GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

Assessment methods such as exams and tests are designed to assess the students' required level of preparation in order to be awarded the credit points for the various educational activities. Assessment items are marked out of thirty (exams) or given a pass/fail grade and are always individual.

Exams, like lessons, are based on the topics described in the course program, available in 2 versions: the course profile and the course syllabus.

The course profile includes the main topics dealt with in the courses and is divided into 4 distinct sections: Course Objectives, Course Content Summary, Textbooks and Detailed Description of Assessment Methods and were applicable, prerequisites. Students can access the course profiles on the Bocconi Internet site at www.unibocconi.eu/courses. To help students in choosing elective courses on the basis of the course contents, the course profiles are published on the site well before the start of lessons. Substantial variations to the course profiles are not envisaged during the year, except for some changes to the textbooks that may be made as a consequence of new publications or updated material that were not available when the profile was finalized.
 

The purpose of the course syllabus together with the information published online is to explain in more detail the topics covered. For every learning session of the course, if possible the reference materials necessary for an in-depth appreciation and consolidation of the concepts dealt with or referred to in lessons and assessment methods are specified and teaching assistants are available (see "Teaching assistants"). 
The course syllabus is prepared by the Course Director in conjunction with the views of the Program Director. The syllabus is generally distributed during lessons and generally is available online (yoU@B student Diary, in the course profile, BBoard).

The assessment methods are indicated in a summarized form in the course profiles and are explained further in the course syllabus. They are also explained by the teachers during lectures and generally available online.
The assessment methods may be different for attending and non-attending students. Furthermore, some exams can only be taken by attending students.
Students are considered "attending" if they fulfil the course attendance requirements established by the teacher.

The assessment of knowledge involves evaluation during the course (possible only for the attending students) or only a final evaluation (possible for non-attending students and also open to attending students).

In general terms, the in-progress evaluation provides for more evaluation moments and any more methods, such as (depending on teaching and according to the proportions specified in the course profile) partial written exams, oral exams, evaluation of the student's active participation in class and individual and / or group assignments given by the teacher during lesson weeks (assignments that can only provide written output or even an oral presentation).
The final assessment, however, provides for a single evaluation time in written and / or oral form.

For courses with multi-class groups in the same  program, the exams are organized in the same way.

It is important to always check how exam marks are registered  either with the teacher or with the secretary's office of the Department  (whether or not it is necessary to register for other exams to complete the requirement, etc) and to check the expiration date of the mark of those written exams that are followed by an oral exam.

The Course Director will decide on the availability of past exam papers, together with the correct answers. If a Course Director decides to distribute past exam papers he can do it through the following channels:

• the Teaching box, in the yoU@B student Diary;
• his own Personal Page;
• the Bboard platform.

Past exam papers which are released are available for 12 months, unless otherwise stipulated by the teacher.   

The exam timetable is organized in periods that do not coincide with the lessons. Each exam period consists of one or more sessions. The exam timetable allocates 4 exam sessions; 2 of them are scheduled after the teaching semester, the third and fourth sessions are considered as supplementary exam sessions. For foreign language courses and Computer Science/Computer Skills 5 exam sessions are scheduled.

Lessons are suspended at mid-semester in both the first and second semester for 1st partial exams. 2nd partial exams are held at the end of the semester. Partial exam dates may or may not coincide with those fixed for general exams.

Students can generally take exams in all sessions as long as they satisfy the attendance requirements (semester course lessons in the study plan must be finished). For some types of exams and for some courses, there can be some exam access limitations.

The exam periods and exam sessions (reference period: October 2017 - September 2018) are scheduled as follows.

(*) In the period 11-21 December 2017 an exam session, open to all enrolled students is scheduled for 1/2 compulsory courses per program/year of studies replacing the January 2018 exam session which, as a consequence, will not be scheduled.

(**) From the 2017/18 academic year for the compulsory, compulsory courses chosen by the students, the second partial exam if written is generally scheduled in both sessions of the exam periods scheduled at the end of the teaching period.
As a consequence, for the course typologies above, a second partial exam is scheduled:

• with reference to the first semester, in the period 19 January to 3 February 2018 as an alternative to the one scheduled in the period 4 to 18 January 2018;
• with reference to the second semester, a second partial exam is scheduled in the period 18 June to 14 July 2018 as an alternative to the one scheduled in the period 21 May to 16 June 2018.

