Important reminders about online and in-person finals

Final exam season is upon us, and you may have questions or concerns about taking exams online or on campus. Here are some reminders.

In-person exams

Concordia is committed to ensuring the safety of our community. We are continuing to closely monitor public health directives and will update our protocols based on the government’s recommendations. You will be notified should any in-person exam protocols be updated.
Unless public health directives change for Montreal, final exams scheduled to take place in-person will be held on campus as planned. Be sure to be aware of the health and safety measures you will need to observe while on campus for an exam. Please note that students must remove hats and jackets while taking their exams. Exceptions are made for religious head coverings.

Online exams

• If your exam is on COLE (cole.concordia.ca), make sure you have completed a practice exam before your exam day, to get familiar with the interface and identify any system incompatibility issues you might have beforehand. Practice exams are available on cole.concordia.ca. If you can’t access a practice exam, please email cole@concordia.ca.
• If your exam is on COLE using Proctorio, please follow the instructions provided by your instructors regarding what is allowed or not during the exam. While you won’t be removed from an exam for looking away from your screen, you are expected to follow the guidelines established by your instructor. To find out more about how the Proctorio proctoring software works, as well as other guidelines for taking exams remotely, please refer to Concordia’s proctored online exam FAQs.
• If you are using a Mac, you will have to provide explicit permission for Chrome to share the screen with Proctorio, via your computer settings. Doing a practice exam will highlight it if you have this requirement. See how to do this.
• When writing a proctored exam on COLE, remember to turn off the notifications on all your desktop apps. Notifications popping up on your screen could potentially remove you from the exam, depending on the configuration of the exam.
• In proctored exams, take extra care to not click the “Stop Screen Share” button, which may be visible on your screen. Doing so, even unintentionally, will remove you from the exam. You can click “Hide” to get the little window out of the way.
  
• In the unlikely event that you are removed from the exam, you can continue your attempt by re-accessing the exam. If you are not able to continue, please use the red Exam Support button on the right side of the screen to chat with COLE support or call 1-888-202-8615 if the help chat is not accessible.
  
• Be sure to read your exam instructions carefully before you begin. Exam instructions may differ, so be sure to read them for each of your exams. Try to log in 10 or 15 minutes before the start time to read the instructions and settle in. The exam and the instructions are visible to you as of the day before the exam.
  
• If a power or internet outage should take place before you have completed your exam, contact your professor right away to let them know. If you’re an undergrad, you will be able to request a deferred exam by submitting a deferral form. You will be contacted by the Exams Office with a new date for your deferred exam. If you’re a grad student, email your professor with an explanation and to request an In-Progress (IP) notation for the course, until you are able to complete the exam at a later date.
  
• Students with disabilities, including those using screen magnifiers and screen readers, are encouraged to register with the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities. This will ensure that the system you have in place will be recognized as part of your approved exam set-up.

For exams on COLE with Zoom proctoring

• Please join the Zoom meeting 45 minutes in advance to complete ID verification. You will be able to continue to study while you wait for your exam.
• Exams that are proctored on Zoom do not allow you to click anywhere outside the exam screen. Clicking outside of the exam will cause you to be removed from the exam platform. Unmuting your mic and speaking during the exam is also prohibited.
• If you’re removed from the exam for any reason, you can log back in and resume where you left off. Your progress will be saved.

For exams on Moodle

• Be sure to download the RAVE Guardian App beforehand, which will inform you in the event of any Moodle outages.
• In the unlikely event of a Moodle outage, the exam will be rescheduled. Every effort will be made to reschedule during the Winter exam period, and your professor will inform you of the new date and time. You will also see the new date and time on your exam schedule.

Regardless of the type of exam, all students should consult the Academic Integrity page to learn what constitutes academic misconduct and plagiarism, and the potential consequences.