The FREE ACCESS Degree Courses of the Department of Law are:
Single-cycle degree course in Law (LMG/01)
Bachelor of Science in Legal Services (L-14)
The Department of Law offers the possibility to verify initial preparation through, alternatively, ONE of the following instruments:
TOLC - SU
Test of initial preparation
These tests have the function of verifying whether the preparation acquired during the school career is adequate for the chosen degree course, also providing a self-assessment tool to enable students to improve their basic preparation and to enter the university course.
The Additional Formative Obligations (OFA) are a formative debt which, pursuant to Article 6 of Ministerial Decree 270/2004, is attributed to the student who is not in possession of adequate preparation on the basis of the initial assessment test.
This debt must be fulfilled within the FIRST YEAR of the course.
Fulfilment of the Additional Formative Obligations (OFA) is a necessary condition for taking the profit examinations: those who do not take or fail the TOLC-SU or the Initial Preparation Test will not be able to enrol for the profit examinations, while they will be able to attend classes and take the partial examinations.
WARNING!
Please read the FAQ section for further clarification.
For the academic year 2025-26 the TOLC-SU is delivered in presence at the Computer Laboratory of the Department of Law, Via San Geminiano, 3 - MODENA or in another university location.
The TOLC-SU can be
- booked and taken, starting from the 4th year of upper secondary school, at any national university location that provides it and the result is valid for access to all degree courses of the Department, with free access;
- booked and taken on any date of the TOLC-SU Delivery Calendar and at any university delivery venue or even remotely from the universities organising the test (TOLC@CASA);
- taken only once each month of the delivery calendar.
Students with a previous university career are exempt from taking the TOLC-SU; this includes students enrolled for transfer and/or change of course, as well as students who have withdrawn from a course of study and lapsed students.
Structure and marking of the TOLC-SU
50 questions divided into 3 sections to be completed in 100 minutes:
-30 questions of Comprehension of the text and knowledge of the Italian language (10 on text of a literary nature; 10 on text of a non-fiction nature; 10 on text of a journalistic or popular nature);
-10 questions on Knowledge and skills acquired in studies;
-10 questions of non-formalised logical-critical reasoning.
The score is calculated on the basis of the number of correct, incorrect and not given answers.
The score is derived from:
1 point for each correct answer;
0 points for each incorrect answer;
penalty of - 0.25 points for each incorrect answer.
The test will be deemed passed if a score of 18/50 or higher is achieved.
TOLC-SU result
At the end of the test, in real time, the student will see the total score achieved.
The positive result of the TOLC-SU will be uploaded to each student's transcript under ‘Additional training obligations’ by the University's IT Department, in time for the booking of the profit exams.
In the event of a negative result, however, enrolled students must make up the training debt by taking the initial preparation test.
ATTENTION!
The outcome of the English section of the TOLC-SU test does not affect the assessment thresholds for passing it and for the attribution of OFAs.
In addition, the English section of the TOLC-SU test will not be taken into account for the purposes of passing the English language exam (aptitude) envisaged in the syllabus.
Dates of the TOLC-SU
The TOLC-SU is delivered in presence at the Computer Laboratory of the Department of Law, Via San Geminiano, 3 - MODENA, on the following dates:
25 March 2025, 3 p.m.
26 March 2025, 3 p.m.
7 May 2025, 3 p.m.
8 May 2025, 3 p.m.
22 July 2025, 9:00 a.m.
23 July 2025, 9:00 a.m.
9 September 2025, 9:00 a.m.
10 September 2025, 9:00 a.m.
It is necessary to report to the department for recognition at least 30 min before the test.
The registration procedure can be found on the CISIA (Consorzio Interuniversitario Sistemi Integrati per l'Accesso) page: https://www.cisiaonline.it/area-tematica-tolc-studi-umanistici/home-tolc-su/
Registration fee
For participation in the TOLC-SU there is a contribution for administrative charges (see FAQ - payment section: https://www.cisiaonline.it/faq-cisia-archivio-tolc/).
For the academic year 2025-26, the initial preparation test is held in person at the Computer Laboratory of the Department of Law, Via San Geminiano, 3 - MODENA
The TEST TO VERIFY INITIAL PREPARATION must be
- booked and taken, within the first year of enrolment, on the scheduled dates;
- booked via the ESSE3 platform, by registering for one of the rounds scheduled for the ‘Additional Educational Obligations’ exam call;
- taken for a maximum of two attempts.
Students with a previous university career are exempt from taking the INITIAL PREPARATION TEST, which also includes students enrolled for transfer and/or change of course, as well as students who have withdrawn from a course of study and students who have dropped out.
Structure and scoring of the initial preparation test
The test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions with 3 possible alternatives, of which only one is correct, on the following topics:
1. Elements of History;
2. Outlines of the Constitution of the Italian Republic
3. Italian language and elements of logic.
The test will be deemed passed if a mark greater than or equal to 12/20 is achieved, defined as follows
- 1 point for each correct answer;
- 0 points for each incorrect answer;
- 0 points for each incorrect answer.
