***Amendments to Regulation 10.2 were last approved by Council Chair's Action on 28 March 2018. The revision regulation detailed below will take effect on 14 May 2018 for all new and existing students. To view the current version of the regulation please click here.***

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) Candidates arriving late for an examination will be permitted to enter the room up to 30 minutes after the start of the examination. Candidates arriving later than 30 minutes might be admitted at the invigilator’s discretion provided that no candidate has already left the room.

(2) Candidates may not leave the examination room within the first 30 minutes nor within the last 15 minutes of an examination session.

(3) During the examination, candidates may leave the examination room only under supervision.

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

(5) Candidates not attending an examination will be awarded a mark of zero.

(6) Candidates are not allowed to take into the examination room any unauthorised materials, items and/or digital information, communication, storage or retrieval devices and must certify this on the attendance slip at the beginning of the examination.

(7) If a candidate is identified as being in possession of a digital information, communication, storage and retrieval device in the examination room, the invigilator shall inform the student and make a report. The penalty for possession of such a device shall be a mark of zero in the examination.

(8) Candidates awarded a mark of zero for possession of an unauthorised digital information, communication, storage and retrieval device will be given the opportunity to re-sit the examination in question at the earliest opportunity for a mark capped at the relevant pass mark.

(9) Students retain the right to appeal the decision and penalty of being awarded a mark of zero for possession of an unauthorised digital information, communication, storage or retrieval device under University Regulations.

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.