Exams and grading

You can read about confidentiality agreements under Confidentiality and rights. Here you can also find CBS’ standard confidentiality form. Students should also read the information available about confidentiality agreements (NDA’s) on my.cbs.dk.

CBS-rules

All students have an obligation to familiarise themselves with and to observe CBS’ Rules and regulations on academic conduct, including penalties. Students are also required to have read their Programme Regulations.

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR WRITTEN SIT-IN EXAMS AT CBS, INCLUDING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC AIDS

According to the Ministerial Order no. 2271 of 1 December 2021 on University Examinations and tests (the Examination Order) and the Ministerial Order no. 864 of 14 June 2022 regarding tests and exams in business-oriented higher education, it is the responsibility of the university in question to inform and guide the students and other participants in exams about the exam rules that apply to the tests. All written sit-in exams at CBS will thus be subject to the following rules and regulations:

Introduction

1. The rules govern written sit-in exams at CBS. The students shall be obligated to keep themselves familiar with these rules and other exam rules in programme regulations, course descriptions and/or the student intranet.
(2) The students are responsible for checking their username and password prior to the exam.
(3) A violation of these rules may result in immediate dismissal from the exam and may be reported to the president as an attempt to cheat. The penalties are stated in ”Copenhagen Business School’s rules on conduct and rules on academic Integrity, including penalties”.
(4) Students are hereby notified that CBS IT uses computer surveillance during written sit-in exams with the purpose of uncovering any attempts to cheat.

Written sit-in exams
2. A written sit-in exam takes place at a specific measured space of time under the supervision of CBS’S exam invigilators. The only people who are entitled to access the exam room during a written sit-in exam are the registered examinees, the exam invigilators appointed by CBS, other administrative CBS staff, and the academic staff members from CBS who are responsible for the exam.

3. All examinees must show consideration for other examinees and CBS staff members during the exam by minimising noise and other disturbances.

4. At a written sit-in exam, the examinee shall be obligated to do the following:
1) Bring his/her CBS student ID card. If this is not possible, an official picture ID stating the person’s civil registration number must be brought, e.g. a driving license or a passport; for a foreign student an official picture ID stating the date of birth is accepted, e.g. a driver’s license or a passport. The ID must be placed on the table and be visible during the entire duration of the exam. Please, note that the digital driving license downloaded to the mobile phone cannot be used as valid picture ID at sit-in exams at CBS. The picture ID must be placed visible on the table during the exam, and as mobile phones are not allowed in the exam room, the digital driving license is not permitted at written sit-in exams.
2) Be present in the exam room no later than 15 minutes before the exam starts, at which point the doors are closed (it is recommended that the examinees arrive at the exam location 45-60 minutes before the exam starts for the exam check in). Approx. 20 minutes after the exam has started, the doors will be opened briefly – once – for any examinees who have turned up late. Such examinees will not be credited with the extra time at the end of the exam.
3) Place on the table all allowed exam aids (e.g. notes, computer, calculator, books) brought into the room by the individual examinee. This must be done no later than 15 minutes before the exam starts. In case the table is not big enough for the brought exam aids, they must be placed in the student’s bag. If a USB memory stick for upload of own notes to CBS’S PC is an allowed aid, the upload of content can take place until 15 minutes before the exam starts, at which point the USB memory stick must be placed in the examinee’s bag etc. – away from the table and out of reach. Clothes, bags, etc. must be put in a place designated by the invigilators.
4) Any mobile phones, smartwatches or other electronic objects, which can be used for communication or internet searches (except for aids, which are allowed at the specific exam), must be switched off and put in a place designated by the invigilators. Such equipment is not allowed out of the examinee’s bag etc. inside the actual exam room.
5) Watches must be removed and placed in the student’s bag.
a. Depositing the equipment is at the examinee’s own responsibility and risk
6) For contract to the IT Support, please press the IT Help Request icon.
7) If the examinee wishes to leave the exam before the time is up e.g. due to illness, the examinee must contact an exam invigilator, who will inform the examinee of the procedure. The exam questions must not be taken outside the exam room until the exam has ended.
8) If the examinee wishes to submit “a blank” instead of an actual exam paper/answer, the examinee must use the function “Submit blank” in Digital Exam. The examinee must then contact an invigilator to be granted permission to leave the exam.
9) When submitting digitally in Digital Exam:
a. Finish uploading within the official duration of the exam. If upload takes place after expiration of the exam time, it will require a dispensation to have the exam answers assessed. If dispensation is not granted, a ‘-3’ will be registered, and one exam attempt has been used.
b. State the student number on all uploaded documents. The student number must also be included in the names of all uploaded files.
10) Follow the instructions of the exam invigilators.

