Digital Skills in Undergraduate Studies: Independent Examinations and External Assessment of Digital Competencies

Exam Dates

During the backup days, exams are taken by students who:

• Were unable to take the exams at the previously scheduled time for a valid reason;
• Had their works annulled with the option to retake the exam on a backup day.

The language of the exams depends on the language of degree programme implementation: students programmes implemented solely in English or bilingually take exams in English; others take exams in Russian

Grades for the Independent Examinations are awarded on a 10-point scale and are announced no later than three weeks after the examination period ends. Please note that the grades for each individual exam are recorded in the diploma supplement, contribute to the current ranking with a weight of 3 credits, are included in the ranking for specific years of study according to the curriculum, and are considered when awarding scholarships and discounts in accordance with HSE University's local regulations.

Grade rounding rules:

• For grades above 4 points, arithmetic rounding rules apply. For example, a grade of 4.5 is rounded up to 5; 6.4 is rounded down to 6.
• For grades below 4 points, rounding is done by truncating the fractional part. For example, 3.9 is rounded down to 3.

If a student receives an unsatisfactory grade (below 4 points) in any of the exams on digital competencies, it results in an academic failure that must be cleared by the end of their studies.

The study office publishes the exam schedule 10 days before the start of the exam period on the degree programme's website and also notifies students of the date, platform, and time for each exam 3 working days before the exam date.

• Students must register for the exam on their own.
• Registration is open to students 3 weeks before the first exam slot. The date and time of the exam are chosen by the student from the available registration slots.
• No later than 3 working days before the exam, the student must enter the chosen slot in the registration forms.

If a student requires special conditions for taking exams due to medical indications, they must submit an application to the study office addressed to the vice-rector S.Yu. Roshchin no later than one month before the exams start, specifying the required conditions and providing the medical documentation as the basis for their provision.

DS exams in the current academic year are conducted online with synchronous proctoring on the edu.hse.ru platform.

Before the exam starts, the student must:

1. Familiarise themselves with the exam rules.
2. Undergo identity verification. A domestic or international passport, driver's license, or temporary Russian citizen ID is suitable.

During the exam:

• Drafts (blank paper, pen on the table), water, and medications (in a clear bag) are allowed.
• Gadgets (mobile phones, except for the one used as a camera during the exam, tablets, etc.), headphones, additional monitors, and computer equipment, reference materials (books, notes, etc.) are prohibited.

Leaving the room during the exam:

• Not allowed for Digital Literacy.
• Possible for Data Analysis and Programming once for no more than 5 minutes with the proctor's agreement. If the student is absent for more than 5 minutes, the proctor can exclude the student. In this case, the student's work is annulled.

If prohibited items are found or the student violates the exam conduct rules, the proctor has the right to remove the student from the exam.

If technical issues arise during the exam, the student can ask the proctor questions in the proctoring system chat.

DS exams can only be rescheduled for a valid reason after the registration slots have closed. To reschedule, the student must submit a free-form application via email to the study office manager before the exam starts, clearly stating the reasons for the rescheduling.

The date and/or time of the exam can be changed no more than twice during the independent examination period.

Appeals for independent examinations are not permitted.

Certain types of appeals will not be considered, including those related to:

• The layout of exam forms, settings of plugins for checking tasks, methods of task verification, and the weighting of tasks.
• Issues arising from a student’s failure to adhere to the exam requirements.
• The wording or phrasing of questions.

However, students experiencing technical issues during the exam can submit a formal request for consideration. This request must be sent to the study office of their programme via corporate email, or through the automated service, no later than 23:59 on the day of the examination. The request should clearly describe the technical problems encountered and must be supported by relevant evidence such as screenshots (including the system time they were taken), photos, or videos.

If the request is approved, the affected exam attempt will be nullified, and the student will be allowed to retake it on a designated backup day.

Students must apply to reschedule their exam at least two working days before the start of the backup period. The study office will then register the student for the exam on the backup day.

Retakes for exams in digital competencies are held during the autumn retake period.

The date for the second retake is set for the spring period of the same academic year in which the first retake occurred, or for the autumn retake period of the following academic year, as decided by those administering the examinations.

Students who missed the exam for a valid reason can take it on a backup day. If a student cannot attend the exam on a backup day for a valid reason, the study office may reschedule the exam for the autumn retake period.

A student is not permitted to participate in the final state certification if they have not resolved academic failures in independent exams in digital competencies by 1 April of their final year of study.

The upcoming retake period, initially planned for March 2024, has been rescheduled for autumn 2024.

Who and when will have the third attempt (second retake) for the exams in digital competencies:

• In September from 16.09.2024 to 20.09.2024: for students whose second retake was supposed to take place in March 2024 and who did not opt for repeated study;
• In October from 07.10.2024 to 15.10.2024: for students who chose to repeat the course and submitted applications from 01.03.2024 to 29.03.2024 or from 01.09.2024 to 06.09.2024.

To prepare for the retake of the Independent Examination in Programming for beginner and basic levels, you can independently sign up for an elective course via the link.

1. If a student has not mastered the respective courses aimed at preparation for independent examinations, the student can apply for the re-inclusion of these courses in their Individual Curriculum (IC). Then, the exam is postponed to the next year, and the postponement is not considered an academic failure.
2. If a student missed taking the exam due to being on academic leave, maternity leave, or childcare leave, he or she sequentially studies the courses for preparation for the exam as per the curriculum and takes the exam after completing them.

Should the subsequent assessment of external changes in digital competencies be lower than any of the previous external assessments by more than one point, all higher grades for the previously completed exams in digital competencies will be annulled. Consequently, the results of independent examinations and the related prerequisite courses will be reinstated in the systems. Any failed assignments resulting from such annulment will require retaking during the next period of retakes designated for such elements.

Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at HSE University

All HSE University students' curricula include courses aimed at developing digital literacy, programming skills, and data analysis capabilities. They are required to undergo independent examinations in each of these three competency areas, which help to gauge the development of digital competencies at the program and university levels. Additionally, to assess how HSE University students' digital competencies compare with those of other students across the Russian Federation, an external assessment of digital competencies is conducted.

In the 2023/2024 academic year, the external assessment applies to second-year undergraduate and specialist degree students of educational programs according to the Distribution of Educational Programs by IT Module.

The external assessment is a multi-stage process to track the competencies developed throughout the educational process. It includes:

The type and complexity of questions are consistent across all assessment stages, which helps determine the progression in competency mastery throughout the educational process.

The questions might include topics not covered directly within the "Data Culture" courses, expecting different competency levels due to varied IT module involvements, thus varying in difficulty.

The external assessment consists of both theoretical and practical parts. In the practical part, students address a problem scenario by selecting from multiple actions. There are no demo versions or specific guidelines provided for the external assessment.

Timing: Each stage of the assessment allocates either 180 or 240 minutes, depending on the IT module.

Proctoring: conducted with "standard" asynchronous proctoring, further details of which are outlined in the student instructions.

Access through Innopolis University platform; the link to the test will be provided in the SmartLMS course connected to all students enrolled in IT modules.

Login details:^* mobile phone number; full name; SNILS (or passport for foreign nationals); corporate email address ***@edu.hse.ru

^*Incorrect data entry will result in non-recognition of the work.

IT Modules and Testing Periods:

The external assessment is counted as a previously obtained grade for the independent examination in digital competencies and the related mandatory prerequisite course, if the external assessment score is higher than the independent examination and prerequisite course grades and if the current external assessment score is NOT lower than any previous assessments by more than two points.

Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at HSE University