Requirements for the e-EQE 2021 [Updated 20/02/2021]

 A document "Requirements for the e-EQE 2021" has been published on the e-EQE website today, together with a new User Guide and new Tips for candidates.

In today's (28/01/2021) information session it was indicated that there will also be new "Instructions to the candidates". Nothing special is to be expected with respect to the changes - the changes are what follows naturally from the switch from an exam hall exam to the e-EQE.

[Update 20/02/2021]: 
The e-EQE website has been updated with:

  • New "Instructions to candidates concerning the conduct of the EQE 2021"
  • new "Code of conduct for the e-EQE
to replace and supplement parts of OJ 2019, Suppl 2 Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives.

Also note the document "Step by step to the e-EQE" on the e-EQE website,

The "Requirements"-document provides the following information (cited integrally; reformatted and emphasis added):

Requirements for the e-EQE 2021

Preamble

This document defines the requirements necessary to take the EQE online (e-EQE).

A flow refers to a sequence of processes and events associated to an examination that include writing and submitting the answer to an examination paper or a part thereof.

1. Your environment

  • The room must be suitable for an examination in terms of light, temperature and noise.
  • Room doors must remain closed during the examination.
  • Please cover any see-through wall or door in the room through which another person might be able to see your screen.
  • Any window, mirror or other shiny or glossy surface or parts of these which are located behind you (i.e. facing the screen) must be covered.

  • There must not be any light source pointed at the camera from behind you (image must be clean).
  • The background behind you in the image must not have any portraits with faces visible to the camera.

  • Listening to the radio or playing any other sound or music is not allowed.
  • Standard, non-electric/non-electronic desk accessories are allowed (notepaper, pens, pencils, etc.).
  • Apart from the computer system (screen, keyboard, mouse, etc.), router and printer needed to take the examination, no other electronic devices (e.g. calculators, digital watches, smartphones and smartwatches) are permitted unless explicitly allowed by the Examination Secretariat in advance.

  • You may use any printed materials, e.g. books, and any documents you consider useful for answering the examination papers.

  • Food, drink and medicines are allowed.

  • You must be alone in the room. No other person is allowed to be in or enter the room during the examination.

2. Hardware

  • The microphone must capture the sound around you and must be connected and active throughout the examination.

  • The camera should be positioned centred above or below the frame of the active screen, but not more than 5 cm away from it. The camera is to be oriented to show a frontal portrait image of you when you are looking at the screen. It must not be covered at any time.

  • You are not allowed to use earphones, headsets or other, non-electronic noise-cancelling devices, such as earplugs.

3. Accessing the online examination environment

  • Set up your Wiseflow and Zendesk accounts* (see User Guide and other information provided on the EQE website). Do not edit your personal details (name, telephone number and existing email address) of your Wiseflow and Zendesk accounts.
  • You must generate your access credentials for Wiseflow and Zendesk and keep them confidential. Do not let anyone else access your personal accounts.

  • At the beginning of the examination, log on to Zendesk from the external resources of the LockDown browser. Do not mute the sound of the chat.

4. Starting the examination (flow)

  • Prepare your desk with books and any further material you might want to use, and log on to Wiseflow 60 minutes before the examination start time.

  • If you wish to print any examination papers, where possible for the flow in question, do so as soon as these are available and before launching the LockDown browser.

  • Take the entry image when prompted, ensuring that your entire face is visible, and approve it.
  • You will be prompted to perform audio verification before you can access the flow.

  • Then immediately launch the LockDown browser. The LockDown browser launch procedure must be completed no later than 15 minutes after the examination start time.
  • If you are late due to exceptional circumstances, you may still take the examination. However, you must provide evidence of those exceptional circumstances immediately after the examination. The Examination Secretariat reserves the right to disqualify you from the examination on assessment of the circumstances.

5. During the examination (flow)

  • During the examination, you may leave the room only for scheduled breaks and, in those papers that allow you to do so, unscheduled breaks.
  • You must remain in view of the camera during the examination, except for the breaks mentioned above.

  • Unscheduled breaks...
    • ... are only possible during paper A, paper B, the two parts of paper C and part D2 of paper D, and 
    • ... only after 30 minutes have passed from the official examination start time.
    • Note from the editor: so they are not possible during the Pre-Exam, nor during ther two DI parts of paper D
  • You must inform the invigilator via the chat function when you take an unscheduled break and when you return to your desk e.g. “I take an unscheduled break” and “I’m back from the unscheduled break”. You do not have to wait for authorisation from the invigilator before leaving your desk. Make sure you leave the system/browser running.
  • During an unscheduled break, you are considered to be offline.
  • You must not take any material or documents from your desk with you during an unscheduled break.

