Dear students,

Starting from Tuesday, March 31, we will be taking on a completely new challenge: an entire online exam session.

Feeling doubtful, hesitant and perplexed in such a situation is perfectly understandable. I am feeling this way myself, as I imagine many of you are.

From what I have gathered from the Admin staff and my contacts, our teaching staff are handling the situation with the utmost care. I am confident that you too, equipped as you are with that keen awareness that is intrinsic to all students in Medicine and Surgery, are doing your very best to rise to the challenge.

I want to tell you that I sincerely appreciated your position with regards to statements and actions taken by students from other Departments. We have shown that we are a tight-knit community who work together towards a shared goal, and this is something that makes me proud.

I have asked all teaching staff involved in the forthcoming exam session to acknowledge your efforts and struggles, especially as these might be made even more considerable by possible communication difficulties (with regards to exams held in English) and complications with internet connectivity. As I have already told your student representatives, I do not wish for you to be remembered as the generation who got a “free-for-all” pass mark at exams because of the pandemic. I trust you do not wish for it either. Then again, it will be up to the tact of each lecturer to carry out a fair assessment that keeps all mitigating circumstances into account by focusing on what is absolutely essential to know in each subject, while still giving academic merit its due.

I wish to reiterate that the Students Administration Office, the ICT team and myself are available to offer everybody support. Once the exam session is over, I am sure we will be able to tell ourselves that, for all the inevitable hiccups, we did our very best.

Let us move forward together.

With best wishes,

David Lembo

The Rector Decree 1097/2020, entitled “Exceptional measures for online oral exams for all students in light of the COVID-19 health emergency”, allows exams to be taken online.

Exams shall take place in the following sessions:

• All exams that did not take place between 24^th and 28^th February 2020 will be held between 31^th March and 6^th April 2020. This session is reserved for students who had registered for the February session. Therefore, registration for these exams will remain closed.
• The Easter session will take place between 16^th and 24^th April 2020, as previously planned.

The exams calendar is constantly updated. A frequent consultation of the Exams Noticeboard page (in Italian) at the UniTo website is recommended.

The Rector Decree 1097/2020, entitled “Exceptional measures for online oral exams for all students in light of the COVID-19 health emergency”, allows exams to be taken online. Further information and instructions have been posted on the webpage https://www.unito.it/ateneo/gli-speciali/coronavirus-aggiornamenti-la-comunita-universitaria/didattica-alternativa. This page will be updated regularly.

Please note that:

• Exams will take place as oral examinations via Webex. Therefore, each lecturer will plan his or her exam session depending on the number of students registered for their exam. The link to the Webex exam room will be sent to the official UniTO email accounts (firstname.lastname@edu.unito.it) of all students who have registered for the exam.
• Before each exam, students will be asked to show their ID to confirm their identity.
• Exams must be open to the public. This will be guaranteed by allowing into the meeting room all students (or a given group of students) who have registered for a given exam. At least one more student will be asked to remain connected when only one student remains to be examined. If only one student has registered for a given exam, another person that is not part of the exam committee will need to be in attendance as witness.

1. As usual, you will find the timetable with the exam dates for which you have already registered or wish to take on your MyUnito webpage.
2. Registering for the exam entails that you agree on taking the exam online, in line with the privacy guidelines available here.
3. Other students registered for a given exam date may enter the videoconference room in which the exam takes place.
4. During the exam you will be unable to use any materials (e.g., textbook) that have not been allowed by the examination panel, nor receive help from third parties. Failure to comply with these regulations will result in your exam being annulled.
5. On the exam day you will receive an e-mail message with the link for accessing the exam videoconference room. We recommend that you check that Webex works in the days prior to the exam.
6. On the exam day, click on the link you have received by email at the allotted time slot. Make sure you keep your ID with you.
7. During the exam, keep your email account open (on your mobile phone if possible) to receive any communications from your examiner (e.g., in case there are problems with connecting to the videoconference room)
8. The chair of the examination panel will check your ID.
9. Fellow students may stay to listen, but microphones must be muted.
10. At the end of the exam, the chair of the examination panel will tell you if you have passed the exam, together with your final mark. If you accept, your mark will be recorded according to the usual procedure.
11. Instructions to use Webex are available on your MyUnito page (you must be logged in to access).

• If you have a document that certifies a disability (Disability act 104/92) or a learning disorder (Learning Disorders Act 170/2010), you may apply to request reasonable adjustments to the exam. These adjustments are regulated by the aforementioned acts and will be made according to the assessed disabilities, with no alteration made to the educational aims and objectives of the exam taken. If you wish to apply for this, please fill in the form available at this link and send it to your examiner.
• If you have any questions or need clarifications, please get in contact with the Disability Services at:
  ufficio.dsa@unito.it
  ufficio.disabiliti@unito.it