Fall 2022 Midterm Exam Information

 

Below is information related to the fall 2022 Midterm Examinations at GW Law. Please read this information carefully as you will be held accountable for failure to comply with the exam policies and procedures described below. If you have any questions, contact the Dean of Students Office at deanofstudentslaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu.

Exam Dates and Times

The 2022 midterm examinations are scheduled for Tuesday, October 18, 2022, according to the following schedule:

 

Exam Administration

All exams are essays and one hour in length. Exams will be administered through the Exam4 software. Please see the information below regarding Exam4.

Please sit in every other seat in the exam room to the extent possible. Each exam will count for a maximum of 15% of the student's final grade. Your professor will grade your exam either by assigning it a letter grade or in some other equivalent manner. Exams will be returned no later than the week before Thanksgiving. The Records Office and Dean of Students Office administer exams. If you need additional information or have any questions, please contact the Records Office at (202) 994-6261 or the Dean of Students Office at (202) 994-8320. During the mid-term exams, the Records Office is open from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. A dean or designee is available at all times exams are administered.

 

Materials

Students are permitted one laptop computer for exam-taking purposes. No additional laptop computers, external monitors, external keyboards, external mice, e-readers, or other electronic data storage/transmitting devices are allowed in an exam room. Devices enabling access to the internet are prohibited, including cell phones and “smart” watches. Cell phones must be turned off, stored away from you, and may not be used during an exam under any circumstances. No headphones or earbuds are permitted of any type; if noise minimization is sought, please use earplugs.

 

Exam4 Software Information and ExamID #

All exams are graded anonymously. Do not convey your name or GWID anywhere on your exam. Only use your ExamID # as an identifier on your exam. Here are instructions on how to find your ExamID #. Please review them as you will need this number on the day of your exam.

All in-class exams will be administered through Exam4 software. You must download the most recent version of Exam4 here. Once you have downloaded the software, please review these instructions on how to use Exam4.

• OPEN Mode- Exams deemed by your professor as OPEN mode will allow students access to their hard drives, meaning you can access your outlines, notes, and e-books so long as they are downloaded on your hard drive. As you will not have access to the internet, you will not be able to access items stored in the cloud. Most (if not all) "Open Book" exams will use the Exam4 OPEN mode. Please note you will not be able to cut and paste items from outside of Exam4 into your answers.
• CLOSED Mode - Exams deemed by your professor as CLOSED mode will not allow students to access their hard drives. For these exams, students will not be able to access the internet or any items/programs on their computers. Students should expect that all "Closed Book" exams will be in CLOSED Mode.
• Multiple Choice - If your exam has multiple choice questions, you must provide the answers to their multiple-choice questions in Exam4's multiple-choice interface. 

All students should complete a practice exam to 1) be sure they are familiar with interfaces, 2) ensure their computer passes the security check, and 3) ensure Exam4 runs as expected on their computer. To do so, launch Exam4 and follow the on-screen instructions. There aren't any practice exam questions. Students should use the "practice exam" to practice entering answers to both essay and multiple-choice questions.  Please run a practice exam for at least five minutes. To submit your practice exam, you must be connected to the law school's wireless network (GWireless). 

Exam4 currently supports: 

• Windows 10 (Home, Pro, Edu and Enterprise) [versions 1909**, 2004, 20H2, 21H1, 21H2, 22H2]
• Windows 11 (Home, Pro, Edu and Enterprise) [versions 21H2, 22H2]
• macOS 12.x.x Monterey - including the Apple Silicon Processors (e.g., M1, M2, etc.)
• macOS 11.6.x Big Sur - including the Apple Silicon Processors (e.g., M1, M2, etc.)
• macOS 10.15.7 Catalina**

** Extegrity Support for these operating systems ends August 1, 2023

Minimum specification requirements:

• 2 GB Ram
• 500 MB Storage
• Screen Resolution of 800x600 or higher

 Please note: You must be logged into a user account that has full administrative rights to your device to run Exam4. Users of institutionally owned/controlled devices should contact their IT Department for assistance.

