GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

Assessment methods such as exams and other types of tests are designed to assess the students' required level of preparation in order to be awarded the credit points for the various educational activities. Assessments are marked out of thirty (exams) or given a pass/fail grade and are always individual.
Assessment methods must guarantee authenticity of the student's output and third party check.

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 course and is divided into following sections: Course Objectives, Course Content Summary, Textbooks, Detailed Description of Assessment Methods and, were applicable, prerequisites. Students can access the course profiles on the Bocconi Internet site (at page http://www.unibocconi.eu/courses). To help students in choosing 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 consolidation of the concepts dealt with in the lessons and assessment methods are specified and tutors 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 also 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 in further detail in the course syllabuses. In addition, 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.
Exams may be written or oral or a combination of a written exam with either an obligatory or optional oral part. In this case, sitting for the oral exam is subject to passing the written exam.
Generally the exam assessment methods include partial exams (one or more) and/or a single general exam.

Partial exams are not compulsory, although they are strongly recommended.
The results of partial exams are taken into account to pass the complete exam and to be awarded the credit points; passing two partial exams can, if the assessment methods allow, be equivalent to passing the general exam.
Oral exams are open to the public, while for written exams (either general or partial exams) students have the right to inspect their exam paper, which they are advised to do before the mark is registered.

For courses with multi-class groups in the same degree course, 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 sign up for other exams to complete the requirements, 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. The Course Director may do this through:

• the BBoard platform;
• the Teaching box available in the yoU@B student Diary;
• his/her personal page available on the website.

Exam sequence indicates the sequence that must be followed in terms of time and prerequisites in preparing exams and obliges students to pass some exams before sitting for others.
Any irregularities found will result in the automatic cancelation of the exams taken.In order to know any exam sequences, each student must refer to the Guide to the University of the study program the course is referred to (for codd. from 30000 to 30999 to the Guide of Bachelor of science programs; for codd. from 20000 to 20999 to the Guide of master of Science programs; for codd. 50000 to 50999 to the Guide of Integrated master of arts in Law).

The exam timetable is organized in periods that do not coincide with the lessons. Each exam period consists of one or more sessions.
Students can take exams in all sessions as long as they satisfy the attendance requirements (semester course lessons in the study plan must be finished).

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 (as a general rule it is scheduled after the Christmas holidays). Partial exam dates may or may not coincide with those fixed for general exams.

For detailed information on the periods of exams, students must make reference to the calendar of the study program the course is referred to (for codes from 30000 to 30999 refer to the Bachelor of Science calendar, from codes 20000 to 20999 refer to the Master of Science calendar, from 50000 to 50999 refer to Integrated Master of Arts in Law). The calendars of exam periods are published at www.unibocconi.eu/periods.

The last exam session for students enrolled in Single Courses for visiting students in the 2019/2020 a.y. is scheduled depending on the semester of each course and depending on the Study Program which the course refers to. In particular:

• For first semester courses:
  • If referring to Bachelor of Science programs (codes from 30000 to 30999): last exam session is in September 2020;
  • If referring to Master of Science programs (codes from 20000 to 20999) or to the Integrated Master of Arts in Law (codes from 50000 to 50999): last exam session is in February 2021.

• For second semester courses:
  • If referring to Bachelor programs(codes from 30000 to 30999): last exam session is in September 2020;
  • If referring to Master of Science programs (codes from 20000 to 20999): last exam session is in October 2020;
  • If referring to the Integrated Master of Arts in Law (codes from 50000 to 50999): last exam session is in February 2021.

The timetable of an exam session may be changed during the year (only to a later date or time). In that 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 website. 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:

• PI Partial exam
• S Written exam
• O Oral exam

Students who have duly registered for exams can check the classroom, day and time assigned for their exam via the yoU@B student Diary generally in the afternoon of the working day prior to the exam date.
If the exam is held in more than one classroom or in more than one timetable slot, students are allocated following criteria set by the Department the course refers to and informed via an appropriate message sent on their yoU@B diary. In any case, students must follow the instructions on the day, time and room specified in the message.
The list of classrooms assigned for exams is also published on the Bocconi website (following the same timelines explained above) at www.unibocconi.eu/classrooms.