Note

• "session" refers to both the exams of the current academic year and the previous years;
• the fourth exam session for II semester courses will be held in February 2019;
• exam sessions for the foreign language courses are scheduled for: October 2017; February, June, July, September 2018;
• exam sessions for the Computer Skills for Law courses are scheduled for: October 2017; January , February, June and September 2018;
• if students choose a course relating to the Master of Science programs as an elective course, they must follow the exam calendar of such Study Program.
• A reserved exam session has been scheduled in December (11-21 December 2017), for 1^st semester courses, open only to students who:
1. are participating in: Exchange, Themis and Free Mover programs abroad in the 2nd semester 2017/2018 academic year;
2. are Incoming 1st semester (Exchange, Themis and single courses for visiting students);
3. are participating in curricular internships abroad or in Italy in January/February 2017 period;
4. are participating in the Moot Program (as participants or as a coach).       
   Please note that for the reserved exam session students CANNOT sit exams for previous year's courses which have not been passed, only those students whose teaching activities described in points 1,3 and 4 will start before the end of the February exam period (3 February 2018) are admitted to participate in such session.
   
• Due to the fact that second semester incoming students are supposed to sit all the exams by 31 May, second semester courses attended by these students should have one exam session by that date. Should that not be possible, a reserved session for incoming students will be scheduled by 31 May.
  

There is NO overlapping between compulsory course exam sessions of the same year and same degree program; therefore no two exams on the same day are usually scheduled except for February (19 January to 3 February 2018), March-April and September exam periods as the available exam days are limited. Such overlapping rule refers only to compulsory courses of the year in which the student is enrolled and do not refer to previous years' exams which have not been passed yet.

The exam timetable for the October 2017 - September 2018 period is published by the end of July 2017 on the University Internet site at http://www.unibocconi.eu/exams.

During the year the timetable of an exam session may be changed (only to a later date or time), in which case students do not need to re-register for the exam since their registration is automatically transferred to the new timetable.
Exam dates are updated daily on the Internet site.
In addition, any changes to the exam timetable can be viewed on the yoU@B student Diary.

The different types of exams are identified in the exam timetable by the following letters:

• I Partial exam
• S Written exam
• O Oral exam

Students can check the day,time and classroom assigned for their exam via yoU@B student Diary as a general guide in the afternoon of the working day prior to the exam date.

If the exam is held in more than one classroom and at more than 1 timetable slot, students are allocated following criteria set by the Department the course refers to and informed via the yoU@B diary through an appropriate message. The students must follow the instructions relating to day, room and time included in the message.

The list of classrooms assigned for exams is also published on the website (following the same timelines explained above) at www.unibocconi.eu/classrooms.

It is also posted daily:

• on the ground floor of the University building in via Sarfatti 25 on the "Today's exams and activities" bulletin board;
• on the ground floor of the University building in piazza Sraffa 13, on the monitors and on the bulletin boards.

Registration for exams can be carried out trought the menù 'Exam dates' up to the fourth last working day before the exam itself. 

The following days and periods are classified as non-working days and therefore are not included:  

• Saturdays and Sundays;
• Holidays and periods when the University is closed, as indicated below:
• for 2017: 1 November, 7 and 8 December, 25and 26 December;
• for 2018 (up to the September exam period): 1 January, 2 April, 25 April, 1 May, 15 August.

To register for exams and partial exams students must not be suspended (e.g. due to a payment of tution and fees and penalty fees not recorded, for a disciplinary action, for not regular situations checked by one of the University Services etc).



Students must select Exam dates>Registration Exam Sessions function where they can find a list of courses not yet been passed included in the study plan and the exam sessions. Via Exam dates menu's voice students can carry out the exam registration, for each code and assessment method, for only one of the two exam session following the displaying date.

By clicking on the appropriate icon besides an exam session students can carry out the following operations:

• Register for an exam
• Cancel an exam registration


The registration/cancellation operation is carried out only if confirmation prompt asked for by the system is given. If confirmation is not given, registration/cancellation for the specific activity will NOT take place.

It is possible to display and print the operations carried out for all active exams at Exams dates procedure. By using the function "Exam dates>Registration Exam Sessions" by clicking on the appropriate icon besides the selected session.

If the system does not allow you to register for an exam or cancel an exam registration, it may be as a result of one of the following:

• the registration deadline has passed;
• the course is not included in the study plan;
• the exam has already been passed;
• the student is suspended for non-payment of university fees and tuition;
• the student does not have the right to sit the exam because the exam is scheduled before lessons finish (end of semester); this does not apply to partial exams.




