Exams

In-Class Exams

• Exam IDs

  A pre-generated Exam ID is REQUIRED for each exam you take. To access your unique set of Exam IDs:

  • Go to Exam IDs Login
  • Click on "My Exams/Exam IDs"

  If you are unable to access your Exam IDs, contact lawrecords@umich.edu, or come to the Office of Student Records (300 Hutchins Hall)

• Exam Schedule

  Check the appropriate final exam schedule above for information specific to each of your exams:

  • Your Exam Date and Time
  • Your Examination Room (students are assigned to rooms alphabetically by last name)
• Arrival Time

  You may arrive in your exam room up to 25 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time listed in the Final Exam Schedule.

  The proctor will begin exam instructions promptly. Instructions will not be restarted for students who arrive after instructions have begun.

  Late Arrival (After Exam Starts). If you arrive after the proctor has finished instructions and the exam has started, DO NOT enter the exam room. Go directly to the Office of Student Records (300 Hutchins Hall).

• Blind Grading

  ALL Law School exams are kept anonymous via the use of Exam IDs. NEVER provide the following information on your exam materials:

  • NO!-Name
  • NO!-UMID number
  • NO!-Class level
  • NO!-Signature
  • NO!-Personally identifiable comments
  • NO!-Self-identifying marks or images of any kind

  Additionally, once an exam has begun (either in-class or take-home), you are expected to maintain your anonymity until the professor submits the grades for that class. Therefore, until grades have been posted, do not contact the professor with specific questions or comments about an exam. Instead, direct all questions and concerns about your exams to the Office of Student Records.

• Proctor Instructions

  The proctor in the exam room will provide both standard exam procedures and specific instructions in accordance with your professor's requirements. Deviating from these instructions may result in a grade reduction. Pay special attention to these announcements.

• Exam Session Behavior

  General

  • DO NOT converse in the exam room.
  • DO NOT communicate with any other students during the exam by any means.
  • DO NOT use any mobile devices, except a laptop/calculator, if permitted.
  • DO NOT wear a smartwatch.
  • DO NOT use your phone or any other smart device as a calculator.
  • TURN OFF all sound notifications on all personal devices.
  • STORE all non-permitted devices out of sight.
  • STORE all carrying cases (backpacks, bags, purses, etc.) on the floor under the seat or table.
  • DO NOT bring or use any headphones, earbuds, or ear plugs. Ear plugs are provided.
  • DO NOT listen to music.
  • DO NOT rely on wall clocks as timekeepers, rely only on the proctors.

  Examination

  • Keep all materials in clear sight of the proctor.
  • DO NOT turn over your exam until instructed to do so.
  • DO NOT provide any personally identifying information on any exam materials.
  • When entering your Exam ID on a Scantron sheet, DO NOT include the "E."
  • A 30-minute and 10-minute warning will be given prior to the exam end time.
  • You may leave the exam room during the exam, but exam materials MUST remain in the room.
  • Communicating with other students about the exam during the exam is considered cheating.

  Problems

  • Report problems (general or personal) to the proctor.
  • Report cheating or other significant complaints to the proctor.
  • Report to the proctor immediately if you become ill during the exam.
• Ending Exam

  When the "Stop Typing OR Stop Writing" command is given, stop typing and writing IMMEDIATELY. 

  Failure to stop is a violation of the exam procedures and the extra time will be reported to the professor. If you still need to write your Exam ID on any of the exam materials or number bluebook (if applicable), you must do so in front of the proctor when you hand in your exam materials.

• Return Materials

  ALL exam questions MUST be returned to the proctor at the end of every exam. Leaving the exam room with the exam questions can result in course failure or grade reduction.

• Exiting Exam Room

  After returning your exam materials to the proctor, quietly collect your belongings and exit the exam room. Leave the exam area or hallway immediately. Be quiet and considerate of fellow students who are taking exams in nearby rooms.

Laptop Exams

• Electronic Bluebook

  Most Law School's exams are taken on laptops using the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) software.

