Don’t Worry Surrey is here to support you through your exams. We know that exam periods can be stressful, so we are here to help you achieve your full potential. We will be running free wellbeing sessions; providing revision tips and top tips for exam success; and providing drop-in sessions to give you advice if you need it.

Don’t Worry Surrey provides students with practical advice and guidance through January exams, Summer exams and Late Summer Assessments. 

Download our Exam Planner here, containing advice, contact details and event information throughout May/June 2024.

Avoiding Academic Misconduct and plagiarism
Extenuating circumstances
Revision tips

Union Wellbeing Support

Samaritans on Campus: If you want to have a confidential and anonymous chat, please call Samaritans at any time on 116 123. Your Union have also arranged for the Samaritans to be on campus throughout exams to support you. Every Tuesday, Samaritans at the Vet School | Every Thursday: Samaritans in the MySurrey Hive

Nightline listening service: Nightline is here for you throughout exams. You can call or Instant Message our student volunteers Monday – Friday 19:00 – 07:00 during term time, and exams. Anonymously speak with another student about anything that is on your mind.

Academic Advice and Extenuating Circumstances Support

The Students’ Union’s advice team are here to support you. Email: ussu.advice@surrey.ac.uk to get in touch if you need advice. We try and respond on the same days, and will always respond within 48 hours. Your Union academic advisors are on hand to chat through ECs, if you are eligible and the outcomes available to you. We are also running the below support to help you:

Remember ECing an exam will defer the exam to the next assessment period, which may mean taking the exam again in August. So make sure you need ECs first – you cannot take an EC away once it has been approved.

Wellbeing Events

Online exams

Top tips for online exams

  • Choose where you do your exam carefully and make sure that you have somewhere quiet to study with minimal distractions.
  • You will need good and reliable WiFi/internet connection. If you aren’t on campus and can’t study at home, have you thought about checking out a local library or another community space? If you have wifi issues on the day, try not to panic – follow our EC guide if this happens or email ussu.advice@surrey.ac.uk
  • Remember you have bibliU for your textbooks
    – Check you have access to material beforehand
    – Let the library know (library-enquiries@surrey.ac.uk) if you don’t have access
  • Organise your notes. It can be tempting to have too many notes when you have an open book exam. Try and keep your notes concise and organised and make sure your notes are in your own words so you avoid accidently plagiarising.
  • Breathe and take your time
  • Take a break every question or so if you need to or can
    – In most cases you have a 4 hour window to complete your exam, so make sure you plan how to use your time, and choose a good start time for your working pattern.
  • Don’t feel guilty about sleeping in a 24 hour exam. You can always read over work the next morning with a fresh pair of eyes. The 24-hour exam period is set this way to enable all students to have a rest and you are not expected to be working this whole time. Breaks are very important.

Where to take your online exam?

Location: At Home:

  • Choose your location (your room, a study, dining room…)
  • Declutter the chosen space with minimal distractions
  • Communicate to the other members in your household of the times that you will be having an exam. You might want to ask them to use the internet less during this time if your connection is not stable.
  • If you have any internet or technical issues then the University wont be able to confirm this, as you are not working within their computer network. So, if you have technical issues you are less protected working from home. If you are concerned about your connection, consider working from campus on the University network and University computers.

If you decide to take your exams in the library:

  • Bring food and drink to the last day
  • Bring plenty of layers or a blanket (the Library can get cold due to ventilation)
  • Get there with plenty of time and remember you can book out a space if needed.

If you decide to take your exam at your University address:

  • Tell your housemates when your exams are, so that they know not to disturb you. You might want to ask them to use the internet less during this time if your connection can be unstable
  • Make sure you have lots of healthy food in the house, and snacks to keep you going
  • If you live with people on your course, taking the same exam, do not be tempted to work together. The University has ways of detecting plagiarism and students who collude, which could mean that your assessment is failed.
  • If you have any internet or technical issues then the University wont be able to confirm this, as you are not working within their computer network. So, if you have technical issues you are less protected working from home. If you are concerned about your connection, consider working from campus on the University network and University computers.

If you are being disturbed whilst studying/revising on campus

If you are disturbed by any work being undertaken by our Estates team during the exam period – for example mowing of the grass – please contact the EFCS help desk on 01483 689230 and the team will respond as a matter of priority. You can also call this number if you are disturbed by noise at night as calls are answered 24/7 and handled by our security team out of hours

Technical Difficulties during an exam

  • First thing to remember is not to panic! The University know and anticipate these things might happen so it is important that you follow these steps if it does:
  • Take a note of the time that the issue happened. If you can, take a photo on your phone or screenshot of the issue as evidence
  • Inform the University via https://support.surrey.ac.uk/support/create-case/
  • Wait until the end of the exam to EC – you might find that you only lost 10 minutes which you can make up. Putting in an EC too early might void your attempt, so make sure you know you need to EC before submitting
  • If you believe that the technical difficulty impacted your exam, you can then submit an EC. You won’t be able to self-certify, so you will need evidence. Your evidence should be the email you sent to your faculty hive at the time, along with any other screenshots or photos you took at the time.

Remember ECing an exam will defer the exam to the next assessment period, which may mean taking the exam again in August. So make sure you need ECs first – you cannot take an EC away once it has been approved.

Support available throughout exams

  • Contact ussu.advice@surrey.ac.uk if in doubt about ECs or academic regulations. Our advice team are also running drop ins and online appointments for EC advice
  • Contact your Personal Tutor or Senior Personal Tutor
  • Centre for Wellbeing (01483689498, centreforwellbeing@surrey.ac.uk) if you are struggling with your wellbeing
  • Disability and Neurodiversity for any adjustments needed: Disability and neurodiversity | Study | MySurrey
  • Academic Skills and Development if you need help with academic writing or referencing: Academic Skills and Development | Study | MySurrey
  • Non-judgemental, impartial guidance on any mathematics or statistics problem: Maths and Statistics Advice | MySurrey
  • Up to date information for current students and staff: My Learning Development at Surrey | Surrey Learn
  • Togetherall (togetherall.com) – Previously known as Big White Wall
  • Student Minds Charity (www.studentminds.org.uk)
  • Samaritans (Call 116 123, this service is 24/7 and free). Samaritans are also on campus every Tuesday and Thursday, 12pm – 2pm in the Hive, from 3rd January.