• Section 1 - Purpose / Objectives
• Section 2 - Scope / Application
• Section 3 - Definitions
• Section 4 - Policy Statement
• Section 5 - Procedures
• Part A - Roles and Responsibilities
• Part B - Preparing for the Examination period
• Examination timetables
• Seating Plans
• Students with Access Plans (Disability)
• Collection and Distribution of Examination Papers
• Venue Management
• Part C - Inviligation Management
• Part D - Examination Rules
• Seating at examination venues
• Entering and Leaving Time
• Identification
• Reading Time
• Materials in examinations
• Mobile phones, smart watches and other electronic devices
• Examination Answer Booklets and Notes
• Behaviour during an examination
• Exclusion, Absence and Failure to Attend an Examination
• Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds
• Part E - Examination Breaches
• During the examination
• After the examination
• Section 6 - Guidelines

Section 1 - Purpose / Objectives

(1) To provide a single, transparent and definitive procedure for the University in relation to the administration of centralised onshore examinations.

Section 2 - Scope / Application

(2) This procedure applies to the conduct of formal onshore examinations.

(3) This procedure does not apply to:

1. offshore examinations
2. in-class or informal tests, quizzes or assessments

Section 3 - Definitions

(4) Authorised Officers: For the purposes of this Procedure, Authorised Officers means:

1. Examination supervisory staff as described in Roles and Responsibilities below.
2. Examiners (academic staff) who are present at the examination.

Section 4 - Policy Statement

(5) See Student Assessment for Learning Policy.

Section 5 - Procedures

Part A - Roles and Responsibilities

Part B - Preparing for the Examination period

(6) All relevant examination information, including examination dates, rules & regulations, timetables, venue details, start times, transport details, results etc must be published and kept up to date on the examinations page of the University's website.

(7) For information on result release dates please go to the relevant webpage.

Examination timetables

(8) The Assessments and Completions produces onshore examination timetables for each of the Higher Education teaching periods (i.e. for Semester One and Two including Special & Supplementary Examinations, the Summer and Winter sessions) after consulting with the respective Colleges. Different publication requirements exist depending on the teaching period, and are:

Seating Plans

(9) The publication of seating plans is dependent on the teaching period. The following table confirms the latest possible date for publication onto the appropriate University Internet site.

(10) Seating lists are displayed prominently at the examination venues on the day of the examinations.

Students with Access Plans (Disability)

(11) The Asssessments and Completions Unit is responsible for the examination arrangements for the students who register for Disability Support, ensuring that individual needs are met consistent with their Access Plan.

(12) Staff from the Unit meet with the Disability Liaison Officer and the Disability Contact Officer (DCO) from the student's College prior to each examination period to ensure registered student's exam requirements are met in accordance with their Access Plans.

Collection and Distribution of Examination Papers

(13) The Assessments and Completions Unit has the following responsibilities with examination papers:

1. All examination papers have been received for the scheduled examination periods
2. Each examination paper is correctly formatted and readable for students
3. That there are adequate quantities of examination papers prepared ahead of the examination period
4. All examination papers are securely stored, prior to and, during the examination period to ensure no unauthorised access can occur
5. The examination papers are securely transported to the examination venue
6. All completed examination papers are accounted for
7. The examiners (or their nominee) are able to collect completed examinations papers in a timely manner
8. Prior to each examination period, a day is made available where the Examination Unit collects exam papers from the various University campuses, except the campus where the Assessments and Completions Unit is based
9. 6 Calendarised days are allocated for the main Semester One & Two examinations for the delivery of completed examination papers to the various University campuses, excepting the campus where the Assessments and Completions Unit is based
10. For the other examination periods, the Wednesday of, and the Monday following the exam period examination papers, if requested, are delivered to the various University campuses, excepting the campus where the Assessments and Completions Unit is based.

(14) Examinations occurring at different times (eg. multi-site, supplementary, special or alternative examinations) must use distinct papers that are equivalent to, but not the same as, each other. Examinations at different locations but that occur at the same time may use the same papers.

