In order to maintain a pool of quality test items, the College of Medicine secures its test item bank. Therefore, the College of Medicine has instituted the following policies to, maintain the integrity of the question pool while providing a sound educational experience for students.
All test questions are to be maintained as securely as possible; therefore, test questions will not be returned to the students. Any attempts at unauthorized distributing or receiving of test questions, attempts to access the test or the exam review outside of the scheduled administration period , or any attempts to copy, photograph, or otherwise duplicate examination items is considered cheating. Individual students who violate this policy will be handled through the standard UNMC policy for cheating and may be terminated. Consistent attempts by students to undermine the secure examination policy may result in the loss of review sessions for all students. See the UNMC Catalog for more information about academic integrity.
The College reserves the right to discontinue the right to review sessions for individuals who violate policies related to it and/or the entire class should large-scale attempts to subvert exam security be identified.
The following policies and procedures apply for all review sessions:
- Only students who sign the statement of agreement regarding exam review sessions will be permitted to attend review sessions.
- Students may not attempt to duplicate or distribute test items by writing items down, taking photographs of them, attempting to save them to a personal device, or any other such activities. As such, the following materials are prohibited from the exam review session. Any other items identified by the OME as having the potential to undermine exam security will be seized, or the student will be instructed to secure the item in another location.
- mechanical or electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, calculators, digital watches, watches with computer communication and/or memory capability, electronic paging devices, recording or filming devices, radios;
- pens, pencils, and paper;
- coats, jackets, and headwear (hats, visors, or hoodies);
- book bags, backpacks, briefcases, and purses.
- Inquiries about examination questions will not be permitted. A faculty member will not be present to address content questions. Concerns about poorly-worded or ill-constructed items should be raised during the exam using the proper mechanism in Examplify. If a student requires further discussion or review with a content expert, they should work with the Block Director(s) to identify a meeting time.
- Students are not permitted to take a break from the exam review session.
- Review sessions are made available by appointment only:
Appointments will be allowed to begin after grades have been posted. Appointments will be available for up to five business days after that occurs. Additional exam reviews will not be available for remediation.
Requests to make an appointment should be made via email to the Office of Medical Education. Appointments will be allowed under the direction of the Assessment Coordinator. Students must allow the Assessment Coordinator ample time to verify and confirm appointment requests. At least one business day is suggested. The appointment is considered confirmed when the Assessment Coordinator responds with confirmation of the date, time, and location.
Students may request a review appointment as an individual or in a group. Groups of students may use the review period to consult about correct answers, but all other policies regarding the duplication and distribution of examination items are in effect. Students are not permitted to discuss exam items with each other during the review session.
Students will be given access to the exam review for 20-30 minutes, depending on the length of the examination. They will be allowed to review the entire exam (question, correct response, and the given response). Reviews will be provided on paper; students do not need to bring the device on which they completed the exam. Students must return the review paper to OME prior to the end of the review session.
Strengths and Improvement Opportunities Reports will be made available to students after each exam. These reports will provide information about the student’s exam and category performance. Other reports may be available as announced.
Approved by the Curriculum Committee: July 2014
Revised by the M1 and M2 Core Directors: August 2015
Revised by the Curriculum Committee: January 2016
Revised by the Office of Medical Education: July 2017
Approved by the Curriculum Committee: October 22, 2019
Approved by the Curriculum Committee: July 25, 2023