Examination regulations Data Protection Officer Certification Training

Version 1.5 of 17 October 2018

Article 1: General

  1. For the readability of the text, only the he/his form is used. All provisions relating to students or other persons specified in these regulations are of course without gender discrimination.
  2. Examination or resit shall be understood to mean any evaluation of the extent to which a student has acquired the competences connected with a course unit on the grounds of his studies.
  3. The language of the examination (both oral and written) is English. Students must have sufficient command of English to be able to correctly interpret the written and oral questions and to correctly present their answers in both written and oral form.

Article 2: Admission requirements

  1. A student can only take the examination if the registration fee for the course has been paid in full.
  2. A student will only be admitted to the examination if he has participated in every day of the course.
  3. If a student wishes to resit an examination, he should let us know in writing by email, with specification of the date on which he wishes to take the resit. He will then receive an invoice for EUR 200 (excluding VAT).
  4. A third examination opportunity is not possible.
  5. The attendance certificate that must be signed by the participants every day will serve as proof.
  6. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness, death of a relative, legal reason, accident, public transport strike, force majeure) the student may be granted dispensation from participating in a lesson. A valid certificate of absence must be submitted to the organisation (via email to info@dp-institute.eu) as soon as possible.
  7. The student must be able to identify himself at all times if an examiner so requests.

Article 3: Examination format

  1. The examination is normally held on Friday afternoon of the same week as the course. In case of force majeure, the examination can be postponed to another day at any time.
  2. The examination consists of the following three parts:
    • An oral examination, based on a case, divided into 7 sub-questions, with written preparation. This section is marked out of 14 (2 points per question).
    • A written case, divided into 7 sub-questions with 4 multiple choice answers each (without correction for guessing). This section is marked out of 14 (2 points per question).
    • Multiple choice questions (72 questions) about the entire content of the course, with 4 multiple choice answers each (without correction for guessing). This section is marked out of 72 (1 point per question).
  3. The student must always take the three parts specified above, even if he resits an examination.
  4. The marks of the three parts are added up, resulting in a score of 100. The student must obtain at least 60 out of 100 to pass.

Article 4: Organisation of the examination

  1. The examination starts at 13:00 (unless otherwise specified by the organisers) and ends at 15:30.
  2. The student shall strictly respect the laid down schedule and place of the examination. Students arriving late may still be admitted to the examination (subject to proof of force majeure and the approval of the organisers), but the duration of the examination shall not be adjusted for these students.
  3. In case of force majeure, the student may request to take the examination at a later date, provided that he provides the necessary supporting documents. This new date should coincide with the already scheduled examination sessions of later scheduled courses, and will only be granted after consultation with the examiners and the course organisers. The original supporting documents of the force majeure shall be submitted to the course organisers within five calendar days after the day of the examination, either in person or by email (info@dp-institute.eu).
  4. The examiner shall strictly respect the laid down schedule and place of the examination. In case of an examiner’s absence and in the absence of any notification from the latter, the examination schedule expires after a waiting period of 1 hour. The organisers shall draw up a new examination schedule in consultation with the student. This new date should coincide with the already scheduled examination sessions of later scheduled courses. Under no circumstance shall any costs incurred by the student be recovered from the organisers of the course.
  5. During the course, the organisation of the examination is explained in the introduction. Also, before the start of the examination, the structure of the examination and the various parts are explained again.
  6. Use of toilets is allowed during the examination, but only one student at a time and without taking examination questions and written preparation.
  7. Mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other electronic equipment must be kept in the bag of the participant and may not be used or taken to the toilet or the oral examination if this takes place in another room.
  8. For students with a recognised status or for students in temporary special individual circumstances of a physical or psychological nature, an adaptation of the examination format or the use of a technical aid is possible following approval by the organisers. The organisers shall be informed of this at the latest on the first day of the course.
  9. The written tests shall be answered on a special answer sheet for which the following rules apply:
    • Only one answer is correct.
    • A wrong answer or more than one coloured option is a zero.
    • If an option was coloured mistakenly, the wrong answer must be clearly crossed out and the student must also initial the correct answer.
    • The form should be completed in blue or black ballpoint.
    • In addition to colouring the options, only the surname, first name and signature may be entered on the answer sheet.
  10. No writing is allowed on the task sheet.
  11. The student is responsible for filling out his personal and administrative details completely and correctly on the special answer sheet for the examination.
  12. Recording an examination by the student or third parties using sound and/or video recordings is not permitted.
  13. Students who wish to do so can request an observer to attend their oral examination.

