Examination Procedure
1. Preamble
These procedures outline the processes for developing, revising, conducting, and marking in-person invigilated examinations for units within courses offered by the Institute, except in the case of VET courses.
2. Creation of a New Examination
2.1 All invigilated examinations must be in-person on campus examinations.
2.1.1 Cairnmillar does not use invigilated online examinations or remote examination centres.
2.1.2 Online examinations must use a non-invigilated format, such as open book or take-home.
2.2 Invigilated exams must only be created if one or more of the following are met.
2.2.1 Professional accreditation standards require or recommend invigilated examinations.
2.2.2 Examined content pertains to public or student safety such that invigilation is required to ensure the safety of the public or students.
2.2.3 Examined content requires specific spaces or equipment to achieve authentic assessment.
2.2.4 Other strategic reasons or reasons pertaining to equity that may justify the creation of an invigilated examination, at the discretion of the Dean.
2.3 Examinations must be closely aligned to their associated course and student learning outcomes.
2.4 For written examinations:
2.4.1 Marking criteria (e.g., a rubric) needs to be developed to assist in accurate and replicable marking.
2.4.2 At least one of the completed examinations should be double marked to ensure the marking criteria is clear and applied consistently.
2.5 Examinations must have 10 minutes reading time per examination hour.
2.6 Examinations should not exceed 2 hours in duration except with permission from the Dean or in response to Learning Access Plan or Special Consideration that allows for extra time.
2.7 Examination creation should adhere to all requirements set out in CDD008 Course and Unit Change Policy and Procedures.
2.8 Every examination must have two forms – one for the scheduled examination time and a separate form for a deferred examination or where the academic integrity of the first exam is breached.
2.8.1 In circumstances where the academic integrity of the first exam is breached, a third form will need to be created for the purposes of the deferred examination.
2.9 Examinations that are new or that have had their questions revised must adhere to procedures for assessment revisions under ACA011 Assessment Procedure:
2.9.1 Readability and clarity of statements.
2.9.2 Clarity of any visual items included in the examination.
2.9.3 Professionalism of presentation, including spelling and grammar.
2.9.4 That page numbers are included and sequential.
2.9.5 That all marks displayed on the assessment sum to the correct total and are allocated to questions correctly.
2.9.6 The marking rubric or other form of criterion reference is valid and complete.
3. Scheduling of Examinations
3.1 Examination dates and times must be available to students at least 4 weeks prior to the examination. Where an examination is scheduled to occur between Week 1 and Week 4, the date and time of the examination must be made available on Monday of Week 0.
3.2 Examinations can be scheduled during any time from Week 1 to Week 14.
3.3 Examinations can be scheduled Monday to Friday.
3.4 Examinations must not commence before 8AM Melbourne time.
3.5 Examinations must not conclude after 5PM Melbourne time, except where additional time has been approved via special considerations or a learning access plan.
3.6 The examination timetable must not contain an examination clash, defined as a student having:
3.6.1 Two examinations scheduled at the same, or overlapping times.
3.6.2 Less than 1.5 hours between examinations on site.
3.6.3 Less than 3 hours between examinations in which student travel is required.
3.6.4 Three or more examinations scheduled on one day.
3.6.5 Four or more examinations scheduled over two consecutive days.
3.6.6 Less than 12 hours between the last examination of one day and the start of the next examination the following day.
3.6.7 Note that take home examinations are not considered in determining whether a student has an examination clash.
3.7 All examinations will have a deferred examination date set on a case-by-case basis (usually 2-4 weeks after the original examination date) in accordance with special consideration requirements outlined in ACA011 Assessment Procedure. Where this is not possible, the deferred examination may be scheduled in the following examination period.
3.8 Deferred examinations are only available to students who:
3.8.1 Have received approval to sit a deferred examination via a special consideration application or Learning Access Plan.
3.8.2 Have not entered the examination room, commenced the examination, nor seen the examination papers.
4. Student conduct and misconduct during examinations
4.1 Students must adhere to all examination rules listed on the examination cover sheet. Listed below are general rules that apply as a default to all examinations. However, the rules on the examination cover sheet or adjustments afforded by a Learning Access Plan will supersede the below where relevant.
