FAQ in the exam phase
Planning and realizing an exam, especially for several hundred students, is a great challenge and, apart from creating and correcting it, requires a lot of organization and coordination. The room situation, examination regulations and copyright are just a few of the aspects that have to be taken into account. And so it is not surprising that the planning for an examination period has to start one semester in advance. Here we will try to answer the most important questions about exams in general and also to reveal the most common misunderstandings.
The basis for the information described here is the General Academic and Examination Regulations for Bachelor´s and Master´s Programs (APSO) at the Technische Universität München. The respective Program-Specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO), the current versions are on the website of your department or student body, are additionally valid. Moreover, the Legal Department provides Legal Requirements and Recommendations for exam inspection.
If necessary, we will refer to the current legal situation and relevant decisions. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that the answers given here are completely correct. The statutes valid at the beginning of your studies and the current legal situation are always valid. If you have any complaints, please do not refer to this FAQ, but check out the correspondent topic by yourself and ask your student body.
The APSO include "exams, other written and oral exams, other oral exams as well as practical sports and drawing exams. If a group exam is taken, the contribution of the individual student must be clearly recognizable and evaluable." Other possible types of examinations, such as laboratory services, practice work (possibly testates), reports, project work, presentations, learning portfolios and scientific elaborations can be found in the module catalogue of the respective FPSO. The corresponding type of examination must be specified there.
"The dates of the examinations of the individual modules with assignment of the students to the individual examiners and the examination locations must be announced in a suitable manner at least 14 days before the examination date is due. A change of the examiner, exam date or exam location that becomes necessary at short notice for compelling reasons is permissible; it must immediately be announced in the manner described above." A compelling reason is, for example, if the examination room is not suitable for a proper examination procedure, for example, if it is raining in.
If you do not appear for an exam, it is considered taken and failed. It will then be rated 5.0. Every exam you were registered for, even if it is not passed, will be listed on your account statement. Your Transcript of Records, which will later be attached to your final document, will not include those exams.
You can also take examinations at the TUM in semesters abroad or internship semesters. For semesters on leave of absence, only participation in repeat examinations is permitted.
Semesters of leave of absence do not count as subject semesters. This also applies to leave of absence due to a semester abroad or internships outside the university.
However, after a leave of absence, you can apply for recognition of the credits you have completed during the leave of absence – e.g. at another university or during an internship. If credits amount to at least 30 credits are recognised, an upgrading takes place during the semester; if credits exceeding 22 credits, an additional semester is taken into account (see https://www.tum.de/studium/im-studium/das-studium-organisieren/beurlaubung or https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayHIG-93).
Written examinations that are to be graded as failed are assessed by two examiners oral examinations must be conducted by at least one examiner and one qualified assessor (see §84 Abs. 3 Satz 10 of the Bayerische Hochschulinnovationsgesetz https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayHIG-84).
The module catalogue of the respective FPSO regulates exactly how several partial module examinations are calculated. Only in exceptional cases is it permissible to pass each module part examination individually. This must also be regulated in the FPSO.
Unfortunately, there is no binding regulation at TUM on how quickly an exam must be corrected. However, a slow correction must not cause a delay in studies. The limit is five weeks after the start of the new semester.
Apart from basic and orientation tests, exams at TUM can be repeated as many times as needed until you pass them. However, one limit is the control of study progress. The study progress control tells you how many credits you must have achieved at a certain point of your studies: as a rule, 30 ECTS after the 3rd semester, 60 after the 4th, etc..
If you have less, you may be exmatriculated. As a rule, an exam is offered once every semester or a make-up exam is offered during the same semester shortly before the new semester begins. Of course, you can try to find one or more points when reviewing the graded exams.
You must be given the opportunity to copy your exam. This can be done, for example, by taking photographs, but also by making a copy at the chair against reimbursement of costs.The fact that the exam task cannot be used in the future does not count as an argument to refuse a copy.
The copyright of the respective examiner also includes the examination tasks. Publication of these is not permitted. The chair may take appropriate precautions to prevent publication. Correction notes are also included. The author of your answer is yourself. Further information on the procedure of examinations and the review of graded exams .
Examination process deficiencies must immediately be reported to the supervisor, during or after the examination, and recorded. If the error is discovered after the exam, the Examination Board is contacted and the error is investigated at the end of the exam period. It is often easier and quicker to report the error to the supervisor and ask the examiner to correct it and only then contact the Examination Board.
Fear of a difficult exam does not always mean real test anxiety. Often, the exchange with other students or a different learning strategy can make all the difference. At TUM, ProLehre offers a wide range of learning opportunities for students. On the other hand, test anxiety is a real problem that can negatively affect not only your study progress but your entire life. If you notice such problems with yourself or a fellow student, don't be afraid to seek professional help early. A first contact point is the Psychosocial Counselling Centre of the Studentenwerk.
The final failure of an exam is not to be underestimated. For compulsory modules, this means that the course has not been passed and you will be exmatriculated without your intended degree. Therefore it is very important to early get help and, if necessary, also look for alternatives for your further way. A first contact point herefore is your Subject Advisory Service. If you are thinking of changing your study course, the General Student Advising Service can help you. Nevertheless, you should not give up too early, and therefore: learn, learn, learn...
Of course, we can only answer a small part of questions that may arise during an exam here. But we hope that we could help you a little bit. If you want to know how the APSO or FPSO is actually created, visit your student body or AStA, because student representatives are involved in its creation.
It's very important, even if things get a little more difficult: Don't panic!