Article 5: Irregularities

  1. If an examiner or staff member suspects or establishes that a student is committing an irregularity during the examination, he must report this to the course organiser without delay. The latter shall inform the student and may terminate the current examination of this student, if necessary after confiscating the disputed documents and the work already done. Therefore, the student shall not pass this examination.
  2. An irregularity is considered to be any behaviour by a student within the context of an examination that unjustly favours him or another student with regard to the results obtained. Examples include cheating, unauthorised use of course materials, mobile phones, laptops or any other electronic material, taking examination questions or written preparations without permission, etc.
  3. Whether the irregularity is the result of a deliberate choice by the student and whether or not it has given the person concerned an unfair advantage is irrelevant for the factual determination.

Article 6: Examination board and deliberation

  1. The examination board is composed of at least two examiners, two instructors and two organisers.
  2. The examination board meets in the event of an irregularity or complaint.
  3. The examination board can change an examination mark in case of a material error, a gross irregularity or manifest unreasonableness.
  4. Material errors in favour of the student will be rectified up to 14 calendar days after the date of the examination. Material errors to the disadvantage of the student shall be corrected at all times. Material errors without influence on the success or failure of the student shall be corrected up to 14 days after the date of the examination. If the examination mark was affected by fraud, the examination board can review its decision at any time.
  5. A decision on a student or an examination is taken by simple majority.
  6. The members of the examination board and all persons present at the session are bound to secrecy concerning the deliberations and votes.

Article 7: Announcement of results

  1. After each examination, the results are checked by at least two people, independently of each other.
  2. All students will receive a general email stating whether they passed or not at the latest one calendar week after the day of the examination. This mail also specifies who had the highest score of that group (but without specification of the score).
  3. On request, students can receive their individual marks. For the section of 72 multiple choice questions, the student can obtain the breakdown of his score as follows: (DSR) Data Subject’s Rights (P) Principles (L) Admissibility (PO) Processor’s Obligations (IS) Information Security (TS) Terms and Scope.

Article 8: Complaints and appeal

  1. If the student believes that the obtained result is incorrect, he may inform the organisers of this in writing. The latter will contact the student within 14 days (either via email or telephone).
  2. If a student does not pass his first examination and to help him properly prepare for his resit, the organiser will give the student some examples of incorrectly completed answers together with some tips and points of attention. The entire examination will not be reviewed. Only the answer sheet filled out by the student shall be made available, together with the correction key.
  3. If a student does not pass the resit, he can be given access to the entire examination by means of a personal meeting. The results of the examination are not given to the student.

Article 9: Resit

  1. If a student fails to pass the examination, he may register for a resit.
  2. The cost price for this second examination session is EUR 200 (excl. VAT). The student can only take part in the resit if this payment has been made.
  3. For this second examination session, the same subject matter needs to be known as for the first examination. Even if the student has passed one of the three parts during the first examination, ALL three parts must be resat.
  4. The student may choose whether/when to resit the examination, as long as this is done within three months of taking the first examination. However, it is recommended to take the resit as soon as possible after the first examination. In any case, the resit coincides with the examination sessions of the courses scheduled later. The student does not take part in these later courses but only takes part in the examination session of that particular week.
  5. There is no appeal procedure in case of failure to pass the resit. If you do not pass the resit, you have to follow the course again.

Article 10: Protection of personal data

  1. The student has the right to the protection of his personal data as provided during the examination, such as surname, first name and the results obtained.
  2. By registering for the course and participating in the examination, the student authorises the organisers to process these personal data.
  3. Examination copies, written preparations, certificates of absence and examination board reports are kept for a maximum period of 1 year.
  4. Additional information on the protection of personal data can be found in the privacy policy, which is available on the Data Protection Institute website.