Examination board meetings and reporting

Full guidance on attendance at exam board meetings can be found in Section 4 of the Examinations and Assessments Framework. 

Exam boards may meet in-person or remotely, taking into consideration the guidance below. No special permission is required for remote attendance. However exam boards are encouraged to support physical attendance of external examiners on at least an annual basis to support working relationships and allow the external to meet with students in-person as appropriate. This is likely to be particularly beneficial in the first year of an external examiner’s appointment.

Protocols of VoIP use for exam board meeting

All of the following criteria apply to all locations connected by VoIP. The parties in each location must ensure that the criteria are met at that location. Overall responsibility for ensuring that the criteria are met lies with the Chair of Examiners.

1. The parties in each location must connect from suitable spaces. A ‘suitable space’ includes but is not limited to dedicated video-conference facilities and is defined as a location that:
   • is quiet and well lit (with ambient noise either inaudible or inconsequential both in the space itself and over the connection), where interruptions are unlikely;
   • has signage placed outside stating that a meeting/examination is in progress, and requesting silence;
   • is fitted with hardware and software sufficient to support a quality of connection that is satisfactory for all parties in each location.
2. IT support sufficient to support the meeting must be available to respond promptly to any problems that have or may have a negative impact on the conduct or quality of the meeting. However, IT support staff must not enter the meeting space unless requested by the Chair of Examiners, and the meeting should not proceed while members of IT support staff are present.
3. Once the date and time of the meeting have been agreed (ensuring that any time zone differences have been accounted for and are understood), the examiners should agree which hardware and software to use in consultation with ‘local’ IT officers. Examiners must ensure that they:
   • select hardware and software that they are already competent to use; or
   • make arrangements to ensure that they are competent to use the hardware and software by the scheduled time of the examination; or
   • ensure that they have sufficient IT support on hand on the day of the meeting to ensure that the hardware and software can be used.
4. In all cases, the Chair must ensure that examiners with disabilities will not experience any disadvantage as a consequence of the VoIP arrangements, and must make reasonable adjustments to accommodate any disabled examiner’s needs. This applies both to access needs and to the conduct of the meeting itself. 
5. Relevant contact details necessary to the use of VoIP and emergency contact methods (such as telephone and email) must be shared at least 10 working days in advance of the meeting.
6. A ‘trial run’ is recommended to establish that all sides of the connection can see and hear the other parties sufficiently, either:
   • three days or longer in advance of the meeting, in order to ensure that any difficulties or problems with hardware, software or the connection can be resolved; and
   • immediately prior to the meeting.
7. At the beginning of the meeting, all parties must be satisfied as to the identity of all those present and their right to be present, and must state whether they are satisfied with the quality of the connection. If any of the parties are not satisfied, the determination as to whether to continue will be the responsibility of the Chair of Examiners.
8. At no point, during the meeting, must any communication take place without all parties present. If any breaks become necessary, the meeting must adjourn until all parties are once again present and able to participate. If, at any point, unexpected events occur which disrupt the meeting, it shall be for the Chair of Examiners to determine whether to adjourn the meeting, and to attempt to re-establish the VoIP connection.  If it proves impossible to establish (or re-establish) a video-connection, it will be for the Chair to decide as to whether to proceed with voice-connection only.
9. Audio and/or video recordings of meetings should not be made.

As part of the University’s quality assurance processes, departments must ensure that examiners prepare relevant reports on the examination, as listed below, using the approved templates. Further guidance can be found in the Examinations and Assessments Framework.

In compliance with the Data Protection Regulations, departments must also ensure that all examiners and assessors (including externals) complete the Retention of Records Declaration Form upon completing their examining duties for each examination. 

Report on Examinations

Each Exam Board must complete a report on the examination following the relevant exam board meetings using the Report on Examinations template. 

External Examiners Report

All External Examiners must complete a report on each examination for which they act as the arbiter of standards after the final exam board meeting. Further guidance and a template of the report is available from the External Examiners webpage.