  • Your face must be visible at all times during a flow and must never be covered. Eyewear is allowed but only for correcting or aiding vision.
  • You must not contact any other person during the examination except the invigilator where necessary.

6. Finishing the examination (flow)

  • You can finish the examination before the end time by submitting (handing in) your answers.

  • Once the examination end time is reached, you will no longer be able to write and/or edit your answers. You must then immediately submit your answers and close the LockDown browser.

  • If you submit your answers or decide to quit the examination within the first 30 minutes of the examination start time, you must not close the LockDown browser, leave the room or move out of the camera's field of view until after the first 30 minutes have passed.
--
*In today's information session and in emails to the candidates from this afternoon, it was indicated that the identification/ AI invigilation needs to be setup prior to Mock 2/e-EQE, and using the same setup as for the e-EQE:

"As first flow and for the sole purpose of taking your e-EQE reference photo, you should start the flow “Reference photo with ID/passport” which will be available from 2 pm on Friday, 29 January 2021. When prompted by the system, please take your reference photo, showing your ID. This step must be completed before Mock 2/EQE. When accessing another flow, you will be required to take an entry photo without the need to show your ID."

It was indicated that the identification system is robust against wearing glasses or not. 

Comments

  1. "Your face must be visible at all times". Are you kidding me? With all the printable materials to read and go through, particularly for parts C and the law texts for part D-I, there is no way that this is reasonable. Not my problem if they put an AI in charge that cannot handle this

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it can become your problem pretty quickly if they suspect you for cheating and throw you out of the exam...

      In the EPO webinar yesterday it was made clear that you don't need to have eye contact with the camera continuously but you should face the camera for the majority of the time. So if you have the material you are reading on your desk in front of the camera you should be fine and the system shouldn't flag you. They did specifically say that you shouldn't turn to a side table to read for long periods of time as that will flag you for possibly trying to cheat.

      Delete
  2. I'm pretty sure i'll be flagged by the IA during the exams. Indeed, I've positioned the webcam over the big screen. Thus for the initial image capture of my face, i'll be looking upwards. However, when i'll be reading in my documents, i'll be looking downwards. Therefore, the webcam will only see my shaved head. However, since a manual check is done is case of flagging by the IA, i'm confident that the invigilator will understand the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with "Anonymous" above - when taking the new requirements literally, it is basically impossible not to break one of these rules. A typical webcam has a rather narrow field of view and a typical laptop or PC+monitor setup does not have the largest distance between the user and the camera/screen. Thus, only a rather small space will be covered by the camera. If eye contact should ideally be maintained throughout all times and if you shouldn't move out of picture at any times, the space you can work with becomes extremely limited, basically around the size of an A4/A3-sheet or so for some setups, in front of the PC/keyboard. None of the typical printed materials/books/sources that candidates used to carry in large trolleys to the exams would fit into this space in a feasible way. I would thus be required to constantly move documents/books/sources in front of my screen such that I can read them so I can maintain eye contact, which at least requires that I get the documents from some place to the sides of my setups, thus breaking eye contact in the process for sure. Plus, such a way of working with the documents is extremely cumbersome and I don't see how I could finish in time by handling things this way.
    Very disappointing indeed, since I suspect most of us have already started preparing their setups and strategies for months. But now - one month before the exams - we learn about these limitations, which may make some planned setups unfeasible. I can understand that it is necessary prevent people from cheating, but considering the very nature of remote exams, this can only be realized to a certain extent - in my opinion, the current set of rules overextends on what could feasibly be expected in this regard.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I personally am not worried about the "AI" requirements. After all there will be someone reviewing, be it during the exam or later, and if there is no indication of actual cheating, there is no ground for invoking that.

    To think that the EPO would (willingly/knowingly) fail candidates because of their "AI" not recognizing faces at times when the candidate is not facing the camera is quite ridiculous. I mean, there are things to complain about perhaps, but not this.