With reference to the second partial exam scheduled in the second exam session of the exam periods at the end of the teaching semesters for some course typologies, the system may not allow you to register for or cancel from an exam if:


• the student is already registered for the 2nd partial exam in the first exam session;
• the student is already registered for the general exam in the first exam session (written or oral).
  


When the registration to the session has closed, the above criteria will be checked again. If the criteria has not been met the student cannot sit the exam. Students who are suspended after registering for one or more exams and/or partial exams are sent a message on their yoU@B student Diary informing them that they cannot sit the exam. Students who clear up their position before registration closes have the right to sit the exam. Once students clear up their position they will receive a message via the above channels.

1. Both a Written exam and a partial exam or both an oral exam and a partial exam in the same day.
   If the exam calendar includes in the same day both a written exam and a partial exam or both a oral exam and a partial one students cannot register to both types of exams at the same time. Therefore students must choose which of the 2 types of exam they want to register for (written or partial exam; oral or partial exam).
2. Both a date for the written exam and a date for the oral exam in the exam timetable.
   If the exam timetable shows both a date for the written exam and a date for the oral exam, students must register for both (even if they are on the same day). If students do not register for both, they cannot sit the exam.
3. Registration to the groups
   In some cases when registering for an exam students will be asked to make a specific choice from among a group of alternatives ("registration to the groups"), for example "attending students". After selecting the type and date of exam for which they want to register/cancel, a window will automatically appear giving students the possibility of selecting the group they want to register for.
4. Partial exams
   If the exam consists of different partial exams, students must pass all of them in order to pass the exam. If students do not sit for one of the partial exams they must take the general exam. For further detailed information on exam assessment methods for each individual course, please check the course profiles published on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/courses.
5. Rules for sitting/registering for the second partial exams
   With reference to the second partial exam scheduled in both exam sessions of exam periods at the end of the teaching semesters, there are the following rules and exam access limitations:
   • students can sit for the 2nd partial exam only once: students registered for the 2nd partial exam in the first exam session after the teaching period will not be allowed to register for the 2nd partial exam in the second exam session after the teaching period;
   • students registered for the general exam in the first exam session after the teaching period will not be allowed to register for the 2nd partial exam in the second exam session after the teaching period.
     

Checks for accessing the 2nd partial exam in the second exam session after the teaching period will be made on the basis of the exam registration, independently from the student’s attendance at the exam.
For further detailed information on exam periods and the course typologies involved, please check paragraph 4.4.1 General and Partial Exams

Examining boards are appointed by the Rector or one of his delegates. They consist of at least 2 members, including a President, and are presided over by the Course Director. When necessary, exam commissions may be divided into sub-examining boards.

On the basis of Proposal by the Head of the department of reference of the subject, examining Board members can be:

• All members who have teaching commitments on the course of the academic year, excluded the Visiting Professors short-term and those only engaged in guest speaking or seminars;
• Teaching Assistants (with a Graduate degree) assigned to the course;
• All those who were part of the Examining Board of the previous years even if they do not teach in the current year;
• Other Bocconi teaching staff (tenured staff and no tenured) expert in the subject
• The Head of the Department of reference of the course.

Students will generally sit exams with the teacher(s) of their assigned class group if they take the exam in the first exam period after the end of the course. In successive exam sessions, exams may also be organized for various class groups, in which case students sit exams with a teacher or teachers of one of the class groups, or with an expert in the subject. The class groups may not be the same that were assigned to the students.

ONLY students who have regularly registered for exams can sit for them.

Students must come to exams equipped with:

• unofficial academic transcript;
• personalized Bocconi ID card.

Students must sign in to certify their presence at the exam (this does not refer to mark acceptance).
Students must write exams only by indelible ink pen in blue or black color.
For written exams, students certify their presence by signing the exam paper.
For oral exams, students certify their presence by signing the appropriate documents used to register the exam mark.

During exams students may withdraw, in which case their papers are not considered valid and the exam result is not registered.

For written exams students are deemed to have withdrawn if they hand in their exam papers with "withdrawn" written on them. As a general rule, in case of written exams, students who withdraw must stay in the room until the end of the exam: for oral exams, students may only withdraw before the teacher declares the mark. Withdrawing from an exam is equivalent to not taking the exam.
Handing in written exam papers (whether they are partial or general exams) specifically means accepting the mark the teacher gives the paper, no matter what it is.

Exams are official assessments which must be taken in full compliance with the rules.

