Comprehensive Overview of Assessment and Examination Procedures at UQ - April 2013

1. ASD Seminar Series • Assessment and Examination Procedures • Helen Morahan • Director Student Administration • Gerry Crowhurst • Manager Examinations April 2013

2. An Introduction • What we do • Examinations – some numbers • Alternative Examination Arrangements • External Examination Arrangements • Examinations for Other Institutions • Examination Supervisors • Examination Compliance • Examination Constraints • Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures in 2013 • What’s coming up!

3. What we do... • For end of semester and deferred/supplementary examination periods, (semester 1, 2 and summer) the Examinations Section is responsible for: • scheduling, • room allocation, • supervision, • alternative examination arrangements, • examination paper printing, and • provision of examination materials.

4. What we do... • For semester 1 and 2 mid semester examinations the Examinations Section is responsible for: • scheduling, • room allocation, • supervision and • alternative examination arrangements. • The Schools are responsible for the provision of examination papers & examination materials.

5. Examinations – some numbers • For an end-of Semester examination period... • schedule 800 examinations • approximately 100,000 student sittings • 200 examination sessions across 3 campuses • 800 papers undergo quality assurance checks • 1,000,000 sheets of A4 paper are used for printing

6. Examinations – some numbers • For an end-of Semester examination period... • 40,000 personalised timetables to students • Process 2,000 Deferred examination applications • Provision of timetables to Schools • Provision of timetables to the UQ website

7. Alternative Examination Arrangements • Accommodations are made for students with... • Long term and short term disability • Religious observances • Elite athletes – identified with PSI on SI-net (updated Elite Athlete procedures, PPL 3.50.07) • Timetable clashes • Each Semester approx 1,000 examinations for • 500 students across 3 campuses

8. External Examination Arrangements • Off campus arrangements are made for UQ students... • Externally enrolled and reside >200 Km from a campus • In exceptional circumstances, with Academic Registrar approval, for internally enrolled students • Semester 1 sup/def - non returning students • Semester 2 sup/def - all students

9. External Examination Arrangements • Semester – 350 examination sittings • 65 external examination centres including • 13 international centres • Fee charged to internally enrolled students • List of established centre available on web • http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/available-overseas-venues-153854

10. Examinations for Other Institutions • University of Queensland provides an examination service for students of other tertiary institutions to sit their examinations on-campus • Australian Universities • International Universities • Each Semester approximately 340 examination sittings

11. Examination Supervisors • University of Queensland provides supervisors for 8 examination periods throughout the year and details available to schools for school based exams. • approx 270 examination supervisors • Mandatory annual training • Provision of supervisors for alternative examinations and examinations for other institutions

12. Examination Constraints • There are a number of factors that impact on the scheduling of examinations... • Number of student enrolments • Distribution of student load • Venue capacity and availability • Duration of the examinations • Cross campus and pg/ug concurrency • Where necessary date/time preference of examiners

13. Examination Management System (EMS) • EMS was introduced in 2012 and manages... • Multiple examination periods • Examination scheduling • Secure upload of examination papers • Alternative examination arrangements • External examination arrangements • Examinations for Other Institutions • Examination Supervisor allocation • Student Communications & Personalised Timetables

14. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures effective 01 January 2013... • Change in terminology of perusal/reading time • From perusal time to reading time • Examination materials definition – to.. • ‘Open Book’ • ‘Closed Book’ • ‘Closed Book with specified materials permitted’ • Materials permitted refers only to written materials (not calculators)

15. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Alternative Examination Arrangements – for students with three (3) examinations on 1 day • To include mid-semester examinations scheduled on the one Saturday • Mid-Semester examination durations • To30, 60 or 90 minutes plus 10 minutes reading time to accommodate the increase in Saturday mid semester exams.

16. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Disregard Performance • Previously: provision for students to disregard performance at the original examination • Current: a student who attends and attempts whole or part of the original examination will not be eligible for a deferred examination

17. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Disregard Performance • The previous provision for students to disregard their performance at the original examination on the basis of falling ill during the examination is no longer available. • Examination scripts for students who attend whole or part of the original examination will be marked / graded accordingly.

18. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Disregard Performance (cont...) • Very Exceptional Circumstances • Where a student falls seriously ill after an examination session has commenced (eg has an epileptic episode, becomes unconscious etc.), a deferred examination may be granted but only if very exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. • The situation will need to be a sudden, serious and arising from a debilitating condition that clearly prevents the student from continuing the examination and would necessitate the student’s immediate attendance at Health Services.

19. Changes to Assessment Policy & Procedures • Disregard Performance • Very Exceptional Circumstances (cont...) • Consideration of exceptional circumstances would require substantiation in a medical certificate that must detail the following criteria in related to the medical condition. The; • suddenness of onset of the condition • predisposition to the condition • seriousness of the symptoms, and • impact on the student’s ability to remain and complete the examination. • A medical certificate that simply states that the student was unfit to sit the examination will not be sufficient to demonstrate exceptional circumstances

20. What’s coming up... • Assessment Sub Committee (ASC) is currently developing best practice guidelines on: • Oral assessment • E assessment/online assessment • Group assessment • Peer assessment • ASC reviewing provisions for: • supplementary assessment. • change to finalised results.