5. At a written sit-in exam, the examinee is not allowed to do the following:
1) Leave the exam room during the first and the last 30 minutes of the official exam time.
2) Leave the exam room unless the examinee has to go to the toilet. When going to the toilet, the examinee’s ID must be left at the examinee’s exam station. At the beginning of the exam, the invigilators may inform the examinees that another rule applies.
3) Leave the exam room to smoke or buy food or drinks.
4) Bring papers, notes or the like to the toilet, or have a conversation during a toilet visit.
5) Borrow exam aids from fellow examinees unless the invigilators explicitly allow this.
6) Communicate in any way with other examinees or other persons.
7) Have a mobile phone or similar available; this also applies before the exam starts.
8) Listen to music etc., not even with headphones.
9) At exams with Digital Exam submission, it is not allowed to ask for IT support during the first 30 minutes of the exam time if the enquiry concerns uploading the exam submission.
10) Type or make corrections or add text to his her exam submission after the exam time has expired.
11) Remove screen filters from CBS’S computers.
12) Talk to other students in the exam room during or after the exam.

Exam aids at written sit-in exams
6. At written sit-in exams it is not allowed to bring exam aids, including electronic exam aids, except any aids stated as allowed aids in the course description of the individual exam.
(2) Bringing exam aids that are not allowed is considered cheating and will be reported regardless of whether or not the aids are used during the exam.

7. Electronic aids means all types of computers, calculators, mobile phones, smart watches  and other types of electronic aids that are able to type, save or calculate.
(2) CBS does not supply any facilities to enable the use of these electronic devices, including electricity.
(3) CBS does not offer any technical assistance to any electronic equipment brought by the examinees. The student will not be credited with more minutes or a re-take exam if he/she is experiencing technical difficulties using his/her own equipment.

8. The allowed electronic aids may not:
1) Be used for communication with other examinees or other persons.
2) When it is a calculator, be used for accessing the internet.
3) Be used by anyone but the examinee who has brought the aids in question. Consequently, it is not allowed to lend an exam aid to another examinee unless an invigilator specifically has allowed it.
4) Have screens or displays with a size that allows other examinees to see what is on it.
5) Transmit sound or in any other way cause significant noise nuisance to other examinees.

Exam invigilation
9. The general task of the exam invigilators is to ensure that the rules and regulations applying to the individual exam are complied with, including the regulations about which exam aids are allowed at the
individual exam, and to ensure that CBS’S “Rules and regulations on academic conduct, including penalties and other rules” are complied with.

10. The tasks and powers of the exam invigilators are as follows:
1) To designate seats in the exam room.
2) To close the doors no later than 15 minutes before the exam starts, so that the exam can begin in an orderly manner.
3) Approx. 20 minutes after the exam has started, to open the doors briefly for examinees who have turned up late. The doors will only be opened once. When the doors have been closed again, no further examinees can be allowed access to the exam room.
4) To inform the examinees of the time when the exam starts, and at exams of a during of 2 hours or more inform when there are 30 minutes left.
5) To exclude any examinee who has violated the CBS’s rules on conduct and rules on academic integrity or these rules and regulations for written sit-in exams, including any examinee who has brought exam aids that are not allowed at the exam in question. This applies even if the brought exam aid has not been used during the exam. Exclusion from an exam entails that the student will be reported to the president for cheating or for violation of the rules of conduct.
6) To note the name and student number of an examinee who contacts an invigilator or an IT-supporter and to note what the enquiry was concerned with. The purpose of this is that in case of an exam complaint, it is registered if there were problems at the exam in question and for the individual examinees.
7) To note the name and student number of an examinee who contacts an invigilator due to acutely occurred illness, see the rules concerning illness during an exam (available on this page).
8) To control the examinees’ exam aids to check that the rules for the exam are being complied with. In case of any doubt, the exam invigilators are allowed to keep the exam aid in question after the exam for control purposes.
a) Including doing random checks for mobile phones and other electronic aids, for instance, USB memory sticks and whether calculators are used for accessing the internet.

