School Examinations Officer role

Each School should establish detailed procedures to ensure trouble-free operation of the examinations system. It is essential to define clearly the responsibilities of individuals and deadline dates.

Regarding the setting of examination papers, the procedures should ensure that examination papers (and marking schemes) are set, internally moderated, vetted by the external examiner, printed and proof read at the appropriate time. Regarding the marking of scripts and the processing of marks the procedures should ensure that scripts are marked anonymously with appropriate checking of completeness and of marks addition. Similarly, the marks lists used by Boards of Examiners should be checked for accuracy.

The specific duties of a School Examinations Officer (or in the case of taught postgraduate examinations, the Examinations Officer for a particular taught postgraduate course), will depend to some extent on the organisational structure within the School in question. In general terms however the duties of a School Examinations Officer will normally include the following:

• Coordinate the production of draft examination papers by School module teachers for examinations in each semester and for resit examinations.
• Liaise with the External Examiner(s) to obtain feedback on the draft examinations papers, and to supply him/her with relevant examples of student examination scripts and coursework, marks lists etc.
• Co-ordinate the production of final “camera ready copy” versions of the examinations papers to the approved university template (together with any additional special handout material). These originals are then passed to the Examinations Office for reproduction. Deadlines for submission of papers to the Examinations Office are circulated in advance and it is essential for the smooth running of the process that these are met. For specific information on the production of examination papers, please consult the following:

• • Instructions for the layout of examination papers  
  • Dictionary calculator and MCQ rubric guidance 
  • Example paper  
• Liaise with the University’s Examinations Office for Undergraduate examinations and selected Taught Postgraduate examinations as appropriate, to provide timely scheduling information to allow the production of an acceptable examinations timetable.
• Liaise with the University’s Examinations Office regarding the examination arrangements for students with special requirements. There is a formal procedure involving assessment of the student’s needs by the University’s Student Services office. All students must be assessed before alternative examination arrangements can be put in place.
• Receive marksheets generated by Campus Solutions. Ensure completed marksheets are returned to the appropriate assessment team for uploading into Campus Solutions by published deadlines to enable the production of marks lists for use by School Boards of Examiners, and Taught Postgraduate Course Boards in the case of Taught Postgraduate degrees.
• Bring Extenuating Circumstances to the attention of the School Board of Examiners and Taught Postgraduate Course Boards in the case of Taught Postgraduate degrees.

In addition, please provide Registry and Academic Affairs UNUK, Academic Services Office UNNC or Student Registry Office - Exams and Assessment team UNM with:

• Decisions from the School Examination Board for certificates, diplomas and final degrees, including a full profile of confirmed marks which contributed towards that award.
• Decisions from the School Examination Board regarding course termination, progression, 'first sits', repeat study and reassessment entitlements, including the format of all assessment (e.g. examination, coursework etc) for candidates who have a further assessment opportunity.
• The evidence used by the School Examination Board when submitting decisions on a student's final degree classification under regulation 26 of the Regulations for Undergraduate Courses and regulation 22 (b) of the Regulations for Taught Masters Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Certificate Courses.

For more information about the University's academic regulations, please consult the following:

Academic regulations

Examinations Officers should also ensure that: 

• Coursework titles for modules which can be taken either externally or over the summer are available from the School to those students who have the opportunity of further assessment, irrespective of the student's home School;
• Students are given clear and unambiguous submission procedures (including appropriate dates) for coursework extensions;
• Data on reassessments and first sits have been accurately imported into Campus Solutions by Registry and Academic Affairs UNUK, Academic Services Office UNNC or Student Registry Office - Assessment Team UNM prior to such information being made available to students. 

Please be aware that the following Exceptional Regulations were developed and applied during academic year 2019/20 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These records applied to all of the University's campuses and be read in conjunction with all other content on this page. 

• Covid-19 Examination Boards and Examination Officers  

The active application of these arrangements then ceased at the beginning of academic year 2020/21. Any outcomes from their application during academic year 2019/20 will, however, continue to be honoured and used in all decisions regarding those affected. 

For more information about the Exceptional Regulations as a whole, please consult the following:

Exceptional Regulations: Covid-19 - 2019/20 - 2020/21