1. Definition of exam. Exams must be provided for in the Programme Regulations and regularly registered on the Infostud information system. All so-called "mid-term exams", "partial exams", and "qualifying exams" which do not entail registration on the information system are not considered exams. The mid-term exams of multi-semester courses, although they are not exams are subject to the provisions of this article.
2. Publicity of the calendar and exam procedures. By the start of the educational activities, the educational bodies define and publish in the course catalogue the annual calendar of exam sessions and exam dates, as well as a detailed description of the exam procedures, which cannot change during the academic year except in exceptional cases or in cases of force majeure. The exams cover the syllabus of the course. The content, method and number of exams, mid-term exams, partial exams and qualifying exams that do not require registration in the information system are communicated at the beginning of the lessons. On the basis of the number of students booked or other ways of estimating the number of examinees in advance, the lecturers schedule the exams for each student and advertise them appropriately.
3. Types of exams. The Programme Regulations of each degree programme establish (within limits provided for by Ministerial Decrees of degree classes) the number and type of exams suitable for the students’ acquisition of the assigned ECTS. Such exams may be performed orally, in writing, by means of practical tests or in any combination of them, according to the procedures established by the competent Board. The oral exam is public. The educational bodies ensure due publicity for the other performance modalities.
4. Exam periods. The educational activities calendar must provide for the non-overlapping of periods devoted exclusively to teaching with those devoted to ordinary exams (exams, qualifying exams). Exam dates must be scheduled by the Faculty Committee, with the mandatory opinion of the student representation.
The educational activities calendar must provide for at least five ordinary exam dates per academic year plus two extraordinary ones pursuant to paragraph 6 of this Article. Further ordinary or extraordinary exams may be scheduled for those subjects that show criticalities at the Faculty Committee's behest.
There are three ordinary exam periods structured as follows.
For courses delivered in the first semester:
- the first ordinary exam period takes place in January/February, and in any case may start as from the end of the educational activity; it includes at least two exam dates;
- the second ordinary exam period takes place in June/July, and in any case may start as from the end of the second teaching cycle; it includes at least two exam dates;
- the third ordinary exam period takes place in September/October and ends in any case before the start of educational activities; it includes at least one exam date.
For courses delivered in the second semester:
- the first ordinary exam period takes place in June/July, and in any case can start as from the end of the educational activity period; it includes at least two exam dates;
- the second ordinary exam period takes place in September/October; it includes at least one exam date and ends in any case before the start of educational activities;
- the third ordinary exam period takes place in January of the following calendar year; it includes at least one exam date;
- the fifth ordinary exam date may be organised in any period of suspension of educational activities at the discretion of the Faculties.
For one-year courses, the schedule of exam periods for second-semester courses applies.
5. Exam dates. Within the periods referred to in paragraph 4, the degree programmes shall set the dates of the exams on the basis of the following criteria:
- each exam date is scheduled after a minimum of 14 natural and consecutive days from the previous exam date of the same course;
- the dates of ordinary exam dates should not normally coincide with lecture periods;
- Scheduling exam dates on the same day for the courses of the same year and degree programme is not allowed;
- exam dates are as evenly distributed as possible for subjects in the same year of the same degree programme;
- Exam dates may not be advanced in relation to the calendar published pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article under no circumstances;
- any postponement of exam dates in relation to the calendar published pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article shall be permitted on an exceptional basis if authorised by the Programme Coordinator and shall be publicised and communicated to students in good time;
- Professors must sign and "close" all open exam reports, even in the absence of candidates, within five (5) days from the date of the conclusion of the exam and, in any case, in the case of summer sessions, no later than August 10 of each year.
6. Extraordinary exam dates. At least two extraordinary exam dates must be scheduled for each teaching, also outside the exam periods referred to in paragraph 4, as well as during class periods, reserved for:
- students enrolled fuoricorso;
- students enrolled in part-time learning;
- students with disabilities;
- students with specific learning difficulties (Academic Senate resolution of June 12, 2018);
- student-parents with a child/children less than three years old and pregnant students (resolution of the Academic Senate of July 9, 2019) (Academic Senate resolution of July 9, 2019);
- students who have attended all three years of the degree programme (Academic Senate resolution of October 13, 2020);
- student-athletes, as defined in Art. 25, paragraph 6, of these Regulations (resolution of the Academic Senate of September 14, 2021);
- student workers (resolution of the Academic Senate of March 2, 2021) who have performed for at least 60 days, also non-continuous, in the six months prior to the start date of the extraordinary exam period:
- paid and contracted activity on behalf of private individuals, including cooperative societies or public bodies;
- self-employment activity with or without VAT number;
- universal civil service voluntary work in a public or private organisation;
- business activity of a commercial, artisanal or agricultural nature.
The students' status as working student must be self-certified and sent from his or her institutional e-mail address to the teacher of the subject and to the student affairs office of their degree programme within 20 days of the start of the extraordinary exam session.
