• Section 1 - Policy
• DEFINITION OF A UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION
• HOLDING OF A UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION
• DEFINITION OF A TAKE HOME EXAMINATION
• DEFINITION OF AN ONLINE EXAMINATION
• DEFINITION OF A TEST
• DEFINITION OF A SELF-TEST OR PROGRESS CHECK TASK
• LENGTH OF UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
• PERMISSABLE FORMATS FOR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION PAPERS
• READING TIME
• SPECIAL EXAMINATION PAPERS
• USE OF TRANSLATION DICTIONARIES IN EXAMINATIONS
• CONDUCT IN EXAMINATIONS AND USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE
• EXAMINATIONS FOR STUDENTS IN ON-CAMPUS UNITS
• CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL STUDENTS UNDERTAKING UNE EXAMINATIONS
• FEES
• ABANDONMENT OF EXAMINATIONS

Section 1 - Policy

DEFINITION OF A UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION

(1) The Definition of a University Examination is:

1. An examination worth at least 30% of the assessment for a unit (for units with multiple examination papers, the value of the papers is totalled), and
2. administered by the Student Centre, and
3. a supervised examination, or
4. an online examination or a take home examination both of which are unsupervised.

HOLDING OF A UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION

(2) Supervised examinations shall:

1. not be held at night
2. not be held on Sundays or public holidays
3. except for oral/aural examinations (which may be held at times arranged by agreement between the School and the candidates), not be held in intensive schools, and
4. except for third trimester, summer school and special examinations, not be held in university vacations.

(3) Paragraph 2a—d may be varied by the Chair of the Academic Board. Where permission is granted for an out-of-session examination, the student must be given four weeks notice and responsibility for administering the examination will lie with the relevant school.

(4) Venues for supervised examinations are organised by the Student Centre.

(5) Examination room bookings will be given priority.

DEFINITION OF A TAKE HOME EXAMINATION

(6) Take home examinations are those that students complete away from the university. They are submitted through the university's originality detection software. The responsibility for administering such examinations lies with the school.

DEFINITION OF AN ONLINE EXAMINATION

(7) Online examinations are examinations made available to students online for a limited period of a week or less. Online examinations shall be submitted through the university's originality detection software. The responsibility for administering such examinations lies with the school.

DEFINITION OF A TEST

(8) A test normally constitutes up to 20% of the final assessment for a unit and shall generally be of a lesser duration than an examination. There may be more than one test for a unit. Tests for internal students may be held only in normal teaching times. Tests for external students may be held during intensive schools. Students must be given due warning of any test that will count towards the final assessment.

DEFINITION OF A SELF-TEST OR PROGRESS CHECK TASK

(9) Formative and/or summative self-tests or progress check tasks (which may include online quizzes) allow for early and/or frequent feedback on progress towards achieving the learning outcomes. They are not mandatory components of a unit in that failure to take such a task will mean that the mark is forfeited but will not incur an NI result. A single summative self- test or progress check task shall normally constitute up to 5% of the final assessment. There can be more than one such task for a unit and the cumulative percentage for self-test or progress checks (such as online quizzes) may be worth a maximum of 20% of the total assessment.

LENGTH OF UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

(10) Two hours (plus fifteen minutes reading time) is the normal length of a university examination. A school may increase the length to three hours but will be liable for the cost of the additional hour at the rates as shown on attachment one. Costs will be calculated on student enrolments as at the teaching period census date.

PERMISSABLE FORMATS FOR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION PAPERS

(11) University examination papers may be in one of two formats. These formats may not be mixed or combined.

White Examination Papers

Definition

(12) A paper that students are not permitted to remove from the examination room. Students write their responses to questions in examination booklets or on specially designed answer sheets or on the paper itself or any combination of these.

White examination paper composition

(13) The paper may comprise any mixture of structured response and generated response questions.

White examination paper revision

(14) A new set of questions must be written every time the examination is offered to students. The Dixson Library publishes copies of white papers.

Yellow Examination Papers

Definition

(15) A paper that students are not permitted to remove from the examination room because a proportion of their answers are written directly on to the paper.

Yellow examination paper composition

(16) The paper may comprise any mixture of structured response (e.g. multiple choice, multipart pro forma, and true/false) and generated response (e.g. essays, short answer) questions.

