Taking Law School Exams
Exams are administered by the Law School Office of the Registrar.

I. General Guidelines
II. Laptop Exam Guidelines
III. Hand Writing Exam Guidelines
IV. Take Home Exam Guidelines
V. Scheduling Special Examinations
VI. Questions

I. General Guidelines

1. You need a computer generated exam identification number (ExamID) for each exam. To obtain your list of ExamID numbers:
Go to the Law school web site www.law.umich.edu
Click on Current students
Click on Registrar’s Office
Click on "Exam Identification Numbers, Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail), and Bar Selection"
Enter your unique name and password at the login page
Click on "View my Exam ID’s for the…"
If you have any trouble, please contact us via e-mail at lawrecords@umich.edu or stop by the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 Hutchins Hall, as soon as possible.

2. Please refer to the Winter 2005 Final Exam Schedule for dates, times, and rooms for your exams (the Final Exam Schedule will be posted by the end of March). The Tentative Exam Schedule is currently posted in the lobby of the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 Hutchins Hall; on the first floor bulletin board across from the elevator; available via the touch-screen kiosks located in the computer lab, Reading Room, and student lounge; and on the Law School Registrar’s Office Web site.

3. Report to the exam room twenty-five (25) minutes prior to the exam start time.

4. The proctor will provide exam procedure information. Pay special attention to these announcements!

5. Law school exams are anonymous, and self-identification of any kind is not permitted. NEVER put your name, class level or personal comments (which might identify you) anywhere on your exam materials.

6. Sit every other seat in the exam room.

7. Do not converse in the exam room.

8. Students must turn-off the ringers/buzzers on all watches, cell phones, Palm Pilots, and pagers. Cell phones, Palm Pilots, and pagers must be stored out of sight.

9. Walkman, radios, and other types of tape-recording/playing equipment are not permitted in exam rooms. Students may not listen to music during the exam.

10. Briefcases, knapsacks, backpacks, and purses must be kept on the floor, at the owner’s feet, during the exam.

11. Any materials taken into an exam room must remain in clear sight of the proctor.

12. Your exam will be given to you face down; do not turn over the exam until you are told to do so by the proctor.

13. When the exam requires you to complete a computer scantron sheet, drop the "E" (this is the only time you will do this) and write your ExamID number in the lower left section under "UM ID Number" and blacken the appropriate circles.

14. Report immediately to the proctor if you become ill during the exam. Do not wait until the exam is over.

15. Some Law School clocks do not function properly. Rely on the proctors as the official timekeepers.

16. If you arrive after the exam has started, do not try to enter the exam room, go directly to the Registrar’s Office, 300 Hutchins Hall, to see one of the Assistant Deans of Students.

17. You may leave the exam room without permission from the proctor. Do not take the exam or any materials with you.

18. Report problems (general or personal) to the proctor.

19. Report cheating or other significant complaints to the proctor.

20. At the approach of the end of the exam, a thirty (30) minute warning and a ten (10) minute warning will be announced.

21. When the "STOP TYPING or STOP WRITING" command is given, you must stop typing or writing immediately! Failure to stop upon the final command will result in charges of exam procedure violation and the extra time will be reported to the professor.

22. At the end of the exam, if you still need to write your exam information on the diskette label, write your exam information on the bluebooks, number the bluebooks, write your exam identification number (ExamID) on exam questions, etc., you must do so in front of the proctor when you hand in your exam materials.

23. You must form a single line to turn in your exam materials to the proctor.

24. Noise is distracting. Once you have handed your disk/bluebooks to the proctor, return to your seat, quietly collect your belongings and leave the exam room. Care should be taken not to slam doors or make noise when leaving the exam room. Do not loiter in the hallway to talk with fellow students. Clear the hallway as quickly as possible. Be considerate of fellow students who are still taking exams!

II. Laptop Exam Guidelines

1. Students are responsible for providing their own equipment.

2. You must use a PC for a laptop exam. If you do not have a PC or yours is broken, consider renting a laptop from Computer Alley (4395 Jackson Rd., 734.769.8230) or borrowing one from a friend. You may use any laptop on which the current version of the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) exam software has been installed and successfully activated. Apple laptops cannot be used to take laptop exams.
Rented or Borrowed Laptops: If you are renting or borrowing a laptop to take EBB exams, please see an IT staff member to move all exams taken on that laptop to the network before returning the laptop to its owner or vendor.