(15) All examination papers must be formally validated for each delivery instance, as described in the Moderation and Validation Procedure.

(16) The Assessments and Completions Unit has no responsibility for the content of examination papers.

Venue Management

(17) The Assessments and Completions Unit has responsibility for the preparation and management of examination venues used for the scheduled examination periods.

(18) This level of responsibility varies depending on the examination being conducted (for example, practical examinations that require a laboratory are generally organised by the relevant College.)

1. For specialist practical examinations that require specialist invigilators, particularly practical examinations involving cadavers, specialist invigilators must be organised by the relevant College at least 2 weeks in advance of the examination.

(19) In some instances, the Assessments and Completions Unit provides only invigilation support. However, it has responsibility for the major examination venue (e.g. The Melbourne Showgrounds).

(20) The extent of this management includes (but is not limited to):

1. Acquiring and booking of the examination venue.
2. The logistics management surrounding the set up and set down of the examination venue, which includes:
   1. Provision and removal of all examination furniture
   2. Provision of First Aid
   3. IT support
   4. Signage
   5. Checking of Heating, Lighting, Partitions, PA Systems, Clocks
   6. Checking of Toilets, Staff Room, Prayer Room, Study Room, Cloak Room, Parking, Cleaning
   7. Provision of all necessary examination materials (e.g. answer booklets, multiple choice answer sheets)
   8. Provision of invigilators
   9. Administration of Examination Breaches

Part C - Inviligation Management

(21) The Assessments and Completions Unit has responsibility for the recruitment, rostering, training and supervision of invigilators.

(22) A hierarchy of invigilation support is provided for the larger centrally administered examinations. In these instances, the following approach is used:

1. Chief Invigilator: The role of this officer includes the overall operational responsibility and supervision of an individual section or room at an examination venue.
2. Assistant Chief Invigilator: The role of this officer is to perform invigilation duties as well as assist the Chief Invigilator in supervising students in a section or room at an examination venue.
3. Invigilator: The role of this officer is to supervise students in an examination venue or room under the direction of the chief invigilator.

Part D - Examination Rules

Seating at examination venues

(23) Examination seat numbers will be published on the Internet (myVU Portal) and official notice boards at the exam venues. Students must know their seat number before entering the examination room.

(24) If a student has not been allocated a seat number, they should ask a question in ASKVU explaining the circumstances or phone +61 3 9919 6100. If they are at the examination venue contact the Exam Administration staff.

Entering and Leaving Time

(25) Students are not permitted to enter the examination room more than half an hour after the commencement of the session.

(26) Students are not permitted to leave the examination room until half an hour after the start of the session or during the last 15 minutes of the session except with the special permission of the invigilator in charge of the examination.

(27) If students receive permission to leave at a non-standard time, the invigilaror must report on the circumstances to Assessments and Completions.

Identification

(28) Students must bring photographic identification with them to their exam.

(29) Acceptable photographic identification is:

1. Student ID card, or
2. Drivers Licence, or
3. Passport.

Reading Time

(30) Reading time is normally provided at the commencement of each exam. The amount of reading time is indicated on the front cover of the exam paper and is allocated at the discretion of the examiner.

(31) Reading time may include writing and / or highlighting but only if indicated in either the allowable materials or special instructions section on the front cover of the examination paper.

(32) Under no circumstances is writing allowed in the answer booklet during reading time

(33) Calculators cannot be used during reading time.

Materials in examinations

(34) The allowable materials of each unit of study is displayed on the Examination paper.

(35) It is the students' responsibility to ensure they are aware of the allowable materials for each exam.

(36) Students should bring their own pens, pencils, rulers & erasers with them to their exam. Examination answers should be written in pen as prescribed by the examination instruiction. Any answers written in highlight pen will not be marked.

(37) Any materials other than the stated allowable materials cannot be taken into the exam room except with the special permission of the invigilator in charge and where they are specifically required for an examination and expressly authorised by the examiners.

(38) Students must not take into the exam room any books, writing paper, notes, manuscripts, or any form of stored or recorded information, including religious materials such as Prayer Books, Korans and Bibles.