  Electronic Bluebook

• Hardware

  Students must bring their own laptops. Only one (1) laptop is allowed per student. No additional peripheral devices are allowed except for a mouse, an external keyboard, a power cord, and/or laptop stand.

  If you are borrowing a laptop from a friend or renting one, see a LawIT staff member to ensure all of your exam files have been uploaded to the network before returning it.

• Software

  EBB software is required. Review all the technical information concerning EBB installation, setup, and functions when you download the EBB software from the LawIT website.

  Before your first EBB exam of each exam period, make sure that the latest version of EBB is installed on your laptop. 

  Electronic Bluebook

• Internet Access
  • For EBB. Students will need to connect to the internet to allow EBB to auto-save their work during the exam and to submit their answers to the Law School network at the end of the exam. Log in to one of the following networks to allow EBB internet access: MWireless or MGuest. Even if the exam is listed as "no internet allowed," connect to the internet to maintain these back-ups.
  • For students. Students are not permitted to access the internet during any exam unless the exam instructions explicitly state that it is allowed. If internet access is not permitted, students are on their honor to not access information on the internet during the exam, except for EBB submission.
• Using EBB

  To avoid potential issues with EBB while taking an exam, restart your laptop on the morning of the exam (but, before you enter the exam room). Doing this will avoid the majority of the laptop issues that occur each exam period.

  Rule of thumb: Follow the proctor's instructions.

  Login information: You will need your Exam ID number, the class number (the proctor will write this on the board), the type of exam (Blocked / Unblocked), and the number of EBB sections. Be sure to enter all of this information carefully as once you start the exam, this information cannot be edited. [Note: Access to the rest of your laptop is blocked in an EBB Blocked exam, which means that you will only be able to type in EBB during a Blocked exam. Access to the rest of your laptop is available to you in an Unblocked exam. Professors may choose whether or not you may access the internet. See the final exam schedule for this information.]

  Exam Submission

• Computer Problems and Procedures

  Before the exam: Bring your laptop to a LawIT Help Desk. 

  Help Desk Information

  During the exam: If your laptop crashes during the exam, you must try the EBB Recovery Feature. Do this by restarting EBB. In Windows, you will see a message that says, "At least one exam has been detected with an open status." Select the exam you are taking from the dropdown menu, then click "Re-enter Exam." Mac users will see a message that says, "The last exam was not properly closed. Do you wish to make a recovery?" Click "Yes."

  If you still have issues, see the proctor immediately. If there are more than 30-minutes left on the exam, a LawIT staff member will assist you in the Office of Student Records and you will be able to complete your exam in EBB. If there are less than 30-minutes left to the exam, the proctor will give you bluebooks to finish writing the exam in the exam room. Later, you will work with staff members from LawIT and the Office of Student Records to make sure that your exam is complete.

  After the exam: LawIT staff members will be in the exam room, raise your hand for their assistance.

  Laptop Exam Information

Handwritten Exams

• Bluebooks

  You must bring your own bluebooks to hand write your exams. Bluebooks must be 8.5" x 11" and can be purchased at any bookstore that sells textbooks.

• Usage
  • DO NOT write your name on the bluebooks.
  • Write your assigned Exam ID number on each bluebook cover.
  • Write on every other line in the bluebook.
  • Use only the front side of each page in the bluebook (unless instructed otherwise).
  • Number the Bluebooks at the end of the exam. If you use only one bluebook, number the cover "1 of 1." If you use more than one bluebook, number the cover of each one in the pattern, "1 of 4, 2 of 4, 3 of 4," etc.
  • If the professor requires the use of a pad of paper instead of bluebooks, the paper will be provided. Do not bring your own paper.
• Laptop Use

  If the exam is "Laptop-Unblocked" or "Laptops for Research Only," you may bring one (1) laptop to access notes stored locally on the laptop. No additional peripheral devices are allowed, except for a mouse, an external keyboard, and a power cord. You are not allowed to access remotely stored notes that require access through the internet, unless internet access is explicitly allowed. If internet access is prohibited, you are on your honor to not access information on the internet during the exam. See the final exam schedule for more information.

