TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR REMOTE EXAMINATIONS

Ordinance No. 171/2020

of the Rector of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin
of 30 November 2020 on the introduction of the “Terms and Conditions
for Conducting Course Completion Assessments/Examinations Away
From the University’s Premises Using Means of Electronic Communication”

Pursuant to Articles 23 and 74 section 1 and section 3 of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1668, as amended) in conjunction with § 49 section 1 of the Statute of the Pomeranian Medical University, I hereby order as follows:

§1

The “Terms and Conditions for Conducting Course Completion Assessments/Examinations Away From the University’s Premises Using Means of Electronic Communication,” constituting an appendix to this Ordinance shall be introduced.

The Terms and Conditions apply only to those Course Completion Assessments and Examinations which are conducted using the resources of the Test Examinations Centre of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin.

§2

The Ordinance shall become binding on the day of signature.

 

Prof. Bogusław Machaliński
Rector of the PMU

§1

The following terms used in the ordinance shall be construed as follows:

1. TEC - shall means the Test Examinations Centre of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin,
2. Examiner - shall mean a person passing the course as defined in §28, section 3 of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin (hereinafter referred to as the Study Regulations), a person conducting an Examination as defined in § 33, section 1, 2 or 3 of the Study Regulations, as well as a person assisting the aforementioned persons to perform a Course Completion Assessment or an Examination,
3. MS Teams - a communication platform for conducting Course Completion Assessments/Examinations, providing audio-visual supervision of the correct course of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination,
4. Moodle Platform - a communication platform for Course Completion Assessment/Examination where Course Completion Assessment or Examination sessions are posted,
5. PMU or the University - shall be construed as the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin,
6. Course Completion Assessment/Examination Session - access to a Course Completion Assessment/Examination (a specific set of questions or an Examination tasks) prepared by TEC and posted on the Moodle platform on a designated date,
7. Student - this should also be construed as a doctoral Student,
8. Course Completion Assessment/Examination - shall be construed as verification of the learning outcomes achieved by a Student or a doctoral Student, conducted in accordance with the study programme outside the seat of the institution, using the resources of TEC.

§2

1. Course Completion Assessments/Examinations shall be held in accordance with the TEC calendar available at https://cet.pum.edu.pl/en/calendar
2. Course Completion Assessment/Examination sessions take place on the Moodle platform, which can be accessed via the TEC website (https://egzamcet.pum.edu.pl) or via the Virtual Faculty Office).
3. The identity of the Students and the course of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination are monitored on the MS Teams platform, in subgroups previously created by the Examiner.
4. The Examiner shall be required to submit their prepared material to the TEC at least 7 working days prior to the Course Completion Assessment/Examination date.
5. The material referred to in section 4 should be prepared in accordance with the Rules for Preparing Questions available at https://cet.pum.edu.pl/en/didactics.
6. TEC creates Course Completion Assessment/Examination sessions on the Moodle platform based on the material referred to in section 4. All arrangements for the parameters of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination to be conducted are set by the Examiner and are reflected on the appointment booking form. Any changes to these parameters are made only on the express order of the Examiner, notified at least 24 hours before the scheduled Course Completion Assessment/Examination.
7. Course Completion Assessment/Examination sessions should be arranged in a manner which allows Students and Examiners to join sufficiently in advance of the start of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination to enable the inspection of the degree of fulfilment of the requirements of §3 section 1.
8. Objections to Course Completion Assessment/Examination questions or assignments shall be made in the same manner as in the case of computer-based Examinations. Questions or assignments to which objections have been made will be reviewed by the Examiner, the subject leader or a person authorised by them within 2 working days of the date of the objection.