During an examination students:

• cannot offer or receive any assistance from students or any other party, nor can they use notes unless authorized by the teacher;
• cannot attempt to obtain confidential information about the specific questions of the exam;
• cannot assume the identity of another nor allow others to assume their identity during an exam; nor can students present as their own a piece of work which has been copied, entirely or partially;
• cannot keep mobile devices on their desks (e.g. mobile phones, mp3 readers, smartwatches etc).
  

Violation of the above rules or the instructions given by the teacher during exams, is cause for cancellation of the exam, and the start of disciplinary procedures.

The disciplinary sanctions applied in this University include:

• official warning;
• temporary ban from one or more courses;
• exclusion from one or more exams for one or more periods;
• temporary suspension from the University and loss of exam periods (not more than three years).

All disciplinary sanctions are registered in the student's academic career, written in the transfer form, and in all university documents used in determining the student's graduation grade. 

A disciplinary sanction more serious than a warning precludes any student benefits (scholarships, housing etc.). 

These rules do not substitute the university in the monitoring of the exams. The university will maintain strict exam procedures. The university moreover will do its best to ensure that the exams are taken in adequate rooms, with enough space and silence to allow students to concentrate. Teachers are required to set clear questions allowing students to show their ability and degree of understanding of the subject area.

Finally, students are strongly recommended to carefully read the content of the Honor Code where they can find a description of the unfair behaviours and the relating sanctions.

A mark of between 0 and 17 out of thirty is considered unsatisfactory.
A mark of between 18 and 30 out of thirty is considered satisfactory.
Examining boards may award "lode" (cum laude) to students who obtain thirty out of thirty (30/30).
Exams that are awarded a satisfactory mark are considered to have been passed and cannot be retaken (whether they are partial exams or general exams).
Exams that are awarded an unsatisfactory mark are considered to have been failed and must therefore be taken again.

The results of written exams are available from the Secretary's Office of the Department responsible for the courses.
The results are also generally published on the Bocconi Internet site, where they can be accessed via the yoU@B student Diary. Marks are communicated for informational purposes only, therefore once the result of an exam has been registered, students are advised to check that it has been correctly recorded in their academic career.

In compliance with the Honor Code, the Bocconi teaching staff are committed to carry out the assessment in a fairy way and to be available to analyze the quality of the exam taken with the student. In this context, as part as the teaching staff autonomous initiative, for written exams also a date dedicated to review the exam paper can be scheduled.

During the exam paper review, there is no negotiation between the teacher and the student regarding the awarded grade; at this stage, the student is required to maintain an attitude oriented to understanding any mistakes made, to catch, from direct confrontation with the teacher, the opportunity to learn.

The final results of exams are recorded with a mark out of thirty and are registered in the student's academic career by the Study Planning Office.

The exams of courses subdivided in modules are considered passed, and may be recorded in the academic career and certified, only after passing both exams of which the course is made up. The final grade is obtained by the grade point average (compared to the credits of each module) of the two marks achieved.

The offices of reference periodically check the grades recorded in all students’academic career.

Each student's "Official academic" transcript contains all the exams included in the study plan, together with the date when the exam was passed, the marks, the credit points awarded and subject groups for the exams that have been recorded.

The unofficial academic transcript contains all the exams, including those that have been passed, that is the exams for which students have been awarded a sufficient mark. The positive partial mark achieved in the exams of each module (if included in the program structure) can be viewed. Such document (NOT valid as certification) is valid only within the University (e.g. ISU Scholarship ranking, exchanges, etc.).

Only passed exams are certified.

For the first and second foreign language courses, a list of international language certifications (the mark will be converted into a mark out of thirty) are recognized as an alternative to Bocconi exams.
For more detailed information see "Method of assessing foreign language knowledge".

The Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated by the mathematical average weighted on the credit point values of all courses with marks expressed out of thirty recorded in the student's academic career.

A mark of 30 "cum laude" is awarded the value 31.

A maximum of 2 additional exams can be included in the calculation of the GPA. If a student has passed more than 2 additional exams, the 2 best results are considered (if grades are the same ones the course worth higher number of credit points is considered).

The exams ratified for students transferring from other Italian universities are assigned the mark awarded by the university where the exam was originally taken.
 

The exams ratified for students transferring from universities abroad are assigned the mark awarded by the university where the exam was originally taken. If the original marks are expressed in different numerical scales or in letters, they are converted to marks out of thirty on the basis of the specific conversion table.
 

The exams taken at other universities that have an agreement with Università Bocconi are assigned the mark awarded by the university where the exam was originally taken. If the original marks are expressed in different numerical scales or in letters, they are converted to marks out of thirty on the basis of the specific conversion table.