Registration for written, oral, partial exams and seminars is compulsory and it must be carried out via the yoU@B Diary>Exam dates>Registration exam sessions up to the fourth last working day before the exam itself. The following days and periods are classified as non-working days:

• Saturdays and Sundays;
• Holidays and periods when the University is closed, as indicated below:
  - for 2019: 1 November, 7 December, 25 and 26 December;
  - for 2020: (up to the September exam period): 1 January, 12 and 25 April, 1 May, 15 August.

Registration for the exam session and for partial exams can be allowed only if the student is not suspended (e.g. if the payment of tuition and fees and/or any penalty fees has not been recorded, for a disciplinary sanction, for any irregularities discovered by one of the University Services etc).

To register, after accessing to the yoU@B student Diary, students must use the function Exams>Registration Exam sessions: a list of the un-passed courses included in the study plan appears.

Via the function above students can register for only one of the two exams which follow the displaying date, for each code and type of exam.

By clicking on the appropriate icon beside the exam session, according to the deadlines for the exam registration, the following operations can be carried out:

• Exam registration
• Exam cancellation

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

After registering for the exams it is possible to print the receipt for every operation carried out via yoU@B Exams>Registration Exam sessions by clicking on the appropriate icon beside the selected session; students are suggested to check if the registration/cancellation operation has been correctely carried out upon accessing the 'Exams' widget which includes the list of exam registrations carried out by the student.

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

• the registration deadline has expired;
• 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 lectures finish (end of semester); this does not apply to partial exams.

With reference to the 2nd 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 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 their position before registration closes have the right to sit the exam. Once students clear their position they will receive a message via the above channels.
For further detailed information on rules for exam registration, please check paragraph 3.6.1 Notes for Exams Registration: Regulations and Requirements.

In addition to the rules mentioned in paragraph 3.5 Exam and partial exam registration procedure, some important information regarding exam registration is available below:

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 both a written exam and a partial exam or both an oral exam and a partial one on the same day, students cannot register for 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 in 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 in groups"), for example "attending students". After selecting the type and date of the 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 3.6 Exam and partial exam registration procedure.

Examining boards are appointed by the Rector or one of his/her 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 a Proposal by the Head of the Department of reference of the subject, examining Board members can be:

• All members who have teaching commitments for the course in the academic year, excluding the Visiting Professors short-term and/or those only engaged in guest speaking or seminars;
• Teaching Assistants (with 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 not tenured) who are experts in the subject;
• The Head of the Department of reference of the course.

Students will generally sit exams with the faculty member(s) of their assigned class group if they take the exam in the first exam period after the end of the course. In subsequent exam sessions, exams may also be organized for various class groups, in which case, students sit exams with a faculty member or faculty members 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 duly registered for exams can be admitted to sit for them.
Students must come to exams equipped with their personalized Bocconi ID card.

For written exams, students certify their attendance by signing the exam paper (this is not an acceptance of the mark). Written exams must be written only by using a ballpoint pen with indelible ink in black or blue color.

For oral exams, attendance is usually certified by the faculty member using the related online procedure.

During exams students may decide to 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.

Generally, in case of written exams, students who withdraw must stay in the room until the end of their exams; 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 entirely or partially copied;
• cannot keep mobile phones on their desks.

Violation of the above rules or 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 exam 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 and to mark exams following clear rules, 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, which is published on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/honorcode where they can find a summary of the unfair and illegal behaviors and the relating sanctions.

The results of written exams (partial, in itinere or general exams), managed by the Secretary's Office of the Department responsible for the courses, are generally published on the yoU@B student Diary>Home page>Exams. Marks are communicated in yoU@B for informational purposes only.

Only in the case of general exams, once the result of an exam has been registered, students are advised to check that it has been correctly recorded in their academic career by using the Career>Study plan menu at Punto Blu (via the yoU@B Diary).

In compliance with the Honor Code, the Bocconi teaching staff are committed to carrying out the assessment fairly and to be available to analyze the quality of the exam taken with the student. In this context, a date dedicated to reviewing the exam paper must be scheduled for written exams.

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 take, the opportunity to learn from direct confrontation with the teacher. Students are not allowed to delegate third parties to view their exams papers.