School of Oriental and African Studies
Handbook for Chairs
of Sub-Boards of Examiners for
LLM, MA, MMus, and MSc programmes
2011/12 Edition
School of Oriental and African Studies
Handbook for Chairs of Sub-Boards of Examiners for
LLM, MA, MMus, and MSc programmes
Table of Contents
1. / Introduction1.1 / Sub-Boards of Examiners – what they are and what they do / 3
1.2 / Appointment of Sub-Boards of Examiners / 4
1.3 / Visiting Examiners (External and Intercollegiate) / 4
1.4 / The responsibility of Chairs of Sub-Boards / 4
1.5 / The School Board of Examiners – what it is and what it does / 5
1.6 / Some important dates / 5
2. / Responsibilities in Term 1
2.1 / Putting the files in order / 6
2.2 / Contacting your Visiting Examiners / 6
2.3 / Arrangements for coursework / 6
2.4 / Dissertations: submission, deferral of submission, marking, and resubmission / 7
2.5 / Dissertation marks ending in a significant 9 / 7
2.6 / Options open to students who have failed their dissertation / 8
2.7 / Student profiles / 8
2.8 / Pre-meeting before the November Sub-Board to consider medical and other evidence of mitigating circumstances relating to dissertation submission / 8
2.9 / November meeting of the Sub-Board of Examiners / 9
2.10 / November meeting of the School Board of Examiners / 10
2.11 / Staff absences during Term 2 / 10
3. / Responsibilities in Term 2
3.1 / Setting examination papers / 11
3.2 / Vetting examination papers / 11
3.3 / Format of examination papers / 12
3.4 / Examinations for courses no longer taught / 12
4. / Responsibilities in Term 3 and immediately afterwards
4.1 / Marking of coursework / 13
4.2 / Marking of examination scripts / 13
4.3 / Material relating to assessments that must be made available to Visiting Examiners / 14
4.4 / Marks for courses passed after retaken examinations and/or resubmitted coursework / 14
4.5 / Significant 9 marks / 15
4.6 / Requirement to undertake all elements of assessment / 15
4.7 / Pre-meeting before the June/July Sub-Board to consider medical and other evidence of mitigating circumstances relating to taught courses / 15
4.8 / June/July meeting of the Sub-Board to ratify taught course results / 16
4.9 / Other items of business for the June/July meeting of the Sub-Board / 17
4.10 / July meeting of the School Board of Examiners and degrees with an award date of 31 July / 17
5. / Responsibilities during the summer vacation
5.1 / Release of taught course results on 29 July / 17
5.2 / Appointment of Visiting Examiners / 17
5.3 / September examinations and the Special Assessments Panel / 18
Appendices
1 / Procedures for the handling of coursework / 19
2 / Double marking of examinations scripts, coursework and dissertations / 21
3 / Classification schemes for Pass, Merit and Distinction awards / 22
4 / Marking criteria and competence standards / 24
5 / Marking of over-length coursework and dissertations / 26
1. Introduction
This handbook is designed to help new Sub-Board Chairs come to grips with the responsibilities of the post, and to remind experienced Chairs of the tasks for the year ahead. It explains what Sub-Boards are supposed to do, address the problems of administering coursework, setting, vetting and marking examination papers, and offers guidance relating to the appointment of Visiting Examiners, dissertations, medical evidence and other matters. It explains the actions Chairs should take each term, and provides advice and background material to assist in decision-making where alternative courses of action are possible. It should help you to resolve many of the problems that may confront you this year, but it is unlikely to answer all of them. If you are in need of advice, it is at hand from Ian Lamey (Examinations and Assessments Manager), Catherine Bossard (Assistant Examinations and Assessments Manager) and their staff on any problems relating to the conduct of examinations and assessments. If you need advice on School Regulations, consult the Head of Registry, Nick Page. Confirmation of local Faculty procedures should be obtained from staff in the Faculty Office (Academic Support for examination papers and Student Support for assessment issues).
The Chair of the School Board of Examiners (John Parker, Department of History) or the Deputy Chair (TBC) can give general advice and assistance and will field complaints or comments about aspects of the examinations system. The School Board of Examiners at postgraduate level was inaugurated in 2008/09, and its procedures and customs are developing over time.
All suggestions regarding improvements or additions to this handbook will be gratefully received (to Nick Page). Any urgent amendments will be circulated as the need arises.
For the most part, the handbook is structured in the order in which problems are likely to arise over the course of the academic year. If you are new to the post, however, some general comment about the functions of Sub-Boards and Chairs may be useful.
1.1 Sub-Boards of Examiners – what they are and what they do
The membership and functions of a Sub-Board are set out in the General Instructions for the Appointment of Examiners and the Conduct of Examinations for Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes of the University of London Taught and Examined by the School of Oriental and African Studies (afterwards referred to as the General Instructions). The key section (9) reads as follows:
Membership and function of Sub-Boards of Examiners
9.1 The membership of a Sub-Board will be: its Chair and Deputy Chair; all School (Internal) Examiners responsible for marking courses within its jurisdiction; and all Visiting Examiners appointed to the Sub Board. The Chair of the School Board of Examiners may attend and contribute to Sub-Board meetings, but will not have a vote. Assistant Examiners and Assessors may attend and contribute to Sub-Board meetings or parts of meetings if invited by the Chair, but will not have a vote.
