De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU) and De Montfort University (DMU) have joined forces for the Uni2Know campaign.
The Uni2Know campaign aims to provide all students at DMU with the academic information they need, including information on good academic practice, exam guidance and what support services are available.
We understand this is an uncertain time, which is why we’ve pulled together highlighted some imporant information below to help you while learning online.
Over the coming weeks, some students at DMU will be participating in online exams for the first time. Both DSU and DMU understand this can be incredibly unsettling for some so we’ve created some exam guidance to help you prepare. To see the full DMU exam guidance please see here.
To help you feel ready, we’ve created a list of our top tips for before you take an online exam…
- Go to Blackboard to make sure you understand what your exam is and how it will take place. If you are unsure of this, please contact your module leader
- Make sure that you know the availability of your module team and know how to contact them, should you have an issue on the day of your exam
- Revise as you would do usually. If your exam allows it, download any additional materials you will need in advance to save time
- Ensure you will be able to hand in your work using Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc)
- Plan out the location where you will take your exam, which will preferably be somewhere quiet without distraction. If you can’t find anywhere, contact your module leader
- Make sure all computer/laptop updates have completed, you have chargers and everything you need to begin your exam
- If you live with other people, make sure they’re aware that you’re doing an exam so they don’t disturb you and are able to support you. If your exam needs Wi-Fi, you should switch off any unnecessary devices to improve your WiFi speed
- Switch off any social media channels to allow you to focus
- If you can, plan to start your exam early so you can finish it within UK working hours
- The day before your exam, check that everything seems to be working and you can still access Blackboard & Turnitin. If you will be hand-drawing a diagram to photograph, which will then be inserted into a Word document, do a rough test to check that you can do this successfully on the day
We also understand sometimes things don’t go to plan, so we’ve created a list of support services available for you. For…
- Password problems - Contact the ITMS Service desk on itmsservicedesk@dmu.ac.uk or by calling (044) 116 250 6050 between 8am-5pm Monday-Friday
- Technical issues - Keep a detailed note of the time and nature of the issue and any evidence that might be available to you (e.g. by taking photos or videos documenting the problem). If you are unable to complete the exam within the time allowed, you must contact your module leader as soon as you can to inform them
- Academic queries (i.e You believe there’s an error on the paper) - Contact your module leader as soon as you can. If you are unable to reach the module leader, you should still attempt the question to the best of your ability and add a note to your answer explaining the issue with the question. Any errors on the exam paper will be taken into account in the marking of the paper
- Problems uploading your exam online- You should upload your work as a PDF file to OneDrive. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the ‘Supporting your Learning’ page of the DMU Library and Learning Services website. Once you have saved your work, contact your module leader immediately. If this fails, then email your completed assessment to your module leader as evidence that you have completed it within the time allowed.
- If you’re ill the day of your exam and unable to complete your exam - you should firstly seek appropriate medical advice; once you are feeling well enough, you should make an application for deferral of the exam. Details on how to do this are available on Student Gateway and on the DMU Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQs page.
- Unforeseen issues (medical/personal/technical)- You should make an application for deferral of the exam. Please refer to the guidance regarding deferrals on Student Gateway and on the DMU Coronavirus FAQs page
- In case of serious emergencies (earthquake, fire or similar) you should stop working and reach safety. Once safe, you should notify your module leader by e-mail and copy in your personal tutor as soon as possible
For further guidance on taking exams remotely between April-June 2020, please visit this page or the DMU coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and information page here.
If you have further questions about your DMU and coronavirus (COVID-19), you can email InfoOnCoronavirus@dmu.ac.uk
For further information please keep an eye on DSU and DMU’s social media channels.
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