Yellow examination paper revision

(17) A new set of questions must be written every time the examination is offered to a class of students. The Dixson Library publishes copies of yellow papers.

Non-return of a yellow examination paper

1. Students who do not hand in their yellow paper will forfeit all marks deriving from answers that were to be entered on to it.
2. A student shall not be considered for the grant of a special examination if they fail to hand in their yellow paper.
3. Under no circumstances will the return of the yellow paper, following its removal from the examination hall by the student be accepted.

Pink Examination Papers

Definition

(18) A paper that students are not permitted to remove from the examination room.

1. Students write their responses to questions in examination booklets or on specially designed answer sheets or on the paper itself or any combination of these.
2. The return of pink examination papers is policed and the university pursues any missing copies.

Pink examination paper composition

(19) The paper must have more than half of its assessment value tied to structured response questions.

(20) For example, a formal examination worth 75 points comprising 5 multiple choice (each worth 4 points), 3 multi-part pro forma questions (each worth 10 points) and one extended response essay question (worth 25 points) could be run as a pink paper.

(21) But, a formal examination worth 75 points comprising 5 true/false and matching (each worth 5 points) and five short-answer essay questions (each worth 10 points) could not be run as a pink examination paper.

(22) Additionally, pink papers may be offered in the case of Languages where it can be demonstrated that the vocabulary and structures used to examine students cannot easily be accommodated through the use of a white or yellow examination paper.

Pink examination paper revision

(23) 33% of all questions must be different in any iteration of a paper that comprises multiple choice, true/false, cloze, etc. responses and 100% for a paper that requires essay-based responses (special examinations, etc.). (Heads of school are responsible for ensuring this.)

(24) If one or more copies of a pink paper are unaccounted for after collection, a new paper must be written before the examination is offered again.

(25) The Dixson Library does not publish pink papers.

Non-return of a pink examination paper

(26) Students who fail to submit their pink examination paper will receive a grade of NI (Failed-Incomplete). The grade of NI shall remain in effect until the student returns the pink examination paper along with a Statutory Declaration stating that the paper has not been shown to any other person, has not been copied or electronically scanned, and has not been summarised or in any other way had its content disseminated to any other person whilst in their possession.

(27) Students who fail to submit their pink examination paper and subsequently submit it, and when the paper's format required the student to write some or all of their answers on the paper itself, then the written portion on the paper will not count towards assessment for that unit.

Exceptions to the rules governing pink examination papers

(28) Schools can elect to use the pink examination format for reasons of maintaining the integrity of the examination. For example, if it is not possible to run a single examination for all students concurrently (such as where the same unit is run in Australia and overseas and the examinations are not held simultaneously). Schools wishing to apply this exception must formally advise the Examinations Unit of the units when submitting their examination requirements to the Unit.

READING TIME

(29) The usual length of a university examination will be two hours and fifteen minutes. Students may use the entire duration to make notes and to answer examination questions. Examination invigilators will make relevant announcements during the first fifteen minutes of the examination. A school may increase the length of the examination to three hours and fifteen minutes but will be liable for the cost of the additional hour at the rates as shown in attachment one. Costs will be calculated on student enrolments as at the relevant census date.

SPECIAL EXAMINATION PAPERS

(30) A special examination paper is a paper sat by a student who has been granted a special examination by the relevant faculty. Unit coordinators may offer any special examination using the pink paper format, irrespective of the original format of the examination. If the original formal examination was a yellow or white paper, then the special examination paper must comprise a new set of questions (if the student or any student sitting the paper has sat the end of teaching period examination). If the original formal examination was a pink paper, the special examination must contain 33% of different questions (see para 23). The paper may be in any colour format the unit coordinator chooses. All special examination papers must be comparable in assessment strategy and length to the original paper.

USE OF TRANSLATION DICTIONARIES IN EXAMINATIONS

(31) Students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds may be permitted to use translation dictionaries in examinations.

(32) Students in Language units may be permitted to use translation dictionaries as permitted by the unit coordinator in the examination instructions on the examination paper.