§3

1. Prior to taking a Course Completion Assessment/Examination, the Student shall be required to:
   1. 24 hours prior to the planned date of Course Completion Assessment/Examination, to check if he or she has been assigned to the Course Completion Assessment/Examination Session; if the Student is not assigned to a Course Completion Assessment/Examination session, he or she must contact an Examiner or the appropriate Faculty Office in order to determine his or her status,
   2. prepare computer equipment of appropriate quality (desktop or laptop computer with Internet access and a camera and microphone for interactive audio-video links),
   3. ensure the quality of the Internet connection;
   4. install an up-to-date version of a web browser;
   5. install the MS Teams application for stable use of the MS Teams platform,
   6. log in correctly at least 15 minutes before the start time of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination:
      1. to the MS Teams platform;
      2. to the Course Completion Assessment/Examination session in accordance with the assignment made, i.e., via the TEC website (https://egzamcet.pum.edu.pl) or via the Virtual Faculty Office;
   7. produce a valid identity document (identity card, passport or Student card) when requested to do so by the Examiner;
   8. provide a camera image of the room if the Examiner requests it.
2. During the Course Completion Assessment/Examination, the Student is required to:
   1. continuously share his or her image with the face clearly visible on the MS Teams platform via a webcam (the image cannot be processed);
   2. as instructed by the Examiner:
      1. turn the microphone on,
      2. provide a camera view of the entire room where the Student is seated;
      3. share the image of the computer desktop via MS Teams in order to verify correct completion of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination (no unauthorised aids) and to confirm correct log-in;
3. During the Course Completion Assessment/Examination:
   1. the use of knowledge sources, discussions (including telephone conversations) and the use of any instant messaging or other remote working software (e.g., TeamViewer) shall be prohibited;
   2. it shall be prohibited to use the MS Teams platform or other communication or remote software to communicate by voice or text with others or to contact the Examiner, except on the Examiner’s instructions or because the Student needs to report a technical problem with the Moodle platform;
   3. mobile phones must remain switched off unless, due to technical problems, the Student is unable to use the form of communication with the Examiner referred to in item 2;
   4. in the place where the Student takes the Course Completion Assessment/Examination (desk, table, etc.), apart from the computer equipment referred to in section 1 item 2, there may be only a bottle or a glass of drink and an identity document;
   5. the room where the Student is staying should be quiet;
   6. the consumption of food is prohibited, unless justified on medical grounds confirmed by medical advice.
4. Any violation of the rules referred to in section 1 to 3, as well as failure to comply with the Examiner’s instructions or requests, constitutes grounds for discontinuing the Course Completion Assessment/Examination and cancelling the results. This fact shall be recorded by the Examiner, and a note made shall be forwarded to the course leader and the appropriate Faculty Office.
5. Failure to log in to the MS Teams platform 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of a Course Completion Assessment/Examination is considered a failure to attend the Course Completion Assessment/Examination.
6. Excuses for failure to take a Course Completion Assessment/Examination shall be made in accordance with the Study Regulations.
7. It is not possible to return to questions/tasks that have been answered.
8. The Course Completion Assessment/Examination time is set for the whole Course Completion Assessment/test and not for individual questions/tests.

§4

1. No breaks are allowed during the Examination. In the event of an interrupted connection, immediately log back on to the Moodle platform and MS Teams platform within a maximum of 10 minutes and continue with the Course Completion Assessment/Examination. The Course Completion Assessment/Examination time is not extended by the time of the aforementioned break.
2. In the event of technical issues which prevent a Student from taking or completing a Course Completion Assessment/Examination, the Student must, within a maximum of one hour of the problem occurring, send an e-mail to the appropriate Faculty Office or Examiner containing a description of the problem and a screenshot of the computer on which the Student is taking the Course Completion Assessment/Examination, in such a way that the User can be identified.
3. If, due to technical issues, it is not possible to complete the Course Completion Assessment/Examination and the number of questions/tasks answered by the Student is:
   1. lower than 60% of the total number of questions, the Student may re-take the Course Completion Assessment/Examination on the day of organising the Course Completion Assessment/Examination on a subsequent date (in a resit session); the interrupted Course Completion Assessment/Examination is not included in the number of allowed Course Completion Assessment/Examination attempts for a given subject/module;
   2. equal or higher than 60% of the total number of questions – the grade for the Course Completion Assessment/Examination shall be determined on the basis of the provided answers; the Student may accept this grade or request to retake the Course Completion Assessment/Examination; the provision of item 1 shall apply accordingly.
4. In the event that technical problems arise during a Course Completion Assessment/Examination in a manner which makes it impossible to determine the number of questions/tasks in accordance with the provisions of section 3:
   1. a new date for the Course Completion Assessment/Examination shall be defined and the Course Completion Assessment/Examination during which the failure occurred shall be deemed not to have taken place – if the cause of the failure lies with PMU,
   2. the Course Completion Assessment/Examination shall be deemed to have been failed in all other cases.
5. A Student who, due to the lack of computer equipment that meets the requirements referred to in §3, section 1 item 2 or sufficient access to the Internet, is unable to take a Course Completion Assessment/Examination in accordance with the rules laid down in this regulation, is obliged to submit an application to the appropriate vice-dean for a change in the form of the Examination. The application shall be submitted electronically at the latest 2 days before the scheduled day of the Course Completion Assessment/Examination. Applications submitted after this time limit shall not be processed.

§5
In matters not regulated by these regulations, the provisions of the Study Regulations shall apply, whereas disputable issues shall be resolved by the Vice-President for Didactics.