(39) Bags and other personal belongings are not allowed into the exam venue and must be left in the Bag room located in Building 9 at the Melbourne Showgrounds. The University does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage of items left in the bag room and recommends students only take the permitted materials to the exam venue.

(40) Watches cannot be worn during the exam. Conventional watches only may be placed on the desk for the purposes of viewing time during the exam.

Mobile phones, smart watches and other electronic devices

(41) Students are not permitted to bring electronic devices — including mobile phones, smart watches or tablet devices — into the exam venue unless they are switched off and placed underneath the desk. Invigilators will advise students of this procedure before commencement of each examination.

(42) If any electronic device is found in use in a student's possession after the amnesty period in the examination venue, it will be deemed a breach of examination rules. This may result in the matter being referred to the relevant College for further action in accordance with the Student Misconduct Regulations.

(43) Invigilators will advise the student that the electronic device will be held as unauthorised material and returned at the end of that examination.

Examination Answer Booklets and Notes

(44) All examination answer booklets must be submitted intact. Students must:

1. not deface, remove or destroy any part of the examination booklet
2. do all notes, rough work and calculations, other than those permitted during the reading time, in the examination answer booklet

Behaviour during an examination

(45) Students must not communicate in any way with any other person other than an examiner or any invigilator during an examination. Any other communication will be deemed as a Breach of Examination Rules.

(46) Smoking is not permitted in an examination room, and food and/or drink will not be permitted in an examination room without the special permission of the invigilator in charge.

1. The invigilator will permit food and drink to be brought into the examination room on medical grounds only, with appropriate certification from a medical professional.

Exclusion, Absence and Failure to Attend an Examination

(47) An invigilator has the power to exclude a student from an examination for good cause. The invigilator willl submit a written report to VU immediately after the conclusion of the examination

(48) Any student needing to leave an examination room during the exam and return to the room later must obtain permission from an invigilator. Such students will be kept under supervision and be accompanied by an invigilator during their absence from the examination venue

(49) A student who fails to attend an examination at the time and place published on the final timetable, except where prevented from doing so by illness or other acceptable reason, will be deemed to have failed that part of the assessment.

(50) For rules and process around Special Consideration and Alternative Examinations, please see the Adjustments to Assessment Procedure [link].

Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds

Extension of exam time

(51) Extension of time may be granted to students from a non-English speaking background in the first two years of their enrolment at Victoria University.

(52) Recommendation of extension of time in an exam is solely at the discretion of the Unit of Study Lecturer & Course Co-Ordinator, on the basis of the provision of documentary evidence supporting a valid reason for extension of time.

(53) Students will need to provide documentary evidence that:

1. They arrived in Australia within the last five years from a non-English speaking country
2. The immediate prior course of study was in a language other than English
3. In addition, co-ordinators may require students to provide their ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) results that were submitted with their application for entry into their course, as an indicator of their English language proficiency.

(54) The recommended maximum additional time in an exam is 15 minutes.

Use of dictionaries in exams

(55) Students whose first language is other than English (NESB — non English speaking background) can apply to use an English - Foreign language translation dictionary, without annotations, illustrations or tables in an examination. Electronic dictionaries will not be approved.

(56) To register a dictionary students must:

1. take it to a Student Service Centre and complete a Dictionary Use in an Examination Application
2. fill out a separate form for each exam they are sitting every semester
3. present the registration form at the examination with the Dictionary

(57) Dictionaries must be registered a minimum of one week (7 days) before the scheduled examination time.

(58) No other type of dictionaries (English, Medical, Accounting etc) are allowed to be used in an examination unless specified in the allowable materials for the relevant exam.

Part E - Examination Breaches

During the examination

(59) Examination Rules (Part D of this Procedure) are applied consistently to ensure their conduct is fair to all students. Authorised Officers should take appropriate and proportionate measures to resolve or report incidents as they occur.

(60) Invigilators should advise students of the Rules before the commencement of the examination, using the University's Examination Announcement.