    In the end, any disqualification would have to hold before the BoA. The EPO cannot randomly ban someone for some technical reason if the material rules were not broken. We know it, the EPO knows it, there will no problem in this regard I am sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct - it is completely ridiculous. It is a horrible system to take an exam under. But please realise that you are the one taking the risk, and the only one who suffers if they block you.
      I have seen people mention appeals - that will not save you. What can you win? They will not award extra marks. They will not just let you pass. The most you can win is a refund of the exam fees.

      Delete
  5. My gosh, so many regulations..

    Is there anybody using an iMac to do the exam?
    I uploaded the Lockdown Browser on mine and the feature splitting the claims/drawings/description into categories (when you open a new tab) is not functioning. Am I doing anything wrong or is iMac not fully compatible with the Lockdown browser ?

    Thanks for any advice!

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh, I notice now that the function of splitting is not working for paper B neither with the iMac nor if I log in from a windows computer.. so, it means it's not available at all for the B-Paper ?

    ReplyDelete
  7. It was not possible for me to complete the flow for taking the reference photo. My cameras (desktop and external) have not been recognized during the flow. Despite working fine before opening the flow. Trying everything recommended on the Wiseflow Website did not help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the same issue. Now, the 1 hour timeframe has passed and I cannot reset/redo the flow. I have contacted the EPO helpdesk and hope that they will reply before Monday 10 am (I am taking the Pre-Exam).

      Delete
    2. Don't hold your breath! :-(

      Delete
    3. They are really slow at replying and have been ignoring alot of questions. I try calling them tomorrow instead.

      Delete
    4. Same problem. WISEFLOW did not recognize my cameras and the 1 hour timeframe passed. I have checked the cams in other application and they funcion perfectly (Skype, Zoom, webpages..). The program has serious limitations. No solution in FAQ. More stress for the Paper (Flow), fantastic. Congrats EPO!

      Delete
    5. I am kind of at ease to hear others had the same problem. After the failed "reference photo flow" I found in the "Flowlock Demo flow" (beneath the flows you are singed up for) that you can try you camera - go to the field where assignment is (on the right) and switch through "options" to "manage appendices" - there you can take a picture with your webcam (this is probably for some other types of exams where they have to make a photo of off line work) . Anyway, in the demo flow my camera did take a photo. And now (after I took the picture with the Demo Version) when I check in the Windows Start menue -> Provacy Settings -> camera, the App of Lockdown Browser shows up in the list of desktop Apps which are allowed to access the camera (where Webex can be found as well). According to Wiseflow troubleshooting guide, that means the App can use my camera.

      Delete
    6. Thanks Irina, that is a good tip! Tried it just now and it worked.

      Delete
  8. I have another problem. I cannot take a clear photo of my ID card, as the words on the ID card are too small and the camera cannot fouse on all the words... I have asked EPO if there is anohter way to give identifiction...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello,

    I have create a zendesk account.

    There are no information available, yet. There is only the possibility to change the password. Is this correct?

    Best regards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did not find anything else there either, as I understand you only have to create that account now

      Delete
  10. The user's guide says:"You must not login on your Zendesk account on
    any day of examination, including a mocks, unless you are taking the examination on that day." So there will not be the chance of testing it tomorrow or how should I understand it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "For the purpose of testing, please note that the chat widget
      will only appear if there is an invigilator logged in at that time. So please try it during the Mock2 exams. If you send a
      chat message for your test, the invigilator may however not respond. You must not login on your Zendesk account on
      any day of examination, including a mocks, unless you are taking the examination on that day"

      Delete
  11. More info and discussions on salted patents blog.

    I must say the EPO has left these things very late. It makes me feel very uneasy and there is no much admin placed on us candidates.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Is anyone else concerned about the EPO collecting our personal data. Where are they storing our personal data, what are they doing with it - are they sharing this with wiseflow and/or other third parties?

    There is no information about what they are doing to our personal data.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://www.epo.org/learning/eqe/e-eqe.html
      --> e-EQE Data Protection Statement

      http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponot.nsf/0/6374150B66F40B7BC1258646002ED12F/$FILE/Data_Protection_Statement_v2.pdf

      Delete
  13. What happens when I am not looking on the screen for a while, e.g. when working on D-II, there is a lot of work with paper. Can the AI inviligator handle such a situation?

    ReplyDelete
  14. For anyone who had trouble with their picture, I did too. I called the EPO. They said if there is an issue, you can correct before the real EQE. They will contact you. But you should be able to take Mock EQE without an accurate picture/ID. I tried to hold my ID while taking my picture, and it did not work. And I could not find a way to reset my picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Take it again and the former one will be deleted.

