Exam sessions / Appeal

Requests for special examination arrangements should be sent to hecbachelor@unil.ch during the first four weeks of each semester.

All requests must be accompanied by an expert opinion from a specialist department or doctor. The medical certificate must contain the information specified in this document: Directive aménagements spéciaux examens BSc

For exam dates, please refer to the UNIL calendar or the faculty calendar.

Exam schedules are published at the following times:

• Winter session: mid-December
• Summer session: mid-May
• Autumn session (August-September catch-up): mid-August

Exact dates will be communicated to @unil.ch e-mail address and on the news channel.

The schedule for each exam can be viewed here.

Please note that some exams may take place on Saturdays, and that we are not responsible for any exam timetable clashes for students taking courses outside HEC or following other study plans.

Please read the exam directives (on procedures, calculators and dictionaries) carefully:

• Directive_examens BSc papier en presentiel (in-person exams)
• Directive_examens BSc en ligne (ENEP) (online exams)
• Directive sur l’Utilisation des calculatrices aux examens (use of calculators in exams)

In accordance with the Faculty Regulations, students who are unable to attend assessments for a valid reason (such as illness) must notify the secretariat for both written and oral exams. A medical certificate or any document proving their inability to take the exams must be sent to hecbachelor@unil.ch within three days. In the case of an unjustified absence, a grade of zero will be assigned to the student.

Examination papers for Modules 1 and 2 are available from the Bachelor's program administration. Consultations for Module 3 examinations are organized by each teacher. Consultation dates are communicated at the same time as the exam timetable.

To reserve a place for the Module 1 and 2 exam consultations, click here.

Please read this  directive before your consultation: Directive pour la consultation des examens de Bachelor

Appeal Regarding Examination Results

Following the official notification of results, when you submit an appeal to the Faculty of HEC Appeals Commission, you should expect a processing time of a few weeks.

To avoid the frustration of receiving a negative response after waiting, your appeal must strictly meet the following conditions:

I. Your appeal must:

• Be motivated, as explained in the next section

• Be submitted within 30 days following the notification of results

• Be dated and signed

• Be written in French

• Include your address in Switzerland

• Be sent in writing (by postal mail) to the Dean’s Office:

  UNIL – Faculté des HEC

    Bâtiment Internef

    Commission de recours

    Marianne Schmid Mast, Doyenne

    1015 Lausanne-Chamberonne

  Registered mail is not mandatory but recommended

II. What is a motivated appeal?

a) If you are contesting an exam grade due to grading reasons, you must justify your appeal.
You must clearly indicate:

• Where the issue lies: subject, session, professor, series number, exam date, part of the exam, exercise number.

• What the problem is and your arguments: point calculation, incomplete correction, etc.

b) If you are contesting an exam grade or a definitive failure in your studies due to personal circumstantial reasons, you must justify your appeal.

1. Did you face an unexpected event?

2. Was this event exceptional?

3. Was this event likely to have directly affected your performance during the exam?

If you answer yes to all three questions and provide supporting documents, your appeal has a chance of being considered motivated.

c) Examples of unmotivated appeals:

• You were nervous during the exam.

• You did not feel well during the exam.

• You had a poor night’s sleep before the exam.

• You have to work during your studies.

• You have family responsibilities during studies.

• You had a medical certificate before the exam but still decided to take it.

• You studied a lot and put in great effort, but the grade does not reflect your abilities.

• You missed passing by only a few points or less than a point.

• Your failure has major consequences in your life.

• The exam was not conducted in the same way as in previous sessions.

• You are a few credits short of completing your Bachelor's and starting your Master’s.

• You promise the Faculty that you will work hard in the future.

• You mistakenly brought the wrong type of calculator and could not use it during the exam.

• You believed that permitted documentation was digital, but only paper documentation was allowed, so you had to take the exam without any reference materials.

d) Examples of appeals that may be considered motivated:

• During the exam session, a family member of the student passes away.
  Upon presentation of a death certificate, the Faculty may decide to review the case.

• The student is hospitalized in a psychiatric institution due to severe mental health issues manifesting during the exam session.
  Upon presentation of a psychiatric medical certificate confirming hospitalization, the Faculty may decide to review the case.

III. Useful Links

• Legal Service of the University of Lausanne
  https://www.unil.ch/service-juridique/fr/home/menuinst/recours-etudiants.html#motifs-de-recours

• HEC Faculty Regulations, Article 57
  https://www.unil.ch/files/live/sites/hec/files/doc/admin/R%C3%A8glement%20de%20Facult%C3%A9%20HEC%202023%20version%20finale.pdf