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Examination Regulations

Admission to Examinations

To be admitted to any end of semester examination, a candidate must:

  1. Have registered as a student at the University, in accordance with the general academic regulations.
  2. Have completed all the course requirements.
  3. Show his/her student identity card and registration form.

Examination Regulations

A student registered for asubject/course is expected to attend all classes prescribed for thatsubject and/or course.

No candidate shall be admitted into any examination unless the candidate has met the requirements of the course by at least 75% attendance, have marks for continuous assessmentand all other requirements of the course.

All courses for which an end of semester examination is appropriate shall be examined at the end of the semester in which they are taken.

Where a dissertation or project is prescribed in any program, a candidate shall be informed in advance of the deadline for submission of such a dissertation or project. Unless prior permission for an extension of this deadline has been granted by Senate, any candidate who fails to meet the submission deadline shall normally fail the dissertation or project.

Prohibited materials

Candidates are not allowed to bring into the examination room unauthorized material including the following:

(a) Bags, briefcases, parcels, etc.
(b) Papers, books, notes or equipment other than what is permitted.
(c) All course material and dictionaries not supplied or permitted by the examiners.
(d) Radio, alarm watch, computer, cellular telephone, pager and any other communication device.
(e) Instruction manual for a calculator and detachable calculator case.
(f) Permitted materials containing unauthorized annotation.
(g) Course material written on permitted materials or any part of the candidate’s body, clothes, etc.
(h) Clothes not being worn.
(i) Pencil bags/boxes/cases and mathematical instruments containers, etc.
(j) Calculators with meeting organizers (programmable calculators).
(k) Hats, caps and other head gear.
(l) Any other items as determined by the invigilator(s). Materials not allowed in the examination room must be left at a place specified by the invigilator(s)
and at the candidate’s own risk.
(m) Candidates are not allowed to write on question papers. All rough work must be done in the answer booklet and neatly crossed out.

Any student caught with prohibited material will be dealt with according to the laid down regulations.

Authorized Special Materials

All authorized materials (such as electronic calculators) must be displayed for scrutiny by the invigilator(s). Electronic calculators should be portable, silent, battery-powered, non-printing and not pre-programmable.

In the Examination Room

Invigilators are appointed by the University to conduct examinations. Candidates must obey their instructions.

  • Attendance register: At each examination, each candidate must sign the attendance register at the beginning and at the end of each examination session.
  • Identification cards :All candidates are required to bring and place their Catholic University of Cameroon student identity cards and registration forms on their desks. Any person who is unable to identify himself/herself to the satisfaction of the invigilators may be barred from the examination.
  • Answer books:Candidates must fill in their Catholic University of Cameroon student registration numbers, clearly and correctly, and other details as required on the front covers of examination answer booklets, and supplementary answer book(s).
  • Candidates should not write their nameson their answer books.
  • Smoking, eating and drinking are not permitted in the examination room.
  • Silence must be maintained throughout the examination and, whilst in the examination room, candidates must not communicate with each other in any way.
  • No candidates shall be allowed to leave the examination room, except in an emergency, during the first thirty (30) minutes and the last fifteen (15) minutes of the examination.
  • No candidate will be allowed to leave and return to the examination room while the examination is in progress.

At the end of the examination

  1. Candidates must insert the supplementary answer book inside the main answer book and must check the accuracy of all details in the answer books.
  2. No examination stationery should be removed from the examination room. Rough work done in the answer book must be neatly crossed out.
  3. Candidates are allowed to take examination question papers out of the examination room except when the answers are written on the question paper.
  4. Candidates must remain seated until all the examination scripts have been collected by the invigilator(s).

Examination irregularities

Under the provisions of the Examination Regulations, the following are acts of misconduct and are prohibited and punishable if a candidate does any of them.

  • Using or possessing any unauthorized materials while in the examination room.
  • Helping or trying to help another candidate or obtaining or trying to get help from other candidates.
  • Consulting or trying to consult any books, notes, or other unauthorized materials, or another candidate during the examination while temporarily outside the examination room.
  • Impersonating another candidate or allowing yourself to be impersonated.
  • Attempting to bribe the examiner or other University official(s).
  • Failing to obey or comply with any of the examination regulations or instructions of the invigilator acting within the scope of their authority.
  • Conduct in the examination room which constitutes a breach of the published rules and regulations of the University.

Procedures for handling misconduct

  1. The chief Invigilator will report any misconduct in writing to the student’s Dean of the Faculty/school to the coursecopying the Registrar/DREGSA, the Dean of the Student’s home faculty/school within one working immediately after the examination session.
    2. A candidate who commits an act of misconduct is required to make a written statement to the chief invigilator within 1 hour from the time of detection of the misconduct. Failure to comply will be considered as a sure sign of guilt and dealt with accordingly.
    3.Any extraneous unauthorized material discovered will be confiscated and the student will be allowed to continue writing.
    4. The Chief Invigilator is empowered to discontinue the examination of any candidate who commits an act of misconduct that may interfere with the work of the other candidates.
    5. Any candidate found guilty of misconduct during an examination shall be deemed to have FAILED the paper and shall also be subject to disciplinary action.

