Information on and guide to online exams

Stud.IP for exams is the central system used for student management and distributing assignments. (If Moodle has already been used in the course of the semester and/or earlier, Moodle can be used, too, in individual cases.)

Students use Stud.IP for exams or OwnCloud to hand in exam results and assignments. 

If video conferencing tools are used for invigilation purposes, BigBlueButton (integrated in Stud.IP) and Webex are the only systems permitted. 

If you do not follow the recommendations made below, you do so at your own risk. We do not recommend the use of mobile devices for exams.

You will need a computer with access to the internet and an up-to-date version of the Chrome or Firefox browser. We do not support Safari as a browser. Please make sure that you have a stable and fast connection to the internet throughout your exam.

We recommend that your screen has a size of at least 12 inches and a minimum resolution of 1024x768. If you have a smaller screen or lower resolution, please ensure that you can see all of the questions and tasks correctly at the start of the exam. (Reducing the zoom may help with this, simply press the “Ctrl” & “-” keys.)

Please note the following:

• Deactivate any pop up blockers in your browser. Make sure that content filters (such as ad blockers or antivirus programmes) do not prevent any communication.
• Activate Javascript (Active Scripting).
• Allow http session cookies.

Please note, that the individual examiners may define additional pre-requisites for their assessment.

We set up a Stud.IP course called allgemeine Testklausur (exam testing course) to give you the opportunity to test the various settings and functions. This mock exam contains a number of question types available in the system. Your professors and teaching staff will usually only choose some of these. We set up this mock exam so that you can get acquainted with how the different options work and so you can test the device you will be using for the actual exam. If there is a mock exam for your subject or module in particular, please take the time to take it.

Also please make sure that you are able to receive e-mails. We recommend that you create enough space in your inbox for e-mails to arrive and mail delivery not to fail because of too little storage space.

Download the declaration of authorship, print it, fill it out (this must be done by hand) and scan it. By filling out this form and submitting it you confirm that it was you who took the exam and you had no help from others and did not use resources which are not permissible. This declaration also serves to identify the examinee and must be handed in at the end of each electronic exam. 

Make sure that you have enrolled in the course for the exam you are taking in the Stud.IP for exams and test any technical tools you may need (e.g. video conferencing system). 

Set up a new course “exam for the module XY” in the Stud.IP for exams, the course type should be “Online Prüfung”. Please select “preliminary enrolment” as the registration mode under “access permission”, this will allow students to sign up preliminarily. -

For open book and take home exams examiners should set up a folder for the exam assignments in the Stud.IP for exams. Examiners should set up a folder for the exam assignments in the Stud.IP for exams; it should be a time-controlled folder with “w write” selected under read/write rights.  Setting up a folder like this will enable students to upload their files without other students being able to see these files; i.e. the declaration of authorship and the files containing solutions ands exam results if the exam is an open book or take home exam.

Alternatively, a file drop folder in OwnCloud can be used for this purpose.

If examiners want to use a video call for invigilation purposes, they will set up a room in Webex or the Stud.IP for exams. 

We recommend that examiners test the technical procedure of the exam with their students before the exam actually takes place. 

Special cases

If exams are scheduled for a course held in the summer semester, students should register for these “old” courses. This will allow examiners to communicate with their students (especially to communicate the form of assessment).

It is important that the technology you will be using is functioning and that you know how to use it. Use mock exams provided by teaching staff.

Make sure that any possible software updates have run and been completed before the exam and that you have tested them. 

Also make sure that there is enough storage space on your computer and practice transferring pictures from your phone to your computer and on to VIPS in the Stud.IP for exams.

Test the quality of the pictures you take (light, resolution, focus and sharpness, file size) 

Download the “Eigenständigkeitserklärung” (declaration of authorship) from the intranet. Print this document, fill it out and scan it. By filling out this form and submitting it you confirm that it was you who took the exam and you had no help from others and did not use resources which are not permissible. This declaration also serves to identify the examinee and must be handed in to the examiner at the end of each electronic exam. 

Make sure that you have enrolled in the course for the exam you are taking in the Stud.IP for exams and test your VIPS access. Usually the exam assignments will only be visible once the exam has started.

Set up a course in the Stud.IP for exams, the course type should be exam. When setting up a BBB room, disable the private chat and shared notes functions. Add your students to this event.

Students taking a VIPS exam must also provide a declaration of authorship to verify their identity. For this examiners can create a folder which students can upload files into in the Stud.IP for exams. The process is the same as for open book exams. Alternatively, assignment that take the form of a written text can be uploaded as files or students can be asked to send their declaration of authorship via e-mail.

