The main features of the revised Policy are as follows:



- Length of Examinations and reading time - the old Examinations Policy was silent on the length of examinations. New clauses on the length of examinations, aimed at standardisation, are included in the Policy. The norm is for two-hour examinations, though allowance is made for three hour exams, when justified. ALL examinations will have ten minutes reading time included in the time for the examination (two hours or three hours). Students are not permitted to write during the ten minutes reading time.



Senate has agreed that the implementation of the move to a norm of two hour examinations should be phased. When changes to units were made, and units re-accredited, the changes should encompass the examination duration.



- Availability of academic staff to support the examination process by being available to answer questions, etc, while examinations are in progress - this is supported in the Policy, with the expectation that academics will be contactable by telephone. The old Examinations Policy said that the "Unit Coordinator or designated nominee will be present at the Examination venue for a period of time (normally the reading time plus ten minutes) at the start of an examination."



Where the examination is an open book examination and students are permitted to bring text books and other resources into the venue, schools are expected to provide academic staff to be available at the examination, to monitor compliance.



- Quality Assurance and the responsibility / accountability for sign-off of the fitness of the examination paper - a new section covering accountabilities has been included in the Policy, with Heads of School responsible for the preparation of Final Examinations, and Deferred Examination, for the units offered by their school.





- Examinations for students with a disability, and external students, and how this is covered in the Policy - the approach taken is to have dedicated sections within the Guidelines covering examination arrangements for students with disabilities, and external students. The Director, Student Support Service prepared the Guidelines on students with a disability

- Definitions used in the Policy - following consultations, a set of definitions (eg. "Final Examination") have been developed. There were no definitions in the old Policy.

- Mobile phones - allowing them into the examination venue was a controversial issue. The old Examinations Policy did not allow students to bring mobile phones into the examination, but the Policy was not effectively enforced, because the Registrars Office are unable to guarantee the security of students belongings, and it was seen as unreasonable to have rules that mean that students can't have mobile phones with them for the days that they have examinations. Although mobile phones can be used for cheating, and ideally, should not be permitted in an examination, the Policy represents a compromise - the student can have a mobile phone in the examination but it must be switched off, and visible to the supervisor, at all times.

- Resources permitted in the Examination -The old Policy was silent on distinctions between "open book" and "closed book" examinations. The new Policy recognises that there are open book and closed book examinations, and covers what can be brought into examinations by students. For Open Book Examinations, only "approved" items may be bought into the examination, and students are notified of these in the Learning Guide. To minimise the risk of cheating, schools will be expected to have someone available at the examination venue to check that the resources students have in the examination are permitted.

- STUVAC - the old Policy said "Examinations, due dates of assessment tasks and teaching are not permitted during Stuvac." The new Policy is silent on Stuvac, on the basis that the University now has many units taught over quarter sessions, and other non-standard teaching sessions.

- Attendance at Examinations - the proposed Policy clarifies the requirements for student attendance at examinations, stipulating that students are expected to be at the venue twenty minutes before the scheduled start time.

- Time tabling of examinations - some changes have been made to the arrangements for time tabling, and what is regarded as a clash. These clauses were prepared by the Registrar.





Clauses Amended

Policy: All

Procedure: All

Guidelines: All