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Final examination

Assessment of examination Oral exams
Board of Examiners Publication of results
Custody of examination scripts Records to be kept
Distribution of scripts Records to be supplied to Chief Examiners
Duration of examination Rectification of errors
Examination periods Return of result sheets
Illegible scripts Second marking
Information to be provided by Chief Examiners Setting of examination papers
Instructions for examiners Student access to examination scripts
Moderation Students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds
Notice to students Use of dictionaries and calculators

Examination periods

The official examination period of the University commences at the end of each semester. Supplementary and deferred examinations are usually scheduled in the official University supplementary/deferred examination period in January and, except by mutual agreement, will be held during the periods specified in the Handbook.

Information to be provided by Chief Examiners

Before the official university examination timetable is published, the Group Manager, Academic Services or nominee seeks from chief examiners information about the duration of the examination (including reading and noting time) and the preferred time for the holding of the examinations.

Duration of examination

The duration of a final examination is usually two to three hours (e.g. three hours' writing, plus reading time).

Setting of examination papers

  • For all units the examination paper to be set is approved by the head of department or nominee;
  • All units shall have two examiners appointed (a chief and an assistant examiner);
  • The examination paper is to be thoroughly checked by an independent staff member (the checker) with regard to accuracy, level of difficulty, balance and conformity to the objectives for the unit;
  • An indication of the marks for each question, including a breakdown of marks where relevant, should be provided and the chief examiner must ensure that an indicative marking scheme is prepared prior to approval of the examination paper by the head of department;

Assessment of examination papers

  • All failures must be verified by the second examiner;
  • The chief examiner should preferably be a staff member who has taught all or parts of the unit; where this is not the case, very close supervision of the marking should be undertaken by the unit co-ordinator or another appropriate staff member;
  • Final distribution of grades should be monitored by the head of department;
  • A complete record of grade distributions should be maintained by the faculty and monitored by all departments (unit co-ordinators), so that any significant deviation from year to year should have a rational explanation;
  • New and inexperienced markers should be allocated mentors;
  • All special considerations are considered, and acted upon where appropriate;
  • The same grade scale must be adopted for all degrees and awards.

Instructions for examinations

Instructions for examinations should be clearly specified on the examination paper. Chief examiners may also post a notice of the instructions on an appropriate noticeboard. The instructions should include a notice to the effect that the paper shall not be removed from the examination room. The withdrawal of the examination paper from 'circulation' permits its use, either in whole or in part, at a later date.

Notice to students

In the first week of the semester, students should be notified of the form the examination will take, as specified in the Handbook entry.

Students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds

The Faculty of Business and Economics does not grant extra examination time for students of non - English speaking backgrounds. If students believe they have difficulties with English, they are strongly urged to seek assistance from the various University support services, including the Language and Learning service on their home campus.

Use of dictionaries calculators and prescribed texts

Unless specified in an open book examination, dictionaries are not permitted to be used by students sitting an examination held by the Faculty. (This also applies to foreign language dictionaries as English is the language of instruction within Monash University). Calculators are permitted if specified on the examination paper. For further information on the types of calculator permitted by the Faculty, see the Faculty's calculator policy.

Students undertaking an open book examination are allowed to use Monash library copies of the prescribed text books. The details of these texts are to be listed on the examination paper for the benefit of invigilators.

Distribution of examination scripts

The examination scripts are delivered to chief examiners. It is the chief examiner's role to distribute the scripts according to departmental practice. Chief examiners should record what scripts or questions have been assigned to particular assistant examiners. The attendance sheets prepared by invigilators will record absentees.

Illegible scripts

If an examiner finds a script to be illegible, the script should be forwarded to the chief examiner. If the chief examiner and at least one other examiner also find the script illegible the chief examiner may record a mark of nil in respect of the whole or part of the script as the case requires or may give the student an opportunity to tape record his/her answers and for the tape recorded answers to be transcribed - at the student's expense. The head of department should be consulted for appropriate procedures.