3. Please see the EBB Web site under "EBB General Information" for technical and minimum system requirements.

4. Wireless cards are not required, but they are strongly recommended. Wireless cards are recommended so that your exam can be saved to a third location: the Law School network. If you do not have a wireless card in your laptop, the exam will be saved to your hard drive automatically every 30 seconds during the exam and to the disk or flash drive at the end of the exam, but not to the network. Internet access is normally not permitted during any exam (unless the professor specifically requests it,but that's rare).
NEW for Winter 2005: Student access to the Law School's wireless network will be controlled by the Law School's Information Technology department during the exam period. For example, during the block of time that you are scheduled to be taking an in-class exam, your wireless access may be restricted to FTP exam file transfer only (no Internet).

5. Bring your AC plug-in cord. Do not rely on your battery!

6. Make sure your battery is fully charged, in case you need it as a back-up.

7. Please mute your speaker volume before the start of an exam.

8. You must have a 3.5" floppy or Zip drive and the capability to save to a disk ­OR­ you must have a CD writable drive (Windows XP is required for the CD option) ­OR­ your laptop must have a USB port if you choose to use a USB flash/pen drive [hereinafter "flash drive"].

9. One formatted 3.5" floppy disk, Zip disk (100mb or 250mb), or CD will be provided to you at the exam. You should not bring your own floppy disk, Zip disk, or CD.

10. Flash drives will not be provided. The use of a flash drive is optional. If you choose this option, you must provide one flash drive for each laptop exam (8 MB is sufficient). The recommended resource for affordable flash drives is the U-M Computer Showcase located in the basement of the Michigan Union (e.g., 32MB Lexar Jump Drive for $14). Flash drives will be returned to you after the exam period ends. In the exam room, please insert your flash drive into the USB port prior to turning on your laptop so that the drive is recognized at start-up. At the conclusion of the exam, please follow the proctor’s specific instructions about when and how to remove your flash drive. The proctor will supply you with a labeled anti-static plastic bag in which you will place your flash drive at the end of the exam.

11. Saving to CD (WinXP users only): If you have a CD writable drive AND Windows XP you may choose to save your exam on CD. CDs will be provided by the proctor at the exam. Please note that writing to a CD takes longer than if you were saving to a disk ­ please be patient while your exam is written to the CD.
NEW for Winter 2005: We are discouraging the use of CDs for saving exams (instead, we suggest flash drives, which are provided by the student -- see item #10 above regarding flash drives) but we will continue to support CD saving THIS TERM ONLY. After the Winter 2005 term, saving exams to CD will no longer be an option.

12. NEW: Winter 2005 is the last term for CD, floppy & Zip drive saving. Support for CDs, floppies, and Zip drives are being phased out -- we will continue to support CD, floppy, and Zip drive saving THIS TERM ONLY. Next semester, students may only use flash drives to save EBB exams.

13. Laptop exam takers with Zip drives: If you have a 750 Zip drive, please ask for a 250mb Zip disk when the proctor hands out the disks. A 100mb Zip disk will be given to you unless you specifically request a 250mb disk.

14. External drives: If you use an external floppy, Zip, CD, or flash drive for your exams, make sure to plug it into the port prior to turning on your laptop so that the drive is recognized at start-up. Please make sure to test your External Drive with the EBB exam software prior to taking an actual exam!

15. Students must install and activate the current version of the Electronic Bluebook (EBB) software by the DEADLINE: April 19, 2005, at NOON. The EBB Web site address is: http://cgi2.www.law.umich.edu/EBBTest/Home.aspx. If you have not successfully activated EBB on your laptop by the deadline, plan to hand write your exams. After successfully validating two EBB test files on the EBB Web site, you will receive a "key" code to activate the EBB software for taking laptop exams. The EBB Web site is the only location from which you can download the current version of the EBB software; prior versions of EBB will not be usable for the Winter 2005 exam period.