4.1.1 Calculators can only be brought into examinations where they have been approved. Only devices whose single purpose is calculation may be used as a calculator in an examination (i.e., tablets, laptops, phones, smartwatches cannot be used as calculators).
4.1.2 All examination materials brought in by a student must be in a clear bag or carried into the examination without a bag.
4.1.3 Mobile phones must be switched off and not be accessible during the examination period (e.g., left in the student’s bag).
4.1.4 Student ID must be face up on the student’s desk at all times (in the absence of a Student ID, Cairnmillar will accept a passport, Australian Driver’s Licence or Australian Proof of Identity Card).
4.1.5 Students who do not have an approved form of ID will be denied entry into the examination room and will need to apply for a deferred examination via Special Consideration.
4.1.6 Students are not to talk to, disturb, distract, eat (except if in a private room or under an approved Learning Access Plan or Special Condition), or otherwise act in a way that interferes with another student’s ability to complete the examination.
4.1.7 Students are not to engage in behaviours to seek assistance in completing the examination except from the examination invigilators.
4.1.8 Students are not to remove examination papers or related material from the examination room.
4.1.9 Students are not to bring in unauthorized materials to the examination room.
4.1.10 Students may leave the examination room temporarily where:
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- The invigilator has granted permission
- They are supervised by an invigilator
- The absence is noted on the examination attendance record; and
- The absence may be scrutinised as student misconduct, should there be grounds for a review.
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4.1.11 During reading time, students may not write anything.
4.2 Once reading time has concluded, and before commencing the examination, students must:
4.2.1 Complete the examination attendance form on the examination cover sheet.
4.2.2 Complete all information on the cover of each examination booklet.
4.3 Student misconduct may result in the student being removed from the examination room, reported to the Academic Integrity and Progress Committee, and/or receiving zero for the examination – attempts to re-sit the examination are not permitted as a result of misconduct.
4.4 A student is deemed to have sat the examination once they have entered the examination room.
4.5 Students may not enter the examination room more than 30 minutes after the examination has commenced, except where there are events that have occurred outside of the student’s control (as determined by the Chief Invigilator) and where no student has left the examination room. Students may not leave the examination room in the first 30 minutes of the exam and may not leave if there is less than 30 minutes prior to the examination ending.
4.6 A student who has been denied entry into an examination room may submit a special consideration for a deferred examination in accordance with standard special consideration rules found in ACA011 Assessment Policy and Procedures.
4.7 Students may bring the following items into an examination in a clear pencil case or bag:
4.7.1 Loose pens
4.7.2 Pencils
4.7.3 Sharpeners
4.7.4 Erasers
4.7.5 Approved and permitted mathematical instruments (e.g., calculators)
4.7.6 Clear water bottle with no label
4.7.7 Prescribed/necessary medication.
4.8 Students may bring in additional items as approved on a Learning Access Plan or Special Condition.
4.9 At the end of the examination, students are to:
4.9.1 Stop writing, typing, dictation, or other activities related to the completion of the examination.
4.9.2 Wait in their seats until all examination material has been collected and permission to leave has been granted.
4.9.3 Not communicate with other students until they have left the examination room.
5. Invigilator Conduct
5.1 Every in- examination requires two invigilators for the first 100 students, and an additional 1 invigilator for every additional 50 students (e.g., 2 invigilators are required for 100 students, but 3 invigilators are required for 101 students).
5.2 One invigilator will be appointed the ‘Chief Invigilator’ who will be responsible for making all final decisions within section 5.4. of this policy during the examination.
5.3 If students ask questions about the exam, invigilators will reply with “Answer the question to the best of your ability” or similar statement unless the question pertains to a significant issue in the instruction, question, or other extenuating circumstances. In these latter cases, the unit coordinator will be contacted immediately by the Chief Invigilator.
5.4 Invigilators will provide students with the following time cues:
5.4.1 When reading time has started.
5.4.2 When reading time has finished and the examination has started.
5.4.3 10 minutes prior to the end of the examination.