This guide (in German) explains how to set up VIPS exams.

Use the diversification option (personified exams following student ID numbers). 

We set up a mock exam in Stud.IP so that you can get acquainted with the different types of questions and with the VIPS system. More details are also available in this student guide to online exams with VIPS.

Please make sure that you are enrolled in the course for your exam in the Stud.IP for exams or that you are able to receive the exam or assignment from your examiner. If you are not enrolled in the Stud.IP exam course, you must make sure that you sign up for it. The Examinations Office cannot enrol you into courses in the Stud.IP for exams.

Please sign up for the exams in the Stud.IP for exams in due time or follow the instructions your examiner provides. If you are not sure where to sign up, ask your examiner directly. (An example: Professor Machon is taking over the subjects, and thus the exams, taught by Professor Dahms. If you want to take these exams, you will have to sign up for Professor Machon’s exams in the Stud.IP for exams. Registering for the exam with the Examinations Office will not be enough to then actually take the exam.)

Please sign the declaration of authorship by hand. You must be able to present it to the examiner or the Examinations Office at their request. It is crucial that you sign it by hand as that will make the check of identification legally secure. If you do not have access to a printer, write the text below onto a sheet of paper, sign it and send it to us: 

"I hereby declare that I have worked on the exam mentioned above on my own and without unauthorized assistance. I am aware that such unauthorized assistance or resources include the assistance of another person in the same room with me or connected via social media, working on the exam as a group where group work is not intended. I am also aware that copying text from the internet, e.g. using “copy and paste”, without referencing such text qualifies as a non-permissible resource.Every attempt to communicate about the structure or content of an exam or assessment or exchange information (e.g. sources) with other persons during the time the exam is to be completed in will have to be counted as an attempted use of unfair means and result in the exam or assessment being graded as 'not passed'."

Your signature serves authentication purposes.

We have been asked about the implications of more than one examinee working on an online exam via the same IP address, e.g. if students share a flat. Please inform your examiner before the start of the exam if this applies to you.

The examiner will make the exam assignments available via the Stud.IP for exams at the designated starting time of the exam (or the files will be made available automatically if a time-controlled folder is being used).Students will be able to download the files from the Stud.IP for exams.

You will complete the tasks and/or assignment in handwritten form on paper – examiners may ask for their exam to be submitted in other electronic forms. The examinee’s name, student ID number, the number of the task/question completed and the page number must be included on each sheet of paper. This is only necessary for those exams that need to be uploaded in order to be graded.

The students will take a picture of their exam sheets and upload the files to the Stud.IP for exams after completing the exam or at the end of the designated time the exam is to be completed in. Alternatively, a personalised folder in OwnCloud can be used. The examiner may allow for files to be submitted in electronic form.

Students must also upload the declaration of authorship into the folder. This declaration also serves to identify the examinee. If this declaration is not uploaded, the exam will not count as attempted.

As a student taking an exam, please make sure that the resolution you take your pictures in is not too high to reduce the data volume.

To ensure that all exam results handed in can be matched to the right student, the files must be named in the following manner: Last name_first name_studentIDno.pdf (If more than one file is uploaded, the file names should include numbers or similar).

Invigilation via video calls

§6 of FUAS’ Regulations on the carrying out of “electronic exams”, i.e. online and distance exams (document available in German only, applies on all questions related to invigilation via video calls.

If an examiner decides for an invigilation via video call, students must place their camera so that the invigilator can see both their face and their hands. This may not be possible at all times. At the request of the invigilator examinees must change the position of their camera and turn their microphone on.

The exam will be made available via a Stud.IP course “VIPS exam” in the Stud.IP for exams. At the time of the exam the Stud.IP for exams will automatically make the exam available. At the time of the exam the Stud.IP for exams will automatically make the exam available.  

The following kind of questions/tasks can be part of a VIPS exam: single choice, multiple choice (with or without the option to abstain), free answer, text answer, matching, fill in the gaps, algebraic term or external question (LTI tool). The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg has put together a student guide (available in German only).

The Examinations Office has scheduled the exams so that students of a certain semester will not have to take more than one exam per day and that, ideally, the next exam for students of that semester will take place three days later at the earliest. For this scheduling to remain intact, the dates in the exam schedule must be kept.

If an exam is to be held as an oral exam, the day of the exam should be the same day originally scheduled for the exam. Exceptions with good reason may be allowed.

Take home exams (exams written at home and not on campus) are allowed. The time in which these exams are to be completed may not exceed two days in order to avoid a clash of exam times.