      Delete
    2. EQE FAQ:

      Updated 02/2021 - I did not manage to take my picture in the flow “Reference photo with ID/passport”. Am I allowed to sit the EQE?

      Yes, you are allowed to sit the EQE, irrespective if the picture was taken (correctly) and if you hold up your ID in the flow “Reference photo with ID/passport”. This flow will not be re-opened. As a consequence, during the EQE, at the beginning of each flow, you must take an entry image holding up your ID/passport next to your face. Please refer to point 4.1 of the "Tips for candidates".

      Delete
  15. For comments on Mock 2, also refer to

    http://eqe-deltapatents.blogspot.com/2020/12/e-eqe-mock-2-1-5-february-2020.html

    as well as the blog posts for the various papers (see blog menu on top).

    ReplyDelete
  16. When doing Mock 2 DII today, I got a very unpleasant message. Around 3pm, my session was administratively ended for the reason that, if I recall correctly, the system detected some unauthorized swipes (with three or four fingers) on the mouse or touchpad. I could not login anymore. I sent a message with Zendesk to an invigilator but ended in a queue of 99 people.
    I really do not know what happened to cause the end of my session. I am not feeling comfortable anymore at all about the EQE online platform.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the same problem this morning.
      I think that the problem arises when you press ALT+TAB more than 3 or 4 times in a session... very weird

      Delete
    2. I can not unlearn the use of Alt-Tab, nor that of Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-F.

      It is a daily habit since ages. Had to learn to use keyboard shortcuts
      when I got treated for RSI. very useful. And completely automated since decades, impossible to prevent the use of them.

      Not being allowed to use them is as not being allowed to use the articles in front of nouns.

      Make people fail because a system crash results from using common shortcuts?

      The system should be robust against such commonly used shortcuts!

      Delete
  17. I didn't expect to be struggling for time in the mock 2 paper D especially the first 2 parts. I think they néed to adjust the timings a bit. It was more time pressured

    ReplyDelete
  18. I also struggled alot in the exam TIMINGS. I had to rush the last question for each part.They have extended the paper instead now so those 30 minutes makes no difference and is harder as there is very little time in Paper D today. Its amazing how much slower you are at reading and processing information when online.

    ReplyDelete
  19. We just got the following information pushed inside the WiseFlow platform :

    Please note that some touchpad gestures and keyboard shortcuts, such as "Alt-Tab", are not allowed in the LockDown browser: the software will stop, and you will have to reboot.

    Similarly, do not open more tabs in the LockDown browser than those, for which the width of the screen can fully accomodate the navigation bar with all tab titles "WISEflow", e.g. no more than 10 tabs on a screen with 2560 vertical lines of resolution.

    Couldn't they tell us exactly what those mysterious "kill" commands are ... I'd like not to fail because of these hidden requirements ....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Display Message from Wiseflow today (Mock 2 Paper A flow):

      Please note that some touchpad gestures and keyboard shortcuts, such as "Alt-Tab", are not allowed in the LockDown browser: the software will stop, and you will have to reboot.

      Similarly, do not open more tabs in the LockDown browser than those, for which the width of the screen can fully accomodate the navigation bar with all tab titles "WISEflow", e.g. no more than 10 tabs on a screen with 2560 vertical lines of resolution.

      Delete
  20. i was fired out of mock A today, several times. terrible. Apparently i can't help pressing alt+tab unconsciously whenever i want to change window. Depressing. I did not even finish the claims. Plus they were sooo chemistry oriented, as a mechanical engineer it altogether confused me so much i could not even think. I had to reboot 4 times. I wasted one hour trying to figure out how to reenter. I had to ask helpdesk for a pw since it was not provided from the beginning. The question is, why all of this hurdle?

    ReplyDelete
  21. my webcam was also giving just a green picture for the 2 or 3 first recognition pics. Each reboot requires the pic to be taken. Added wasted time and incresing stress...

    ReplyDelete
  22. How do you get an invigilator password?

    My camera took a picture at the entry but the audio authentification did not work. I could start the exam but the camera was not activated.

    After ca.2h I got thrown out due to "Alt-Tab"!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Tip for those (including me) being accustomed to use Alt+Tab hundred times a day: just blocking the tab key or even (partly) removing it from keyboard. I was also fired out after using said key kombination, and could not log in again as an invigilator password was needed (and the PW sent in the invitation e-mail did not work). Very bad, and kept me from finalizing Part D1-2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How did you get your invigilator password?