16. We have the Electronic Bluebook program available on CD for those of you who are unable to download EBB through the Internet. By the April 19th-Noon deadline, bring your laptop to the Law School Registrar’s Office, 300 Hutchins Hall, to sign out a CD and load the program. You cannot remove this CD from the lobby area of the Registrar’s Office. After installation, you may submit EBB test files for validation and complete the EBB activation process using one of the computer terminals located in the Registrar’s Office lobby.

17. You will be required to test EBB in both Blocked and Unblocked mode, even if you are not taking both types of exams. The purpose of submitting the test files for validation on the EBB Web site is to confirm that your laptop works well with EBB and produces valid files (with all of your exam answers intact).

18. Unblocked means that you can access files on your laptop for research during the exam. Blocked means that you won’t be able to access files on your laptop during the exam.
NEW for Winter 2005: If you have a wireless card, please turn it ON for both types of exams (Blocked AND Unblocked), log in to the Law School wireless network (prior to starting up EBB), and keep the Bluesocket pop-up box open while taking an EBB exam so that the exam can be saved to the Law School network.

19. Please consult the Final Exam Schedule to find out what type of laptop usage is allowed, if any, for each of your exams. The Final Exam Schedule will indicate whether an exam is "Laptop-Blocked," "Laptop-Unblocked," "NLA" (No Laptop Allowed) or "Laptop for Research Only."

20. You must use a laptop computer on which the current version of the EBB software has been installed and successfully activated to take your final exams. Any settings you change on your laptop subsequent to EBB activation should be changed back prior to taking an exam using EBB.

21. Set up a "Laptop Exams" Power Settings Profile and make sure to select it before taking a laptop exam. This is very important to minimize the chance of your laptop freezing during an exam. Power Settings Profile set-up instructions are available on the EBB Web site. Additional instructions are available on the EBB Web site: "EBB Testing Instructions," "Important EBB FAQs," "EBB Safety Tips."

22. NEW: What to Do in the Event of a Computer Problem at an Exam:
In an effort to minimize the instances where students who intended to type their exam in EBB must resort to hand writing in bluebooks due to laptop failure at an exam, the Law School is now offering students the opportunity to type the remainder of their exam in EBB. Students may still choose to hand write in bluebooks if they wish -- bluebooks will continue to be available from the proctor at laptop exams in case of laptop failure.

Please note: It may still be necessary to continue hand writing the exam in bluebooks, but we will make our best effort to allow students to type the remainder of the exam in EBB.

a. Computer Problems PRIOR to the Start of the Exam:
If you receive drive error messages you should obtain a new disk from the proctor OR try saving to an alternate drive if you have one (i.e. you are not locked in to using the drive that you used to test EBB). If two new disks are tried and you are still receiving error messages, if EBB won't open, or if the laptop crashes prior to the start of the exam, you may elect to obtain a Computer-Problem Form from the proctor that you will take to the Registrar's Office for assistance. You should not leave the exam room with any paper exam materials. You should:
return to the proctor any paper exam materials that you received;
obtain a completed Computer-Problem Form from the proctor;
collect your belongings (including laptop and saving device/disk) and report to the Registrar's Office (300 HH).
b. Computer Problems DURING the Exam:
LIMITATION: You only have the option to type the remainder of your exam in EBB until 30 minutes prior to the end of the exam. If computer problems occur when there are LESS THAN 30 minutes left in the exam, you must obtain bluebooks from the proctor and continue hand writing your exam (LawIT assistance will be provided after the exam has ended).

In order to be eligible for the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB, you MUST try the EBB Recovery Feature at least once. The EBB Recovery Feature allows students to restart their laptop, re-open EBB, and continue typing from where they left off. If the EBB Recovery Feature does not work (i.e. laptop will not restart, EBB will not re-open, OR the previously typed text does not reappear [YOUR WORK IS PROBABLY NOT LOST]),then you may elect to obtain a Computer-Problem Form from the proctor that you will take to the Registrar's Office for assistance. LawIT staff will recover and print the previously typed portion of the exam and best efforts will be made to provide you with the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB. You should not leave the exam room with any paper exam materials (a Registrar's Office staff member will retrieve them from the proctor). You should:
return to the proctor any paper exam materials that you received;
obtain a completed Computer-Problem Form from the proctor;
collect your belongings (including laptop and saving device/disk) and report to the Registrar's Office (300 HH).
In the event of laptop failure, you may choose to continue hand writing in bluebooks instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to type the remainder of your exam in EBB. Bluebooks will be available from the proctor for this purpose. You may obtain bluebooks from the proctor, return to your seat, and continue hand writing your exam.

c. Computer Problems at the END of the Exam:
LawIT staff will be available to assist you in the exam room after the exam has ended, as in the past.

