Victoria University's faculty of architecture and design, which has managed to lose 68 unmarked first-year final exam papers.

Victoria University has lost 68 unmarked exam papers for a course notorious for its competitive selection process.

The first-year architecture exam was completed on November 9. Four days later, the 68 scripts were left "unattended" by a tutor, and could now be "considered lost", the university said on Tuesday.

"This is the one exam in the whole year that counts towards getting into next year, so there is a whole lot of pressure on it," one first-year student who sat the exam said.

STUFF The affected students may be given an internal grade after their end-of year exam papers were lost before marking. (File photo)

She felt cheated to think her hard work would count for nothing.

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​The university's School of Architecture has apologised for the error, and has assured students it will not affect their chances of being accepted into the second year.

However, the student said only about a third of the cohort of roughly 300 first-year students can get into architecture the following year, based on their grades.

"If you mess that grade up it can change your overall grade for the whole paper ... It can take you from like an A to a C. It can change anything.

"It's a competitive degree. If you don't get good grades, you don't get to do the career that you want, pretty much."

"I think I had two breakdowns when I was studying, just from the pressure. And to go through all of that for nothing is just ... it's not that great."

The students received an email on Tuesday morning from head of school Morten Gjerde explaining their exam papers had "been misplaced and [are] now considered lost".

In the email, Gjerde apologised "unreservedly for this happening, and want to reassure you that this will not affect your chances of acceptance into second year".

"The selection committee for entry into second-year courses have been made aware of this, and where a student is near the cut-off mark, they will consider carefully the impact that the SARC 121 final grade has had on their overall first-year performance."

Victoria University science, engineering, architecture and design pro vice-chancellor Mike Wilson said that, four days after the exam, the scripts "had gone missing".

They had been left "unattended" by a tutor who was tasked with marking them and, after an extensive search, they were "considered lost".

"The university has worked hard to ensure everyone in the course received a fair grade and that no-one is disadvantaged for entry into second year."

Up to 300 students sign up for the School of Architecture course in a typical study year.

Every architecture student is required to complete six base subjects and two electives to apply for selection into their favoured areas of study. The process is competitive.

Successful students go on to complete the three-year, full-time programme in their chosen field in architecture, architecture history and theory, interior architecture, and landscape architecture.

Wilson said all students who sat the first-year architecture exam, whether or not their paper was lost, were told what had happened, and of the university's plans for the affected students.

"The protection of exam papers is something the university takes very seriously, and occurrences such as this are extremely rare."

The affected students would not have to resit the exam, he said.