Exams & Grades
The Associate Deans and the Registrar’s Office are primarily responsible for the administration of exams. Accordingly, their offices post the Exam Information content which contains everything from exam schedules, permissible materials, exam regulations, and information about finding your exam ID.
Additionally, the Office of Academic Computing offers students the option of taking their exams on their laptop computer and has compiled an online Exam Database of past published exams.
- Read the law school regulations for taking exams here
- Exam4 Starting Instructions
- See the technology services page on taking exams on computer here
For information about study aids and preparing for law school exams, see the Academic Success webpages.
The law school is rarely closed for weather or other emergencies. This is especially so during exams. However, should circumstances make it necessary to close the School or delay the opening of School, a message will be broadcast using the NOVA Alert system. Please note that students must register for the NOVA Alert System on NOVASIS. If possible the message will also be posted on the Law School homepage (www.law.villanova.edu) under News and Events. In addition, the Law School has an Emergency Cancellation Line: 610-519-7744. This is a listen-only number and will carry details regarding closing, late opening, early closing and library access. Please do not call the main number to obtain the closing information available on the Emergency Cancellation Line.
We will make every effort to administer exams as scheduled, even if it is with a skeleton staff (that may mean that things take a little longer, but we will do our best). However, if the area around the building cannot be made safe, we cannot open. If there is any question about whether we will be open, please consult the sources listed above.
If we are open, but you determine that it is not safe for you to travel from where you are, you must contact the Registrar’s Office directly and immediately, and in no case later than the time when the exam is scheduled to begin. Call 610-519-7002 or 610-519-7017 and leave a message, or send an e-mail to registrar@ law.villanova.edu. Do not call these numbers or e-mail that address merely to check on whether we are open or not. Use these numbers only to report that you cannot safely travel to the law school. Please also be aware that the Registrar’s staff will be preparing to start exams and may not be available to answer the phone. Leave a message. It should go without saying that you should only seek to be excused if you are genuinely convinced that it would be unsafe to travel. Should we be forced to close or should you be unable to make your scheduled exam because of weather or other emergency, make-ups will be scheduled for the next available day.
Some Villanova Law faculty have chosen to make their prior exams available to students. A complete searchable list of old exams on file is available in our exam database which is accessible using your Villanova login.
NOTE: to access the exam database when off campus, you must log in (using your single-sign credentials used to access Blackboard, MyNova etc.) through Villanova's Gateway. Please see the instructions for Using Gateway for more information.
Any exams the database lists as online can be downloaded directly. Exams marked archives are retained for historical purposes and are not for exam prep and studying.
