Examinations Officer

Examinations Officers are appointed by the Deputy Head of School (Education), in liaison with the Head of School and the Associate Dean (Education), to co-ordinate and manage the academic examination procedures for a School or a defined discipline group. They are responsible for ensuring that they run in a smooth, effective and consistent manner, in consultation with the Deputy Head of School (Education), the Director of Programmes, the Faculty Assessment/Administration & Assessment Team Leader, and other SAA staff as required.

Each Faculty will nominate one Examinations Officer who will represent the Faculty at any University wide discussions or events which discuss the operations of assessment and examinations.

The role will take responsibility for:

1. having a thorough and up to date understanding of relevant regulations regarding progression, referrals, and repeats;
2. ensuring consistency of approach to Board of Examiners practices across the discipline(s) for which they are responsible;
3. liaising with SAA staff to ensure that deadlines for preparation of assessment documentation (exam papers, model answers etc.), and for marking of scripts are communicated to academic staff with adequate notice and by appropriate means;
4. liaising with SAA staff to ensure that the dates and times for examinations and for Boards of Examiners are communicated to academic staff and external examiners with adequate notice and by appropriate means;
5. organising and overseeing the preparation of exam papers in line with the University’s policy for the Proof-Reading of Examination Papers and discipline requirements;
6. ensuring that all comments on examination papers are responded to suitably;
7. in accordance with the University Calendar paragraph 5: ensuring that appropriate nominees of the Associate Dean (Education) are available during the whole of the examination period and remain on campus until each day’s examinations have been concluded, including those held on Saturdays. This responsibility includes maintaining a contact list valid during each examination for those responsible for the examination paper and facilitating effective contact with them during examinations;
8. drawing up a schedule of second marking and moderation responsibilities for all relevant examination papers;
9. attending relevant Special Considerations Boards;
10. liaising with SAA staff to ensure the assessment grids are completed with correct and complete marks, attending relevant pre-Boards and identifying modules and cohorts of sub-cohorts where student performance is likely to warrant discussion at the Board of Examiners;
11. attending Boards of Examiners and presenting the recommendations of the Special Considerations Boards, Academic Integrity panels and pre-Boards to the Board, leading discussion of cohort/sub-cohort performance on identified programmes or modules;
12. acting as a source of advice to the Board of Examiners, including External Examiners, on regulatory matters; notifying Boards of Examiners and External Examiners of changes to regulations;
13. informing academic colleagues on procedures for communication of marks to students, including issues relating to confidentiality and GDPR;
14. liaising as necessary with other campuses or examination centres (including UoSM ) regarding examination matters;
15. contributing to discipline, school, faculty and University conversations about the enhancement of processes connected with examination.