Copenhagen Business School, 18 September 2023
Bitta Nielsen

Director of the Programme Administration

Read below about allowed aids at written sit-in exams:

Other exam rules

Rules on online ORAL exams

According to sec. 8 in the examination order (order no. 22 of 9 January 2020, with subsequent amendments):

The university may arrange exams as video conferences or by other technical aids. The university must make sure that the safety measures in connection with the examination corresponds to normal measures for these examinations.

The examiner acts as invigilator at the online oral exam. Before the exam can begin, the examiner must:
– check that the student is alone i a closed room and ask the student to scan the room and
– check the student’s ID or other valid photo ID.

At group exams the group may sit in the same room during the examination.

Examinees are not allowed to record the examination.

Suspicion of violation of the exam rules
Th internal or external examiner may at any time during the examination ask the student to scan the room if it is suspected that other persons than the examinee/group are present in the room. If an examiner suspects that other persons than the examinee/group are in the room, or that the examinee is communicating digitally, the exam is to be continued as normal. When the exam is over, the examiner presents the suspicion to the student and withholds the grade. The internal examiner then reports the student to the CBS President (via CBS Legal) for suspicion of violation of the exam rules according to normal procedure.

Copenhagen Business School, 30 November 2020
Bitta Nielsen
Director

Rules for attending make-up exams in master programmes at CBS

In pursuance of s. 18a of Ministerial Order no. 670 of 24 June 2014 regarding University Examinations and Grading (the Examination Order), the following rules for attending make-up exams in the master programmes at CBS are laid down:

A. Right to attend a make-up exam
The student is entitled to attend a make-up exam, if he or she can document that he or she is prevented from attending the ordinary exam due to illness or equivalent distress. This shall only apply to ordinary exams; any student who due to illness has been prevented from attending a make-up exam shall wait until the next ordinary examination.

Illness is treated the same as serious illness in the immediate family and accidents.

Other extraordinary circumstances which have prevented the student from attending an ordinary exam shall be presented to the programme director for a decision.

Times for make-up exams will be announced by the programme in question.

Attending a make-up exam shall not count as an exam attempt.

B. Procedure

1. Students unable to attend the examination
The student shall submit a medical report covering the examination in question as soon as possible and no later than 8 days after the ordinary exam. The student must specify which examination the medical report is covering.

Emergency room records, hospital tickets, or other proper documentation from a medical authority are equivalent to a medical report.

Documentation for illness or equivalent distress shall be submitted to the programme secretariat in question.

In some cases, physicians have refused to write a medical report referring to the rule that a medical report only can be issued on the 4th day of illness, cf. general legislation. The Danish Medical Association has confirmed to CBS that medical reports to be used for examinations and the like is subject to an exemption clause and is issuable on the 1st day of illness.

The student is responsible for registering for the make-up exam within the deadline, unless the programme regulations stipulate an automatic registration for the make-up exam.

2. Students having to discontinue an already commenced examination

2.1 Written examination
Any student who has accepted the examination assignment is considered as having attended the examination.

In exceptional cases, where a student falls ill during the examination, he or she must do the following:

  1. The exam invigilator must be informed that the student is leaving the exam room due to illness.
  2. The student must immediately (the same day or no later than the following weekday) contact a physician and require a medical report which states that the physician finds it probable that the student had to discontinue the examination due to illness.
  3. The necessary documentation must be submitted in accordance with the procedure in B.1. as soon as possible; however, no later than 1 week after the ordinary examination.
  4. If the submitted medical report states that the student has fallen ill during the examination, the submitted exam answer shall not be assessed. The student may attend the make-up exam and will be exempted from the rule whereby failure to attend an examination counts as an examination attempt.

2.2 Oral examination
Any student who has accepted the examination assignment is considered as having participated in the examination.

In exceptional cases, where a student falls ill during the examination, he or she must do the following:

  • The examiner must be informed that the student is leaving the exam room due to illness.
  • The procedure described in 2.1. (2-4) regarding written examinations must then be followed.

The student is responsible for registering for the make-up exam within the deadline, unless the programme regulations stipulate an automatic registration for the make-up exam.

Copenhagen Business School
24 November 2015

Jan Molin
Dean of Education

Rules for written examinations conducted abroad FOR diploma and master students at CBS

In pursuance of ss. 23 and 24 of Ministerial Order no. 18 of 9 January 2020 on examinations in vocational higher education and up to ss. 11 and 12 of Ministerial Order no. 22 of 9 January 2020on examination and grading at universities (the Examination Order), the following rules for written and oral examinations abroad for diploma and master students at CBS are laid down.

