Programmes Related FAQ

The notes below are prepared for your guidance arising from queries concerning examination matters which are frequently asked by students.

Q1. Can I bring my handphone and/or pager into the examination hall?

You are allowed to bring your handphone into the examination hall. However, you must ensure that the handphone is switched off at all times. Disciplinary action will be taken against a candidate who breaches this regulation. A candidate who is caught cheating in examination is liable to be expelled from the Institute.
 
Q2. I have lost my calculator. Can I use a new one in the examination?

If in the midst of the examination period, you need to register a new calculator, you must approach the institute before you are permitted to bring it to the examination hall. The Institute cannot ascertain whether your new calculator is acceptable or not and any unregistered calculator will not be allowed into the hall.
 
Q3. I am going overseas for a tour. Can my friend obtain the results for me?

The Institute is bound by the rules of confidentiality to disclose examination results only to the student concerned. This policy protects your privacy. We therefore seek your co-operation and understanding in explaining to your parents/relatives to refrain from requesting to be given your results without proper authorizations. Should you require your parents or relatives to obtain your results on your behalf, you must authorise them to do so in writing. The onus is on you to explain this policy to your parents or relatives. This is especially so if you intend to be away in countries where communications pose a problem. Please make all necessary arrangements before you leave home. The person whom you authorise to obtain your results must call Confucius Institute, NTU in person, bringing the letter of authorizations and identity card. Requests made over the telephone will not be acceded to as identity of the person cannot be ascertained.
 
Q4. What will happen if I miss my paper? 

A student who misses any paper, whether on medical/compassionate/personal grounds, will have to re-take the subject concerned. It is to be noted that the student has to attend all lectures and submit tutorial assignments again before he is able to sit for the written examination.
 
Q5. Why are supplementary papers not offered to students who fail or miss any paper?

Under the academic unit system, students are given more choices and flexibility to progress at their own pace. Unlike the old system, they need not repeat the year if they fail or were otherwise unable to take any paper as they can take the subject again the following semester, if offered. Even if the subject is not offered, final year students may be permitted to take the subject as a restricted repeat the following semester so that their graduation will not be delayed further. A restricted repeat is almost like a supplementary exam paper except that students are given more time to prepare for the examination and the opportunity to seek help from their tutors. Besides, as there are already two main examinations in a year, there is very little time left to conduct supplementary examinations. With so many choices of subjects given to students now, a lot of University resources would be required to set the many supplementary papers and conduct the examinations within such a limited time. Moreover, most of the subjects are already offered in both the main semesters.
 
Q6. What should I do in the event I suffer an injury or illness during the examination period?

Absence from any examination because of injury/illness must be reported within 48 hours to Confucius Institute, NTU and be supported by a medical certificate (MC) and Medical Report Form, both to be issued/completed by a registered medical practitioner who must certify that you are unfit to take the examination as a result of the injury/illness. You must ensure that your medical practitioner completes and forwards the MC and Medical Report Form to the Office of Academic Services. The decision of whether to accept the Medical Report as grounds of absence is entirely at the discretion of the Director concerned. Generally, if you are mildly indisposed because of a slight illness or slight discomfort, it is advisable to take the examination(s).

Q7. What are the arrangements for my examination should I get chicken pox?

Should you contract a communicable disease (eg chicken pox, measles) during the period of the examinations, you are advised to consult either the NTU Medical Centre, a government or restructured hospital, or a government polyclinic immediately for an assessment to be made as to whether you are medically fit to sit for any or all of the subjects you are entered. If the recommendation is that you are unable to take any examination(s), your absence will be treated as absence on valid grounds. Please call the Confucius Institute, NTU at 65141063 as soon as possible and provide us with the following details - nature of illness, name, matriculation number, course/year of study, period of medical leave, contact number(s). If you do not consult any of the above for an evaluation before an examination, you are deemed to be medically fit to sit for the examination.
 
Q8. I am hospitalised. Should I take my examination? 

If for any reason you are hospitalised, call us or have someone call us immediately at 65141934 and give us the following details: your name and matriculation number, course/year of study, nature of illness/reason for hospitalisation, period of hospitalisation leave and contact number(s). As soon as possible after verbally advising us of your hospitalisation, you should arrange to send us a memo or medical certificate issued by the hospital. Generally, any student who is hospitalised is deemed too ill to take an examination and the Institute will not make arrangements for him/her to sit the paper in hospital. Under no circumstances are students allowed to take an examination in a hostel room or at home.
 
Q9. What will happen if I am too ill to finish my examination paper?

The rule is that once you have seen the examination question paper, you shall be deemed to have sat for the examination and the answer script completed or not will be marked and graded.
 
Q10.  In case a member of my family passes away in the midst of my examination, what should I do? 

In the event of a death in your immediate family (defined to include parents, siblings and grandparents), it is up to you whether or not to proceed with any scheduled examination(s). If you decide not to take the examination(s), you must submit as soon as possible a copy of the death certificate to Confucius Institute, NTU with a note giving the date of the funeral. This may be faxed to 67797859, posted or handed to the Office. Normally, absence from any examination(s) within 7 days of the event and on the day of the funeral, is accepted as valid absence on compassionate grounds.