Intent

This procedure supports the Learning Teaching and Assessment Policy (LTA Policy) and provides guidance and direction to staff relating to the conditions and processes for the conduct of examinations.

Scope

This procedure applies to all staff involved in the delivery of Undergraduate and Postgraduate coursework assessment by examination at James Cook University, including JCU Brisbane and JCU Singapore.

This procedure applies to the following Examination options:

• End of Study Period Examinations generally held during the Examination Periods
• On Course Examinations which are held outside the Examination Periods and advised via the subject outlines or college communications.
• Supplementary Examinations
• Deferred Examinations
• Special Examinations

This procedure does not apply to:

• Assessment in English Language courses and short courses; or
• Assessment undertaken by JCU students in courses or units at other education institutions (e.g., cross-institutional study, outbound mobility study arrangements).

Definitions

Except where otherwise indicated in this procedure, the definitions used in this procedure are found in the Learning Teaching and Assessment Policy or the Policy Glossary.

Deferred Examination – is a delay (postponement) to the start date of an Examination and awarded in accordance with the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure. It is timetabled during the Supplementary/Deferred Examination Period. These days are designated on the Academic Calendar as supplementary/deferred Examinations Periods.

End of Study Period Examinations – an Examination (also known as a formal exam) for a study period that is timetabled within the Examination Periods or where it does not fit within the Examination Period during teaching weeks as agreed between the relevant college and Examination Office.

Examiner – Academic staff member or affiliate responsible for setting and/or marking the Examination.

Examination Period – means the span of days designated on the Academic Calendar when the End of Study Period Examinations may be scheduled

Examination Supervisor – a person approved by the University assigned to oversee and invigilate the conduct of examinations.

Examination Office – a centralised unit that undertakes the administration and timetabling of End of Study Period, Deferred and Supplementary examinations. This is the:

• Exams and Graduation Unit for all JCUA campuses except Brisbane and Singapore.
• JCU Brisbane Examinations for the Brisbane campus; and
• JCU Examinations for the Singapore campus

On Course Examinations – an Examination held outside the Examination Period for a study period or trimester and managed by an Academic Unit and advised to the student in the Subject Outline. These examinations may also be referred to in the Subject Outline as mid-term, mid semester, in class, examinations or tests and quizzes.

Permitted Materials - are materials made available/allowed during an Examination.

Special Examination – an Examination approved by a College Dean.

Study Site – an approved physical location for Examinations.

Supplementary Examination – an additional assessment to determine if a student has achieved the subject learning outcomes and/or requirements to pass the subject. It is timetabled during the Supplementary/Deferred Examination Period. These days are designated on the Academic Calendar as supplementary/deferred Examinations Periods.

Procedures

1. Examination Responsibilities

1.1 The following areas are responsible for the preparation and publication of a student’s End of Study Period Examination timetable and Supplementary/Deferred Examination timetable:

1.1.1 The Examinations and Graduations Office for all campuses except Singapore and Brisbane.

1.1.2 The JCU Singapore Examinations Office for students studying at the JCU Singapore campus.

1.1.3 The JCU Brisbane Examinations Office for students studying at the JCU Brisbane campus.

1.2 The College/Academic Unit is responsible for preparation and notification to students of any On Course Examinations

1.3 The requirements for timetable development are outlined in Clause 5 and 6 of the Examinations Procedure for Students.

2. End of Study Period, Supplementary and Deferred Examination - Deadlines

2.1 The last dates for examination preparation are as follows:

2.2 The relevant Examination Office may approve an amendment to the above dates to make the dates earlier if agreement is reached with all impacted colleges.

3. End of Study Period, Supplementary and Deferred Examination and any additional examination papers - Request Requirements

3.1 College/Academic staff must submit their examination requests as per the deadlines in clause 2.1. The content of the examination request is used to publish the timetable for students and must contain the following detail:

3.1.1 the examination type for each specific subject code that requires an End of Study Period, Supplementary or Deferred examination.

3.1.2 Reading and writing requirements:

• Hard Copy Examination papers will have either 15-minute reading or none, unless professional requirements necessitate a specific reading time due to accreditation or registration of the student.
• Online Examinations will have reading time incorporated into the approved duration for the examination.

3.1.3 Except for Practical and Oral Exams, duration must be selected from the approved durations (in minutes) of 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, and 200.

3.1.4 Any materials that are to be supplied by the Exams office.

3.1.5 Any specific instructions to students that relate to their exam

3.1.6 Identify the campuses for which the exam request applies with consideration to the following:

a. Where the same subject is taught in the same year across different Study Periods that do not have simultaneous Examinations scheduled, there must be comparable examination papers in terms of length, type and difficulty, but be varied in precise question content for each Examination. Online Examinations that utilise randomised question pools to determine the examination content are considered to meet this requirement when the number of questions in each Examination is the same.

b. Examination papers must be the same for all availabilities of the subject within the same Study Period, or across Study Periods where the Examination is scheduled to occur at the same time.

c. If an Examination includes an external availability and there is no Study Site available, the mode of assessment may be changed to accommodate a suitable option

3.1.7 Identify the Examiners.

3.1.8 Identify the Permitted Materials that are allowed for use during an examination including selecting one of the following Permitted Materials types:

• No Materials allowed – students are not allowed to bring any materials into the exam room (including dictionaries, calculators) except standard stationary, i.e., pen/pencil.
• Restricted Materials allowed – students can bring only the materials listed which could include specific book titles, calculators, dictionary and must be specified in the request.
• Any Materials allowed – no materials need to be listed in this section.

3.2 Practical and Oral Exam requests are required for the purpose of timetabling only and duration should be noted in in the Exam Request.

3.3 For any durations required outside of those listed in clause 3.1.3 the college will, two weeks before exam requests open, email the Exams office with a request.

