(1) This Procedure supports the Assessment and Feedback Policy examination provisions by detailing the processes for central administration of final, supplementary and deferred examinations. (2) The Procedure provides: (3) This Procedure applies to students and staff of the University who are undertaking or conducting a final examination: (4) This procedure does not apply to: (5) To request support for final examinations examiners, will follow the steps set out below. (6) Requests must be made via the Exams Portal and prior to the relevant session deadlines available online. Offshore Collaborative Partner should follow the exam paper submission processes outlined in their collaborative delivery agreements. (7) Requests must specify the examination mode and exam type and the preferred exam type eg. open book, closed book, or restricted ensuring alignment with the examination mode eligibility criteria specified by UOW in the Exam Mode Eligibility Matrix. This does not apply to offshore collaborative partners. (8) All centrally administered final examinations will include the below standard conditions. For Offshore Collaborative Partners where this is not possible, alternative measures will be implemented to maintain exam integrity: (9) Final examinations that do not adhere to the standard conditions, modes, and scheduling practices outlined above must seek approval from the relevant Head of School and Associate Dean Education (or equivalent position at UOW Collaborative Partner Institutions) to conduct in an alternative way, eg. by a school or unit. (10) The timing of final examinations is set out in the Assessment and Feedback Policy. (11) The Offshore Collaborative Partner will independently schedule final examination timetables, adhering to the principles outlined in section 4. (12) The scheduling of final examination timetables should: (13) Final examinations will be scheduled according to the following standard durations and start times: (14) Final examinations will be scheduled in AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time)or AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time). Students sitting online exams remotely must be available at the scheduled AEST/AEDT times. At Offshore Collaborative Partners, examinations will be scheduled in the local time zone of their campus. (15) Final face-to-face examinations will be scheduled to occur at the designated examination centre for the campus where classes for that subject have been held. Exceptions require approval from the Delegated Authority. (16) The provisions outlined in this section can only be adhered to for requests received by the communicated deadlines. (17) The following applies to examinations conducted at UOW’s Australian campuses. Offshore Collaborative Partners should follow their own processes, procedures, and deadlines, which must be clearly communicated to all staff involved in the preparation of examinations. (18) For paper exams, examiners must submit their final examination content in PDF form via the Exams Portal by the submission deadline to allow for quality assurance and logistical activities. (19) A schedule of submission deadlines is available via the Exams intranet site. (20) For online final examinations, all content must be finalised by the submission deadline available on the Exams intranet site to allow for compatibility and technical quality checking. (21) If final examination content is not submitted by the deadline there may be limited central support for the delivery of the final exam. (22) Examination papers must be submitted via the Exams Portal by the scheduled due date and will be printed by the Exams Office. Any additional exam materials must be delivered to the Exam Office no later than the specified due date. (23) Examination papers must include a UOW-approved coversheet with the UOW logo, exam details, version control and page numbers for Quality assurance. (24) Faculties, academic units (and equivalent for Offshore Collaborative Partner) must have appropriate quality assurance processes to ensure examination papers are finalised and error free before submission to the exam’s office. The exams office conducts a quality assurance review of all examination papers prior to printing. (25) Amendments to examination papers made after the submission deadline are only permitted to correct errors, address security concerns, or to ensure the fairness of the examination. (26) For minor amendments that do not require reprinting, the examiner must notify the Exams Office via email and submit a completed amendment form at least 24 hours before the scheduled examination. (27) For significant amendment that require reprinting the examiner must: (28) For amendments once an examination had commenced, examiners must provide a completed amendment form immediately via email. (29) Completed examination materials will be returned to the Exam Office in the following manner: (30) The Exams Office will notify examiners via email when their final paper examination materials are available for collection. (31) Examiners are responsible for collecting the final paper examination material from the Exams Office. The examiner or authorised staff member collecting the material must provide valid identification by producing a one of the following (for Offshore Collaborative Partner, equivalent identification as specified by local guidelines should be used): (32) Examiners using invigilation for their examination must format their final examination as a quiz activity in the University’s Learning Management System (LMS) site and adhere to other formatting guidelines provided by Learning, Teaching and Curriculum (LTC) and Information Management and Technology Services). (33) LTC and IMTS(or the equivalent at Offshore Collaborative Partners) will undertake compatibility and technical quality checking of online examinations in advance of the examination date, and will work directly