Examinations
From Yorkipedia
[edit] General Resit Examination Information
Resit examinations for the academic year 2006/7 will be held during the period Monday 20 August - Friday 24 August 2007. The resit fee is £55.00. This fee is payable only once and covers all examinations. A fee of £55.00 is not required for each examination to be taken.
The resit examination timetable will be available on the Examination Office's web pages by late July 2007. It is not possible to provide precise information of examination dates until this time. Therefore, until the examination timetable is created all candidates required to resit examinations should make themselves available in York for the whole of this period.
Candidates who wish to book temporary accommodation at the University during this period can do so by emailing the Accommodation Office.
Candidates required to take resit examinations will be contacted by the Examinations Office in late July. The letter will contain details of how to pay the resit fee. Letters are mailed to candidates' home addresses. If you wish your letter to go to an alternative address please email Lynn Burnell, Examinations Office.
Examination module results are not issued by the Examinations Office. For further information on module results please contact the appropriate acadmeic department.
[edit] Guidelines for Students Requiring Special Arrangements in Examinations
[edit] What are special arrangements?
Special examination arrangements may be approved for students who are unable to sit formal University examinations under normal examination conditions as a result of a disability or other condition. Special arrangements are designed to ensure that equitable examination conditions are provided, to enable students to demonstrate their knowledge and competence notwithstanding their disability.
[edit] Who can apply for special arrangements in examinations?
There are two main groups of students who need alternative examination arrangements:
Students with a medically diagnosed disability (as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act), or other condition for which they have a professional assessment (e.g. dyslexia). Students with a temporary condition or illness. This condition may be of short duration, e.g. a sprained wrist on the writing hand, or it may last for much or all of the student's degree, e.g. chronic fatigue syndrome or upper limb disorder. If you have a learning or physical disability or other condition that is likely to affect your performance in an examination, you may apply to undertake the examination under special conditions.
[edit] How do I apply for a special arrangement?
Applications for special arrangements in examinations are made through the Chair of your Board of Studies, who writes a supporting letter to the University’s Standing Committee on Assessment requesting the arrangements. If you are on a combined degree you will need to approach the Chair of the Combined Subject Board of Studies, as a recommendation cannot be made for you by only one of the departments contributing to a combined programme.
You have to apply for any special examination arrangements you need. They are not automatic. It is your responsibility to inform your Board of Studies in good time if you wish to be considered for a special arrangement in forthcoming examinations. Although you may have previously discussed your difficulties with your supervisor or with other staff in your department, and you may have departmental arrangements that take account of your circumstances or disability, this does not automatically lead to a special arrangement in formal examinations.
[edit] What are the timeframes?
You must inform the Chair of your Board of Studies of your need for a special arrangement before the examination period begins or the assessment takes place.
Unless your condition arises from a sudden accident or illness, you must apply at least six weeks in advance to make sure that there is adequate time to make arrangements. It may take some time to obtain a diagnosis for conditions such as dyslexia. If you have long-term literacy difficulties we advise you to seek specialist advice and a dyslexia assessment. If you have had an assessment made before your admission to the University then you should pass a copy of the report to your department. The University may ask you to provide a more up-to-date report if it considers that the most recent report is insufficient for current requirements. You will certainly need a new assessment if the report on your dyslexia is more than two years old.
[edit] What information do I need to provide?
The department will require appropriate documentation as supporting evidence of the disability, specific learning difficulty (dyslexia), mental health difficulties or other condition or reason for which you request special arrangements. The assessment by the relevant professional ought to indicate the ways in which, and the degree to which, the condition might affect your performance in coursework and open and closed examinations.
The University’s Disability Service can assist you to identify appropriate specialist advisers, if necessary. Details of support services available are given in the Student Support Services Handbook and on the web at http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/sso/handbook/
[edit] How is a special arrangement decided?
The Board of Studies for your programme must apply on your behalf to the Standing Committee on Assessment for approval of a special arrangement in examinations. The application will take account of your particular circumstances using the recommendations in the professional evidence that you have provided, and of the required academic outcomes and modes of the assessment you will be undertaking. Medical and other professional recommendations are not always accepted in their entirety, because the person making the recommendation is not usually familiar with the academic subject and/or the purpose of the academic assessment. The Chair of the Board of Studies may seek further advice from the University’s Disability Services about the impact of the diagnosed condition in the particular academic context.
The special arrangement must not give you an unfair advantage over other candidates. It should not reduce the validity and reliability of the assessment and must not compromise the integrity of the examination.
The nature of the special examination / assessment arrangement will be determined according to the particular needs of an individual candidate. A diagnosed disability or injury may be experienced differently by different people in the way it affects their completion of academic assessments. The recommendation made will take account of the learning outcomes and assessment aims of the work to be undertaken, so you should not expect the same arrangement to apply in all types of assessment or to be necessarily the same as another student in the University.