      Delete
    2. After one hour not knowing what to do (i was kicked out before 11 am), i decided to write to the helpdesk address. Time later i got an answer. HOwever, i did not have time to write even one set of claims (in paper A).
      thanks for the tip, i just wonder if there are any other shortcuts i use and i am not aware of that get me into trouble. it's quite awful.

      Delete
  24. The EQE FAQ now mentions : "You are not allowed to use shortcuts (Alt+Tab or the like), key combinations and touchpad gestures in the LockDown browser." Could they please be specific on what is allowed an what is not allowed ? Doing EQE should not be trial and error. This lockdown browser is redefining the use of computer input devices. By the way, does someone know if it is possible to disable alt-tab in windows and how to do that ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i have just inserted a tooth-stick besides tab. Hopefully that will work.

      Delete
  25. this is just humiliating, being honest...

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is an unofficial list from salted patent, but it at least gives some "other danger keys"

    ReplyDelete
  27. As I mainly hit the TAB key with my left smallest finger, I have hit it with a hammer. I am down to 9 fingers for typing, but it is worth it ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mock2 was intended to test everything with a big load, so the flows will NOT be available later. 4 Feb & 5 Feb are the last chances to test YOUR system before the exam, so login as much as possible. If logging in late, use invigilator password is: xyz

    ReplyDelete
  29. Paper A: I exit and could not re-enter.
    Paper B: 45 min before the end I was deconnected from the flow. I waited the answer of the invigilator 35 minutes and she said that me and other people experienced a bug. I had to reboot the computer. Too late. The Mock alredy ended. Total collaps.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Please, let me understand this: our exam was cancelled last year (i.e. we failed in practice); we are paying the same price for examination; and we are clearly working as beta-testers for the EPO at the expense of our own working hours for a system that is full of bugs not related with our technical knowledge and preparation for the exam. Obviously, everything disguised as 'test your system for your own convenience'. Great!

    ReplyDelete
  31. If you hear a very unpleasant sound from your computer, you must know you received a message from your invigilator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I heard one... but I saw no pop-up nor any message anywhere. not even in the zendesk tab that i opened ... where can I see such a message???

      Delete
    2. I did not know what it was about and I opened the zendesk to inform the invigilator about the sound. And - surprise! It was a message from the invigilator. And thereafter some other messages from the invigilator come, so I could hear the same sound in "direct", while the messages arrived.

      Delete
  32. Is a recording of the EPO information session from 28 January available online?

    ReplyDelete
  33. My experience of Mock 2 yesterday:
    - Weren't we supposed to be able to print the prior art? Nothing was sent before the exam.
    - It was fairly straight forward doing the exam, though I suppose it's possible the invigilator sent me some messages that I didn't see/hear.
    - The paper was basically a modified version of the 2010 Chemistry paper A. I work in E/M so this was unfamiliar to me, but I think I probably passed based on the answers I see online for the 2010 paper. I really, really hope the real paper isn't like that because I've been preparing for the new-style papers.

    ReplyDelete
  34. No issues with Papers D and A. But major issue with Paper B. The flow was unstable, black flickering boxes and the paper was empty, only white pages. Could not be fixed.
    Today, first part of Paper C: additional information (prior art) was provided 3 minutes before the start of the paper. This is really too late for printing. At that time you need to start the flow, as it takes also 1-2 minutes to enter (photo, mic ect).
    With 26 pages to print (4 pages per min, and overhead) you need 7 min to get it printed (needs to be done before starting the Flow). Thus, when you are realy for actually starting the paper, you lost abot 5-6 precious minutes.
    Material needs to be available at least 10m before the start. Otherwise much stress created

    ReplyDelete
  35. This whole week has been shambolic! I have zero confidence after doing mock 2. So many issues.

    ReplyDelete
  36. paper C is now ridiculously difficult! Completely thrown by the last 3 claims coming first!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do not agree. In my view, paper C of mock 2, was good to handle, because of the split of the claims. The last three claims were could have been easily attacked independently from the claims presented in the second part. Maybe it is due to the formate of an old paper, but I found it quite time consuming to have all prior art documents already in the first part.

      Delete
    2. I think they néed to give a bit more time as in part 2,you have to read the prior art from scratch in view of the new claims. So essentially, you were reading prior art in the first part where alot of the text was irrelevant and you have to trad the prior art again in the second part as you now know what the claims are. So they need to changing the timings by increasing it or reducing content of reading in both parts.

