***Amendments to Regulation 10 were last approved by Senate on 7 July 2021 and noted by Council on 14 July 2021, with changes taking effect from the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year (4 October 2021)***

Regulations Governing Examination Regulations

10.1 Regulations for Examiners

Setting and Proof-Reading of Examination Papers and other Assessments

(1) (a) The Head of Department shall be responsible for the provision of examination papers and other assessments for modules taught by their department.

(b) For each module a named member of the academic staff must be responsible to the Head of Department for setting examination papers and dealing with corrections to them. This member of staff should ensure that all final proof copies of the papers in their subject are checked and approval to print given to the Examinations Section.

Procedure on Day of Examination

(2) The examiner responsible for the examination paper will ensure they are available at the contact details provided to the Examinations Section for the duration of the examination including those taken in Reasonable Adjustment rooms in Departments.

After the Examination

(3) Scripts will be taken to the Examination Team for final reconciliation against the attendance register. Scripts will be packed for collection by Departments.

(4) If a marker suspects academic misconduct has taken place Regulation 11 B4 applies.

Retention of Scripts

(5) Undergraduate Material

(a) Examination scripts and assessed work which contribute to final degree credit, will be retained for two years following the meeting of the final year Board of Examiners in the case of successful students, and for two years after the final Board of Examiners at which an unsuccessful student was considered.

(b) The following are excluded from the provisions of paragraph (a) above:

(i) reports on individual pieces of laboratory work that contribute 5 per cent or less of the credit for that year of the course; and

(ii) first year examination scripts and assessed work which individually contribute less than 1 per cent of the final degree result.

(c) Examination scripts and assessed work not contributing to final degree credit or else falling within (b)(ii) above shall be retained until 30 September following the Summer term meeting of the first year Board of Examiners in the case of successful students, or until 31 December following the September meeting of the first year Board of Examiners in the case of students allowed to proceed to the second year after the September examinations, and for two years following the final Board of Examiners at which the student is considered for all others.

(6) Postgraduate Material

Scripts and assessed work of postgraduate courses shall be retained until two years after the date of the final invigilated examination.

Notes:

In addition to the provisions concerning retention of scripts set out in paragraphs (6) and (7) above, the Senate has passed the following resolutions:

(1) That work contributing to final degree credit, including essays, dissertations, reports and laboratory notebooks, other than scripts completed in invigilated examinations, may, at the discretion of the appropriate Department, be returned to students before the Board of Examiners' meeting which will consider the marks awarded for that work, subject to the following conditions:

(a) That any mark awarded prior to the Board of Examiners’ meeting is subject to change; this will be made clear to the student before disclosing any such marks.

(b) That material which is returned will be re-submitted by the student in order that it is available at the Board of Examiners’ meeting.

(2) That Heads of Departments, when considering whether to return work to students, should bear in mind the possibility of such works being altered before re-submission, and should consider the procedures they should adopt if a student fails to re-submit.

(3) That the decisions under resolution (1) should not apply to reports on individual pieces of laboratory practical work, provided that the piece of work concerned contributes 5 per cent or less of the credit for that year of the course. Examiners may, however, require those items to be re-submitted by the student as in (1) above.

10.2 General Examination Regulations

(1) Students are not permitted to enter an examination room until an invigilator has announced that the examination room is open. Students are advised to arrive at the examination room 20 minutes before the published start time of the examination.

(2) Students are under examination conditions as soon as they enter the examination room and must not communicate with anyone other than an invigilator.

(3) Students must complete and sign the attendance form.