The Standing Committee on Assessment monitors all of the special examination arrangements to reduce the chances that the implementation of the arrangements across the University might advantage or disadvantage certain students. For this reason not all recommendations from Boards of Studies are approved, and some proposed arrangements may be varied.
[edit] What arrangements are available?
Arrangements depend on individual need, but may include one or a combination of the following:
- Extra reading time
- Extra writing time
- Braille examination paper
- Large-print exam papers
- Heavy lines on exam script paper
- Use of a computer
- Rest breaks
- Access to food or medicine
- Sign language interpretation
- A writer (amanuensis)
- Use of specialised equipment or furniture
[edit] When will I know if I have a special arrangement or not?
You will always be advised of the outcome of your application for special arrangements before the examination period begins. If the recommendation from the Chair of your Board of Studies is refused, your department will let you know. If it is approved, the Examinations Office will write to you to advise you of the details of the special arrangement and to which examinations it will apply.
[edit] How long does a special arrangement last?
When the Examinations Office confirms your special arrangement you will be advised of the length of time and to which assessments it will apply. If you have a permanent special examination arrangement you will not need to make further requests for the arrangements to be applied in subsequent examination sessions.
If you had a temporary special examination arrangement for a previous examination period and you wish it to continue, you will be required to apply again with new evidence for your Board of Studies.
[edit] False claims
Submitting a false claim for a special arrangement in examinations could be regarded as an attempt to gain unfair advantage, which would be an academic offence that would be dealt with under the Academic Misconduct procedures. (see www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/ordreg/r5.htm#5.4 and http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/eto/exams/aminside.pdf)
Data Protection Act 1998 By submitting an application for special arrangements you are agreeing to the University holding these personal data for the purposes of processing your application. The University will hold these data in accordance with its notification under the 1998 Data Protection Act.
[edit] Where can I get further guidance?
If you feel you need more help in putting forward your request for special arrangements in examinations, you should contact the Students’ Union Advice Centre, Lynn Burnell (email lb17@york.ac.uk), Examinations Office in the Student Administration Building, on extension 2148.
[edit] Flow chart
Step 1 You need to have special examinations arrangements made. Step 2 You obtain supporting evidence of your disability or other condition that you believe will affect your performance. If you are dyslexic you will need an assessment made within the last two years. Step 2a If you have this already then go to Step 3. Step 2b If you do not have this evidence you will need to obtain it; you should see your own medical practitioner or contact the University’s Disabilities Service for advice. Step 3 Take your supporting documentation to your supervisor, your departmental or exams secretary or your departmental disabilities officer. They will advise you of the administrative process in place within the department for considering your application. Step 4 The Chair of your Board of Studies will make a recommendation to the Standing Committee on Assessment Step 5a If the recommendation is not accepted, your Board of Studies will advise you of this before the examination session begins. Step 5b If the recommendation is accepted, the Examinations Office will write to you before the examination begins to advise you of the arrangements that have been made for you, whether they have a time limit and anything you need to do to access them Step 6 When you arrive at the examination you should make yourself known to a member of the Examinations Office staff so that your special arrangements can be activated. Step 7 The Examinations Officer will brief the invigilators about the special arrangements in place in the particular examination.
[edit] Notes for students on University examinations procedures
Examinations at the University of York Examination Candidate Number The University operates an anonymous marking policy and only your examination candidate number identifies you until marking has been completed. Your examination candidate number is the 5 or 7-digit number shown on your University Card, except for Health Sciences (nursing) students whose examination numbers are issued by the Health Sciences Department). You must bring your University Card with you to each examination. You must place your University Card with the photo facing upwards on the desk throughout the examination.
Your University Card acts as an identity card during the examination, and your examination candidate number needs to be entered on every page of every answer paper you undertake.
Attendance and timing Attendance at all University closed examinations (and collection times for open examinations) is compulsory, and anyone who does not attend an examination at the time and place published in the examination timetable will be deemed to have failed in that part of the assessment.
Examinations are normally scheduled between 9.00 am and 5.30 pm although they may be scheduled up to 7.00 pm where necessary. Examinations may be scheduled on Bank Holidays and on Saturdays.
If you require special arrangements in examinations then you need to make arrangements with your department to have these put in place. If approved, the Examinations Office will write to you before the examination period with details of the arrangement and associated information.
On the day of an examination Most formal examinations are held on campus in Central Hall. Your department will advise you in good time if you have a different examination venue for a particular course and it will also be shown on the Examination Timetable.
You should aim to arrive at the examination venue about fifteen minutes before the scheduled start time for your examination. You will collect or be issued with a seat number as you enter the room. Please note that your seat number is NOT your examination candidate number.
