Completion method and assessment¶
The course may be completed at your own pace, but deadlines are used to guide students to complete the course within a reasonable time.
The course requirements are successfully completed Plussa exercises and the examination. In addition, students of Computing Sciences and Computer Science must participate in the course opening session. Three opening session dates will be reserved and announced later. Participation is not mandatory for students from other disciplines, but it is recommended.
The course material contains advanced sections, which may be skipped if desired, but the examination will nevertheless include questions on them. Advanced material is marked in the titles of Plussa materials and in the examination. The examination is designed so that it can be completed without reading the advanced material.
The maximum score in the examination is 130 points, of which 30 points come from advanced questions. The pass mark is 40 points. The examination may be retaken twice. Although the grade will be entered into Sisu later, the completion date will be the date on which the examination was taken.
Course completions are normally recorded within the 21-day marking period. During the summer and around the turn of the year, however, the marking period is extended. You should only contact the course staff about recording a completion if the course completion is urgent. Likewise, if the completion has not been recorded according to the schedule.
Bonus points can be earned by participating in Theme learning sessions and making improvement suggestions. The points must be earned before taking the examination. You can earn a maximum of 12 points from the sessions and a maximum of 6 points from improvements. In total, you can earn at most 12 of these points. For example, if you earn 6 points from sessions and 6 points from improvements, you will receive 12 bonus points. If, on the other hand, you attend four sessions, you will receive 12 bonus points and can no longer earn points from improvements.
In addition, the Cybersecurity module (COMP.CS.015 Digital General Skills, theme 5: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity) provides 14 bonus points. Thus, together with the Cybersecurity module, it is possible to earn a maximum of 26 bonus points (14+12).
Bonus points are added to the score of a passed examination. They therefore do not affect passing the examination. The course is graded on the basis of bonus points and the examination as follows.
| Grade | Points threshold |
|---|---|
| 1 | 40 |
| 2 | 56 |
| 3 | 72 |
| 4 | 88 |
| 5 | 104 |
Validity of completions¶
Because the course must be completed within a reasonable time, completions expire as follows:
Exercises on Fornax can be completed until the end of February 2027.
Plussa exercises remain valid for approximately six months after they close. For example, Fornax exercises remain valid until 31 August 2027. This means that a passing examination result must also be obtained by that date at the latest.
After passing the examination, you have six months to improve your examination grade.
Points earned from Theme sessions are not tied to course implementations (such as Fornax), but remain valid for one year from the date of completion for the examination of the current implementation. Validity ends at the end of the calendar month. For example, a Theme session completed in September 2026 remains valid until the end of September 2027.