Second marking

A student cannot be failed in a unit except on the recommendation of at least two examiners. (see Examination Regulations 6.6.) The University requires the Faculty to have a process for verifying fail marks that contribute to a final fail result. Exceptions to this are pieces of work contributing no more than ten per cent of the final mark, unless the total of such pieces exceeds thirty per cent of the final mark. These items must be identified in advance.

This means that if a student's aggregate mark is below the pass grade, class tests, assignments and other assessable written work (if any) which received fail grades will need to be recalled and reviewed - unless, of course, the work has already been marked by two examiners. Assessment tasks receiving at least a pass grade will not normally be second marked.

Academic staff are nevertheless free to adopt a regime under which class test papers that are awarded a fail mark are automatically submitted to a second examiner for re-assessment. If that expedient is adopted, the fact of its adoption should be recorded in the information supplied to the chief examiner in the unit. All fails that contribute to a fail result must be remarked. It may be advisable to photocopy failed originals or remark immediately to avoid unauthorised alterations.

When a student's written work needs to be recalled for review, it should not be recalled until the examination period has concluded. (Some students who have received recall notices prior to the end of the examination period have said that receipt of such notices has occasioned them great distress and has affected their performance in subsequent examinations!)

Oral examinations

Approval of oral components of assessment normally would be approved through the usual faculty process. Oral examinations in exceptional circumstances may be conducted at the discretion of examiners but there is no expectation that they will be held. Two examiners must be present during any oral

Collation and moderation of results

Chief Examiners are responsible for collating results of assessable work and moderating the assessments of assistant examiners.

Return of results sheets

Chief examiners are required to return signed results to the relevant administrative officer by a specified date. Chief examiners will be supplied with a document that explains the symbols to be used in recording the results. Marks must be rounded to whole numbers before being recorded on the results sheets. Even though results will normally be submitted electronically, written approval is required from the head of department. After approval by heads of departments, Schools etc, results, together with grade distributions for each unit should be submitted to an examinations officer who will be the secretary to the board of examiners.

Board of Examiners

Staff members should refer to the guidelines for Board of Examiners (See Guidelines for the Conduct and Responsibilities of Boards of Examiners). Officially, the results of students are not finalised except by determinations of the board of examiners (or its delegate). Prior to the day of meeting of the board of examiners, chief examiners receive a printout of the results of students (in alphabetical order) per the chief examiners' returns. Chief examiners are expected to check the accuracy of the printout in relation to the units for which they are responsible and also be prepared to fill in gaps and to propose variations in the light of second marking and moderation processes that had not been completed when they filed their returns.

Publications of results

There are two methods by which results are published, these being:

via the Web - students access the web site http://www.monash.edu.au/exams and, using their authcate password, can get their results, or

via interactive Voice mail- students who do not have access to the web can ring 1902 241 538 and by keying in their id number an first four digits of their birthdate can gain access to their results.

Results are no longer published on noticeboards or sent to students in written form. Staff should not disclose final results to students prior to the official notification date and should refer any enquiries in that period to the head of department.

Rectification of errors in recording

Should it be discovered, after the notification of final results, that some error has been made in relation to a student's results - because, say, of an arithmetical error, or because of a confusion of similar names (e.g. Ng, BL and Ng, EL) the chief examiner should provide the head of department's office or if appropriate, the office of Student Administration with a written and signed notice of the rectification sought.

Note: Faculty policy on result changes states that only the Faculty that has ownership of a unit should make results amendments.

Note: Any changes in results that are not part of the formal Board of Examiners process must be authorised by the relevant course director.

Student access to examination scripts

Victoria's Freedom of Information Act 1982 grants students the right to access to their examination scripts. Students should apply to the relevant administration officer. A time will be arranged for them to read through their scipt under supervision or they may be given photocopies at a fee of $5 per script book for each examination. The original examination script should not be retained by the student in any circumstances.

The choice of procedure is decided by the unit Chief Examiner. However, it is expected that the use of photocopies will be minimised.

Students will normally view their examinations on their home campus. Off-campus learning students who are unable to come to the campus may be offered the option of a photocopy.

Students may be denied access to their scripts if the examination is a short-answer or a multiple-choice module.