Take-Home Exams

• Availability

  Take-home exams are typically available for students to take throughout the exam period. However, some take-home exams may start earlier or end earlier, and some take-home exams may be available for only one day. See the final exam schedule for details.

• Exam Download/Upload

  To download exam questions and upload exam answers:

  • Log in to the Exam Admin site.
  • Click on "My Exams/ExamIDs"
  • Find the Download/Upload links under "Current Exam Info."
• Link Availability

  Each exam's download/upload link will be active during the exam's designated Start/End date and time. The exam must be downloaded, completed, and submitted within this timespan. However, the timespan of the link's availability is NOT the same as the time you are allotted for taking the exam.

• Guidelines

  Do NOT put your name or any other identifying information on your exam. 

  Preparing for a Take-Home Exam 

  • Do not use Electronic Bluebook (EBB) exam software to write take-home exam answers.
  • The exam question packets are delivered in a ZIP file using the Web browser. Some browsers have security features that require users to confirm that a download is approved. Before initiating the download, make sure that you know how to download a ZIP file using your browser.
  • The password to open the files in the exam packet is your Exam ID number for that class.
  • Your allotted exam time may be reduced if the exam question packet is downloaded too close to the exam’s end date/time. Review the exam availability on the exam schedule.

  Downloading Questions & Uploading Answers 

  This is all done from the Take-Home Exams Login link found on the Exams’ webpage. The timing of a take-home exam begins when the download of the exam packet is initiated. Your answers must be uploaded within the exact length of time designated for the exam. When choosing a time to download the exam questions, be sure that there is enough time left to the exam to get your full time. For example, if the exam ends at 5pm on December 19th and the length of the exam is 8-hours, 9am on December 19th is the very latest you can download the questions and still receive the full 8-hours to take the exam. 

  • Take-home exam answers must:
    • be uploaded in either Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) format. (Note: Some professors have specific requests for one format over another. Be sure to follow the professor’s instructions from class or the exam.)
    • be submitted as one file (not multiple files). New exam answers may be uploaded until the exam time has expired. Each file replaces the previously uploaded file.
    • include your assigned Exam ID number for the course ("E" followed by 5 digits) as a running header on each page.
    • include page numbers (unless specifically requested by the professor not to do so).
    • include word count(s), if required by the professor.
  • File(s) in the exam packet can be saved and printed only for the purpose of writing exam answers. As soon as the allotted exam time has expired, all exam-packet file(s) must be deleted and any printouts of the exam-packet file(s) must be disposed of by shredding or tearing into multiple pieces (so as to be unreadable by others).
  • Keep track of any printouts of the exam materials during the exam period in order to avoid the sharing of information.
  • Keep all exam answers indefinitely (or at least until the final grades for the course have been posted) – do not delete exam answers. If there is a problem with an exam submission, be prepared to provide exam answers to a Law School exam administrator.
  • Students are prohibited from sharing their exam answers from the current and previous terms.
  • Back-up exam answers frequently to an external device (ex., a flash drive) and/or print take-home exam answers.
  • If you encounter issues during the exam, use the "Report Problem" link in the lower-right corner of the take-home exam's download/upload page to notify the Law School's exam administrators. If the problem occurs outside normal business hours (8am-5pm, M-F), it is unlikely that you will receive a prompt response. Therefore, record the start time of the problem, when it was resolved (if it was resolved), and any additional details that could be relevant to the situation. On the next business day, the Office of Student Records will review your exam and all available documentation to determine how to provide the best possible solution.
  • Follow the professor’s formatting and other special instructions before uploading your exam answers. The Office of Student Records will not replace take-home exam answers that have already been submitted with a corrected version.
  • Remember, take-home exams are exams. You must do your own work, unless the professor specifically states otherwise in the exam instructions.
  • Students who use laptops, desktop computers, etc., to write take-home exams do so at their own risk of mechanical failures. Mechanical failures must be reported as soon as possible to: lawrecords@umich.edu (734.763.6499).
  • If you encounter a problem uploading your exam answers, immediately email a copy of your exam to lawrecords@umich.edu. If your upload is unsuccessful, the Office of Student Records will use the time stamp on the email as the exam submission time.
• Exam Timing

  The timing of each student's take-home exam begins when the student starts the download of the exam question packet.