Caution: There is no guarantee that your exam answers will always be recoverable in every situation -- this is true no matter what computer testing program you use. Any time you use a computer you take some risk of an error occurring that cannot be corrected regardless of the best efforts made.

23. "Number of Sections": Prior to the start of the exam, the proctor will tell you the number of "sections" in the exam. You must input this number when logging into a laptop exam. If the number is 1, your EBB screen will not have section tabs and you will be expected to place page breaks between your exam answers. If the number is 2 or higher, your EBB screen will have section tabs, and you will be directed to enter your answers in one of two ways: (1) one question per section tab (e.g., type answer to question 1 in "Section 1" tab, type answer to question 2 in "Section 2" tab, etc.); OR refer to exam copy for specific groupings of questions per section tab (e.g., type answer to question 1 in "Section 1" tab, type answers to questions 2, 3 & 4 in "Section 2" tab).

24. Students must use the assigned class number and their associated ExamID number when logging into a laptop exam. The class number can be found on the Exam Schedule and will also be written on the board in the exam room. You have a different ExamID for each exam and you must bring this "E" number with you to the exam.

25. You will receive further laptop exam instructions from the proctor and it is imperative that you follow every instruction when it is given. Do not start the exam until the proctor tells you to so do. Starting prematurely will result in charges of exam procedure violation and the extra time will be reported to the professor.

26. If you need to leave your seat for any reason, please be careful not to dislodge any cords in the room.

27. Please check your e-mail during the exam period! If there is a problem printing your exam, the Law School Registrar's Office will notify you the same day to bring in your laptop for exam recovery.


III. Hand Writing Exam Guidelines

1. Bring your own unused bluebooks to write exams. Bluebooks must be 8 ½" x 11" and can be purchased at any of the bookstores that sell textbooks. You should write on every other line and only on the front of each page unless instructed otherwise by the professor or proctor.

2. Prior to the beginning of the exam, the proctor will tell you when to write your exam information on the bluebooks.

3. Do not write your name on the bluebooks.

4. If you use only one bluebook, number the cover "1 of 1." If you use more than one bluebook, number the cover of each bluebook in the pattern "1 of 4, 2 of 4, 3 of 4," etc.

5. If the professor requires the use of a pad of paper instead of bluebooks, a pad of paper will be provided. Do not bring your own pad of paper.

6. If the laptop exam takers are using the Unblocked EBB software, which allows them to access their notes during the exam, the hand writers may bring their laptops to an Unblocked exam to use for research only (i.e., accessing notes) -- this applies only to Unblocked exams, not Blocked exams. Please see the Final Exam Schedule to find out if a particular exam is "Laptop-Blocked," "Laptop-Unblocked," "NLA" (No Laptops Allowed), or "Laptops for Research Only."

7. Hand writers should report to the appropriate exam room (by alpha split) as listed on the Final Exam Schedule.
For Laptop-Unblocked and Laptop-Blocked exams, hand writers may choose to stay in the laptop exam room -OR- check-out an exam from the laptop exam proctor to take to the new combined-exam Writing Room. Electrical outlets are not provided in the Writing Room, so students wishing to use their laptop for research (i.e., accessing notes) during an Unblocked exam should bring an extra laptop battery -OR- stay in the laptop exam room where an outlet will be provided. The exam check-out procedure for hand writers will vary depending on the exam. The laptop exam proctor will announce specific instructions for hand writers.
For NLA (No Laptops Allowed) and Laptops for Research Only exams, all students will take the exam in the scheduled exam room(s) (i.e., the option to go to the new combined-exam Writing Room will not be provided).

