FAQ about on campus digital exams
On this page you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions on on campus digital exams.
This FAQ is sorted by the following topics:
Device
When your laptop uses Windows 10 or Mac OS > 10.13 (but not 12!) and you are able to successfully go through the tryout then your laptop is suitable for an on campus digital exam. To be extra sure, you can check the Schoolyear page with all the requirements.
If your laptop is not working at the start of the exam, please know that there are other possibilities to make your exam. You can get a spare WUR laptop or a paper copy of the exam. Consult the invigilator for these options.
In case your laptop does not work and you cannot start the exam, please inform the invigilator about this. The invigilator will call the reception desk to inform that you need a spare laptop.
If the exam has not started yet, you have to pick up the spare laptop yourself. If the exam already started, the concierge will bring the spare laptop to the exam room.
It is very important that you bring both your WUR-card and ID-card and show them at the reception desk. You WUR-card stays at the reception desk when you receive the spare laptop. Go back to the exam room and restart the login procedure on the spare laptop.
You have to log in with your WUR account and password on the spare laptop, so make sure that your WUR password is not expired. You can reset your password on https://password.wur.nl. If you do this, make sure that you log in with the new password on all your other devices too (such as your mobile phone), otherwise your phone might keep trying to automatically log in with the old password and lock your account as a result.
When you have finished the exam, do not forget to return the spare laptop at the reception desk and take your WUR-card.
Software
No. For on-campus digital exams we use Schoolyear. Schoolyear is a different program than the PSI Secure Browser. So you have to check for both programs if your laptop meets the requirements.
To get better support during an exam, it is recommended to change the language of your Windows 10 installation to English. Windows has an built in option to change the language of the interface, just follow these steps.
When Windows 10 is configured with a Microsoft account, the language preferences will sync across devices. If you don't want the language settings to be synced you need to disable this setting beforehand.
- Open Settings.
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on Sync your settings.
- Under the "Individual sync settings" section, turn off the Language preferences toggle switch.
Once you complete the steps, you can change the language settings without affecting your other devices.
To change the system default language, close running applications, and use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Time & Language.
- Click on Language.
- When English is available in the drop down box for Windows display language, choose English. Otherwise continue to the next step.
- Under the "Preferred languages" section, click the Add a language button.
- Search for the new language. (You can do a search using the country name.)
- Select the language package from the result.
- Click the Next button.
- Check the Install language pack option.
- Check the Set as my display language option.
- Check all the additional features as necessary. For example, "Text-to-speech" and "Handwriting."
- Click the Install button.
- Click the Yes, sign out now button.
- Sign back in.
After you complete the steps, the display language will change across the entire Windows 10 experience, including the Sign-in screen, Settings app, File Explorer, Desktop, apps, browser, and websites you visit. Depending on your new settings, Windows 10 may prompt you to review your privacy settings again.
Schoolyear requires some standard Windows libraries and they should be up-to-date. Please run Windows update to get the latest versions. If you don't know how see this article from Microsoft.
Some Huawei devices may display an error message when using Schoolyear. This could be triggered by a service called Huawei PCManager Windows Service. Fortunately, it is easy to (temporary) disable this setting which should help resolving this issue. In order to disable this setting, follow the steps below.
Parallels is software that allows Microsoft Windows operating systems and applications to run on an Apple Mac laptop. Parallels and similar products are automatically blocked in Schoolyear, because they could be used to attempt to circumvent the Schoolyear security measures.
If you open Schoolyear in Parallels you will get a red screen warning and will not be able to proceed to your exam.
The solution is to simply start your exam in your MacOS environment, instead of in Parallels. Follow all the steps described in the login procedure, but not in Parallels.
In some cases the virus scanner from Kaspersky or Norton will block Schoolyear. If the laptop check shows that this is the case on your laptop you can follow these instructions to temporarily disable the virusscanner.