3.4 The Examination Cover sheet produced at the time of the Examination Request must be submitted with the exam paper and not changed or altered in any way as this information appears on the student timetable.  Any instructions to students relating to the Examination may be added to the reverse of the cover sheet or incorporated into the Examination paper.

3.5 Once the Final Timetable Release date has passed, timetable changes must be authorised by the Academic Head and will occur only in exceptional circumstances.

3.6 The relevant Examinations Office will provide updated timetables to all students affected by late changes via their JCU email address.

4. End of Study Period Examination - Draft Timetable Review

4.1 A draft timetable will be made available in accordance with clause 2.1 to the college to confirm that the details provided in the Examination Request match the details to be published in the student timetable. Any changes to the length, duration, examination conditions and/or Permitted Materials must be advised to the relevant Examination Office prior to the release of the final timetable.

5. Submission of all End of Study Period, Supplementary and Deferred Examination Papers and any additional examination papers

5.1 The Subject Coordinator must prepare Examinations papers for the End of Study Period Examination, a Supplementary/Deferred Examination paper and any additional examination papers requiring Reasonable Adjustments.  All examination papers must be submitted by the deadlines in clause 2.1.  Any Supplementary/Deferred Examination paper that is not used may be used for a future Examination.

5.2 Prior to submission of the Examination papers the Subject Coordinator must ensure that all Examination papers are checked for the following:

• Alignment with content delivered during the teaching of the subject
• Alignment of information on the Examination paper with the cover sheet created from the Exam Request
• Clarity
• Spelling and grammar
• Formatting
• Mark allocations

5.4 Each Examination paper will be signed off by the Academic Head of Discipline or the relevant Dean if there is no Academic Head of Discipline overseeing the subject or the Academic Head is the Examiner.  Examinations for JCUS subject availabilities will also be signed off by the JCUS Campus Dean, prior to being issued to the students.

5.5 Except for Practical, Oral and Examinations hosted on Learn JCU, the relevant Examination Office will check examination paper details with information provided in the original exam request completed under clause 3 to ensure it matches. These checks include:

• The examination type presented is the same as that in the timetable
• The start time, duration and reading time
• Examination conditions
• Permitted Materials
• Other instructions as indicated on the timetable

5.6 For Practical and Oral Examinations the relevant Subject Coordinator and/or Academic Unit are responsible for:

5.5.1 checking any examination paper details;

5.5.2 preparation and running of the exam;

5.5.3 requesting the Examination Office for an Examination Supervisor if required;

5.5.4 contacting students to advise of any specific attendance requirements

5.6 For Examinations hosted on LearnJCU:

5.6.1 the Subject Coordinator or Examiner is responsible for ensuring that the Examination is uploaded to the LearnJCU Subject site two weeks before the commencement of the Examination.

5.6.2 the relevant Academic Unit will check the online Examinations match the details presented in the student’s examination timetable.

5.6.3 contact details are made available to students prior to the Examination for students who may experience issues under clause 5.6 of the Examination Procedure for Students.

5.7 The relevant Examination Office will ensure accuracy of examination papers requiring Reasonable Adjustments for students registered with AccessAbility Services. Where Reasonable Adjustments are approved for End of Study period Examinations occurring during teaching weeks or the Examination Period, unless otherwise arranged with a College/Academic Unit, the Examination Office is responsible for arranging:

5.7.1 the Examination;

5.7.2 the adjusted Examination conditions; and

5.7.3 an Examination Supervisor.

6. Conflicts of Interest

6.1 In accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy, staff must discharge themselves from being involved in the preparation and checking of Examination papers where they are the student or a student is a relative, family or personal friend.

6.2 Where the Examiner for a subject is related to a student enrolled in the subject, a replacement examiner should be appointed with no relation to the student or the first Examiner. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education can approve the appointment of an Examiner who is related to a student undertaking an Examination where a College/Academic Unit is unable to appoint either a non-relative of the student or the previous Examiner for the subject.

7. Examination Supervisors

7.1 Each relevant Examination Office is responsible for managing the appointment of Examination Supervisors where required for all examinations held at a Study Site and online where:

7.1.1 The Examinations are conducted within the designated Examination Periods for end of study period Examinations and designated Supplementary/Deferred Examination Periods for Supplementary or Deferred Examinations unless otherwise arranged; or

7.1.2 The responsible College/Academic Unit has requested supervision for an On Course Examination occurring during the teaching weeks of the study period. All supervision costs will be charged to the College/Academic Unit.

8. Security of Hard Copy Examination Papers for End of Study Period Examinations

8.1 The relevant Examinations Office is responsible for securely holding hard copy examination papers, including how papers are packed when they leave the Examination Office.  Examination papers are transported between campuses and to external or overseas venues using a university approved transport or delivery company.

8.2 Completed examination papers are kept in a secured office until either collected and signed for by the Examiner or nominee at the end of the Examination Period or delivered by the Examinations Office within 3 months of the end of the Examination Period.

8.3 If an examination paper is lost or compromised, the Manager, Examinations and Graduations or the JCUS Examinations Manager or the JCUB Academic Support Manager will seek approval from the Subject Coordinator to offer the affected students a Deferred Examination to be sat during the next available Supplementary/Deferred Examination Period, unless otherwise arranged.

9. Attendance Requirements

9.1 The staff attendance requirements for Examinations are outlined in Clause 4 of the Examinations Procedure for Students.

Related policy instruments

Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy

Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedures

JCU Student Code of Conduct

Academic Misconduct Procedure

Special Consideration Procedure

Conflict of Interest Policy

Schedules/Appendices

Appendix 1 Examination requirements

Administration

NOTE: Printed copies of this procedure are uncontrolled, and currency can only be assured at the time of printing.

Approval Details

Revision History