1. Internal students wishing to avail themselves of this provision must hand their translation dictionaries to the Examinations and Graduation Unit before the first day on which they will be required. These translation dictionaries must have a form securely fastened on the front cover clearly indicating the examinations at which they will be required.
2. Where practical, external students must hand their translation dictionaries to their examination invigilator before the first day on which they will be required. If not, they must be handed to the examination invigilator at least 30 minutes before the start of the examination. These translation dictionaries must have a form securely fastened on the front cover clearly indicating the examinations at which they will be required.

(33) Electronic translation dictionaries are not permitted.

CONDUCT IN EXAMINATIONS AND USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE

(34) All students are required to obey any reasonable instruction from an examination supervisor. Failure to follow reasonable instructions by an examination supervisor may constitute misconduct.

(35) Only silent, non-programmable calculators are permitted. Calculators with alphabetic keypads, other electronic devices (e.g. a mobile phone or a Blackberry or a PDA) are not permitted in examinations.

EXAMINATIONS FOR STUDENTS IN ON-CAMPUS UNITS

(36) Students enrolled in on-campus units will normally be required to sit examinations for those units in Armidale. Students who are away from campus because they are undertaking a practicum or other activity as part of their award will be able to sit their examinations externally but must notify the Examinations and Results Unit directly of this requirement in a timely way.

(37) During the examination period in January and February, students who have special examinations for second trimester on-campus units from the previous year may opt to sit these examinations at external venues. In this case, a fee will apply for each examination arranged externally. This amount will be charged as advertised by the Examinations and Results Unit. Students must notify the Examinations and Results Unit in a timely way of these requirements.

(38) Where a student is sitting their examinations for on-campus units at an external examination venue due to award requirements (such as a teaching practicum), there will is no fee invoiced for external examination arrangements.

(39) Where a student is enrolled in only off-campus units for the current trimester, but has special examinations related to previous on-campus units, these students will be permitted to sit the special examinations for their on-campus units at an external examination venue and no fee will be charged for this arrangement. Students must notify the Examinations and Results Unit directly of this requirement in a timely way.

CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL STUDENTS UNDERTAKING UNE EXAMINATIONS

(40) The following provisions are only applicable when a UNE student is also enrolled at another university and is required to attend at the same time a UNE examination and an examination at the other university. These provisions will not apply when a student has examinations on the same day but at different times.

The student is not physically at UNE

(41) The student should request that the other university allow them to sit the other university's examination at a different time. If the other university does not permit the student to sit at a different time, then the student can apply for a special examination for their UNE examination. The student must provide documentary evidence of the clash to support their request for a special examination.

The student is physically at UNE

(42) Students in UNE are required to sit the UNE examination at the scheduled time and date. Students in other universities' awards must, on completing the other university's examination, report immediately to the Examinations and Results Unit where they can be directly supervised. Effectively, the student is quarantined until the commencement of the next examination session on that day, when they can sit their UNE examination.

FEES

Challenge examinations

(43) A challenge examination may be used to establish prior learning. The fee for a challenge examination, payable by the student, is that advertised by the Examinations and Results Unit. Payment for challenge examination arrangements must be made to the university at least six weeks prior to the examination.

Overseas examinations

(44) Students will be charged a fee for each examination that they sit overseas. This is in recognition of the significantly higher costs associated with these arrangements. This fee applies from the date of dispatch of materials to the external and overseas examination centres. The student is still required to pay this fee even if they do not attend the examination. The fee is that advertised by the Examinations and Results Unit. In certain circumstances, a lower fee may be charged for those students who do not attend their examinations, but advise the Examinations and Results Unit of this in a timely way prior to the examination. The decision to charge this lower fee will be made at the discretion of Examinations and Results Unit staff on a case-by-case basis.

(45) Students who have to sit an examination overseas because they are engaged in a mandatory period of study overseas will be charged a lesser fee as advertised by the Examinations and Results Unit.

Late examination centre changes

(46) Where a student requests a change to their examination centre later than three weeks prior to the first day of the relevant examination period, a charge will be invoiced to the student for the late change.

ABANDONMENT OF EXAMINATIONS

(47) In the event of an examination having to be abandoned (e.g. due to a fire drill), students may be required to sit the examination again at a date and time that may be outside the formal examination period. The examination paper may, depending on the circumstances, be a different paper.

(48) If a student is unable to attend a rescheduled examination for one that had been abandoned, he/she will be offered a special examination.