In order to guarantee that students acquire advanced knowledge it is essential that they have a solid preparation, therefore for some courses prerequisites are required. Exam sequence indicates the sequence that must be followed in preparing exams and obliges students to pass some exams before sitting for others.

Students can sit for prerequisite exams in the same period of exams. At the end of every exam period checks will be carried out  to ensure that the regulations have been adhered to. Any exams taken in breach of the sequence will be annulled.

The tables of prerequisites referring to the different initial enrolment years are presented below. 

In addition, for the first foreign language the first-year exam is a prerequisite of the second-year exam.

It should also be noted that the complete ECDL certification is the prerequisite of exam of Informatica per Giurisprudenza [Computer skills for legal studies], positioned in the first semester of the second year (see "Computer Skills").

For those courses that do not have any prerequisites students are advised to follow the sequence of the teaching activities for the exams (first or second semester, years of studies of the courses).

Furthermore, in order to continue studies in the second year, students must have earned a minimum of 24 credits in the first year of studies by the July exam period (see "Administrative procedures, regulations and deadlines").

Students enrolled in the Integrated Master of Arts in Law program may obtain credit for exams (marks and credit points) taken abroad as part of the International Exchange, Themis, which are promoted and coordinated by the Study Abroad Office of the Markets and External Affairs Division and Free-Mover Semester.

Please note:

• with reference to the activities abroad, students can receive credit for a maximum of 5 exams for  the Exchange Program, Themis and   Free-Mover Semester Programs and no more than 1 exam as Free Mover Summer program;

• student must convert minimum 1 exam so that the international mobility experience can be recognized in the student’s academic career;

• the following exams, if taken abroad, cannot be recognized:

          - the banned courses;
          - the exam of foreign language and computer skills:
          - the compulsory courses specific of other programs;

          - students cannot sit for ‘in proctoring’ exams relating to courses attended abroad.

Courses which cannot be recognized if taken abroad (soon available)

Credit recognition for exams taken as part of the Exchange,Themis and  Free-Mover Semester is not usually automatic and depends on the following credit approval procedure.
After having been selected (Exchange program and Themis) or authorized by the Study Abroad Office (Free Mover Semester) before departure students, after assessing the offer of the host university, check or request of authorization in advance for having the courses which will be attended abroad recognized to the Bocconi professors.

The courses can be:

• With Bocconi correspondence, if the course taken abroad has a corresponding Bocconi course;

• to the Course Director of the Bocconi corresponding course
• If the foreign course does not correspond to the Bocconi courses on offer, the authorization request is to be sent to the Program Director or his/her delegate.

The in-advance authorization request must be sent through the appropriate procedure available on the yoU@B Diary ‘International Mobility' section.

Two or more exams can be merged to cover a Bocconi exam upon approval of the Course Director or the Program Director. A foreign exam cannot be used to cover two or more Bocconi exams.

For students enrolled in a major: further information is published at paragraph 6.4.1 Major Choice.

The request of conversion of a foreign course with a Bocconi course (with or without Bocconi correspondence) DOES NOT bring any request of study plan change/structure forward. Such requests must be carried out in accordance with the rules and timelines published on the Guide to the Univeristy chapter 6 Administrative procedures, regulations and deadlines. For students enrolled in a track: further information is published in the paragraph 6.4.1 "Majors".

At the end of the mobility period, Foreign University issues the certifications of the exams taken. On the basis of this certificationsand upon student’s request, the appropriate office (Study Abroad office for the Exchange Program, Free Mover Semester/Summer programs, Global Alliances for Themis) and carries out the appropriate checks to prepare the grade recording of exams taken abroad that students wish to have recognized.

For further details check the website http://www.ir.unibocconi.eu/, paragraph ?Academic Recognition’ of the relevant section.

Exams passed in other universities by Bocconi students is assigned the grades of the university of origin. If the grade is expressed in other scales (letters of numbers) the grade is converted out of thirty on the basis of special tables of correspondence. In case two or more foreign exams cover a Bocconi exam, the final grade is given by the grade point average of the Bocconi corresponding grades obtained, by using as ponderation coefficient the foreign credit points specified on the Transcript issued by the host University.

Students can also recognize additional exams (see chapter 6.6 Additional Courses).NB: The program structure of the Programs taught in Italian include at least one course in English (compulsory or elective one): this limit is not applied in case the student participates in the Exchange Program or Themis or Free Mover at a University where the language requested by Università Bocconi with the purpose of the selection/acceptance is different than English.