IV. Take-Home Exams

1. Pick-up and return take-home exams from the exam proctor at the Main Desk in the Reading Room.

2. Bring identification to show the proctor when picking-up and returning take-home exams.

3. Do not use Electronic Bluebook software for take-home exams.

4. Please keep track of your take-home examination questions. If you do not, other students who have not yet taken the exam may inadvertently find them.

5. Do not use the outside rooms in the computer lab, Room 200, to work on your take-home exam. You can use the interior carrels (with the fabric walls) on a space available basis.

6. You must return the take-home exam questions AND two (2) copies of your exam answers to the exam proctor.

7. WARNING: Students who use laptops, word processors, desktop computers, etc., to write take-home exams do so at their own risk of mechanical failures. If you have a mechanical failure, contact Dean Baum, 734.764.0516, or Dean Johnson, 734.936.0776, as soon as possible.

V. Scheduling Special Examinations

Please refer to the Final Exam Schedule for updated exam information. According to the Academic Regulations as listed in the Student Handbook, students are eligible to take a final exam at a time other than the scheduled time for reasons listed below. Arrangements for special exams may not be made by e-mail. Exams may be rescheduled for the following reasons:
Two (2) exams scheduled at the same time
Three (3) exams in consecutive exam periods (morning, afternoon, morning OR afternoon, morning, afternoon)
Ten (10) credit hours of exams in a 48-hour period (students should interpret the "48-hour" period as meaning two consecutive calendar days during regular office hours, e.g. 8:00 a.m. Monday to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday)
Students should make an appointment to see Debby Hartranft or Jack Atkinson in the Law School Registrar's Office, 300 Hutchins Hall. These routine changes should be arranged during the last week of classes and should be completed by the last day of classes.
An illness or death in the family, illness of the student, or other compelling circumstances may merit a change in exam scheduling.
Please contact either:

David Baum, Assistant Dean of Students (Marilyn, Room 301, Hutchins Hall, 734.764.0516)

Charlotte Johnson, Assistant Dean of Students (Trudy, Room 313B, Hutchins Hall, 734.936.0776)

VI. Questions

If you have any questions please contact Debby Hartranft by phone at 734.647.7589 or by e-mail at dmhart@umich.edu.
 

Summer And Fall 2005 Registration And Drop/Add Calendar
Round Two results e-mailed to students on Friday, May 6.

Students must have financial holds removed by: Monday, April 25
               * If you have a financial hold (a negative service indicator) or on your record when the PRS data is loaded into M-Pathways, your temporarily reserved law classes will not load, your class schedule will be gone, and you will not be ¡§officially¡¨ enrolled at the University!
              * After your financial obligation is finally paid and the hold removed, you will have to create a class schedule with whatever classes are available at the time.

Drop/Add Period uses the University's Wolverine Access System:

Summer and Fall 2005:
Drop/Add begins Monday, May 23 at 8:00 AM
(Can add your name to the bottom of a waitlist for seminars, clinics, and practice/simulation courses.)

Summer 2005:
Drop/Add ends Monday, May 23 at 5:00 PM (one day only)

Fall 2005:
Waitlist Drop/Add begins Tuesday, September 6 at 8:00 AM
(Seat offers extended for seminars, practice/simulation courses, and clinics)

Fall 2005:
ALL Drop/Add activity ends Wednesday, September 14 at 5:00 PM


As always, we will be available for questions during business hours in room 300 HH or you can contact us by email at lawrecords@umich.edu.

Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail)
Law students make their limited grade option (pass/fail) elections for law courses ONLINE at the Law School Registrar's Office Web site. Do NOT use Wolverine Access to elect pass/fail! Wolverine Access does NOT correctly reflect pass/fail elections for law students. Please go to:

• Law School Registrar's Office Web site www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/registration
• Click on "Exam Identification Numbers, Limited Grade Option (Pass/Fail), and Bar Selection"
• You will be presented with a login page where you will use your uniqname and password
Click on "View my Pass/Fail Elections for the...
On the left-side you will see the Pass/Fail column where you will click on the graded or limited grade option (pass/fail) link to change the election for that class. The link will say past deadline if it is after the listed pass/fail deadline.

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