Exam regulations and rights

At the beginning of a course, lecturers must provide written information about:

• which content will be examined,
• the examination format,
• the assessment criteria,
• how grades are awarded,
• what opportunities exist for retaking the exam.

This ensures that students know from the start what is expected of them and how their performance will be evaluated.

Exam dates must be announced in a timely manner and generally at least two weeks in advance.

In addition, the university must provide a sufficient number of examination and retake opportunities. These should be scheduled so that students can, in principle, continue their studies without losing a semester.

A failed final examination can generally be repeated twice.

Important points:

• Each retake must be assessed independently of previous attempts.
• The second retake (the third attempt) is a board examination.
• There must be sufficient time between examination dates for students to prepare adequately.

Students with a documented disability are entitled to an alternative examination method if the standard examination format cannot reasonably be completed because of their disability.

The academic requirements of the examination may not be changed, but the method of assessment may be adapted.

More information about accessible studying can be found here.

For online examinations, FH Upper Austria must ensure that:

• technical requirements are communicated in advance,
• the student's work is completed independently,
• technical issues are appropriately considered.

If technical problems occur through no fault of the student and the examination cannot be conducted properly, the examination must be cancelled. In that case, the attempt may not be counted as an examination attempt.

Examination results must be issued within certain time limits:

• Written examinations: generally within four weeks of the exam date.
• Courses with continuous assessment: no later than four weeks after the final graded activity.
• Oral examinations: immediately after the examination.

Students who disagree with their grade or wish to understand how it was determined have the right to inspect:

• examination papers,
• corrections and markings,
• expert opinions,
• examination records and protocols.

This right remains valid for up to six months after the grade has been announced.

Students are generally allowed to take photographs or copies of these materials. The exception is closed-question formats, particularly multiple-choice questions and their answer options.

Students generally cannot appeal a grade itself.

However, they may file a complaint if the examination process was flawed. Examples include:

• questions covering content that was not announced,
• violations of published examination regulations,
• serious organisational errors.

If the complaint is upheld, the examination may be annulled. The cancelled attempt will not count toward the maximum number of permitted attempts.

Oral examinations are generally open to the public. Other people may attend, provided that room capacity and practical considerations allow it.

In addition, a written record of the examination must be kept, documenting, among other things, the questions asked and the grade awarded.

For lecture-based courses, there is a little-known option:

Students may request the annulment of a successfully completed examination within two weeks of receiving the grade and may retake the examination on a future regular examination date.

No examination attempt is lost through this process. However, this rule does not apply to board examinations and generally does not apply to courses with continuous assessment.