There is no requirement or obligation that feedback will be provided when students view their examination scripts, or that the mark obtained for each question or section, or for the total examination component, will be provided or shown on the script.

The department should retain the final examination scripts in the units for which it is responsible for at least six months after the publication of the results. At the end of that six-month period, arrangements may be made for the shredding of the scripts. In no circumstance should the original of an examination script be supplied to students. These arrangements are ones that are prescribed by a combination of State Archives and Freedom of Information legislation and university legislation.

Scripts unit to an appeal shall be retained for one month after conclusion of the appeal if this is a later date than six months after the notification of results.

Custody of examination scripts

The department should retain the final examination scripts in the units for which it is responsible for at least six months after the publication of the results. At the end of that six-month period, arrangements may be made for the shredding of the scripts. In no circumstance should the original of an examination script be supplied to students. These arrangements are ones that are prescribed by a combination of State Archives and Freedom of Information legislation and university legislation.

Scripts unit to an appeal shall be retained for one month after conclusion of the appeal if this is a later date than six months after the notification of results.

Records to be maintained

Academic staff who are involved in the assessment of assessable work should keep records of the following for at least six months after notification of results:

  • applications for extensions of time dealt with by them;
  • marks awarded by them for assessable work;
  • assessable exercises set by them;
  • written correspondence with individual students;
  • written 'feedback' to students in the form of handouts.

Scripts subject to an appeal shall be retained for one month after conclusion of the appeal or six months after notification of results - whichever is the greater.

These must be shredded rather than placed in a bin.

Records to be supplied to chief examiners by assistant examiners

These should include:

  • copies of reading guides and other teaching materials, produced in-house;
  • copies of class tests and assignment questions;
  • marks sheets recording marks for each assessable piece of work.

Supporting Information

Purpose and Rationale

To ensure there is consistency in the examination processes used in the Faculty. In many units taught by the Faculty, examinations are used to assess students' knowledge. In order for the University to attest to the veracity of a student's knowledge, it is important that examinations are conducted in an appropriate and consistent manner.

Scope

This policy applies to all examinations conducted for coursework units and degrees in the Faculty of Business and Economics.

Definitions

  • "Board of Examiners " - A Faculty committee that consists of the Dean or the Dean's nominee, at least one Associate Dean, the Chief Examiners in the units taken by the students enrolled in the Faculty, other staff appointed by the Dean.
  • "Chief Examiners " - The Chief Examiner for each unit will be the Chairman of the Department concerned or such other person as shall be appointed by the Faculty Board on the nomination of the Chairman.
  • "Chairman of Department " - In the case of a Faculty not divided into Departments, this means the Dean of the Faculty.
  • "Faculty Board of Enrolment" - Means the Faculty Board of a Faculty in which a candidate is enrolled.
  • "Supplementary Examination " - A supplementary examination is a form of supplementary assessment that is granted to a student in accord with the prescribed rules and conditions of the relevant Faculty Board. Usually a supplementary examination is intended to be granted in predefined and determinable circumstances, such as when a candidate obtains a mark in a particular range or after certain prerequisites have been satisfied. Students are not required to offer any justification or supporting evidence to gain a supplementary examination.
  • "Special and Deferred Examination " - A special examination is sometimes referred to as a deferred examination. The Faculty Board of enrolment or the appropriate Board of Examiners may allow a candidate to sit for a special examination where: a candidate has been prevented by illness or other serious cause from presenting for all or part of a terminal examination; or the candidate work during the academic year of performance in examination or other assessment has been gravely affected by illness or other serious case.
  • "Unit Assessment " - Means the assessment of a candidate's performance in a unit.
  • "Teaching Faculty Board " - Means the Faculty Board of the Faculty by which the unit concerned is taught.
  • "Terminal Examination " - Means an examination held after the end of teh teaching period and the results of which are wholly or partly used in making the unit assessment for the unit concerned.

Related Documents

Governing Documents

Responsibilities for Implementation

Deputy Dean Education, Associate Dean Education, Course Directors, Course Coordinators, Program Managers, Chief Examiners

Date Effective

December 2003

Approval

Faculty Board

Review

By end December 2006

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