Exams

When are exams held?

While exams can be held at any time during the teaching period of your course, formal exams are held during the formal examination period, which is at the end of each term.

Exams run from Monday to Saturday in the morning and afternoon and from Monday to Thursday in the evening.

Attendance and adverse circumstances

You must be available to attend exams during the entire exam period and the rescheduled exam period. Three exams in a 48-hour period is the maximum grouping in which your exams may occur.

There is a range of support services available to assist with meeting accessibility requirements during exams, as well as the option to apply for adverse circumstances if issues beyond your control arise during the exam or prevent you from undertaking the exam.

However, factors such as not knowing when or where your exam is being held or failing to factor in travel time are not considered adverse circumstances, so make sure you’re aware of such important information well ahead of time.

More information

Your exam timetable will be available approximately four weeks before the exam period commences – simply click on the exam timetable button in myHub. Information about the venue for your exams will be available on the same link approximately one week before the exam period.

Exams are conducted at all University campuses and students are expected to sit all examinations at the site of their enrolment, except for:

a) a course offered at Newcastle City Precinct where the examination will be held at Callaghan campus; or

b) Online courses where other provisions may be made.

To ensure you take full advantage of the allotted time for your exam, you should aim to arrive at least 15 minutes before it starts.

However, if you are running late, you can enter an exam room up to 30 minutes after the writing portion of the exam has commenced.

If you leave the room, you will only be allowed to re-enter if you had approved supervision throughout the full period of your absence. Except in case of an emergency, you will not be allowed to leave the room at all in the exam’s final 10 minutes.

Extra time to complete an exam, ergonomic furniture and accessible-format exam papers are some of the ways you can receive accessibility support for your exams.

This support is available whether it’s for exams in the formal examination period or during the course teaching period.

To receive this support, you will need to register with AccessAbility and apply in advance.

Each term has a rescheduled exam period, set aside for students who receive approval to reschedule or re-do their exam due to reasons beyond their control.

Issues that may see you eligible to sit your exam in the rescheduled period include:

  • Health grounds
  • Compassionate grounds
  • Hardship
  • Trauma
  • Unavoidable commitments

These are considered adverse circumstances, although you will need to supply documentary evidence.

To apply, you can access the adverse circumstance system through myUni.

Some of the courses the University offers online have an exam component – you can find out if that is the case for you by checking your Course Handbook.

This generally means you will have to complete a formal exam at the University or at an Examination Centre near your home address.

You will be sent all the relevant details, including the location, around four weeks before the exam date.