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 his/her 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 his/her subject are properly checked before they are returned to the Academic Registrar for printing.

Procedure on Day of Examination

(2) The examiner responsible for the papers shall be present in the examination room for ten minutes before the examination is due to begin. He/she shall leave the room immediately after the Senior Invigilator has made the required announcements at the start of the examination and shall remain available outside the examination room for a further ten minutes.

(3) Before the examination begins the examiner shall check his/her paper for any errors. If there are any amendments to be made he/she shall inform the Senior Invigilator who will make the necessary announcements.

(4) Before leaving the examination room an examiner shall inform an invigilator where he/she may be contacted in the University in the event of any questions from a candidate on his/her paper.

After the Examination

(5) Scripts are taken from the examination room to the Academic Office for final checking and packaging. Examiners will be informed by the Academic Office of the details of the distribution of scripts.

(6) An examiner who, when marking examination scripts, suspects that cheating has taken place shall consult the Head of his/her Department, who shall, if it is thought necessary, make a full report to the Academic Registrar. The procedure thereafter shall be governed by Regulations 11(A)(2)-(7) of the Regulations Governing the Procedure to be Adopted in the Event of Suspected Cheating in a University Test.

(7) An examiner who suspects that a candidate has offered false evidence of his/her progress in a University test not conducted under examination conditions as laid down by the University Regulations for the Invigilation of Examinations shall consult the Head of his/her Department, who shall, if it is thought necessary, make a full report to the Registrar. The procedure thereafter shall be governed by Regulations 11(B)(3)-(8) of the Regulations Governing the Procedure to be Adopted in the Event of Suspected Cheating in a University Test.

Retention of Scripts

(8) Undergraduate Material

(a) Scripts written in invigilated examinations which are held by the University and which contribute to final degree credit, and all assessed work which contributes to final degree credit shall be retained for two years following the meeting of the final year Board of Examiners in the case of successful candidates, and for two years after the final Board of Examiners at which an unsuccessful candidate was considered in the case of unsucessful candidates.

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

(i) reports on individual pieces of laboratory work, provided that in either case the piece of work concerned contributes 5 per cent or less of the credit for that year of the course; and

(ii) first year examination answers or assessed essays which individually contribute less than 1 per cent of the final degree result.

(c) 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 candidates, or until 31 December following the September meeting of the first year Board of Examiners in the case of candidates allowed to proceed to the second year after the September examinations, and for two years following the final Board of Examiners at which the candidate is considered for all others.

(9) 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 (8) and (9) 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 candidates before the meeting of the Board of Examiners which will consider the marks awarded for that work, subject to the following conditions:

(a) That any mark awarded prior to the examiners’ meeting is subject to revision; that this will be made clear to the candidate concerned before disclosing any such marks.

(b) That material which is returned will be re-submitted by the candidate in order that it is available at the 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) No candidate is permitted to leave the examination room until half an hour after the start of the examination, and normally no candidate is permitted to enter the examination room more than half an hour after the start of the examination. However, if a candidate arrives after the first half hour has passed, the invigilator may use his/her discretion in extending the time limit provided no candidate has already left the room. If a candidate is excluded from the examination room under this Regulation he/she should in his/her own interest report to the staff at the Student Enquiry Desk of the Academic Office.

(2) Any irregularities of conduct within the examination room will be reported and the invigilator may order a candidate to leave the examination room.

(3) Except when prevented by medical reasons or other sufficient cause, a candidate who fails to present himself/herself for examination will be deemed to have failed in that part of the examination. Misreading of the examination timetable will not be regarded as ‘sufficient cause’. If, for any reason, a candidate is unable to attend an examination, he/she should report the circumstances to the Academic Registrar at the earliest possible moment. The Chair of the Board of Examiners shall also be notified by the Academic Registrar of any such absences.

(4) Candidates are forbidden to take into the examination room any books, papers, calculators, or any information storage and retrieval device, or any attache case or bag in which such items can be carried, unless there is an express provision otherwise in the case of a particular paper. Candidates are forbidden to pass calculators or any other item to one another during examinations.

(5) If a candidate suspects that there is a printing error in a question paper he/she should consult an invigilator.

(6) No student may leave the examination room during the last fifteen minutes of the examination, in order to avoid disturbing other candidates who are completing their papers.

(7) Smoking is not allowed in examination rooms.

(8) Candidates are forbidden to take into the examination room any devices which may emit noise or are likely to disturb other candidates

10.3 Regulations for the Invigilation of Examinations

(1) It is the prime duty of invigilators to ensure that no improper practices occur within the examination room and that the examinations are conducted within the terms of the regulations agreed by the Senate.

(2) Not less than two invigilators will be allocated to each examination room. Invigilators must remain in the examination room throughout the examination except when their duties require them to leave.

(3) One invigilator in each room shall be designated Senior Invigilator. The Senior Invigilator shall be responsible for the co-ordination of the invigilation in that room and such duties as may be set out in the Instructions to Invigilators.

(4) Invigilators under the direction of the Senior Invigilator shall be responsible for the security and laying out of the examination papers and for such other duties specified in the Instructions to Invigilators.

(5) At the time scheduled for the start of the examination the Senior Invigilator shall:

(a) make an announcement to the effect that candidates must satisfy themselves that they are in possession of the correct paper;

(b) ask candidates to study carefully the rubric at the head of the examination paper;

(c) make all other necessary announcements.

(6) Normally no candidate may be admitted after the examination has been in progress for half an hour; if, however, no candidate has left the room, the invigilators may use their discretion in extending this time limit. If a candidate is refused admission under this Regulation, the invigilator must tell the candidate in his/her own interest to report immediately to staff at the Student Enquiry Desk of the Academic Office.

(7) Where an invigilator suspects a candidate of cheating the invigilator shall, after informing and consulting the other invigilator(s), warn the candidate that a report will be made. The candidate shall then be permitted to finish the paper. A full report of the circumstances shall be made to the Academic Registrar immediately after the examination.

(8) Candidates are forbidden to pass calculators or any other item to one another during examinations.

(9) Invigilators may require a candidate to leave the examination room, but only if his/her conduct is disturbing other candidates.

(10) Candidates leaving the examination room temporarily for any reason must be accompanied by an invigilator.

(11) Instructions to Invigilators shall be published annually by the Academic Office, setting out details of the procedures to be followed in the conduct of examinations.

Effective from 18 May 2016.