Spring 2023 Final Exam Procedures
Exam Schedule
The final exam period begins at 8:30am on Monday, May 1st and ends Wednesday, May 10th at 12:00pm (noon).
The in-class exam schedule can be found here. This page is accessible from the Berkeley Law homepage by clicking “For Students” and then “Final Exam Schedule.” A number of students with exam conflicts have had their individual in-class exam(s) automatically rescheduled pursuant to Academic Rule 8.3. Students who had their exams rescheduled for this reason have already received notice of their rescheduled exam and this should be reflected in their online exam interface. All other students must take the exams at the designated time on the posted in-class exam schedule.
All take-home exams, including in all 1L classes, will be available in the exam interface to complete any time during the exam period (i.e., self-schedule), so long as they are completed and submitted no later than 12:00pm (noon) on the last day, May 10th.
Online Exam Interface and Instructional Videos
All exams (both in-class and take-home) are administered via the online exam interface. A link to the exam interface may also be found from the Berkeley Law homepage by clicking “For Students” and then “Exams.”
We have posted a temporary instructional video covering how the online exam interface works while the regular videos are being updated. Please view the instructional video. If you have questions after watching the videos and reading this memo, please email examhelp@law.berkeley.edu.
After you log into the exam interface, you will see our personalized exam page that contains a list of your classes and final exams. After clicking on an exam, you will:
(a) find that exam’s unique Exam Tracking ID (ETI) number
(b) be able to check out and download take-home exams, and
(c) upload your exam answers
Please note your exam may not appear on your personalized exam page until the exam is provisioned a few days before the exam.
The Honor Code
The Berkeley Law Academic Honor Code (the “Honor Code”) and Academic Rules apply to all exams conducted at Berkeley Law.
Primary responsibility for the adherence to the Honor Code rests with each individual member of the Berkeley Law community. A student, faculty member, or staff member who witnesses a violation or apparent violation of the Honor Code should bring the matter to the attention of Annik Hirshen, Dean of Students or, in her absence, Kyle Valenti, Senior Director of Student Services.
The following are some examples of conduct that are potential violations of the Honor Code:
- Using any materials that are not permitted by the rules of the particular exam
- Using more time than permitted by your professor for the exam
- Requesting or receiving unauthorized help
- Consulting unauthorized sources
- Beginning to write your exam before being instructed by the proctor to do so
- Continuing to write your exam after having been instructed by the proctor to stop
- Looking at the exam of a neighboring student
- Failing to report conduct by another student that violates or appears to violate the Honor Code
- Discussing the contents of an exam or your response to an exam question with someone who has not yet taken the exam
- Discussing an exam with someone who has already taken it before you have taken it yourself
- Violating the Berkeley Law Policy on the Use of Generative AI Software (see below)
If you have any questions about these or other exam issues, it is your responsibility to seek answers to them. Students are responsible for reading and understanding the rules of each exam; a student who is unsure about the rules of a particular exam is responsible for clarifying any questions prior to taking the exam. By uploading an exam, you certify that you followed the Honor Code.
Policy on the Use of Generative AI Software
Generative AI is software, for example, ChatGPT, that can perform advanced processing of text at skill levels that at least appear similar to a human’s. Generative AI software is quickly being adopted in legal practice, and many internet services and ordinary programs will soon include generative AI software. At the same time, Generative AI presents risks to our shared pedagogical mission. For this reason, we adopt the following default rule, which enables some uses of Generative AI but also bans uses of Generative AI that would be plagiaristic if Generative AI’s output had been composed by a human author.
The class of generative AI software:
– May be used to perform research in ways similar to search engines such as Google, for correction of grammar, and for other functions attendant to completing an assignment. The software may not be used to compose any part of the submitted assignment.
– May not be used for any purpose in any exam situation.
– Never may be employed for a use that would constitute plagiarism if the generative AI source were a human or organizational author. For discussion of plagiarism, see https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/academic-misconduct-intro/plagiarism/
Instructors have discretion to deviate from the default rule, provided that they do so in writing and with appropriate notice.
General Procedures – All Exams
You will write your exam answers in a Microsoft Word document and submit that document via the exam interface. Note: If your exam has multiple-choice questions, you must submit your multiple-choice answers electronically via an online form.
You will therefore need Microsoft Word or any software that will save in .doc format and a wireless internet connection to complete your exams. Any PC or Mac computer that fits our minimum requirements can be used.