(61) Authorised Officers aware of a potential or actual incident should assess the situation and respond to issues at their discretion, seeking advice from Chief Invigilators and the supervising academic staff member as appropriate:

(62) There are some circumstances that may be resolved at the time rather than reported as a Breach of Examination Rules, by administering a warning. These include:

1. Where a device is found to be switched on, but not in use
2. Where a device or object has been placed in the incorrect location

(63) Where students are administered with a warning, a record will be made of the warning and a letter sent to the student after the examination reiterating the substance of the warning. Students may only receive one warning - all subsequent infractions of examination rules will be treated as a breach.

(64) Authorised Officers who suspect a student may be cheating must report the matter to the Invigilator/Supervisor responsible to confirm a breach has occurred / is occurring. At that time:

1. The Breach of Examination form must be completed by the Invigilator who observed the potential misconduct and the Invigilator in charge.
2. This Breach of Examination Report must be fully completed as soon as a suspected breach occurs.

(65) Authorised Officers may:

1. give reasonable directions (see 11-13 of the Student Misconduct Procedure), including confiscation of unauthorised materials; and/or
2. temporarily remove a student in more serious situations (see 14-17 Student Misconduct Procedure).

(66) Conduct should be reported to the Assessments staff as soon as possible after the breach has occurred, without waiting until the end of the exam session.

(67) Students should be encouraged to complete their exam and see the Invigilator/Supervisor in charge at the end of the examination.

(68) At the end of the examination the student's ID card should be returned and they must be given the breach of exam notice and the Student Advisory notice.

(69) Confiscated material, except for electronic devices, must not be returned to the student at the end of the exam. The student can make arrangements to collect confiscated material after the investigation and outcome.

(70) If the Examiner is present, he/she can complete their section of the Breach of Examination Report and consider any materials.

(71) If an Examiner is not present, unauthorised material should be photographed / scanned and the Examiner sent a copy by email in order for him/her to complete the relevant section on the Breach of Examination Report to return to the Student Matters Office within 2 working days from receipt of the email.

After the examination

(72) The completed Breach of Examination Report must be sent by email to the Student Matters Office at student.matters@vu.edu.au.

(73) If an incident is reported as a Breach and sufficient information has been provided, the matter will be referred to a Senior Officer within the College as an allegation of misconduct as set out in the Student Misconduct Regulations and Procedure.

(74) Senior Officers will:

1. Investigate the alleged breach by reviewing the evidence provided and interviewing witnesses if required
2. Provide the student with an opportunity to explain their actions (either in writing, on the phone, or in person)
3. Make a determination as to:
   1. Whether the breach is substantiated
   2. If substantiated, whether the breach is serious or minor
   3. What sanction would be most appropriate in the circumstances

(75) Sanctions that may be imposed for a substantiated breach of examination rules include all options available to Senior Officers under the Student Misconduct Procedures s 76:

1. reprimanding and/or cautioning the student;
2. recording a failure or zero mark or result or other appropriate mark or result for all or any part of the examination;
3. requiring the student to repeat the examination;
4. requiring the student to refrain from association with specified person/s for the purposes of study or assessment;
5. requiring a student to undertake alternative assessment for the Unit on terms determined by the Senior Officer.

(76) In determining the appropriate sanction, Senior Officers may take into account:

1. Whether this is a first or subsequent breach by the student
2. Whether the breach could have occurred via a misunderstanding on the part of the student
3. Whether the student has acknowledged the behaviour and demonstrated remorse
4. Whether the breach had, or could have had, a potential impact on the outcome of the examination
5. Whether the breach involved collusion between one or more students

(77) The student must be notified of the decision within 5 University business days of the decision of the Senior Officer.

(78) Where a decision is made that the allegation of student misconduct is substantiated, the student must also be informed of:

1. the sanction to be imposed;
2. the reasons for the decision, including the findings on material facts; and
3. their right to appeal in accordance with the Appeals Regulations 2014 and the time within which an appeal may be made (i.e. 20 University business days from the date the student is sent the decision).

Section 6 - Guidelines

(79) Nil