Courses & Exams

The teaching system at LSM includes a large amount of group work, which usually counts for (part of) your final grade. Most of the time, you have a final exam in addition to that. When planning your study programme, keep in mind that group work takes quite a lot of time. The course description mentions if group work is part of the evaluation, or it will be explained by the Professor during the first lecture. Please note that the groups are formed during the first week of the semester.

Continuous Evaluation

In case of continuous evaluation, the professor will expect individual work throughout the semester. You will have a final exam to take at the end of the semester. Note that the evaluation system will be explained by the Professor during the first lecture.

Lecture Notes

During the first lecture, Professors explain whether there is a “Syllabus” (handout) or other materials for the class and where to find them.

There are two ways to get your lecture notes :

• on the UCLouvain intranet through Moodle, for the electronic version.

• in the DUC, situated in Grand’rue, to print hard copies. The DUC is a place where you can find handouts for most courses. 

ECTS Credits & Grading System

ECTS credits are the measuring units to build your programme. They reflect the amount of work that is necessary to pass a particular learning activity (e.g. a course or a seminar) and are calculated taking into account the total time needed to achieve the desired learning outcomes, including the time spent in individual study. Being a standard European measure, ECTS credits will make it easier for your studies at UCLouvain to be recognized by your home university. UCLouvain uses the ECTS grading table. 10/20 is a passing grade.

Before the start of the semester

Learning Agreement 

Students must send a signed Learning Agreement to LSM as soon as possible, but at least 2 weeks before the start of the term. A learning agreement is a contract of study between the student, the home university and LSM. Your choice of courses must respect both your home university requirements and the LSM rules. Please fill in your Learning Agreement on the Mobility Online platform as soon as your student file has been completed. Note that this choice is not final and you will have the opportunity to modify your course selection during the first week of the semester. LSM recommends a workload of 30 ECTS credits for one semester evenly distributed between Part 1 and Part 2 (besides language courses).

If you are thinking about taking French lessons, you can mention "French Course" in the column of the course code in your Learning Agreement. You have the possibility to do a language test to evaluate your level of French when arriving in Belgium and thus select the course(s) you need.

During the first week of the semester

During the first week, students need to either:

• confirm the course choice made in your Learning Agreement on Mobility Online

• OR

• modify it on Mobility Online(in agreement with your home coordinator and LSM)

To modify your course selection, you must fill in the Annex to the Learning through the Mobility Online platform; otherwise, you can simply confirm your course selection on the platform. The deadline is the Monday of the second week of the semester.

Final step

Check your registration

After the deadline to submit your Learning Agreement (or its Annex), LSM will finalize your registration for courses.

You will be asked to check your course registration on "MyUCL", your UCLouvain account. The exact code and title of the courses you are registered to must appear. If there are any discrepancies with your final course choice, you should inform the LSM Incoming Students Coordinator without delay. Remember that, if this course registration is not correct, it will not be possible to make any changes during the semester.

Be aware of the issues this can raise :

• If a course you want to follow is not listed on "MyUCL", it will not appear on your Transcript of Records and no grade will be given for it

• If a course you do not want to follow stays on "MyUCL", it will appear on your Transcript of Records with the mention "NE" meaning "Not Evaluated"

Moodle

Moodle is a distance course information platform used by Professors to give students information, exercises, documents, and communication tools regarding their courses. Professors will inform students if they use this tool during their first lecture and provide them with the enrollment key, if necessary.

Your registration on Moodle is not an official registration. To access Moodle, you must be registered as a UCLouvain student and have your UCLouvain account activated. You can log in on Moodle with your UCLouvain user account by going to https://moodle.uclouvain.be/. You will then have the possibility to search for your courses using the course code in order to find your lecture notes or any other document the Professor has posted there for you. Note that you may be asked to enter the enrollment key that was provided during the first lecture.

UCLouvain and LSM exam rules

For the first term (September to January), the exams are held in January and, for the second term (February to June), they are held in June. Resit exams can only be done in August/September in Belgium. In some exceptional cases, and always with the Professor's approval, students can take resit exams from their home university under certain conditions.

Each student has the right to take the same exam twice during the same academic year:

• First possibility: the regular exam session at the end of the semester the course is given

• The second possibility is the resit exam session (August-September).

The UCLouvain does not allow the organization of exams outside the official exam session.

In order to take an exam or resit an exam, you must be registered for it. The LSM Incoming Student Coordinator will register you for your exams by default. You will be asked to check your registration online via your UCLouvain account.

The evaluation system may be different from one course to another and, at the Professor's discretion, may be composed of :

• class participation

• oral presentations (individual and by group)

• written exams (essays/projects/group reports)

• oral exams

The exam schedule is available before the end of the semester on the LSM webpage (only accessible for students with a UCLouvain account). Please check this page regularly when the exam session approaches.

January exam session: specific rules

Students who must return to their home university for academic reasons in January will be allowed to take their exams from their home university. Proof from the home university is required. These exams taken from abroad must take place on the same day and, when possible, at the same time as the UCLouvain examination.

How to register for an exam from abroad (this is the only valid procedure) :

1. The LSM Incoming Students Coordinator will send you an email with the registration procedure shortly after the exam schedule has been communicated.

2. Complete the "Exams from Abroad" form. The information needed is :

   1. Your details (full name, noma, and UCLouvain email address)

   2. Course code (letters and numbers)

   3. Course title

   4. Name of the Professor

   5. The day and time of the examination (should be the same as the UCLouvain examination) 

   6. Name and e-mail address of the responsible person who will invigilate your exam(s) at your home university

3. You have to contact your home university coordinator to make your exam(s) arrangements 

4. The LSM Incoming Students Coordinator will get in touch with your home university invigilator for the administrative follow-up of your exam(s). 

August/September resit exam session

Resit examinations take place during the resit exam session in August/September.

In order to resit an exam and to receive its results, students must be registered for the course and for the resit exam. All necessary information about the resit exam session will be sent to students by email at the end of the semester.

Students eligible for resit exams are:

• Students with a grade below 10/20

• Students who could not attend the first session

Students must be in Belgium to take their resit exam(s). In some exceptional cases, and always with the Professor's approval, students can take resit exams from their home university under certain conditions :

• A maximum of 4 written resit exams will be supervised by the LSM Incoming Student Coordinator

• Oral resit exams need to be organized directly with the Professor via video conferences

When will I receive my transcript?

Transcripts of Records are sent electronically to your home university coordinator. A paper version will only be sent to the home university upon request.

They are prepared within the weeks following each exam session :

• For exams taken in January, the Transcript of Records is sent in mid-February
• For exams taken in June, the Transcript of Records is sent in mid-July
• For exams taken in August-September (resit session), the Transcript of Records is sent mid-September

Be aware that, if you register for a course but choose not to take the exam, "NE" (Not Evaluated) will appear on your Transcript of Records for this course. As no grade is given, your home university can decide if this is considered as a failure or not.