The rules apply to examinations, which, in pursuance of the exam provisions in the programme regulations, are to be conducted as written sit-in examinations at CBS.

1. Upon the request of a student, CBS may conduct examinations at a Danish representation (embassy or consulate) or at a different location abroad such as e.g. a partner university, if the student for practical or financial reasons is unable to participate in the university’s examinations in Denmark, and if the exam location in question agrees to this.
(2) In this context, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also considered to be locations abroad.

2. The programme director shall decide whether the conditions for holding the examination abroad are met, cf. s. 1.
(2) It is also a precondition that the programme director finds that the examination in question can be carried out satisfactorily in accordance with the provisions in ss. 3-4, and that the examination provisions allow individual examinations.

3. The exam must take place simultaneously with the corresponding examination at CBS. If there are extraordinary circumstances, the programme director may grant an exemption from this requirement, in which case a separate assignment must be prepared for the examination abroad.

4. The programme director shall appoint or approve invigilators or other persons to organise the practical aspects of conducting written examinations abroad and to stay with the student during the entire examination.
(2) Persons working for or otherwise affiliated to a company in which the student is employed, holds an internship or the like, normally cannot be appointed or accepted as invigilators. It is also not allowed that the invigilator has personal or family relations with the examinee.
(3) Examinations abroad must take place in accordance with the provisions of the Examination Order and the programme regulations in general. The representation/institution must therefore ensure that the examination is conducted in accordance with the same terms as those at CBS, including no access for unauthorised persons during the examination and no use of unauthorised exam aids.

5. The student shall pay the special costs associated with the examination in question, including payroll costs associated with invigilators and other persons involved in conducting the examination at the exam location.
(2) Prior to the examination, the student shall forward a written confirmation of his or her willingness to pay the costs in question to CBS and the exam location, cf. subsection (1).
(3) In accordance with subsection (1), the student shall settle the accounts directly with the exam location.
(4) When conducting examinations at Danish representations abroad, the Ministerial Order on Payment for the Services of Civil Servants Serving Abroad (Bekendtgørelse om betaling for tjenestehandlinger i udenrigstjenesten) applies.

6. Unless otherwise agreed, CBS shall pay the special costs associated with the planning and holding of the examination. In case of extraordinarily large costs, CBS may in an individual case ask the student to pay part of or all costs associated with the examination in question. This is especially the case, if a separate assignment needs to be prepared for the exam, cf. s.3. If so, it is a condition that the student has made a written declaration of his or her willingness to pay the costs in question on the basis of CBS’ estimate of the amount. CBS may make it a condition for conducting the examination that the amount is paid in advance.

7. When conducting examinations abroad, the following also applies:

  1. Well in advance and no later than 2 months before the time of the examination, the student must contact the relevant programme secretariat and indicate which examination he or she wishes to take abroad. Under special circumstances the deadline may be extended, e.g. if the examination times initially announced are changed.
  2. The student shall establish and facilitate contact between the exam location and CBS.
  3. The exam location shall appoint a person (specified by name), whom CBS can contact.
  4. The programme director shall then make an assessment of whether the conditions for conducting the examination abroad are met, cf. s. 2, and inform the student hereof.
  5. If accepted that the examination is conducted abroad, the Programme Administration shall inform the student about the conditions, including the financial conditions, cf. ss. 5 and 6.

CBS, 5 July 2021
Gregor Halff
Dean of Education

Legislation

Legislation in English
Only few of the acts and ministerial orders etc. in force exist in an English translation. If there is no English version or if only a historic version of the act/ministerial order exists, the Danish version is available instead.

CBS-staff should use the Danish page.

Examination Order (in Danish), Ministerial Order on University Examinations and Grading – Bekendtgørelse om eksamen og censur ved universitetsuddannelser

Grading Scale Order (in Danish), Ministerial Order on the Grading Scale and Other Forms of Assessment of Study Programmes Offered under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science – Bekendtgørelse om karakterskala og anden bedømmelse ved uddannelser på Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriets område

Bekendtgørelse om afgivelse af erklæringer m.v.

Additional information

Additional information is available on the Danish version of this page. Caseworkers can find memorandums etc. in the caseworker forum on:

  • information about when the external examiner fails to show up
  • information about overall assessment of a written product and the oral performance (overall evaluation)
  • the rejection of a written exam product which does not fulfill the form or layout requirements
  • when an examiner can change a grade.

Students can find information about exam complaints and appeals on my.cbs.dk.