Assessment is carried out by:
- international certification from among those recognized by the University, or
- taking an exam in Bocconi.
International certifications
As an alternative to the Bocconi exam students may only choose to take one of the international certifications exams indicated by the University. The registration of the achieved result in the academic career, after being converted into a number grade out of a possible thirty is made by the Secretary’s Office of the Language Centre under presentation of the original certification.
The level of the certifications presented must be for each language equal to or higher than the exit levels (in accordance with the criteria indicated in "Exit levels").
International certification is registered in the student's academic career and it is valid for 3 years (except for some international tests which are valid for less time, see www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in Exams-Certificates).
The list of international certifications recognized is published at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, in Exams-Certificates.
For both the first and second foreign languages, international certifications may be presented starting with the first year of studies. In any case, the related credit points and marks are attributed to the year of studies of the course
With respect to the first foreign language it should be noted that in order to be registered in the student's academic career, an international foreign language certification the following cases are possible.
For students initially enrolled and enrolled in the second year in the 2014-2015 academic year:
- if the certification presented is of level B2 general it can replace only the exam of the 1st year;
- if the certification presented is of level general C1 or C2 or legal language B2, C1 or C2, it can replace only the exams of the first and second year. Specifically:
- if the certification is presented during the first year: 4 credit points will be registered in the student's academic career for the first year and 3 credit points will be registered for the second year; in this case only the first year credit points are calculated to pass from the first to the second year of studies and only if the certification is presented by 13 July 2015;
- if the certification is presented during the second years of studies or later, the student will be lacking the credit points necessary for the exams of each year until these are registered.
With respect to the first foreign language exam is is also specified that, in all cases, when registering the certification in his career:
- student has not taken the Bocconi exam: the grade of the certification, converted into a grade expressed out of thirty, will be given:
- as the result of only the first year exam if the certification is of level B2 general language;
- as the result of the first exam and, if chosen by the student, the second exam if the certification is of level C1 or C2 general language or legal B2, C1 or C2;
- student has already taken the first Bocconi exam and has it registered in his/her academic career: the grade expressed out of thirty will be given as the result of the second exam only, only if the level and linguistic area are appropriate.
For students enrolled from the third to the fifth year of studies in the 2014-2015 academic year:
- If the certification presented is of general level B2 it can replace only the exams of the first and second year, in particular when the certification is presented in the third year of studies or subsequent years: students will turn out ‘in debito d’esame’ (student who has not yet passed the exam for previous year/s) for the credit points relating to each year until they are recorded.
- If the certification presented is of general level C1 or C2 or legal language B2, C1 or C2 it can replace the exams of 1st year, second year and fourth year. In particular when the certification is presented in the third year of studies or subsequent years: students will turn out ‘in debito d’esame’ (student who has not yet passed the exam for previous year/s) for the credit points relating to each year until they are recorded.
With reference to the first language it is also specified that in all cases, if when recording a certification in the student’s academic career the student:
- has not taken any Bocconi exam: the grade of the certification, transformed into a grade out of thirty is:
- result of the first exam and, if chosen by the student, the second exam if it is of general language level B2;
- result of both the first, second and third exam if it is of legal language level B2, C1 or C2;
- has already and recorded the first Bocconi exam in his/her academic career: the grade of the certification, converted in a grade out of thirty is result of the second exam only and of any third exam on the basis of the level and language area of the certification (as specified above)
- has already taken and recorded in the student’s academic career the first and second Bocconi exam: the grade of the certification, converted into a grade out of thirty, is specified as grade relating to the third exam only, if the level and the language area are appropriate (as specified above).
International foreign language certifications can be received by sitting an exam with an official examination centre, both in Italy and abroad.
Students are responsible for any costs related to exams certification.
For students who are interested in certifications or in the Bocconi exam or, the Language Centre provides information and guidance on exam assessment methods. Specific materials for exam preparation and past exam papers are also available at the language laboratory.
Bocconi exam
The assessment is carried out by taking an exam which tests comprehension skills and knowledge of written and spoken language depending on the level of competence to be achieved.
The exam is structured in a written exam and an oral - both compulsory - exam. Admittance in the oral exam depends on passing the written exam. The first-year exam is a prerequisite of the following exams.
Students can apply for having the Legal English (first language) curricular exam exempted i.e. having the grade achieved in the Genral English (codes 50127 or 30129) on the basis of the year of initial enrolment of the CLMG or former Bocconi undergraduate degree in Giurisprudenza [Law] exam recorded in the student academic career (exam grade or grade of the recognised international certification expressed out of thirties according to the appropriate tables defined by the Language Centre) only for the following exam (English first language first year of studies) exit levels: B2 legal, C1 general, C1 legal, C2 general, C2 legal.
If students who meet the above necessary requirements apply for the exemption must hand in the request form to the Academic Affairs Division Desk from 29 July 2014 to 30 September 2014 and from 08 to 20 January 2015.
For the second language there is one single exam in the second semester of teaching.
For the first language (academic and legal) and for the second language there is
a partial exam (optional and on a single date) to be taken in the I semester of the relating course and a final exam to be taken in the II semester (for information on partial exam check the website at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecentre in Exam Certificates>Course contents and Exam requirements).
Exams follow the same language standards as those set for international certifications.
For the first language and for the second one the final grade is given on the basis of the exam final result as well as other means of evaluation to check progress made during the course of studies. Specifically:
- positive results each year for active classroom participation and guided independent study;
- passing partial exam (only when scheduled, see 2.5) and passing the final exam written and oral part in the first sessions available;
- sitting the written and oral exams and passing them in the same session.
Detailed information is published in the profiles of each language available at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in Exams - Certificates> Bocconi exams).
The final grade achieved is out of 30 and it is included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA).
The level of competence achieved is recorded on the official exam report and on the official academic transcript.
Exit levels which are higher than those foreseen for curricular exams of first and second languages are only possible through the registration in the student's academic career of any international certifications recognized by the University, and it is not considered in the graduation grade.
