Overview
In-person Inspera exams take place on campus and are invigilated; Inspera is the University’s online exam platform. In-person Inspera exams will start and end automatically at the times stated on your exam schedule; these times are not flexible. You will write the exam directly in Inspera.
Your exam schedule will tell you when and where you will sit your exam. Your department will tell you in advance whether you are allowed to bring any additional materials (beyond basic stationery) to attempt your exam.
In-person exam guidance
The Student Exam Handbook gives an overview of how exams are set at Bath, and signposts to a range of resources and support to help you make the most of your exam attempt.
If you are sitting an in-person Inspera exam, most of the guidance found in the “In-person paper-based exams” section of the Student Exam Handbook is also relevant for in-person Inspera exams. Familiarise yourself with this section for information about how to prepare for exams, what to bring, and what to do on the day of an exam.
The key difference is that, rather than being provided a paper copy of an exam question paper and a paper answer booklet to write your answers, you will access the exam questions and write your answers using Inspera, on a university-owned PC.
Inspera guidance
Logging in
You will need your University of Bath username and password to log into Inspera.
Safe Exam Browser
In-person Inspera exams will make use of the Safe Exam Browser (SEB), which is a tool that provides a fair and secure environment to take Inspera exams in by restricting access to any resources outside of the Inspera exam platform.
Safe Exam Browser is pre-installed on university-owned PCs, therefore you will not be required to set anything up on your own personal PC or on the university-owned PC that you use in the exam.
Please ensure that you are prepared to use SEB with Inspera by taking the SEB demo test. For further guidance, watch the video on using SEB for an in-person Inspera exam.
Preparing to take an Inspera exam
Even if you have taken an Inspera exam before, you should prepare for each exam and ensure that you are comfortable using Inspera.
Inspera has three sections:
- Upcoming tests: each of your exams will be listed here 72 hours before your exam starts
- Previous tests: if you have sat an Inspera exam before, you'll see a list of all previous attempts
- Demo tests: here, you can practice taking an Inspera exam using SEB, as well as practice different question types on Inspera exams
Types of exam questions in Inspera
There are several types of questions you may be asked to attempt during an exam. Your department will confirm the format(s) that applies to your exam.
These questions could be:
- Essay: longer text response
- True/false: answered by selecting either true or false
- Matching/pairing: answered by matching values in rows and columns
- Multiple choice: choose one answer from several
- Multiple response: choose more than one answer from several
- Text entry: typing a word or a short sentence
- Numeric entry: typing a numeric value
- Inline choice: answered by selecting an option from a drop-down list
- Programming: answered by typing a snippet of code
- Symbolic Math: answered by typing a numeric value or a mathematical expression
Submitting your exam
Once you have finished your exam attempt, you must press ‘Submit now’ to complete your attempt. Your exam will not automatically be submitted.
Inspera video guides
There are a number of useful video guides about how to use Inspera to help you prepare for your exam.
Further information
Preparing for exams
For general guidance, approaches, and techniques to help you prepare effectively for exams:
Please also read carefully any guidance provided by your department.
Disability Access Plans
If you have a Disability Access Plan, please read the guide to making alternative exam arrangements if you have a disability.
Exams help and advice
For advice, guidance, and support for issues that may arise during both in-person, and Inspera exams, please read the exams help and advice guide.