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Policy Statement
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Appointment of chief examiners
Chief examiners are appointed pursuant to the University's Examination regulations. Chief examiners are appointed by faculty board and assistant examiners by the Dean or Faculty Board on the recommendation of the head of department. Where only one staff member is involved in the teaching of a unit over a given teaching period, that person is usually appointed as the chief examiner in the unit. The chief examiners will normally be appointed well in advance of the relevant teaching period.
Chief examiners are expected to familiarise themselves with the Examination regulations and to take appropriate measures to ensure that assistant examiners are familiar with those regulations.
The assistant examiner(s) will normally be people who have recent experience in teaching the unit. In multi-streamed units, the chief examiner will be a staff member in charge of one of the streams. The assistant examiners will include the staff in charge of the other streams, and those assisting in teaching the unit.
In cases in which the number of examination scripts to be marked is substantial, staff who have not been actively involved in teaching the unit over the relevant period may be appointed as assistant examiners to ensure an equitable distribution of marking responsibilities.
Should staff members have queries in relation to assessment procedures or to problems that have arisen in relation to assessment of students' assessable work, queries should be addressed to the chief examiner in the unit or to the Head of Department.
Responsibilities in relation to the teaching program
These responsibilities include the following:
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provision of details for units for publication of each annual electronic edition of the Handbook. (The prescriptions for undergraduate units approved by Faculty Board are set out in a file held in the office of the relevant administrative officer or department);
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ensuring that other staff in the unit are familiar with the syllabus for the unit;
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convening meetings with other staff (if any) to discuss the teaching program;
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ensure that unit objectives, prerequisite units, reading guides, assessment details and administrative requirements are provided to students in the first week of the semester as required by the Education Policy.
Responsibilities in relation to assessment
These responsibilities include the following:
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provision to the head of department or nominee of details of proposed methods of assessment in a unit;
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preparation, if prepared by other staff in the unit, of draft class tests, assignments and other assessable exercises;
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provision, at the request of the head of department, of information about the duration and timing of final examinations;
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where examinations are being run on campuses where there is a significant difference in the time scheduled for the exam, chief examiners should ensure a different examination paper is set at the affected campuses. Alternatively, chief examiners can change the critical information on the examination in one location, and/or consult staff in the overseas location to help vary the questions in that location;
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preparation of final, supplementary and special and deferred examination papers (in consultation with the staff who teach the unit, if any), and transmission of those papers to the head of department, or nominee, for approval;
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be available for contact during the times of scheduled examinations invigilated by Examinations Branch;
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distribution of examination scripts to assistant examiners, per the head of department's allocations of examining duties, together with notes of guidance;
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second-marking of the assessable work of students who have failed on first marking. (It is the chief examiner's responsibility to recall assessable work that needs to be second-marked.) If the chief examiner has first marked assessable work, he/she should arrange for an Assistant Examiner to second mark that work;
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identification and handling of cases of suspected plagiarism in accordance with the University policy and procedures on plagiarism. Where the chief examiner has determined and is reasonably satisfied that the plagiarism was, more likely than not, done with the intention to obtain an unfair advantage in assessment, the matter must be reported as suspected cheating pursuant to University Statute 4.1 - Discipline;
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establishment of a multi-campus unit management group and collaboration with the group, to ensure equivalence of assessment standards across all campuses, in accordance with the Academic Programs Offered From Multiple Campuses policy;
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provision of regular reports to the course director and course management/advisory group on the performance of students in the unit and the extent to which multi-campus governance was implemented and consistency achieved;
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collation of all results for assessable work in the unit and moderation of the results, including determination of what result should be recorded for a student who has failed a hurdle requirement;
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return of final results to the heads of department's office;
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provision of, where requested by the departmental pre-board, a written report on any anomalies in the results of the unit(s) for which they are responsible to their Head of Department;
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checking the accuracy of the printout of results prior to the meeting of the board of examiners;
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ensuring that examiners are available for student consultations after publication of final results;
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determining if and/or how students may access their examination papers after publication of final results;
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publication of notices regarding the form of supplementary/deferred examination papers;
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general superintendence of the supplementary/deferred examination papers;
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recommendation of award of prizes, if any, in the unit.
Records to be maintained
These include:
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a list of examiners in the unit;
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copies of the unit outline, reading guides and other in-house teaching materials issued to students in the unit, whether these materials are issued free of charge or are sold;
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copies of all class tests, assignments etc. set during the teaching period and the weight accorded to each;
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a register of marks for all assessable pieces of work;
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copies of the chief examiner's written correspondence in relation to the unit;
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a list of students who have applied for special consideration in the unit (These applications are held by the relevant administrative officer);
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a list of students who have been awarded special/supplementary/deferred examinations in the unit;
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photocopies of any pieces of assessable work that have been failed as a result of second-marking;
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copies of official returns of results in the unit;
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analysis of distribution of grades in the unit. (This analysis can be left until after the results of the supplementary/special examinations are finalised.) A copy of the analysis should be sent to the Head of Department.
Miscellaneous responsibilities of chief examiners
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Advice on the appropriateness of awarding credit for units completed in other institutions;
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Liaison with other teachers in the unit;
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Advice to staff who are new to the teaching of the unit;
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Dealing with student complaints in relation to teaching and assessment in the unit;
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Ensuring that the unit is reviewed/evaluated as required by Faculty policy;
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Resolving any issues as referred by the Course Director.
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Endorsement Body
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Faculty Board
Meeting number: 6/96
Meeting date: 13 December 1996
Agenda item: 6.6.1.10 & 6.7.4
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 2/00
Meeting date: 12 April 2000
Agenda item: 2.6.1.2 & 2.6.2.5
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 6/00
Meeting date: 8 December 2000
Agenda item: 6.6.3.8
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 2/01
Meeting date: 18 April 2001
Agenda item: 2.6.3.4
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 1/04
Meeting date: 11 February 2004
Agenda item: 1.6.1.6
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 6/06
Meeting date: 6 December 2006
Agenda item: 10.2
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 2/09
Meeting date: 6 May 2009
Agenda item: 8.4
Faculty Board
Meeting number: 4/09
Meeting date: 12 August 2009
Agenda item: 7.8
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