Dear Kathryn
We tend to have standard durations for examinations e.g. 1.5 or 2 hours and, rarely, 3 hours, based roughly on the credit value of a module.
With more and more students requiring exam adjustments, this also gives rise to students receiving 25% additional time, and occasionally 50% extra time, which gives a very mixed economy of durations.
We are not blessed with large venues, so we keep our exam adjustment students separate, and do our best to not have mixed duration in venues because of the disruption it causes.
Hope this helps
Miv
Miv Fagg
Senior Assistant Registrar
Assessment & Awards
University of Surrey
Guildford
GU2 7XH
T: +44(0)1483 689031
F: +44(0)1483 683811
-----Original Message-----
From: ARC Assessment Practitioners Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathryn Connor
Sent: 26 October 2012 13:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Exam Durations
Dear All,
We had 13 different examination durations in operation last year, and as we held our examinations in three large venues which accommodated between 500 and 1,000 per session, scheduling papers of mixed duration proved unavoidable. From 2013 onwards we'll be holding all of our examinations in one large venue (capacity - 1,600 per session), which will leave us with even less scope for limiting the number of mixed duration examinations held at any one time.
In order to minimise the disruption caused by large groups of students leaving at 10, 15 and/or 30 minute intervals, we've recommended to departments that, in 2012/13, only examinations ending on the hour or half hour be allowed, with a move in 2013/14 to two or three hour examinations only. Whilst most of the College is able to comply with this, there are pockets of resistance (some with good reason).
In order to inform the ongoing discussion/debate about this issue here at KCL, I'd like to find out what happens elsewhere. Could you let me know how many different examination durations you have, and how you manage these if, like us, you use large examination venues.
Many thanks,
Kathryn
****************************
Kathryn Connor
Head of Examinations and Awards
Examinations and Awards Office
7.29 James Clerk Maxwell Building
King's College London
57 Waterloo Road
London
SE1 8WA
Tel: 020 7848 3395
Fax: 020 7848 3379
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