Hi,

 

We used to routinely schedule evening examinations, but now only use evening slots if we have to.  Our examinations now run:

 

09:30 - up to 3 hours (+additional time)

14:30 - ideally without 3 hour examinations;

17:30 - occasional use, ideally with less than 2 hour examinations only (+ additional time)

 

We used to have afternoon examinations starting at 14:00, but had difficulty with additional time examinations finishing and, in addition to issues for any students with back-to-back exams, had difficulty getting invigilators and venues set for the afternoon session.  We also introduced a “late-is-late” policy, where students are marked as “no show - fail” if they do not arrive on time, and it helps having both begin on the half-hour.

 

We have very few evening examinations, and are careful to manage venues and invigilator venues so that we can handle the short gap.

 

This year we also had an unusual incidence of students given +100% time, and I am going to recommend that this adjustment is reviewed, so that the few students affected either sit a shorter paper, or are given a different exam format.  Hopefully teaching and assessment developments, especially with the “inclusive” aims will reduce the incidence anyway.

 

Brunel detailed responses below.

 

Best wishes,

 

-C

 

 

Dear colleagues

 

I have been asked to look in to the feasibility of scheduling a third session of examinations (in to the evening) during our main exam periods and I wondered if anyone has had experience of doing this.  We currently schedule occasional evening exams but I would like an idea of the challenges/advantages of delivering this on a larger scale.  Currently we schedule two sessions of examinations per day during our main examination periods, one session starting at 09:30 and one at 14:30.

 

I would be interested in any one’s experiences of running three sessions of examinations, particularly in relation to the following:

1.       Students who have additional arrangements/extra time etc.

How do you manage students with additional needs that require them to have significantly longer time to complete their exams, and/or require regular breaks which extend the end time of their exam.

 

We work on a case by case basis, but would usually seek to start an examination earlier, so it has the same end time as the main cohort, or the same end time as the +25% cohort.

 

2.       Overloading students.

What restrictions are there at your institution to prevent a student having back to back or a heavy load of exams e.g. 2 in one day?

 

Our current policy is:

·         “Initially the timetable is scheduled, as far as possible, using only the morning and afternoon sessions.  Evening sessions are then used where practicalities prevent use of the earlier times.

·         The only constraint applied is to avoid scheduling any candidate with two examinations on the same day, or with an evening examination followed by a morning examination the next day. This may not always be possible, especially during the re-sit period.

·         The University wants to provide equal opportunity and so implementation of these principles need to take account of extra time allocated to candidates with additional requirements and the practicalities of parallel examinations sat at remote sites, including partner institutions.

·         All candidates are normally limited to a maximum of 5 hours of examinations per day.”

 

3.       Complexities of overseas scheduling.

If you manage them, how do you schedule the additional complexities of overseas (different time zones) with partner organisations.

 

This is not often allowed, and so we handle situations on a case-by-case basis.  Usually we only allow a change of time so that the start is before the end of the main cohort end, or conversely the end is after the start of the main cohort exam.

 

4.       Context.

What is the structure of your academic year?

Semesterised delivery i.e. modules are completed and assessed within one or two semesters

Or

Linear academic year delivery, assessment across the year with end of year examination

 

We have a few Winter exams, between the first and second term; a 3-week main examination period in the third term (usually May), and a week of resits toward the end of August.

 

Happy to collate and share responses.

 

Many thanks in advance,

Alex

 

 

Alex Hardwick               

Assessment, Ceremonies & Examinations Manager
Student and Academic Services
DDI: +44 (0)1604 892315

 

 

 

northampton.ac.uk

 

University of Northampton, Newton Building, Avenue Campus, 
St. Georges Avenue, Northampton NN2 6JB United Kingdom

 

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