with Examiner to resolve any issues. (34) Once the technical quality checks are completed, examiners will be notified that the exam's settings and content are finalised and should not be altered. (35) Where an amendment to the settings or content of an online examination is required after the deadline for submission, the examiner must provide written notification of the amendment to the Exams Office no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled examination. The Exams Office will inform all relevant stakeholders of the amendment. (36) Once an online exam has started, amendments or alterations are not permitted. Any errors in the questions will need to be considered after the exam has concluded. (37) In order to maintain the technical set-up of an online exam examiners must not enter the online exam once it has commenced. (38) Personalised timetables for final examinations will be distributed to students via the Student Online Services(SOLS) as per the key dates published on the UOW web page. For Offshore Collaborative Partner, examination timetables will be distributed by the partner institution using their local systems at a time and date determined by the relevant academic unit at UOW. (39) Information published on the SOLS examination timetable will specify for each examination the time, date, duration, campus location, venue and permitted and authorised reference materials permitted in a restricted exam. (40) Students are advised to consult the timetable for each final examination period and notify the Exams Office of any requests for alternative arrangements as outlined in Section 8 as soon as possible and within five working days of the examination timetable being released. The University may not be able to provide alternative arrangements where it receives requests after the five working day period. (41) The Student Accessibility and Inclusion Team(SAIT) will provide the Exams Office with a list of students with approved access plans which impact their final examinations by the deadline as specified by the Exams Office. Offshore Collaborative Partner will use local procedures to identify registered Access Plan students. (42) The Exams Office will implement feasible standard reasonable adjustments such as: (43) Other types of non-standard reasonable adjustments with potentially significant resource impacts will be assessed for feasibility in consultation with impacted stakeholders and may include: (44) In accordance with the Teaching and Assessment:Assessment and Feedback Policy, where it is not feasible to implement the recommended reasonable adjustment, Student Accessibility and Inclusion Team will liaise with the relevant Subject Coordinator to identify an alternate adjustment that meets the subject requirements. For Offshore Collaborative Partners, local procedures will address cases where recommended adjustments are not feasible. (45) The Exams Office will arrange an alternative examination time during the final examination period for individual students who have clashes in the form of: (46) Students may request an alternative examination during the final exam period on the grounds of an overloaded timetable where they have: (47) Students may also request an alternative location for an examination on the grounds of an overloaded timetable where they have if they have in-person examinations scheduled at different locations on the same day, requiring more than half an hour to commute between locations. (48) Where a student’s request for an alternative arrangement is approved, the Exams Office will arrange an alternative examination time during the final examination period and notify the student via SOLS or the local systems platform at Offshore Collaborative Partner. (49) Students may request support if they have resourcing difficulties that prevent them from undertaking an examination, such as: (50) Students must lodge a request for support via the dedicated request form immediately after the resourcing difficulty becomes apparent and no later than the specified support request date. (51) Requests for additional support will consider feasibility, taking into consideration available resources and any potential impacts to the academic integrity of the exam. (52) The Exams Office will notify the student of the outcome of their request for additional support via SOLS or the local systems platform at Offshore Collaborative Partners. (53) Students studying in distance or flexible mode, who have an in-person examination, and reside within a reasonable traveling distance of a designated UOW examination centre, must travel to that examination centre for their exam. (54) Students residing beyond a reasonable traveling distance from the UOW examination centre must make their own arrangements for an alternative Examination Supervisor. (55) The Examination Supervisor must be a current member of one of the following professions and provide evidence such as original letterhead, business card, badge number, or ID number to the Exams Office: (56) In addition to the above, the Examination Supervisor must also meet all the following criteria: (57) Students with alternative supervision must take their exam on the same date and time as the published schedule for the majority cohort. (58) Final examination instructions communicated to students in advance will clearly specify; (59) Table 1 outlines materials allowed in all examinations. (60) Table 2 outlines materials authorised in ‘restricted’ examinations. (61) Materials prohibited in all examinations are outlined in clause 69. (62) Any materials brought into an exam that are not listed as permitted in the timetable, specified in Table 1, or allowed as part of a student's approved access plan, will be considered unauthorised materials and will be handled according to Section 16 of this procedure. (63) Where an examiner permits or requires the use of specific materials in an examination, they must: (64) For