A declaration of authorship also has to be handed in to the examiner for oral exams.

Please do not send your answers to your exams and assignment to the Examinations Office. If you are required to hand your exam results in on paper, please send them to the address your examiner provides. If you are asked to send your exam results to FUAS, please make sure the address also includes the name of your examiner so that your answers will actually reach them.

Very important:When you hand in your exam by posting it to FUAS, make sure that the envelope has both the name of the examiner and your name on it. If either of those names are missing, the exam may not be delivered correctly and may not be marked and graded. When handing in your exam via e-mail, please mail it to the examiner’s e-mail address directly; don’t send it to any other addresses. Please also note: You only have to hand in the original exam if the examiner requests this. 

In case of technical problems, the examinee must communicate these problems to the examiner/invigilator immediately – please use the chat function if possible so that you do not disturb other students taking the exam.

If students cannot upload their exam results or answers, they can use their own FUAS account to e-mail them to the FUAS address of the examiner as an alternative. This alternative should only be used as an exception, if the examiner recommends it, since our e-mail system may be blocked in case of large amounts of data being sent. 

If the exam results cannot be uploaded due to technical reasons, the time stamp created when the PDF file is saved will count as the time at which the exam was handed in.

§8 of FUAS’ Regulations on the carrying out of “electronic exams”, i.e. online and distance exams, applies.

If you encounter any difficulties, please contact us as follows:

For questions on Stud.IP

(assignment of roles and rights, management of courses and BigBlueButton, use of Stud.IP plugins, “forgot password”)

• 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: +49 (0) 461 805 1416 (Ralf Andresen)
• 2:30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m.: +49 (0) 461 805 1751 (Henning Lorenzen)
• Ticket system: cm-studip@hs-flensburg.de

For any questions you cannot fit into the categories above call: +49 (0) 461 805 1347 (Julia Döring)

For all questions relating to infrastructure and the main IT services

(net or hardware configuration, VPN access, bandwidth, Wi-Fi, Webex, Owncloud, license management) 

• 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: +49 (0) 461 805 1271 (Jan Sören Schneider)
• 2:30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m.: +49 (0) 461 805 1601 (Helge Holtorf)
• Ticket system: it-support@hs-flensburg.de 

If there are problems with loading Stud.IP, in case of system failures or in case the network cannot handle the amount of traffic, we will be able to retrace that (or prove any false claims wrong if necessary).

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with uploading your answers and results for an online exam, we recommend you take the following steps:

If the technical problems cause you to exceed the designated time for the exam and the limited time in which you can upload your exam results in Stud.IP has passed, e-mail your results to the examiner immediately. If your e-mail attachment is too big to be sent, compress it or distribute the attachment to more than one e-mail. The examiners and the Examinations Office will decide on how to proceed and on whether or not results that have been sent in late will be accepted fully or in parts.

While these difficulties can of course occur, we cannot retrace them, we can only judge the likelihood of such occurrences. Unfortunately we cannot provide a hotline providing technical support for this kind of problems during exams.

Grades will be recorded directly in the web-based FlexNow platform. You can enter grades after the registration phase for students has ended. For more information, please read this guide (in German). You will no longer receive printed grade lists from the Examinations Office. All grades must be entered into FlexNow by no later than 5 October 2021.

You can access FlexNow via this link.

In accordance with §11, para 3 of the Principles of Assessment [Prüfungsverfahrensordnung], re-take exams must be marked by two examiners.

More details will follow.

Exams have to be kept for a period of four years.

Paper exams will continue to be forwarded to the Examinations Office.

Exams marked and graded in the exam period winter semester 2021/22-I will be archive in the NextCloud (in the same manner as in the exam period summer semester 2021-II). (Please also refer to our FAQ on archiving from the last exam period.)

More details and new dates will follow.

Post exam consultations can still take place online or - if the hygiene concept in place permits it - in individual one-on-one appointments. If it is not possible to set up a post exam consultation, it can be postponed to a later point in time. The Examination Board will not rule on the basis of a failure to meet the deadline.

This document (in German) offers a number of tips for the organisation of a post exam consultation on campus.

Students must keep the pictures taken of the exam sheets, the exam sheets themselves and the declaration of authorship. At the request of the examiner they must send these files to an address provided by the examiner. This may be relevant in those cases where the quality of the uploaded pictures is poor.

If a student cannot upload their files via the smartphone, they should e-mail the pictures to their own e-mail address. The attachments can then be downloaded using a computer/notebook, saved and then uploaded to the Stud.IP for exams or the OwnCloud.