• Time Reduction

  A student's allotted exam time may be reduced if the exam packet is downloaded too close to the exam's end date/time. For example, if you download the exam questions for a 4-hour exam 1-hour before the end date/time, you will have only 1-hour to complete and submit the exam.

• Exam Packet Download

  Your exam materials are accessed via a download of a ZIP file. This may trigger security features in your web browser requiring additional download steps. Before initiating the download, make sure you are familiar with your browser's download behavior.

• Password

  The password to access the exam materials will be displayed on the screen immediately after the download is initiated. The password can be accessed more than once by initiating a new download.

• Answer Requirements and Upload
  • Do NOT use Electronic Bluebook (EBB) software to write your answers.
  • Upload your exam answers as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) file. Some professors have specific requirements, so be sure to follow the individual professor's instructions.
  • Your professors may require a word count. Be sure to include one, if needed.
  • Your professors may require special formatting, follow their instructions.
  • Submit your exam answers as a single file.
  • During your allotted exam time, you may update your uploaded exam answers. Note that each new file submission replaces the previous submission. No updates will be accepted after your allotted exam time.
  • Keep a copy of your exam answers in a secure and private area until your grade for the class has been posted.
• Test-Taking Equipment

  Students who use laptops, desktop computers, etc. to write take-home exams do so at their own risk of equipment or software failure. If you have such failures, immediately contact one of the following: the Office of Student Records or Office of Student Life.

• Answer Backups

  It is strongly recommended that students frequently backup their exam answers to an external device (e.g., flash drive) during a take-home examination. It is also recommended to print hard copies to a secure and private printer. After the exam, keep a copy of your exam answers until you have received a grade for the course. Protect your answers and keep them private. Sharing answers from current and past exams is prohibited.

• Exam Material Possession

  Students are allowed to physically or digitally maintain possession of the exam question packet for the duration of the examination only. The exam materials may be used only for the purposes of completing the exam. Upon expiration of your allotted exam time, the exam question packet and all of its associated files, copies of files, and physical printouts MUST be permanently deleted or destroyed.

• Problems

  Use the "Report Problem" link on the take-home exam's download/upload page if you have any problems during a take-home exam. Problems reported outside of normal business hours will be reviewed the following business day. In these instances, record when the problem started, when it was resolved (if resolved), and any additional details that might be relevant.

  If you are unable to upload your exam answers for any reason, immediately email a copy of your answers to lawrecords@umich.edu. The timestamp of the email will serve as your upload time.

• Allowed Circumstances

  When a student takes an exam outside the regularly scheduled exam room or time, this is called a "special exam." Students are eligible to take a special exam under the following circumstances:

  • Conflicting Exams: Two (2) exams scheduled at the same time
  • Back-to-Back Exams: Two (2) or more exams in consecutive exam time slots (e.g., Monday morning and Monday afternoon; Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, etc.)
  • Credit Overload: Ten (10) credit hours of exams on two consecutive calendar days during regular office hours (e.g., between 8am on Monday and 5pm on Tuesday)
  • Family or Personal Emergency: These situations may merit a special exam. For more information, see below.
• Setting Up a Special Exam

  Students should complete the Exam Rescheduling Request form by the date designated by the Registrar. The form will be open for rescheduling requests approximately one month prior to the start of the exam period. If approved, the rescheduled exam will be scheduled on a date to be determined by the Registrar. Your exam will be rescheduled as close as possible to the original exam date for the class without creating further conflicts. Requests for additional days between or "spacing out" exams will not be approved.

• Family or Personal Emergency Exam Rescheduling

  If you need to reschedule an exam due to a personal or family emergency, you must submit the Exam Emergency Rescheduling Request. Requests will be submitted to the Office of Student Life for review.

  Exam Emergency Rescheduling Request

• Other Considerations

  Midterms and early final exams are scheduled to avoid as many conflicts with classes as possible. However, students with a midterm or early final exam that is in direct conflict with a class should contact the Office of Student Records to reschedule the exam