Online Exam Guidelines - Exam period May/June 2026
5. During the Exam
5.7. IT failure
Please Note: Students taking an online exam are provided with additional time on top of the time it would take to complete the exam. This extra time has been provided to allow for any minor IT problems you might face whilst sitting the exam, as opposed to if you were to sit it in person.
Therefore it will not be possible to submit an ECs for minor IT problems.
It is also not possible for the Module Organisers or the Quallity team to extend or compensate you for any lost hours during the exam sitting.
The fit-to-sit policy is in effect for these online exams. This means that if you feel you are able to sit the exam and begin the exam then you will not be able to submit an EC should any problems arise.
If you suffer severe IT issues and are unable to submit or sit your exam then please submit an EC as soon as possible. For more information on ECs please see the following link:
For any ECs submitted, provide a full description of the issue along with supporting documentation where possible.
Check the specification of your device when taking exams, and follow the recommended minimum specification for IT equipment to be procured and used by QM students to study and take exams is as follows.
A laptop with:
- 8GB RAM
- Windows 11
- 256 GB SSD.
Connectivity should be via either:
- A broadband link with at least 10Mbps download speed and at least 1Mbps upload speed
- A 4G unlimited data plan PAYG SIM.
Note:
- It is recommended that if a broadband link is being used, the laptop is cabled directly into the router rather than relying on Wi-Fi (to improve reliability and performance)
- If you already own a device with a different specification (e.g. a hard drive that is not an SSD), that may be adequate.