in-person examinations: (65) The table below lists materials that are authorised only in ‘restricted’ exams and must be listed on the student’s timetable. (66) For on-campus paper exams, Examination Supervisors will check authorised materials during the examination to ensure compliance. (67) For online invigilated exams, students should hold the authorised material up to the camera at the commencement of the examination. (68) The following materials are strictly prohibited in all examination settings: (69) Calculators can only be used in an examination if: (70) Students must remove the case or cover from their calculator before entering an exam venue. Calculator covers are not permitted in an examination room. (71) For online invigilated exams, students should hold the calculator up to the camera at the commencement of the examination and ensure the UOW (tamper-proof) approved calculator sticker is clearly visible. (72) Students sitting an in-person or online invigilated/supervised final examination will be required to verify their identity by producing a one of the following(for Offshore Collaborative Partners, equivalent identification as specified by local guidelines): (73) If the photo identification or signature provided is not clear, additional forms of identification may be requested. (74) A student who fails to comply with a request for identification as outlined in this procedure may be refused admission to an examination, deemed not to have completed an examination, and/or be investigated for misconduct. (75) Students are required to always have their ID visible during in-person exams. (76) Student wearing clothing that obscures their face will be asked to remove that clothing for identification purposes. If requested by the student, this will occur in private and before an Examination Supervisor of the same gender. (77) Students sitting an invigilated exam will be required to show their ID at the beginning of the exam so it can be captured by their device’s camera. (78) Following the conclusion of the exam, Exams Office staff will review the footage to ensure the student ID matches the individual undertaking the exam. (79) If any IDs are unclear or not visible, Exams Office staff will contact the student to attempt to resolve and confirm their identity as soon as possible following the examination. (80) If any IDs are deemed to not match the individual undertaking the examination, the student will be deemed not to have completed an examination and be investigated for misconduct. (81) Students sitting an invigilated examination may request that their identification verification check instead be conducted online by an invigilator of the same gender. The Exams Office will ensure this request is met. (82) In accordance with the Student Academic Consideration Policy, where a student has commenced an exam and had to leave before completion due to illness, they must inform the examiner immediately and may apply for academic consideration. Students cannot apply for academic consideration for an exam or assessment task after completing and submitting that exam or assessment task. (83) For in-person exams: (84) For online exams: (85) Where a student requires a toilet break: (86) If a student is unable to access their exam or encounters technical difficulties at any point during the examination, they should immediately contact the Exams Support channel for assistance. (87) If the delay is due to a power or internet failure at the student’s location, they should attempt to rectify the issue and contact the exams support channel. If the student requires extra time due to the power or internet failure they should contact the Exams Support channel for assistance. (88) The Exams Office will monitor and document delays for students affected by technical issues, whether these occur at the start or during the examination. (89) If a delay is less than 30 minutes, the start and finish times of the examination will be adjusted to make up the missed time for the student. Provision for extra working time will be determined by the Exams Office. (90) If a delay of more than 30 minutes occurs at any point during the examination, the student should abandon their examination attempt and submit a request for Academic Consideration. (91) Students should take detailed notes and, if possible, screenshots or photos of any evidence regarding any technical issues and submit them to the Exams Office using the Remote Issues Form following the examination. Remote Issue Forms will be forwarded to examiners following the examination. (92) In exceptional circumstances, if a student’s delay exceeds 30 minutes due to technical issues beyond their control, the Exams Office may offer additional time. (93) Unplanned or unexpected interruptions to examinations are classified as: (94) For in-person examinations, interruptions may occur if there is a threat to life or safety or if the conditions in the examination environment are significantly affected. (95) For online examinations, interruptions may occur in an event of platform, hardware, or software failure. (96) For short-term interruptions to in-person examinations: (97) For short-term interruptions to online examinations: (98) Examinations will be formally terminated where a disruption lasts, or is reasonably expected to last, more than 30 minutes. (99) For in-person examinations, where there is a threat to physical safety and security in an in-person examination: (100) The Exams Office will notify all relevant Heads of Academic Units in writing when an examination has been terminated. (101) Where examination is terminated due to an interruption, students will be assessed based on the incomplete examination where possible. (102) Where it is not possible to assess students based on the incomplete examination, Heads of Academic Units may decide that: (103) In accordance with this Procedure, Heads of Academic Units must notify students of the