Other Information on Examinations in CATUC, Bamenda

The formal University examinations are compulsory and performance in these examinations, coupled with performance in the continuous assessment(s) during the semester, will determine the candidate’s results.

Candidates are advised to write legibly, illegibility will detract from their answers and, conversely, neat answers will assist the examiners and be to the candidate’s credit.

All candidates are reminded that the examiners may require any candidate to attend an oral or viva-voce examination after the written examinations in order to clarify, or probe, further aspects relating to the written examination.

Invigilators must check that every candidate has inserted their number and all the other information required on the front cover of the answer book. Any correction that may be necessary should be completed by the candidate.

Invigilators must check and ensure that the candidate has inserted in the answer book all papers, maps, graphs, rough work, etc. forming part of his/her examination. Particular care must be taken to ensure that such materials are collected.

Passing a course

To pass a course, a student must have marks for both coursework and examination.

Requirements for the failed candidate

A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners may be required by the Senate to do any of the following.

  • Apply for permission to write supplementary examinations.
  • Repeat or substitute the course with an elective.
  • Repeat the course if required; or
  • Discontinue (i.e. academic dismissal)

Supplementary Examinations

Supplementary examinations may be offered to candidates:

(a) Who are in the final year of study and need to raise their CGPA to the required graduation minimum of 2.0; and

(b) Those in other years of study who are placed on Probation.

(c) Only courses passed with a “D” symbol may be supplemented.

(d) A student must apply to the Registrar to be allowed to write supplementary examinations.

(g) A candidate who in his/her final semester fails to achieve a passing grade in only one course but has GPA of at least 3.0 may be allowed to supplement that course rather than repeat.

(e) Where supplementary examinations have been allowed, the examiners will not incorporate continuous assessment marks in the determination of the final grade.

(f) A candidate who has sat a supplementary examination will be awarded a maximum grade of C in that course and this grade will appear with an asterisk in the transcript.

(g) Supplementary examinations shall normally be taken at a time to be determined by the Registrar.

(h) No Special examination will be given to a student who misses a supplementary examination. A student who misses the supplementary examination for medical or any other good cause may sit for the supplementary examination during the end of semester examination time. A report on illness must be submitted immediately; the University will not grant the student the privilege of supplementing if the report is received after the examination has taken place.

(i) A student who fails supplementary examination shall maintain a grade of D.

(j) Decisions of Senate regarding supplementary examinations shall not be subject to an appeal

(k) Students allowed to take supplementary examinations must pay the requisite fees before taking the examination and must bring the receipt as proof of payment to the examination room. Failure to produce a receipt will disqualify the student from sitting the examination.

(l) A candidate who fails a required course after supplementing shall be required to repeat the course. A candidate who fails an elective after supplementing has the option of repeating that course when available or choosing another approved elective.

Repeating a course

(a) A student will be allowed to repeat a course for a maximum of two times.

(b) After failing the course, the third time, a student will be discontinued or advised to change to a different program if the failed course is a core course.

(c) If the failed course is an elective, the provisions in (j) below will apply.

(d) Normally the load of repeated courses must not exceed two courses in any semester provided the total credit hours do not exceed 21.

(b) A student repeating courses will be required to undertake continuous assessment in those courses, and to sit examinations at the end of the semester.

(c) Normally a student shall not be allowed to carry a first-year course to the third year and second year course to fourth year.

(d) The grade obtained after repeating a course shall carry two asterisks on the transcript to indicate that it is a repeat course.

(e) Repeating a course for a grade improvement (optional): A student may repeat a course at his/her own discretion and expense in an effort to improve his/her grades. The higher grade for the course will be used for computing the CGPA. No courses or grades will be removed from the transcript. The new grade will be indicated by three asterisks.

(f) Repeating a failed prerequisite course. Should a student fail a prerequisite course but remain in good academic standing, he/she will be required to repeat the course.

(g) Repeating a failed core course. Should a student fail a core course but remain in good academic standing, he/she will be required to repeat the course.

(h) Repeating an elective course. A student who fails an elective course has the option of repeating that course when next offered, or of selecting another approved elective course, provided his/her cumulative GPA is above the threshold of good academic standing as indicated in Proficiency standards.

Repeating a failed course after completing the period of study

Where a student is not able to graduate because he/she has failed a required course, he/she will be allowed to complete the course outside university through an independent study under the supervision of the faculty. The maximum load allowed is four (12) credit hours and not more than two courses.

Academic discontinuation (Dismissal)

(a)  A student with GPA of less than 1.5 in any semester and whose CGPA places him/her on Probation or dismissal may be discontinued from any program for academic reasons. Before any student is dismissed, the faculty/school must produce a full profile of the student.


(b) A student who has been discontinued from a program shall not be re-admitted to that program. Such a student should apply to another program. There must be a lapse of one semester before an application for readmission can be considered.