Free trial regulation
Free trial regulation
If certain conditions are met, it is possible to get another attempt to retake an examination that has not been passed or to take an examination a second time and keep the better of the two grades - both are regulated by the so-called free attempt.
A distinction is made between two cases:
Free attempt
Additional attempt for failed examinations
Have you failed an exam? Fortunately, you have three attempts for all exams, so there are still two retakes left. If the lecturer offers different types of examination in the module, you can also choose a different type of examination to retake. In this case, you are not restricted in terms of time and can take a resit examination years after your first examination without submitting a proposal. If your first examination was a main examination, you can also apply for it to be considered as not having been taken; this is known as a free attempt. As a rule, this is automatically noted in the Examinations Office. Check your grade overview in Stud.IP. Otherwise, contact the Examinations Office in good time.
The free attempt gives you a total of four attempts in this module instead of the usual three. We therefore recommend that you always take the first examination date, even if you are not studying for it. This way you have not wasted an attempt and can already see, for example, how a written exam is structured with lecturer XY.
The free attempt is possible in most cases, but not always. If the first attempt was a written exam, there should be no problems; for all other types of examination, check the subject-specific examination regulations of your degree programme yourself. Please also note any special regulations in the areas of specialisation. You can find the examination regulations on the Examinations Office website.
Free attempt to improve grades
Repeating a module examination that has already been passed
Are you unhappy with your grade? You know you can do better? Perhaps you simply had a bad day or too little time to prepare for the exam?
Then you can submit a proposal to improve your grade and use the free attempt to improve your grade to retake the exam once. If you would like to do this, you must fulfil the following requirements:
- You must have been in the standard period of study at the time of the first examination. Even if you have switched to the Master's programme in the meantime, you can submit a proposal as long as you also meet all other requirements.
- Your first attempt must have been passed on a main date. This applies even if you are taking the module for the second time but did not take an examination the first time.
- The examination for grade improvement must take place within one year of the first attempt being passed. If no examination takes place during this time, the next possible date must be taken. It is not the specific date that is important here, but primarily that it is also the main date. Example: An exam on 7 February can therefore be written for grade improvement, even if the main date of the previous year was on 5 February.
You fulfil all the requirements and would like to retake the exam? If you search for your degree programme on the Examinations Office website, you will find a proposal for grade improvement among the forms. Fill it out and hand it in to the Examinations Office at least 14 days before the new exam.
You have nothing to lose, except a little time, because the better grade counts. If you get a worse grade in the second attempt than in the first, the original grade will stand!
You can submit a proposal for improvement for almost all examinations and usually as often as you like, exceptions are mentioned in the examination regulations, which you can also find at the Examinations Office.
To give you a better understanding of the regulations, which may seem complicated at first glance, we have come up with some example scenarios:
Example scenarios
Example I
Free attempt to improve grades
Sandro is studying 2FB in his first semester. He wrote a 3.0 in Analysis I. In the exam review, he is annoyed about his mistakes as he could have done better. As he would like to get a better grade, he registers directly for the retake exam three weeks later by submitting a proposal to the Examinations Office. He finds this exam so difficult that he fails. Nevertheless, he passes the module with a 3.0.
Example II
Free attempt with failure
Daniela is a fourth-semester Bachelor's student of mathematics and is taking Algebra II. Although she has several exams in a short space of time, she takes the main exam and fails. She wants to take part in the follow-up exam and registers normally via Stud.IP, but falls ill and cancels the exam in good time with a doctor's certificate. In the sixth semester, she takes Algebra II again and can register for the exam as normal via Stud.IP. She passes the main exam with a 1.7. If she had failed, she would have had two more attempts thanks to the free attempt.
Example III
Missing prerequisite for free attempt to improve grades
Jan is in his third semester of a two-subject bachelor's degree in mathematics. During the examination phase, there is a family incident, which is why he does not attend the main examination and is unable to prepare properly for the post-examination in geometry and fails. In the fifth semester, Jan is abroad for his second subject, English Studies, and is therefore unable to take any modules in Oldenburg. In the seventh semester, he takes the module for the second time. He passes with a 2.3 in the main term. Although he theoretically still has one attempt left, he does not fulfil the requirements to improve his grade in the subsequent term.
Example IV
Free attempt to improve grades
Kim is in her sixth semester of a two-subject Bachelor's degree in mathematics. She had already taken stochastics in the fourth semester, but did not take any exams for various reasons. Now, in her sixth semester, she has passed Stochastics with a 3.0 on the main exam date. As she has already passed all the other modules, she has been a Master's student since 1 October and has already submitted her Bachelor's thesis, but has not yet submitted the proposal for her certificate. She can therefore take part in the follow-up exam on 6 October and passes with a 2.0.
As the Student Council is not authorised to make legally binding statements about examinations, we cannot guarantee that this information is correct or up to date!
To be on the safe side, you can read the exact regulations in your examination regulations. If you have any further questions, the Examinations Office has collected frequently asked questions that may also help. If, after careful research, you still need help with your individual concerns, you can also contact the Examinations Office.