5.4.4 When the examination time has finished.
5.5 Errors identified during reading time should have their correction verified with the unit coordinator. Should a correction be verified before the end reading time, invigilators should instruct students to correct the examination.
5.6 No correction to errors shall be made to an examination after reading time. Rather, the error will be noted on the attendance record and, if the error is confirmed, it will be removed from marking.
5.7 Where an unauthorised material is found or an authorised material is being used in an unauthorised manner, the Chief Invigilator will:
5.7.1 Report the breach of examination rules to the Academic Integrity and Progress Committee.
5.7.2 Confiscate the material and note the confiscation on the examination attendance record.
5.7.3 Return the materials to the student at the end of the examination, unless a breach of examination rules to the Academic Integrity and Progress Committee cannot be made without submitting the materials as evidence.
5.8 If an unexpected disruption outside of the control of the invigilator occurs but the examination can continue, the examination must continue, and the disruption minimised. The invigilator must note the disruption on the attendance record.
5.9 If an unexpected disruption outside of the control of the invigilator occurs and the examination cannot continue for up to 15 minutes, the examination will receive additional time equivalent to the time of disruption.
5.10 If an unexpected disruption outside of the control of the invigilator occurs and the examination cannot continue for more than 15 minutes (including both a single event that exceeds 15 minutes and multiple events that, in total, exceed 15 minutes), then the Dean will determine whether the disruptions are managed in accordance with 5.4.9 or 5.4.11. of this policy.
5.11 Where an unexpected disruption requires an evacuation or otherwise requires students to leave the examination room, the examination must be rescheduled to another time.
5.12 The Dean will be responsible for communicating the rescheduled examination time within 2 days of the original examination date.
5.13 Invigilators will distribute and collect all assessment materials, including unused materials. The number of collected materials must be the same as the number of distributed materials, as recorded on the attendance record.
5.14 Where there are identified missing assessment materials, the Dean will be responsible for deciding which of the following courses of action are appropriate for the student with the missing materials:
5.14.1 The student must be referred to Academic Integrity and Progress Committee for breach of examination requirements.
5.14.2 The student must receive a 0 grade for the examination.
5.14.3 The student must re-sit the examination.
5.14.4 The student must complete an alternative assessment.
6. Marking of Examinations
6.1 All marking is completed by the unit coordinator and markers approved by the Dean.
6.2 Where there is more than one examination marker, the unit coordinator will oversee the marking of the examination and will engage in moderation strategies to ensure equivalence across markers.
6.3 Where an examination is not the final piece of assessment, it must be marked, and results released within 3 weeks of the examination date as per ACA011 Assessment Policy and Procedure.
6.4 Where an examination is the final piece of assessment, it must be marked in accordance with the Ratification Timeline and ACA011 Assessment Policy and Procedure.
6.5 Marked examinations are not returned to students.
6.6 Students can request feedback on the examination from the unit coordinator in alignment with ACA011 Assessment Policy and Procedures.
6.7 Students may appeal an examination result in accordance with the appeals mechanisms outlined in ACA011 Assessment Policy and Procedures.
7. Storage and Security
7.1 All versions of the examination (draft, final, digital, printed, etc.) must be stored, transferred, and printed securely. If a breach of security is suspected, a new examination paper must be written
7.2 With the exception of printing for the final examination, the examination paper must not be transferred via email, USB, hard copy, or otherwise, except via Cairnmillar’s secure cloud-based file sharing platform
7.3 The guidelines for handling and storing examination materials, which are available on the Teaching Hub or equivalent, should be followed
7.4 Where a breach is detected but a new examination paper cannot be written, the Dean will determine an appropriate course of action that prioritises the integrity of the unit. This may include delaying or rescheduling the examination
7.5 All examination materials must be stored for 6 months from the release of grades or, where an appeal is made, 6 months after the appeal is resolved
7.6 All printed examination materials must be destroyed after the 6-month period. A digital copy of the examination materials must be kept for a period of 7 years in accordance with examination storage details available on the Teaching Hub