Exam answers must be formatted as follows:
Document name: Name the document with the course name, the professor’s name, the term, and your Exam Tracking ID Number (ETI), and save it to your computer desktop. For example Fundamentals of US Law_Fernholz_Spring 2023_ab123.
Header: Course_Professor _Spring 2023_Exam Tracking ID Number (you may cut-and paste this header information from your exam’s page in the online exam interface)
Page size: 8.5” x 11”
Page numbers: X of Y (e.g., Page 1 of 7); mac users will find this under footer and then semaphore
Double-space your answers
Use a standard font and 1-inch margins
Do not use the comment feature in MS Word in your exam absent explicit instructions to do so by your professor. All comments will be deleted.
Exams are graded anonymously. To protect anonymity, never put your name on your exam. Use only your Exam Tracking ID number (in the header and in the exam document title). For the same reason, do not contact your professor about an exam in progress, or about an exam after the exam is completed but before receiving your grade. Instead, contact
examhelp@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions, there is an emergency, or any other issue arises with your exam.
Save your answer document before you begin typing, throughout the exam, and before you upload your exam. We highly recommend you save your document directly to your desktop or another folder where you will be able to easily identify and access it during the upload process.
We highly encourage you to back up your files and exam answers to Google Drive (or a similar service). Go to bconnected.berkeley.edu and click on bDrive to install Google Drive on your computer. You are also permitted to type your exam in google docs, provided you otherwise follow the exam rules regarding internet and you upload your exam answer as a word file.
Each exam will have a cover sheet with information about the type, length, and materials that may be used on the exam:
Closed-book exams: If the cover sheet states that the exam is closed book, then no outside materials or notes are permitted. Close all open documents and windows on your computer. The only document open on your computer during a closed book exam should be your exam answer.
Open-book exams: If the cover sheet states that the exam is open book, then you may bring course materials and outside materials. Some exams will be limited or partial open book and will state what specific materials you may consult during the exam. Some professors limit the format of the materials you may consult (e.g., you may view materials in hard copy only). Pay close attention to these restrictions, as consulting unauthorized materials (or materials in an unauthorized format) during an exam is considered an Honor Code violation.
Unless explicitly permitted by the instructor, it will be considered an Honor Code violation to cut-and-paste material into an exam answer from any electronically stored or available source including by use of function keys or keyboard shortcuts (with the exception of the header from the online exam interface).
In-Class Exam Procedures
In-class exams begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Proctors give instructions and make important announcements before the start time of the exam. For this reason, you should arrive at the exam room at least 30 minutes prior to the exam start time. In class exam questions will be checked out in hard copy prior to the start of the exam and must be returned at the end of the exam.
Every student must show a photo ID (your Cal1Card works) in order to take an in-class exam. You will need to show the proctors your photo ID in order to check out a hard copy of your exam questions.
You may not wear or use headphones during an exam (this includes noise-canceling headphones). You may use earplugs.
You are permitted to bring an external mouse and/or keyboard, but no second screens or external monitors will be permitted in the exam room. You will be asked to turn off and put away your phones. Please do not forget to bring your charger.
When the exam questions are distributed, you must keep them face down on the desk until the proctor tells you to begin. YOU MAY NOT READ THE INSTRUCTIONS OR BEGIN WORKING IN ANY WAY BEFORE THE OFFICIAL START TIME.
If you arrive late for an exam, but within 15 minutes of the start time, go directly to the Exam Headquarters (Room 141). A proctor will take you to the exam room. NO EXTRA TIME WILL BE GIVEN TO LATECOMERS.
If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you will not normally be permitted to sit for the exam. You should see the Senior Director of Student Services, Kyle Valenti in Exam Headquarters (Room 141) immediately.
You are free to leave the exam room at any time to take a break, go to the restroom, etc., but you may not discuss the exam with anyone and you may not take the exam questions out of the room.
You will be given a five-minute warning before the end of each exam. If you complete the exam after the five-minute warning, but before the end of the exam has been called, you must remain in the exam room and turn in your exam to the proctor once time has been called. The proctor will walk you through the upload process. Do not leave without turning in your exam questions to a proctor or you may not be credited for taking the exam.
If you finish an exam before the five-minute warning is called you may turn in your exam questions and any bluebooks to the Exam Headquarters in Room 141. Make sure that the exam questions are checked in by a proctor before you leave.
Questions that arise during an in-class exam should be directed to Exam Headquarters in Room 141. Remember, however, that you may not carry the exam questions with you when you leave the exam room (except when you leave to turn in your exam early before the five-minute warning).