      Delete
    3. Agree, but I think that not the entire prior art will be available already in part 1 in die actual C paper (my understanding). Even if we are provided with the entire prior art in the first part, a part of the documents can be easily disregarded when performing the goal oriented search method.

      Delete
  37. Just in case anyone was worried: wireless keyboard & mouse is allowed as exception to ban on wireless devices (posted in comments).

    ReplyDelete
  38. Maybe I'm just too stupid to get the setup right ... does anyone know how to change the standard font size from 10 to 12? I am typing all my preparation tests in Mock 1 for days now, but it gets extremely annoying that randomly the font size jumps back to 10. However, 10 is definitely too small for me; 12 would be perfect. Even if I mark the whole page and set it to font 12, I am back at 10 in the next line. As I said - extremely annoying and very time consuming. Any advice is welcome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just like in Word document, you could may be try
      - Press several times enter to bring down the mouse cursor
      - Press "Alt+A" to select all words and lines
      - Change the font to size 12
      - Move up the cursor back to the top line
      - Start typing
      P/S: However, if you copy and paste words from the PDF, it may not be the same font size (12) but need to manually change them.

      Delete
  39. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  40. To be more precise: I use a very basic formatting, just a header (format: header) and text (format: paragraph), because without any format, I get lost in the text. The point is that the format "paragraph" has a default font size of 10 (which should rather be 12 in my opinion since 99% of the answer should be actually written in this format (there is no other suitable format for this purpose, just header formats and code block). O.k., there are indeed header formats with a more convenient default size, but writing my answer in a header format, makes the whole formatting useless (e.g. no reasonable table of content can be created, etc.).

    ReplyDelete
  41. Today we have new "Instructions to candidates concerning the conduct of the EQE 2021", see http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponot.nsf/0/0EBC9DA304DF20A4C125868100424C67/$FILE/Instructions_Candidates_EQE2021.pdf
    What is the difference of VI. Withdrawal 40. and 41. If I would not feel good before the start of an examination paper AND I would not inform the EPO before and not appear for a particular examination paper (as written in VI.41.) I would be treated the same as VI.40. In other words, do I need to "contact the Examination Secretariat" (VI.40.) or I just do not start the Wiseflow (VI.41.)?


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think:
      Withdraw before start acc item 40 = no sit = no fail = no increased fee when resetting.
      Not showing up acc item 41 = sit = fail = increased fee when resitting.

      Rule 8 IPREE:
      (1) Pursuant to Articles 16 and 17 REE, the fee for sitting the pre-examination paper and each of the examination papers shall be the basic fee.
      (a) The fee for re-sitting a paper for the first time shall be the basic fee.
      (b) The fee for re-sitting a paper for the second time shall amount to 150% of the basic fee.
      (c) The fee for re-sitting a paper for the third time shall amount to 200% of the basic fee.
      (d) The fee for re-sitting a paper for the fourth and subsequent times shall amount to 400% of the basic fee for each such re-sit.

      Delete
  42. Concerning the printing: I use a multifunctional printer in the same room where I write the exam. The printer allows copying and sending facsimiles independently from a connected computer. Is this allowed?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Invigilation did not seem to be active during mock 2 and also not during mock 3. So I still do not know at all whether the background of the videocamera in the room where I take the exam is ok or not. It probably was not ok yesterday because I did not cover reflective things behind me but I did not get any feedback. Moreover, I do not think the camera will be able to follow my eyes if I read the printed paper placed next to the laptop so that I have to turn slidely to the side in order to read them. I answered a telefone call yestrerday during mock 3 but there was no warning at all. So it was not possible to test whether everything will be regarded as being ok uner the same conditions in the real exam.

    The risk to be excluded for any kind of action that is not allowed is with the candidate, but we cannot know whether we make any such action that is not allowed. They seem to have excluded a lot of things which will be treated as attempt to cheat but I have no possibility to check if I do any such thing unintentionally. I cannot see my picture during the exam e.g. (which is a good thing on the one hand but which means that I cannot check whether my face is still within the range of the camera).
    I personally have the impression that I simply cannot make sure to comply with all those regulations to avoid being penalized afterward simply because I do not have the means to do so, although I spent a lot of time for reading the whole load of information in several versions and although I try/tried to do everything correctly.

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