You can enter the examination room up to half an hour after the start of the examination. After half an hour you are only allowed to enter in exceptional circumstances and with the express permission of the senior invigilator. You will leave at the same time as the other people doing the same examination.
You must stay in the examination room for at least three quarters of an hour after the examination has started, unless you get the express permission of the senior invigilator to leave. After that time you may leave whenever you wish, with the permission of an invigilator. No-one is permitted to leave the examination room in the last ten minutes of an examination.
Behaviour in examinations Smoking is not allowed in the examination room and you are not permitted to bring your mobile phone, electronic diary, databank watch or other data storage unit into the examination room. Bags and coats should be left in the foyer (Central Hall) or at the back of the examination room.
You should not bring any food or drink, except for a small bottle of still water, into the examination room. University calculators are provided unless your department advises you otherwise.
If you wish to have access to a dictionary during an examination you need to get permission from your department before the examination session.
If you are taken ill during an examination you need to tell the invigilator as discreetly as possible so as not to disturb other candidates. The invigilator will give you a form to take to your doctor or the Health Centre.
You should not talk to anyone other than an invigilator during an examination. If you do, it may be treated as academic misconduct.
At the end of the examination you must leave all sections of your examination script that you wish to submit for marking on the desk. Any other paper you have used should be placed in the rubbish bins within the examination hall; do not remove any examination stationery from the examination room.
You should refer to the Guide to Assessment Policies and Procedures (available in your department, the Library and SU offices, or on request from the Examinations Office in the Registry) for detailed guidelines on conduct in examinations and other useful information about assessment. The Guide is also accessible on the web at www.york.ac.uk/admin/eto/welcome.htm
Publication of examination results Students can opt out from publication of their examination results. You must notify the Data Protection Co-ordinator (www.york.ac.uk/admin/dpc/) in good time if this is your intention.
Illness and compassionate circumstances If you are unable to attend an examination because you are ill, or for any other good reason, you must submit a medical certificate or a full report of any mitigating circumstances, to the chairperson of the relevant Board of Studies. You would normally report to the chairperson through your supervisor. This needs to be done before the Board considers the assessment results. Please note that misreading of the examination timetable is not regarded as a mitigating circumstance.
Assessment regulations There are regulations governing the conduct of university assessments given in the 'Ordinances and Regulations' booklet, a copy of which is issued to each first-year student, available on the web at www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/ordreg/welcome.htm and from the Registry or your departmental offices or in the Library. You are encouraged to read the regulations in Section 5, particularly those dealing with the conduct of examinations and appeals procedures [regulations 5.2 and 5.3] and academic misconduct [regulation 5.4]. The outline below is taken from regulation 5.4.
Academic misconduct The University regards any form of academic misconduct as an extremely serious matter. You are not allowed to:
cheat i.e. fail to comply with the rules governing examinations, for example by making arrangements to have unauthorised access to information; collude i.e. assist another candidate to gain an advantage by unfair means, or receive such assistance; fabricate i.e. mislead the examiners by presenting work for assessment in a way which intentionally or recklessly suggests that factual information has been collected which has not in fact been collected, or falsifies factual information; personate i.e. act, appear, or produce work on behalf of another candidate in order to deceive the examiners, or solicit another individual to act, appear or produce work on your own behalf; plagiarise i.e. incorporate within your work, the work (published or unpublished) derived from another person without appropriate acknowledgement. You are not allowed to bring written or printed material or equipment (including calculators) into the examination room unless the items have been approved by the examiners.
You must not communicate with anyone except an invigilator during an invigilated examination.
If you breach any of the requirements given above, the examiners will take account of it in determining a mark for the work affected. This may result in a mark of zero with consequent effects on the evaluation of your overall performance, and this might lead to failure in the examination as a whole.
If the examiners believe that the case is of particular gravity, they may also recommend that further disciplinary penalties be applied. The penalties available are:
suspension or exclusion from the University; a lowering of the class of degree to be awarded; failure of the degree; withdrawal of any entitlement to redeem the failure. The above extracts have been taken from Ordinances and Regulations (Regulations governing University Assessments [Regulation 5.2]). Candidates are strongly advised to read all the sections in this handbook dealing with the conduct of examinations and appeals procedures, particularly the regulations governing academic misconduct[Regulation 5.4].
[edit] Standard calculator for University of York examinations
Casio FX-85MS
Detailed instructions for the use of the calculator are available online as a pdf file.
To view a larger close up of the layout of the buttons click on the calculator image.
The Casio FX-85MS is the actual calculator provided in Univeristy examinations from week 1 of the Summer term 2005.
Students are not permitted to use their own calculators in University examinations without the department making arrangements with the Examinations Office prior to the exam.
