Exams

Most courses include at least two exams, usually a midterm and a final. In addition to completing all assignments, you must take all required exams. Your exam grades must average at least a D- in order for you to pass a course, and some courses may have stricter standards.

Know Your Exam Policies and Procedures!
If you have questions about exam policies or procedures, contact our exam department at 800.334.1011 or ispexams@indiana.edu.

NEW for 2009–10: Delivery of Exams

To improve exam turnaround time, help you maintain momentum in your studies, and decrease the number of months needed to complete a course, the School of Continuing Studies has created new options for exam delivery.

1. Priority Mail
   Indiana University High School is now using priority mail to send exams to your exam center or supervisor.
   Starting July 1, 2009, the school will also provide priority mail envelopes to new registrants for returning exams to us. After you register for a course, you will receive, by postal mail, a registration packet that includes priority mail envelopes for each of the exams in your course.
   
   Be sure to take one of these envelopes with you to your exam location so that your exam supervisor can use it to return your exam to the exams department. If you lose the envelopes provided, you are responsible for purchasing replacement envelopes. If you do not bring a mailer to the exam, you will be instructed to reschedule your exam.


2. Delivery of Exams by PDF
   In some cases, exams may be sent to your exam supervisor by email. Please note the following:
   
   a. Before you apply to take your exam, you must check with your exam supervisor to ensure that he or she is willing to accept a pdf version of your exam by email and to print it out.
   
   b. You must indicate that you'd like your exam sent by email when you apply to take the exam.
   
   c. The IUHS exams department will verify your exam supervisor's email prior to sending the exam. Your exam supervisor must use "official" email related to their institution. Email addresses from free Internet accounts such as gmail or yahoo will not be accepted.
   
   d. Indiana University High School will send the pdf version of your exam to your exam supervisor approximately 48 hours after your exam application has been approved. Before approving your exam application, the school will verify your exam supervisor's email and confirm that your supervisor has agreed to accept and print the pdf.
   
   e. You complete your exam on paper.
   
   f. Your completed exam must be returned in one of the priority mail envelopes you received when you registered (see above). If you do not bring a mailer to the exam, you will be instructed to reschedule your exam.

Exam Centers and Supervisors

After you’ve completed all assignments before an exam, you need to arrange for an exam date and time with a qualified supervisor.

If You Live Near an Indiana University Exam Center
You may contact the center (see the list of centers below) to arrange an exam date and time. There is no charge when you take your exam at an Indiana University exam center.

If You Do Not Live Near an Indiana University Exam Center
Your exam must be administered under the supervision of an administrative officer of a public library or an accredited college or university. We suggest that you contact the student services, continuing education, testing, or counseling office of your local college or university to ask how you can be assigned an exam supervisor. High school students should arrange to have their exams supervised by their high school principal or guidance counselor’s office. Military personnel should arrange to have their education officer supervise exams.

Important: Your exam supervisor must be approved by our exam department. He or she must be able to read and understand exam instructions in English and be able to communicate with our office via email or telephone. Relatives cannot supervise an exam.

You are responsible for any costs involved in having an exam supervised at an exam site other than an Indiana University exam center.

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Indiana University Exam Centers

Applying for an Exam

You may apply to take a midterm (or other nonfinal) exam only after all submissions preceding the exam have been received and recorded and after all but the submission prior to the midterm have been graded. For example, if there are three submissions preceding a midterm, all three must be received and recorded, and the first two must be graded.

You may apply to take a final exam only after all midterms (or other nonfinal exams) have been graded, after all submissions preceding the exam have been received and recorded, and after all but the submission prior to the final have been graded.

Fill out the exam application in the course learning guide. Then do one of the following:

• Mail your completed exam application to us in the envelope marked “Examination Request” (included in your course registration packet).
• Fax your completed exam application to 812.855.8680.
• Email the information requested on the exam application to ispexams@indiana.edu
• Call 800.334.1011 and provide the information requested on the exam application.

What Happens after You Apply to Take an Exam

After we’ve received your exam application, we’ll forward the exam to your exam center or supervisor. Please allow two to three days for processing time.

Exams Sent by Express Courier
If necessary, we can send an exam to your exam center or supervisor via express courier. There is a $40 ($60 international) fee for this service. To have your exam sent via express courier, include a $40/60 check or money order (made payable to Indiana University) or credit card information with your exam application. If you pay the fee by credit card, you may call 800.334.1011. You will be asked to provide the information on the exam application. Sorry. We do not fax exams to exam centers or supervisors, nor can we overnight exams to your instructors.

Taking an Exam  

1. Before the day of your exam, confirm your appointment with your exam center or supervisor.
2. Arrive at your exam site at the scheduled time.
3. Bring a picture ID to the exam site. You will not be allowed to take the exam unless you show picture identification to your exam supervisor.
4. Be sure to bring one of the priority mail envelopes you received when you registered for your course.

An Important Note about Exams
If you can’t attend your exam session at its scheduled time, call or write your exam center or supervisor to reschedule the exam. Your exam center or supervisor can retain your exam for up to 30 days.

We will withhold release of your first exam or, in courses without exams, your last assignment if you have not paid your course fees in full. You will be unable to take your first exam, or submit your last assignment in courses without exams, until you have paid your fees in full.

What Happens after You Take an Exam

• Your exam center or supervisor forwards your completed exam to us in the priority mail envelope you brought with you to the exam.

Important: Completed exams must be forwarded to us by your exam center or supervisor. We do not accept exams forwarded by students.

1. We record that we’ve received your exam and forward it to your course instructor for grading.
2. Your instructor grades your exam and returns it to us. Your instructor also posts your grade to your Course in Progress screen.
3. Exams are kept on file for 90 days after we receive them back from exam supervisors.

Returning Completed Exams by Express Courier
If you have a deadline to receive your exam grade, you may arrange to have your exam mailed by express courier.

Sorry. We do not accept faxed exams.

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Exam Grade  

When Will You Receive Your Exam Grade?
You’ll receive your exam grade within 14 calendar days after we receive your completed exam from your exam center or supervisor. In addition, your instructor will post your grade to your Course in Progress screen as soon as your exam has been graded.

Important: Our peak grading periods are the weeks directly preceding graduations (May, August, and December). During these periods, please allow additional time for us to grade and process your assignments.

Minimum Exam Grade Needed to Pass a Course
In most courses, your exam grades must average at least a D– in order for you to pass a course. Even if your assignment grades are excellent, you’ll not pass a course unless you fulfill this requirement. Individual courses may set stricter grade standards, but this is the minimum standard. Check the course introduction for your course’s specific grade standards.

Retaking Exams

As a general policy, exams may not be retaken. You may appeal for a waiver of this policy if extreme extenuating circumstances warrant it. Your appeal must describe the circumstances in writing and provide supporting documentation (e.g., statement from a physician, school official, or exam supervisor). If you think you have a strong case for being allowed to retake an exam, call 800.334.1011 or send an email to custserv@indiana.edu for complete instructions.

Special Exam Arrangements

Please refer to the Students with Disabilities section, located here, if you need to make special exam arrangements.

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