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Operational Excellence

Exam Invigilation

ProjectsThe aim was to relieve faculty workloads during the examination period - a time of peak pressure in the academic cycle when exam marking needs to be the No 1 priority.

Improvement Champion
David Wilson, Professor of Strategy, WBS

Project Manager
Lisa Burton, Assistant Manager, Academic Services

Facilitator
Catherine Gordon, Administrative Director, Specialist Masters Programmes

This project has been successfully piloted amd will be fully launched for all examinations in 2009-10. Below is a summary of why we needed to improve this process  - and progress to date. More details are available from the workshop output(PDF Document) the project progress report(PDF Document) and performance metrics(PDF Document)

  

INVIGILATION

PROCESS

DESCRIPTION

Process Issue(s)

Invigilating examinations ties up many hours of costly faculty time each year (177 sessions in 2007-8). It is unpopular with faculty as it coincides with the peak exam marking period.

Planned Improvement

To relieve the invigilation burden for WBS faculty so that they can focus on exam marking and other mainstream academic activities, and to provide a more cost-effective solution to invigilation, by training doctoral researchers as invigilators and simplifying and streamlining the invigilation process.

Benefits

  • Improved turnaround of exam marks by freeing-up faculty time.
  • Reduced pressure and stress on faculty at a peak workload period
  • Improved quality of invigilation, by trained, committed and enthusiastic doctoral researchers
  • Simplified and less stressful process for Academic Services team
  • More cost-effective process

Key process changes

  • Establish database of doctoral researchers who want to invigilate
  • Training for doctoral researchers
  • Set up budget for invigilation fees
  • Run pilot for Summer Examinations 2009 and seek customer feedback (from students, faculty and doctoral researchers)

Progress

  • Doctoral invigilator database up and running
  • Induction programme for doctoral invigilators held pre-Summer 2009 exams
  • Budget for invigilation fees established
  • Pilot run in June 2009 exams

Successes

  • 50% reduction in faculty invigilation sessions; in Summer 2009
  • Doctoral researchers now invigilate 60% of examinations, compared with 20% in 2007-8
  • Faculty now invigilate by choice, not compulsion
  • “The whole process is easier and less painful than before, with enthusiastic, diligent and careful doctoral invigilators backed up by volunteer faculty who proactively choose to invigilate…” (Lisa Burton, WBS Examinations Officer)

Improvement Team

Lisa Burton (Project Manager), Rhoda Brown, Alan Gamble, Catherine Gordon (Facilitator), Andrea Humber, Windfred Mfuh, Stephanie Stray, Lorraine Tipper, Jane Varley, Jo Wale, David Wilson (Improvement Champion)