Knowledge Assessment
Student knowledge assessment at the HSE University comprises the routine assessment, intermediate assessment, and the final assessment.
Routine assessment is carried out during the course, and is designed to organize students' independent work and a systematic monitoring of their academic knowledge.
Intermediate assessment is aimed at evaluating students’ knowledge acquired while studying a part of an academic subject. Assessment is held upon module completion during an examination session. Some academic subjects may not require intermediate knowledge assessment.
Final assessment is held upon completion of a course, primarily in written form as a pass-fail test or exam.
Students receive a cumulative grade based on the results of routine assessment.The cumulative grade is calculated prior to final assessment and comprises grades for all types of routine assessment during the course, for example class participation (0.1 points) + homework assignments (0.1 points) = 0.2.
Students receive grades for exams after passing final assessments. A cumulative grade and an exam grade form a final grade. The final grade is a weighted sum of the cumulative grade, midterm grade and a grade received on the exam. The final grade composition for every course is defined in the course syllabus, for example:
- homework assignments (10%)
- class participation (10%)
- midterm (20%)
- final exam (60%)
The final grade is a grade for the course that is included in the transcript of records/diploma. In extraordinary occasions, a student can be exempted from an exam and granted a resulting grade equal to the cumulative grade.
Please keep in mind that the HSE University's academic rules are the same for all students (Russian, international, exchange and non-exchange). To succeed on a course, we advise international students to attend all lectures and seminars, prepare their home assignments and meet the deadlines for all essays, reports, etc.
Re-examination
A student who fails an exam may have two extra attempts to re-take it, meaning an extra examination on a particular course can be scheduled no more than twice. If a student fails both re-examinations, he or she cannot be given a grade for the course. Such course cannot be included in the student’s transcript of records.
Exam Schedule
Official exam schedules are formed at least one week before the exams start and can be seen in students' personal course schedules in HSE App X.
Absence from an Exam
A student must come to the exam at the time indicated in the exam schedule. If a student is late, the examination time is not extended. Failure to attend the exam is marked with the word 'absent' on the examination record sheet.
If confirmed by a standard medical certificate, illness is considered a reasonable excuse for absence from an examination. Medical certificates should be submitted to the Faculty Study Office or the International Students Office on the first day of recovery as indicated on the certificate.
A student who fails to attend an exam without a reasonable excuse is considered as having failed the final assessment (exam).
Extracts from the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics
1. All information about how the discipline will be organized, including the format, the list of assessment elements (and their weight), as well as the evaluation criteria are (must be) in the Syllabus.
1.1 The lecturer must tell you about the content and format of the assessment elements, as well as the evaluation formula.
1.2 If the assessment element in the evaluation formula has a weight of 30% or more of the final grade, then the student has the right to retake the assessment element in case of a valid reason for missing. This should be stated in the Syllabus.
1.3. The lecturer has the right to slightly change the number of assessment elements and procedures for the organization of assessment elements (important! the lecturer has no right to assign the assessment elements the status of blocking or make a linear formula nonlinear during the course). He is obliged to inform the students about this no later than three days before the start of the corresponding assessment element. Students have 3 days to appeal the changes to the academic supervisor or the head of the department (for minors, MAGOLEGO, open optional courses).
2. Students have the right to appeal against the results of exams or blocking assesment elements (if the result for the control element is below 8 points). Dissatisfaction with the grade cannot be the ground of an appeal.
2.1. Grounds for appeal:
• incorrectness in the formulation of questions, if the are beyond the scope of the Syllabus, errors (including ambiguity) in the formulations of tasks;
• violation of the established procedure for conducting the assessment element by the lecturer;
• violation of the evaluation methodology for the work, as well as circumstances that prevent the lecturer from objectively evaluating the work.
2.2 The appeal is sent to the academic supervisor (an application for an appeal of the results of blocking assessment elements for an open optional course is submitted by the student to the Vice Rector coordinating the implementation of degree programmes) within 3 days from the moment of assessment element. It is necessary to describe the situation and the grounds for appeal. The academic supervisor either satisfies it (then an appeal commission is going to meet to which you can call a member of the Student Council of your department), or reject it.