7. Which exams may be sat. Provided that exams are booked within the set deadlines, it is only possible to sit exams after the scheduled lessons relating to the year of enrolment have been completed and, normally, only and exclusively exams provided for in the programme regulations of the degree programme in which the student is enrolled, in accordance with the annual educational activity.
Students are also entitled to:
a) take the exams in all the exam dates of each session, regardless of the outcome of the previous ones;
b) take an exam from another name/timetable grouping, in the event of courses being delivered divided into two or more student groups, subject to the authorisation of the Programme Coordinator and if there are justified reasons;
c) take the exam on the syllabus of the year of their enrolment, provided they take the exam within the two academic years following the year in which the course was taught.
8. Exams that cannot be sat. Under no circumstances may an exam already taken and passed in the same degree programme be sat again, even in the event of a change in the syllabus, not even as an "optional exam" chosen by students.
Students enrolled in bachelor's degrees may not sit exams provided for in the Master's Degrees programme regulations as "optional exams" chosen by students, with the exception of the exams provided for in the first three years of single-cycle degree programmes (Ministerial Decree 270/04). Student Affairs Offices will proceed to cancel exams taken in breach of this provision.
9. Attendance obligations and propaedeutic exams. It is necessary to comply with the attendance obligations, if any, and with any propaedeutic requirements indicated in the Programme Regulations of the degree programme, under penalty of cancellation of any exams taken irregularly. Students enrolled in degree programmes that do not provide for compulsory attendance and who have difficulty attending for work or personal reasons may request specific teaching aids from the course lecturer. Attending and non-attending students are tested on the same syllabus.
10. How to book an exam. Bookings for exams are made through the Infostud system on condition that students have paid their tuition fees and that the exam is included in those scheduled for their degree programme.
Before booking the exams, it is necessary to check:
- that the exam is included in the exams for their degree programme
- to be up to date with the payment of tuition fees and surcharges. Failure to do so will result in the exam being registered only after regularisation of payments, which must take place within 10 consecutive days from the date on which the first exam taken in default of payment was registered, otherwise, all exams taken after the deadline for payment of tuition fees will be cancelled.
Exams taken under the forfeiture regime are automatically cancelled.
In order to book exams which are not present on Infostud, e.g. relating to courses in the old academic system (pre Ministerial Decree 509-99), it is necessary to contact the Educational Affairs Office of the relevant degree programme.
After the closing date for the exam booking, it is no longer possible to print the exam booking receipts from Infostud: it will be possible to print it from the student’s institutional e-mail address. When booking exams, students are required to complete the Student Opinion Survey (Opis) on the evaluation of the educational activity carried out.
11. Student identification and exam registration. On the day of the exam, it is compulsory to show a valid ID card or student card and the exam booking receipt printed out by Infostud, which will be signed by the professor at the time of the exam and given back to the student. After the exam, it will be possible to check on Infostud that the results have been registered. The professor may admit students who do not hold the booking receipt to the exam: in this case, no document will be issued to the student, but the exam will still be registered, and it will be possible to check the results through the Infostud system.
The results of exams are registered by the professor on Infostud within 5 days after the end of the exam date.
12. Assessment and acquisition of ECTS. Individual knowledge assessment is expressed for exams by a mark out of thirty. Exams are passed with a mark of at least 18 out of 30. In the case of a maximum mark (30 out of 30), honours may be awarded. The mark is recorded in the appropriate minutes. The ECTS associated with the subject are always acquired by passing the exam. In some cases, expressly provided for by the Programme Regulations, the assessment is expressed as "qualified/not qualified". The exam is passed with a mark of "qualified", which is registered in the appropriate report.
At the end of the exam, it is the student's right to request the assessment criteria that determined the definition of the mark as well as to see the test, if written.
13. Registration of negative outcomes. A negative assessment does not result in a mark, so it does not affect the final average. It is registered in the minutes under the heading "waiver". At the student's request, the negative assessment is recorded as "failed".
14. Registration of the rejection of the mark. The lecturer must also register on Infostud a mark equal to or higher than 18, which the student has decided not to accept, noting it on the report with the wording "refusal" together with the refused mark. The mark registered in such way remains in any case irrelevant to the student's career, is not included in the curriculum in any way and does not affect the average for the final grade (Resolution of the Academic Senate of March 28, 2017).
15. Exam repetition. An exam that has already been successfully passed and registered cannot be repeated.
16. Taking exams in advance. Students who have already taken all the exams scheduled for their degree programme year and for previous years may request to take two exams per year in advance, subject to authorisation from the relevant educational bodies (Educational Area Board, Degree Programme Board or Faculty Board), which must issue the appropriate document and simultaneously notify the Student Affairs Office, which will proceed to enable the exams to be booked on Infostud. The authorisation may only be granted if the exams for which an advance is requested belong to the same academic system as the degree programme in which the applying students are enrolled. If the academic system is different, authorisation may only be granted on condition that the Infostud code relating to the exams for which an advance is requested in the new academic system degree programme is the same as the code for the same exams in the immediately preceding academic system in the academic year in which the request is submitted.