Digital exams

Module examinations may be offered as on-campus exams on TH Köln’s premises as well as remote exams off the university’s premises. In both cases, examinations may be offered either as pen-and-paper exams or as electronic examinations or, in case of oral examinations, through electronic communication. Irrespective of the type of examination, the principle of equal treatment during examinations is to be respected. Upon request, students are to identify themselves with a government-issued photo ID and their student ID card (MultiCa).

TH Köln offers remote oral examinations via the video conference tools Zoom and DFNconf. Technical requirements for these examinations are an Internet-capable computer or laptop, a reliable internet connection and a microphone and camera of a certain quality. Details are provided and announced by the faculty.

The procedure for conducting oral examinations via Zoom or DFNconf is as follows:

• Only the examinee, the examiner(s) or expert observer(s) participate in the video conference. An additional person charged with producing a written record of the examination may also be present, if necessary.
• Details on the examination are announced by the examination board or the examiner.
• Please have your MultiCa as well as a government issued photo ID (such as your passport) ready for an identity check. You may be required to submit an academic integrity declaration (unless previously submitted).
• A written record of the examination is to be produced by the examiner (or another person present who is assigned this task). This record is to include information on the identity check, the content of the exam as well as the technical conditions including possible interruptions. TH Köln will not record the examination in any other way. As examinee, you are not also not permitted to record the examination. Doing so will violate the confidentiality of the examination and the rights of the participants as well as section 201 of the German penal code (Strafgesetzbuch; Violation of the confidentiality of the spoken word).
• Due to the exam supervision, other suitable measures are to be taken to prevent the use of non-permissible means or any other attempted cheating. For this matter, it is important that
  - that you are captured by the camera as well as possible during the examination and that you have sufficient distance to your computer or laptop and
  - no other persons are present in the same room during the examination Please also make sure that no other persons can access the room for the duration of the exam.
  To ensure this, the camera is to be moved in such a way that the entire room is shown once before the examination as well as during the examination upon request.
• In case the video connection is lost during the examination, the examination is to be repeated unless all participants agree, that the loss of connection is negligible and cannot possibly have any effects on the result of the exam. If all particpants agree, the exam may be repeated immediately after the connection was lost.
• If there are significant difficulties in the transmission of sound and image, it is always to be verified if these difficulties have relevant negative effects on the examination. If necessary, the examination is to be canceled.

At the beginning of any exam, including remote exams, examinees are to identify themselves by presenting their MultiCa and a government-issued ID card. Additionally they are required to show the entire room where they are to take the exam with their camera to demonstrate that they are by themselves and do not use any non-permissible means. To ensure equal opportunities and to discourage cheating during remote written exams, students are required to activate the camera and microphone of their communication device that is used for the exam (video supervision). In case of suspected cheating, proctors may request that the camera is moved to show the entire room. Video supervision is to be carried out in such a way that the examinees’ privacy and personal rights are only affected to the extend ultimately necessary for the purpose of exam supervision. Video supervision is carried out by supervisors employed by TH Köln. There is generally no automated analysis of video or audio data of the video supervision. Examinations as well as image and audio data is not recorded or otherwise stored.

The same applies to e-exams and written multiple-choice examinations conducted as remote examinations.

• Please have your MultiCa as well as a government issued photo ID (such as your passport) ready for an identity check. You may be required to submit an academic integrity declaration (unless previously submitted).

• A written record of the examination is to be produced by the examiner (or another person present who is assigned this task). This record is to include information on the identity check, the content of the exam as well as the technical conditions including possible interruptions. As examinee, you are not permitted to record the examination.

• You are also not permitted to use the exam tasks for any other purposes than the particular exam. Any copying and distribution or publication (e.g. upload to any platforms, exchange through social media channels during or after the exam) etc.) is a violation of copyright and may result in additional sanctions.

Students participating in a digital remote examination may be required to sign and submit an academic integrity declaration. With this declaration you confirm that you have worked on the examination independently and without unauthorized assistance and that you have not used any non-permissible resources. If you do not submit this declaration, your exam will not be evaluated. Your examiner will let you know if and how the academic integrity declaration is to be submitted. A form is available for download on this page.

Please note:

If you submit your academic integrity declaration by email, make sure to keep the original signed copy as evidence. You may have to submit the original document, even after the examination.

Please also take note of the following information on copyright:

All teaching materials as well as exam questions/tasks and the evaluation scheme or sample solutions are protected by copyright. Any use of these materials beyond the actual teaching or exam context (e.g. Upload to any platforms, print in lecture notes, forwarding to other students or other third parties (electronically or in print) etc.) is a criminal offense. In addition, it may lead to claims for injunctive relief and damages.

During the examination it is - as during any other on-site examination - not allowed to receive help from third parties or exchange information with other people (e.g. through social media platforms). By submitting an academic integrity declaration  you declare that you did not receive any unauthorized assistance or used any non-permissible resources. In case the use of internet resources is allowed, make sure to cite properly. For example, a passage inserted with “copy & paste” without giving the source credit is considered cheating.

Any attempt to communicate or exchange information (e.g. resources) with other persons on the structure or content of the exam during the examination is considered attempted cheating and as a consequence, the examination will be graded “not passed”. Please also note that, as per the terms of use of TH Köln’s CampusIT,  it is not allowed to to pass on passwords to another person or using another person’s campusID and will result in the withdrawal of your CampusID (revocation of your permission to use). It is not possible to withdraw from an exam after its start. TH Köln expressly reserves the right to take further legal actions (removal from the student register, fine proceedings as well as the initiation of criminal proceedings for making a false declaration authenticity, etc.). If you fail to submit your declaration of authenticity, your examination will not be evaluated with the exception of cases of attempted cheating. In this case, you are facing the consequences detailed above.

When examinations are conducted in digital formats or using electronic communication methods, the login information and the IP address of the computer used for the examination will be temporarily recorded in addition to the personal information (student ID number, first and last name) which is generally recorded for any exam as per TH Köln’s enrollment regulation and the legal relationship due to the examination. The collection of data is necessary to conduct the examination with the help of electronic resources.

Legal basis for processing any personal data is GDPR art. 6 (1) (e), section 3 of the Data Protection Regulation for North Rhine-Westphalia (DSG NRW) and the legal relationship due to the examination in conjunction with the examination regulations of your program, which may be overlaid by the current General Examination Regulations (Rahmenprüfungsordnung)

All data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed for the examination process or once the retention period for examinations has expired.