Please note that the following operating systems and hardware configurations are NOT supported:

• Beta OS versions
• Apple macOS 10.14 and earlier
• Apple iDevices (iPad, iPhone, etc.)
• Windows 8.1 and earlier
• Windows (RT, IoT, Mobile, Team & S versions)
• Windows 10 SL (non-English Editions)
• Surface devices that do not have Windows 10/11 Home, Pro, Education, or Enterprise version
• Windows computers with ARM processors (i.e., Snapdragon)
• Linux
• Chromebooks
• Virtual operating systems (VMs)
• Anything else not specifically listed as supported above

The Law School is not responsible for any equipment failure during an exam, will not permit a backup laptop, and will not allow extra time to enable students to address equipment failure. Students who experience equipment failure will simply continue by writing in exam booklets. 

 

End of Exam 

At the end of your exam, you will be asked to submit your answers through the law school wireless network. The autosave on Exam4 saves your exam every 10 seconds, with an additional two-minute backup, so there is no risk of losing your work. If you do not have wireless access, you will save your exam on a USB drive provided by the proctor. Students writing in exam booklets will be in the same exam room as laptop users. Exam booklets will be provided by exam proctors. Do not delete any files from your laptop computer until after your grade has been posted, so that the Records Office can complete any necessary follow-up in exam processing. 

Each student is responsible for monitoring the time during the exam. Proctors are not required to remind students of elapsed time. At the conclusion of the exam, as announced by the proctor, all typing and writing must stop immediately. Students may not continue to type or write after the time has been announced except to exit the Exam4 program. In addition, students must ensure that all items for collection are turned in to the proctor. Proctors are not responsible for checking materials that students submit. Do not contact your professor at any point until exams are graded. Students may raise any concerns regarding the exam with the Dean of Students Office. 

 

Controlled Exams

“Controlled” exams MUST be returned to the proctor at the end of the exam. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. Students who fail to return controlled exams risk receiving an F. You are responsible for returning all required materials to the proctor at the end of the exam. If you are contacted regarding a controlled exam, you must respond immediately and will be required to return to campus, regardless of the time. 

 

Breaks and Questions

If you need to leave the exam room, you may not take any materials with you and you may not bring any new materials back into the exam room. You may not confer with anyone about the exam or consult materials outside the exam room. 

Any exam-related question should be directed to the proctors who will contact the professor, via the Records Office, to relay any questions about the content of an exam question. However, content questions may not get answered while the exam is ongoing. Students should make any necessary assumptions about an exam question to best respond, and state their assumptions where relevant. Under no circumstances should you ask for assistance from another student taking the exam. 

 

Emergencies Before an Exam

Do not contact your professor. In the event an emergency (such as hospitalization or a death in the family) prevents you from taking an exam, to be excused from the exam you must immediately contact the Dean of Students Office at deanofstudentslaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu, or in person. Documentation must be provided to support the basis of any request to be excused. Students who are absent from an exam and are not officially excused may receive a grade of F. Misunderstanding the date or time of an exam is not a valid excuse for missing an exam. If you are feeling seriously ill, such that you may not be able to complete the exam, do not go into the exam room. Instead, seek immediate treatment and communicate with the Dean of Students Office as soon as you can do so.

 

Emergencies in the Exam Room

Immediately inform the proctor if an emergency, such as a severe illness, occurs during an exam. The proctor will contact the appropriate Law School officials. Students who leave an exam without contacting the proper Law School officials will not be eligible to finish or otherwise retake the exam later. 

 

Rescheduling Exams

Professors cannot reschedule exams for individual students under any circumstances. All issues regarding exam rescheduling must be addressed to the Dean of Students Office. 
 

Academic Integrity

As always, students are bound by the law school’s policy on academic integrity. While your professors may have specific instructions regarding your exams, the general expectation is you will not speak with, collaborate with, or otherwise communicate with another person regarding the substance of your exam. Because students may be excused from exams or scheduled to take them at an alternative time, you should not discuss the content of the exam with any other students until grades are released.