(4) Students are permitted only the following items at the examination desk:

• Student ID card: this should be placed on the top right-hand corner of the examination desk;
• Writing implements, rulers etc: these should be in a clear pencil case or bag;
• One clear container of still water: bottles should have the labels removed;
• Materials specified on the front page of the examination paper; these will have been notified by the module leader prior to the examination;
• Clear bag for personal, valuable items: such as wallets, purses, keys, mobile phones and electronic storage and retrieval devices. All mobile phones and electronic storage and retrieval devices placed in the bag must be switched off and alarms cancelled. The bag must be sealed and placed under the chair. Items must not be removed from the bag until the examination script has been collected.
• Clear bag for wrist watches: Wrist watches must be placed in the clear bag and placed on the desk.
• One bilingual dictionary: Students who are permitted to use a bilingual dictionary must ensure the dictionary is approved and stamped by their Department. An invigilator will inspect the dictionary to ensure it has been approved and stamped. Any dictionary not approved and stamped will be removed for the duration of the examination.

All other items are considered to be unauthorised materials. Students found in possession of unauthorised materials, either at the examination desk or on their person, will be noted and are subject to the procedure set out hereunder.

(5) If a student is found to be in possession of electronic storage or retrieval devices (including Smart devices), either at the examination desk or on their person, the following steps shall be taken:

(a) The time when the device was found is to be noted in the report of the examination and in the student’s answer booklet. The student is to complete a student incident form. The department is to be informed of the standard sanction for being in possession of smart devices during examinations.

(b) Any item suspected to be a smart device will be inspected by an invigilator and may be confiscated for the duration of the examination.

(c) The student shall be allowed to finish the examination.

(6) (a) The standard penalty for being in possession of smart devices during an examination is that a mark of zero be awarded for the examination by the marker.

(b) Students who are taking the examination as a first attempt and who have been awarded a mark of zero for possession of an unauthorised digital information, communication, storage and retrieval device will be given the opportunity to resit the examination at the earliest opportunity for a mark capped at the relevant pass mark. Students who are taking the examination as a resit are not eligible to a further resit attempt.

(7) Students who are in possession of unauthorised material or who are suspected of academic misconduct will be informed by the Senior Invigilator that a report may be submitted to the Head of the Department responsible for the examination under Academic Integrity Procedures (Academic Integrity Procedures B4.1 (2)). Where mark of zero under (6) above was awarded, further academic misconduct procedure under Regulation 11 and Academic Integrity Procedures will not normally be pursued, unless this is a repeat breach of these Regulations or the case requires resolution by an AIC for another reason.

(8) Students may not wear any watch while they are in the examination room. Watches may be placed in the clear bag provided on the exam desk and left visible on the desk.

(9) Students must not open the examination paper or make notes until the start of the examination has been announced.

(10) Students must write rough notes, calculations etc. in the answer book and cross this through to indicate to the marker that it should be disregarded.

(11) Students requiring assistance should raise their hand; an invigilator will come to the desk. Students must not leave the examination desk without the permission of an invigilator.

(12) Students arriving late for an examination will be permitted to enter the room up to 30 minutes after the start of the examination. No extra time will be allowed to compensate for a student’s late arrival.

(13) Students may not leave the examination room within the first 30 minutes or last 15 minutes of the examination.

(14) During the examination, students may leave the examination room only if escorted by an invigilator. Students who leave the examination unescorted by an invigilator will not be permitted to return to the examination room.

(15) Students requiring a toilet break will be escorted by an invigilator. Their answer book will be marked at the point the toilet break is taken. Only one student at a time is permitted a toilet break.

(16) Any irregularities of conduct within the examination room will be reported and the invigilator may instruct a student to leave the examination room.

(17) When the end of the examination is announced, students should stop writing immediately.

(18) All answer books, even if they contain rough work or are blank, should be submitted.

(19) Students must stay in their seats until all examination books have been collected and the invigilator has announced students may leave.

(20) Students may not remove answer books or examination materials from the examination room.

10.3 Regulations for the Invigilation of Examinations

(1) It is the responsibility of invigilators to ensure:

• examinations are conducted in compliance with the regulations agreed by the Senate;
• the security of the examination papers and materials;
• all students receive a consistent experience for all their examination;
• compliance with the processes and practices set out in the Guidance for Invigilators.

(2) A minimum of two invigilators will be allocated to each examination room. The number of invigilators in an examination room will be allocated at approximately 1:50 plus a Senior Invigilator.

(3) All invigilators are required to attend an annual training session.