final assessment arrangements in writing within five working days after the examination. (104) Students must comply with the Student Conduct Rules, Academic Integrity Policy and Campus Access and Order Rules (or equivalent rules applicable at an Offshore Collaborative Delivery Partner campus). Failure to comply may result in an investigation and disciplinary action as outlined in the relevant University rules, policies and procedures. (105) Actions that may indicate misconduct in a final examination include, but are not limited to,: (106) In an online exam, if a student inadvertently takes an unauthorised action as outlined above, they should immediately record a statement via the webcam explaining the circumstances so this can be considered by University invigilators reviewing the footage following the exam. (107) University invigilators will review any unauthorised actions, considering the student's behaviour and circumstances to determine if misconduct has occurred in accordance with Section 17. (108) Generally, students suspected of misconduct will complete the examination but may be asked to leave an in-person immediately if deemed appropriate by the Exams Office. (109) The process outlined below sets out the academic misconduct procedure for final examinations in line with the Academic Misconduct (Coursework) Procedure. (110) Any breach of this procedure may constitute alleged academic misconduct even if it does not result in an advantage for the student; for example, having study notes during an examination, even if not used, may still be considered academic misconduct. (111) For in-person examinations: (112) For online examinations: (113) Reports of academic misconduct for final exams will initially be investigated by a representative from Exams Office in accordance with the Academic Misconduct (Coursework) Procedures. (114) Within five working days of the incident, the representative from the Exams Office will refer the case to the Academic Integrity Officer, including; (115) Examination reports and recordings are accessible only to authorised representatives and University staff involved in misconduct investigations, adhering to strict privacy protocols. (116) The Exams Office will ensure staff are aware of the restricted use of exam data, prohibiting unauthorised viewing, downloading, or sharing of examination reports and recordings. (117) Data will not be shared with external parties without student consent, unless legally required. (118) Data will only be shared with authorised representatives for investigating academic misconduct, in accordance with the Data Governance Procedure. (119) For detailed guidelines on data management and privacy, refer to the University’s Records Management Policy, Privacy Policy and Academic Misconduct (Coursework) Procedure. (120) The Exams Office is responsible for scheduling and coordinating final examinations including but not limited to: (121) Learning, Teaching and Curriculum (LTC) is responsible for: (122) Information Management and Technology Services (IMTS) is responsible for: (123) Heads of Academic Units are responsible for: (124) Examiners are responsible for: (125) Students are responsible for: (126) Administrative staff at partner institutions have a responsibility to:Examination Procedure
Section 1 - Purpose
Top of PageSection 2 - Application and Scope
Top of PageSection 3 - Final Examination Requests
Section 4 - Scheduling of Final Examinations
Section 5 - Submitting and Amending Final Examination Content
Paper Examinations
Online examinations
Section 6 - Publishing Timetables
Section 7 - Student Access Plans
Section 8 - Individual Scheduling Issues
Clashes
Overloaded Timetables
Section 9 - Additional Support for Students
Section 10 - Distance and Flexible Examinations
Section 11 - Permitted and Prohibited Materials in Examinations
Permitted Materials Allowed in all Examinations
Table 1: Permitted materials allowed in any examination setting.
Materials Authorised in Restricted Examinations
Table 2: Authorised materials in ‘restricted’ examinations
Search Engines (eg. Google)
Prohibited Materials in all Examinations
Calculators in Examinations
Section 12 - Student Identification for Examinations
In-person examinations
Online examinations
Section 13 - Commencing and Leaving Examinations
Top of PageSection 14 - Individual Technical Issues in Online Examinations
Section 15 - Interruptions to Final Examinations
Short-term interruptions
Termination of Examinations
Section 16 - Conduct in Examinations
Section 17 - Alleged Academic Misconduct in Final Examinations
Referral to the Academic Integrity Officer
Section 18 - Management of Privacy and Data Security
Section 19 - Roles and Responsibilities
Top of PageSection 20 - Definitions
Exams Office
The central office responsible for administering examinations at UOW or UOW Collaborative Delivery Partner Institutions.
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Item
In-person exams
Online exams
ID
Student identification card or other forms of identification as specified in section12 of this procedure.
Student identification card or other forms of identification as specified in this Procedure.
Stationery
Pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, and other drawing instruments.
Pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, and other drawing instruments.
Personal items
Purses, wallets, keys, and glasses cases contained in a clear zip-lock bag no larger than A4 size, stored under the desk.
None within reach.
Bags, purses, wallets, keys, and watches (including smart watches and fitness trackers, which must be removed and placed out of reach, with alarms and alerts switched off).
Electronic devices
Small electronic devices and accessories such as mobile phones, smart watches, and fitness trackers must be removed and have all alarms and alerts switched off, and contained in a clear zip-lock bag no larger than A4 size placed under the desk.