In case of an emergency during an exam:
- Please leave the building upon hearing the fire alarm or upon being so instructed by a proctor or an administrator.
- Leave all exam materials (exams, bluebooks, notes, etc.) on your desk and take only your personal belongings with you.
- Do not discuss the exam with anyone.
- Remain outside the building until Dean Hirshen or another administrator instructs everyone to re-enter the building.
- Do not re-enter the exam room until instructed to do so by the proctor.
- Do not re-commence work on the exam until instructed to do so by the proctor.
- Students working on take-home exams in the building will leave along with everyone
else. They MAY take their exam materials with them. They should also take their laptops, etc. When permitted to re-enter, they should proceed to the Student Services Office where their names and exam information will be recorded and they will be notified as to how much extra time will be allowed in order to compensate for the time lost.
- Dean Hirshen will determine how much time has been lost. The proctors will be told how much time to add to the end of the exam. In the event that more than one hour has been lost because of the emergency interruption, Dean Hirshen, in consultation with the Dean’s Office, will decide how to proceed.
Take-Home Exam Procedures
All take-home exams, including in 1L classes, are self-scheduled at any time during the exam period. In other words, they will be available to download (in electronic pdf format) and complete at any time during the exam period via the online exam interface but must be completed and submitted no later than noon on the last day of the exam period.
You will need to be connected to the internet in order to check out, download, and submit the exam. You do not need to be connected to the internet for the entirety of your take-home exam, just for those steps.
Each take-home exam has an exam duration. The exam duration is the amount of time that you are permitted to work on the exam after you click ‘check out’ before you must submit the exam. This is determined by the professor. It is up to each student to calculate the available time on an exam and to make sure to submit their exam within this allotted time.
Your take-home exam duration will be timed in consecutive hours from the moment you click ‘check out’ the exam to the time you upload the completed exam. For this reason, do not ‘check out’ your take-home exam until you’re ready to take it. Once you click ‘check out,’ your time will start and the exam will be available to download.
Technical Issues
If you have a technical issue during an in-class exam, go to Exam Headquarters in Room 141 immediately. Do not take the exam questions out of the exam room.
If you have a technical issue during a take-home exam, contact
examhelp@law.berkeley.edu immediately. Attach your exam answer to that email if you are having difficulty uploading.
Do not re-save, open, or otherwise alter your exam file once you have completed and uploaded your exam. In case there is an issue with your submission, we will need to examine the file and its timestamp. If, for any reason, you cannot upload your exam when it is due, you may email the exam answer file to examhelp@law.berkeley.edu.
Exams will not be delayed or suspended due to individual computer problems. You bear the risk of any technical (hardware or software) malfunction.
IS&T staff will not be available before or during the examination to resolve technical problems with individual student laptop computers. IS&T staff will be available only for retrieval or extraction of exam files in the event of catastrophic laptop crashes. As noted above we recommend setting up Google Drive through bconnected.berkeley.edu (or other similar service) and/or typing exams in google docs.
Should the fully or partially completed exam be irretrievable for any reason, it will be your responsibility to retake that portion of your exam. In this event, the Senior Director of Student Services will contact you to arrange a retake of your exam as soon as possible.
In the event that a technical difficulty renders your computer inoperable or incapable of continuing with the examination, you must complete the remainder of the examination in a bluebook. After all exams are collected from every student, members of IS&T will attempt to recover data saved prior to the incident.
Emergencies, Illness, and Other Issues Affecting Health During Exams
If there is an emergency, you become sick, or you have other issues that prevent you from attending an exam at the designated time or from completing a take-home exam by the end of the exam period, you must contact the Senior Director of Student Services, Kyle Valenti (kvalenti@law.berkeley.edu) as soon as possible. If any issues occur during an exam that prevent you from completing the exam, you must contact the Senior Director of Student Services, Kyle Valenti (kvalenti@law.berkeley.edu) immediately, if at all possible, and as soon as possible thereafter if not. If you fail to take your exam at the designated time or during the designated window and have not been authorized to take the exam at a later date by Student Services, you will not be permitted to take your exam (and will receive no credit for the exam) absent exigent circumstances that prevent you from contacting us prior to your scheduled exam.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the information in this memo, or if questions arise during the exam period, please contact examhelp@law.berkeley.edu or Kyle Valenti (kvalenti@law.berkeley.edu). Do not contact your instructor, as this may compromise your anonymity for the grading process and instructors are not involved with the administration of exams.