Exam Guide

Exam Rules and Protocols

Please Note: This page was updated on August 19, 2024.

Announcements

The Fall 2024 December and Spring 2025 (382 KB) exam schedules are now available.

Need a space to study?  See a list of the available study rooms for Wednesday, December 18 and Thursday, December 19.

Don’t forget your NYU ID. You will need it to access the building and proctors will check it for identity verification during your exams.

Exam Rules of Conduct

All students sitting for exams are responsible for reading and complying with the exam policies section of NYU Law’s Academic Policies Guide, which is divided into the following sections:

Please refer to the course description and exam cover sheet for instructions written by the course instructor outlining the rules applicable to that course’s exam. The course description and cover sheet establish what materials and access are permissible for each exam. The Exam 4 software displays what is technically accessible, but the rules of your exam as set by your instructor may be more restrictive.

Key Differences between Exam Types

IMPORTANT: The following table highlights some of the key differences between exam types, but it is not exhaustive.  For a complete understanding of the differences between exam types, please read the Academic Policies Guide

Fixed Time & Location (In-Class) Proctored

Fixed Time & Flexible Location Computer-Proctored

Take-Home

When and Where

Students must take the exam in Law classroom at a specific time and date.

When and Where
Students must take the exam at a specified time but can take it at any available location with consistently reliable Internet access; there need be no human proctor assigned to the location.

When and Where
Students may take the exam at any time permitted for the exam (Full Period or Fixed Schedule described below) and may take the exam at any location with consistently reliable Internet access. Take-Home exams are designated as either full-period or fixed-scheduled exams:

Full-Period Take-Home exams will be available to students in Exam4 no later than the first day of the examination period, in which case the latest date and time for submitting answers to the examination will be 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the examination period.

Fixed-scheduled Take-Home exams must be taken on the scheduled day for each exam. A fixed-scheduled exam will not last longer than 8 hours. There is no window for fixed-scheduled take-home exams; the exact times noted apply.

Practice Exam
A pretest verification is required to ensure that equipment is compatible with Exam4 hardware and operating system requirements. 

Practice Exam
A pretest verification is required to ensure that equipment is compatible with Exam4 hardware and operating system requirements. 

Practice Exam
A pretest verification is required to ensure that equipment is compatible with Exam4 hardware and operating system requirements. 

Proctoring
Human proctors monitor classroom conditions and announce start and end times.  The instructor may choose to enable the Exam4 remote proctoring software; if your exam is a Fixed Time & Location exam. 

Proctoring
Students are proctored by the Exam4 remote proctor, which will require students to verify their identity and will capture images of students and their computer screens throughout the exam.

Proctoring
Except that Exam4 will record times the exam is taken and completed, students are not proctored in any way for compliance with any rule.

Access to Internet & Other Programs
Determined by faculty at the beginning of the semester. Options include:

Closed Computer (no access to Internet content or access to hard drive expect for Exam4 software)

Open Computer + Closed Network (access to all files and programs available on computer, but no access to Internet content)

Open Computer + Open Network (Internet access plus access to all files and programs on computer). Note that the software settings will not prevent students from accessing the internet or hard drive during a computer-proctored exam even if the exam rules prohibit students from doing so. The Exam4 remote proctor will, however, monitor Internet and hard drive access throughout an exam to ensure compliance with faculty instructions about permitted materials.

Access to Internet & Other Programs
Determined by faculty at the beginning of the semester. Options include:

Closed Computer (no access to Internet content or access to hard drive expect for Exam4 software) Note: unavailable beginning Fall 2023.

Open Computer + Closed Network (access to all files and programs available on computer, but no access to Internet content) Note: unavailable beginning Fall 2023.

Open Computer + Open Network (Internet access plus access to all files and programs on computer). Note that the software settings will not prevent students from accessing the internet or hard drive during a computer-proctored exam even if the exam rules prohibit students from doing so. The Exam4 remote proctor will, however, monitor Internet and hard drive access throughout an exam to ensure compliance with faculty instructions about permitted materials. Flexible location exams generally use Open Network for the purposes of exam support and access to materials.

Access to Internet & Other Programs
Exam4 software permits access to the Internet and the hard drive (Open Computer and Open Network) during the exam.

Exam Questions
Students will be provided with printed exam questions by proctors in the classroom.

Exam Questions
Students can view exam questions on multiple screens if they wish but cannot print the questions.

Exam Questions
Students may view, download, and print exam questions as they wish.

External Devices & Supplemental Hardware
Read the full rules on permitted and prohibited materials here.  Note that for a qualified laptop (no desktops, of course), a mouse or other pointing device may be used, as may a small external hard drive (such as a USB key) or an external keyboard, but no external monitor or any other peripheral or personal communication or productivity device unless expressly allowed. Nothing is permitted that will interfere with the exam experience of another student.

External Devices & Supplemental Hardware
Read the full rules on permitted and prohibited materials here.  Note that for a qualified laptop or desktop, a mouse or other pointing device may be used as may other peripherals such as an external keyboard or monitors, provided that no external device interferes with the security features of a proctored exam (a determination to be made in conjunction with an Exam4 pretest verification).

External Devices & Supplemental Hardware
Read the full rules on permitted and prohibited materials here.  Note that for a qualified laptop or desktop, a mouse or other pointing device may be used as may other peripherals such as an external keyboard or external monitors.

Copy-Paste
Students type directly into Exam4 software; copy-paste function is not available between other software and Exam4.

Copy-Paste
Students type directly into Exam4 software; copy-paste function is not available between other software and Exam4.

Copy-Paste
Students type directly into Exam4 software, but copy-paste function is available between Exam4 and other software.

Handwriting

All exam answers must be computer-typed. Handwriting exams is not permitted. 

Handwriting

All exam answers must be computer-typed. Handwriting exams is not permitted. 

Handwriting

All exam answers must be computer-typed. Handwriting exams is not permitted.