Small electronic devices and accessories such as mobile phones, smart watches, and fitness trackers must be removed and placed out of reach with alarms and alerts switched off; unless required as per the exam instructions to take a photo of examination content to upload into Moodle. In these cases the device can only be used for this purpose and must be out of reach with alarms and alerts switched off at all other times.
Food and drink
Water in a clear plastic bottle with a lid and with the label removed. Lollies/sweets, without a wrapper, stored in a clear zip-lock bag.
Water in a clear plastic bottle with a lid and with the label removed. Lollies/sweets, without a wrapper, stored in a clear zip-lock bag.
Head coverings
Hats and other head coverings, following an inspection conducted in accordance with section 12 of this procedure.
Hats and other head coverings, following an inspection conducted in accordance with section 12 of this procedure.
Ear plugs
Not permitted.
Permitted in an online examination if shown to the camera.
Item
Conditions
UOW Approved Calculators
Submitted as an authorised material by the Subject Coordinator to the Exams Office.
Speciļ¬ed as an authorised material in the examination timetable
Meets specifications outlined in this Procedure.
Blank paper
Submitted as an authorised material by the Subject Coordinator to the Exams Oļ¬NLGce.
Speciļ¬ed as an authorised material in the examination timetable. Tissues or other non-standard paper items are not permitted.
Written material
Submitted as an authorised material by the Subject Coordinator to the Exams Office.
Speciļ¬ed as an authorised material in the examination timetable.
Generative artificial intelligence technology
Submitted as an authorised material by the Subject Coordinator to the Exams Office.
Speciļ¬ed as an authorised material in the examination timetable.
Submitted as an authorised material by the Subject Coordinator to the Exams Oļ¬NLGce.
Speciļ¬ed as an authorised material in the examination timetable.
Any food or drink other than water and lollies/sweets as specified, including chocolate, fruit, and nuts
Only permitted if specified as part of a student’s approved access plan.
Additional Monitors and Devices: Dual or extended screens, additional electronic devices.
Only permitted if specified as part of a student’s approved access plan.
Headsets, headphones, earbuds, or ear pods
Only permitted if specified as part of a student’s approved access plan.
Exam Mode Matrix
The guideline which are used to determine the exam mode eligibility for a subject.
Exam type
The type of examination open book, closed book, restricted material
Open book exam
An examination that permits all reference materials
Restricted exam
An examination that permits specified reference materials listed in the examination instructions.
Closed book exam
An examination that does not permit any reference materials
Final Examination
An examination administered by either the Exams Office in the Student and Administration Services Division (SASD) or the central examination unit at a partner institution, conducted during final examination periods, as well as during supplementary and deferred examination periods
Exam Mode
The type of examination being delivered- Online, online Proctorio, Paper exam or school exam.
Exams Portal
An online tool for collection of examination requests and publication of examination timetables.
Examiner
A person or persons with responsibility for the assessment of work in any subject.
Exam Support channel
A support channel for staļ¬ and students available during end of session examination periods. Support is provided by a combination of staļ¬ from SASD, Information Management and Technology Services (IMTS) and Learning, Teaching and Curriculum (LTC). The channel includes a phone contact, live chat and online form.
Live (in person) invigilation
Examination invigilation conducted live or in real time remotely while students are participating in the examination on the Zoom platform or other similar cloud-based videoconferencing platform.
Online Invigilation
Invigilation of an online examination conducted either via Proctorio invigilation or live invigilation.
Online examination
An examination conducted online such as within UOW’s Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle.
Quiz activity
The examination activity set up in the Moodle subject site.
User overrides
A Moodle setting to facilitate one or more students to start the examination at a diļ¬erent date or time, and/or to set a diļ¬erent examination duration for one or more students with approved arrangements to manage exceptional circumstances.
Short Interruption
A short interruption refers to an unplanned or unexpected disruption during examinations that impacts, or is reasonably expected to impact, the exam for 30 minutes or less.
Long interruption
A long interruption refers to an unplanned or unexpected disruption during examinations that impacts, or is reasonably expected to impact, the exam for longer than 30 minutes.
Clash
A clash refers to unavoidable scheduling conflicts during final examination periods, such as simultaneous exams or overlapping due to extended time provisions.
Overloaded timetable
An overloaded timetable occurs when a student is scheduled for multiple examinations within a condensed timeframe, typically defined as having more than two exams within a 24-hour period or more than three exams within a 48-hour period. This may necessitate requesting alternative examination arrangements to manage academic and logistical challenges effectively.
Delegated Authority
A person given authority to perform a function or task under the Delegations of Authority Policy.