You can disable the Kaspersky virus scanner with these steps:
- Open the running services overview by clicking on the up arrow, see the image below. Then do a right click on the Kaspersky icon.
- Next click on the Pause Protection item
- The window as shown below will open. Here choose to pause the protection to prevent accidentally starting Kaspersky when taking the exam. Don't forget to follow these steps in opposite direction when your exam is finished.
In addition please file a report with Kaspersky where you ask to enable Schoolyear: Kaspersky application blocks my website or application. What should I do?
Follow the instructions on the Norton pages
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If your virusscanner is not listed here, you can find more information on the website of your virusscanner.
If that does not work please step by the Servicepoint IT in Forum and check with them if they can help.
If that did not fix your problem make sure you arrive early in the exam room so we can find a solution.
In addition to the virus scanner some vendors offer a VPN solution as well. A VPN is a virtual network which allows the virus scanner vendor to scan all the network traffic for malicious actions. But it also blocks access to the Schoolyear program on your computer.
Check if you have a VPN program installed and disable it temporarily when taking an exam.
During exam
When you take an exam in Ans, the remaining time will be shown in the upper right screen.
The following languages are available with Readspeaker (Click here how to use the translate option).
Is your language not available in Readspeaker? During your exam you are allowed to navigate to https://examsupport.wur.nl/translator/. With this translate tool you also have the possibility to translate words. Please note that this translation service may contain inaccuracies, errors or misstatements!
Yes, they are. Every time you answer a question or navigate through questions, your answers or changes will be saved. Even if an error occurs, all of your given answers are saved regularly.
You can check if your answers are saved in the bottom right of the question. It should say "Updated x minutes ago". If it's stuck on "Updating..." then your answer for that question has not been saved yet and you may have lost connection with the WiFi.
During exams you can use the built-in Readspeaker feature, or the WUR Translation service to translate words. Both Readspeaker and the WUR Translation service use translations from Google Translate.
How to translate text with Readspeaker
Select or double click a word. The translate option will appear.
Select Translate and a table with available languages will be shown. The first time you use the translate function, the composition of the table may take some time to load.
After you have selected the preferred language, the following screen appears, showing the translation of the selected word. In this example the word 'animal' was selected and translated to Dutch.
How to translate text with the WUR Translation service
Open a new tab in the (Schoolyear) browser and navigate to examsupport.wur.nl/translator.
Select the two languages that you want to translate from and to, and type in the words that you want to translate in the text box on the left side of the page (below "From:").
After typing the words to be translated, press enter or click on the translate button as indicated below:
Ans offers the option to have (parts of) the text read out loud to you by Readspeaker. This option may only be used if you have permission from the student dean. Don't forget to request this facility in your exam application (see also How to enroll in a test).
The software is available in both on and off campus digital exams.
This page will describe how to use Readspeaker.
How to use text-to-speech software
Before you start logging on to the exam, connect your headphone and adjust the volume.
During the exam there will be a Readspeaker button in the top right corner of the screen. Click on the 'Play' button and the entire page will be read to you.
Having specific text read out loud
Using your mouse, select a part of the text or double click a word. The listen button will appear. Click on the button and the selected text will be read to you.
Facilities
WUR provides enough bandwidth for every student in the room to have 2 or 3 devices simultaneously connected. In the exam setting there will be less students than in a college setting. Moreover the exam software (Ans) does not require a large bandwidth.
Yes. For every seat in an exam room there is an outlet to plug in your laptop.
This is a force majeure situation. If the building has to be evacuated or if the examination cannot take place due to some other calamity, a new opportunity will be organised as soon as possible in consultation between the executive board, the examining board, the examiner and the students. This goes for every exam, not only for a digital on campus exam.
If this happens during an exam and it is still possible and allowed to take the exam without risks of losing work, the examiner may decide to let students finish the exam.
Could not find the answer to your question? Ask your question to the Digital Examination team.
When your question is not answered you can send it in with our online response form.