Result of the initial preparation test
At the end of the test, in real time, the student will see the total score achieved.
The positive result of the initial preparation test will be uploaded to each student's booklet under ‘Additional training obligations’ by the referring teacher, in time for the booking of the examination appointments.
Students who do not pass the initial preparation test on the first attempt will be able to retry directly in the next round.
If, in the second round too, the test is failed, students will have to make up for it in accordance with the procedures set out in the section entitled ‘How to make up the initial preparation test’.
Dates of the initial preparation test
The TEST OF VERIFICATION OF INITIAL PREPARATION is held in person at the Computer Laboratory of the Department of Law, Via San Geminiano, 3 - MODENA, on the following dates
21 October 2025, 9.00 a.m.
22 October 2025, 9.00 a.m.
2 December 2025, 9:00 a.m.
3 December 2025, 9:00 a.m.
12 January 2026, 9 a.m.
Registration fee
There is no registration fee.
Should the outcome of the TOLC-SU or the initial preparation test be that of ineligibility, those concerned must follow a course consisting of reading one of the books on the specially prepared list and writing a short report on their contents.
Each report, written in Word format (file with the extension .doc or .docx) and with a maximum of 7,000 characters including spaces, must be sent to the teacher delegated to OFAs by e-mail.
ATTENTION!!!
Students who do not fulfil their OFAs by the start date of the second year's teaching activities (30 September) will be automatically enrolled as repeat students.
1. Can I enrol without having taken the TOLC-SU?
YES. The degree courses offered by the Department of Law are open access, so you can enrol even without having taken the initial knowledge test. Remember, however, that additional training obligations must be fulfilled within the first year of enrolment.
2. Do I have to take both tests?
NO. You only have to check your initial preparation using one instrument (TOLC-SU or TEST OF VERIFICATION OF INITIAL PREPARATION).
3. I have registered and failed the TOLC-SU, what happens? I cannot attend classes?
NO. If you do not pass the TOLC-SU you will have to make up the educational debt by writing a dissertation (see the section entitled TOLC-SU/ TEST TO CHECK INITIAL PREPARATION).
Failure to pass, however, will allow you to attend classes and take partial examinations. You will not be able to take profit examinations. We therefore advise you to fulfil your additional training obligations before the profit examinations session.
4. Can the TOLC-SU only be carried out once?
NO. You can take the TOLC-SU once every month.
5. I have passed the TOLC-SU at a non-UNIMORE University, is it valid?
YES. Enrolled students who have taken the TOLC-SU at a non-UNIMORE university site or the TOLC-SU@CASA are considered eligible to fulfil their additional training obligations. We remind you that in order to be able to fulfil the additional training obligations, the threshold to be reached is 18/50.
6. What is the difference between the TOLC-SU and the INITIAL PREPARATION TEST?
They are both useful tools for testing initial knowledge; the structure is different (e.g. number of questions and barrier rules), but the content is absolutely identical. The student is free to choose which instrument to use in order to qualify for the additional training obligations.
7. Do I have to check initial knowledge?
NO. Students with a previous university career, those who have applied for a transfer, those who have transferred a course, those who have renounced a course of study and those who have lapsed are exempt from verification. Remember that in order to qualify for the additional educational obligations, you must declare this at the time of enrolment.
8. I passed the TOLC-SU with a score of 18/50, what should I do?
NOTHING. Your eligibility, even if it will not be immediately present in your booklet, will be uploaded by the UNIMORE IT Department in the following periods: mid-October, mid-November and mid-December.
9. I do not want to take the TOLC-SU, is this possible?
YES. The Department of Law offers an additional tool to check initial knowledge, i.e. the TEST TO VERIFY INITIAL PREPARATION.
10. How do I take the INITIAL PREPARATION TEST?
Once you have matriculated, you must register for one of the examinations called ‘Additional training obligations’ by accessing the personal area of ESSE3.
11. I passed the INITIAL PREPARATION TEST, what do I have to do?
Nothing. The teacher in charge will record the suitability, which will be automatically uploaded onto each student's transcript.
12. Can the INITIAL PREPARATION TEST only be taken once?
NO. The student has two attempts. If, even on the second attempt, the assessment is that the student is unsuitable, he/she will have to follow a course consisting of reading one of the books on the list provided for this purpose and writing a short report on their contents. Please note that it is possible to attend lectures and take partial examinations. You will not be able to take profit exams. We therefore advise you to fulfil your additional training obligations before the profit exams session.
With regard to enrolment in the TOLC-SU and all related issues, it is necessary to contact the organising consortium CISIA https://www.cisiaonline.it/ directly.
With regard to the TEST TO VERIFY INITIAL PREPARATION (‘OFA test’) and possible REMEDIATION METHODS, please refer to the Teaching Secretariat helpdesk.giurisprudenza@unimore.it