9.2 The functions of a Sub-Board will be:
· to be responsible for the setting and marking of all necessary examination question papers;
· to be responsible for the holding of oral/aural/practical examinations and other forms of assessment where necessary;
· to determine the marks of students falling within the Sub-Board’s responsibility;
· to make recommendations for awards with Pass, Merit and Distinction to the School Board for candidates within its responsibility, after holding a meeting at which at least one Visiting Examiner, and wherever possible an External Examiner, must be present. The Sub-Board’s report will be signed by the Visiting Examiners present at the meeting. If because of illness or accident no Visiting Examiner can be present at a meeting, the Chair of the School Board of Examiners may authorise the Sub-Board to proceed without one.
9.3 Illness or other extenuating circumstances
Each Sub Board will normally have a pre-meeting of a small sub group of its members to consider details of candidates whose performance was affected by documented illness or other extenuating circumstances. This Sub Group will normally consist of the Chair, Deputy Chair and a Visiting Examiner. If the Sub Group wishes to recommend adjustments to marks for candidates, these recommendations will be made to the full meeting of the Sub Board, but the personal details relating to illness or extenuating circumstances will not be discussed in the full meeting.
More details are given below of the November (section 2.8) and June/July pre-meetings (section 4.7).
1.2 Appointment of Sub-Boards of Examiners
Each year in Term 1, Learning and Teaching Quality Committee appoints Chairs and Deputy Chairs of Sub-Boards of Examiners. Chairs make appointments to their Sub-Board as follows: Internal (i.e. School) Examiners; Assistant Examiners and Assessors; and Visiting Examiners. Details of the roles of examiners in each of the categories are listed in sections 2, 3 and 4 of the General Instructions.
1.3 Visiting Examiners (External and Intercollegiate)
Every Sub-Board must include one or more Visiting Examiners. Visiting Examiners come in two forms. External Examiners are (or once were) employed by institutions other than constituent colleges of the University of London. Intercollegiate Examiners are current or retired members of staff of other Colleges of the University of London.
The use of Intercollegiate Examiners is confined to subjects that are also taught elsewhere in the University of London, which is one reason why many of our Sub-Boards do not have an Intercollegiate Examiner, but every Sub-Board must have at least one External Examiner. The function of these examiners is to ensure comparability of standards between Colleges and universities. Their job is quality control, and to work effectively they must be kept fully informed of matters affecting the conduct of examinations. If you are in doubt about a particular practice or decision, it would be entirely appropriate to refer the matter to one of these examiners, and particularly so when there is any possibility of a conflict of interest. Since these examiners are members of the Sub-Board, it follows that no decisions reached by the internal members of a Sub-Board can be regarded as valid unless the Visiting Examiners have been formally notified and consulted.
The voice of the Visiting Examiners is a powerful one, and the execution of your responsibilities as Sub-Board Chair will be facilitated by a cordial and mutually supportive working relationship with them. The vast majority of differences of opinion will be settled by discussion between Internal and Visiting Examiners, with adjudication if necessary by the Chair of the Sub-Board.
The sovereign body is, however, the Sub-Board of Examiners. If matters come to a vote, the issue will be decided by a majority of Sub-Board members present and voting. In this procedure, Visiting Examiners have one vote in the same way as other members of the Sub-Board (except for the Chair, who has a second or casting vote in addition to his own vote).
1.4 The responsibilities of Chairs of Sub-Boards
The Chair's primary responsibilities are: to appoint members to the Sub Board; to ensure that the conduct of the Sub-Board conforms to the requirements of Section 7 of the General Instructions; and to participate as a member of the School Board of Examiners. The School Board meets to award degrees and to determine awards of Pass, Merit and Distinction. The Chair is one of the main points of contact (along with the Programme Convenor) with the Registry, academic colleagues and Faculty Office staff, a role that can lead to problems if the Chair is absent from the School for a prolonged period. For this reason, it is important that each Chair has a Deputy to cover for periods of absence (including absence from the UK during the summer months), and that the Registry and the Visiting Examiners are kept informed of any substantial periods of absence. The Deputy should be properly briefed by the Chair on her/his responsibilities, and have access to all important files (electronic and paper) whenever the Chair is absent for a prolonged period.
The Chair is also responsible, with the support of the Faculty Office, for ensuring that all examiners are aware of their responsibilities and any deadlines for action. This is with particular reference to ensuring that examiners:
· are aware of and abide by the approved course outlines and assessment methods and approved dates for submission of coursework
· are aware of marking criteria and guidelines, and apply these correctly
· set assessments, complete marking and return marks to the Faculty Offices by the necessary deadlines
· are aware of the need to refer queries to the Faculty Office or the Examinations and Assessments Office where there is any doubt as to the Regulations or requirements.
As for the other duties of the Chair, these are best explained on a term-by-term basis.
1.5 The School Board of Examiners – what it is and what it does
The School Board receives ratified marks from Sub-Boards of Examiners, and considers Sub-Board recommendations for the award of degrees and for the classification of candidates into Pass, Merit and Distinction categories. It ratifies or amends Sub-Board recommendations on behalf of the School, and is the degree-awarding Board. It may also consider any matter within its terms of reference, or any matter referred to it by a Sub-Board.
The School Board operates by a process of exception and referral. Thus, all Sub-Board recommendations for the award of degrees with Pass, Merit and Distinction that meet the published guidelines will be ratified by the School Board without individual consideration. Sub-Board recommendations for Pass, Merit and Distinction awards that fall outside the published guidelines will be submitted with a supporting case, and will be considered in detail by the School Board. The aim of this procedure is to ensure parity of such discretionary awards across the School.
A Sub-Board may also refer any matter that it wishes to the School Board, for information or a decision. This may be the case of an individual student or a policy with School-wide implications on which the opinion or judgement of the School Board is requested. The School Board also has the power to consider the details of any student or group of students it wishes.