences for plagiarism, collusion and cheating. Turnitin is integrated into the eAssessment platform so examiners are automatically provided with similarity scores for any long-form text responses.
If you’ve been advised by your online supervisor that you have breached an eExam rule, follow the supervisor’s instructions and then continue with your exam to the best of your ability. Once your exam has finished, we recommend that you contact your student association for advice and support.
Visit LearnHQ to find out how to avoid unintentionally breaching academic integrity.
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