Exam information
Links to Senior Examiner Guidelines (Faculty Board of Biology (FBB)
Overview of Senior Examiner tasks:
Approximate Timing
Michaelmas Term
Early Lent Term
Early-Mid Lent Term
Lent Term/early Easter Vacation
Late Easter Vacation
Early Easter Term
Exam Period
June
Post Exams
Process
Appointment of Examiners (Note 1); Ensure Senior Examiners are aware of responsibilities and duties; Deadline for form and conduct changes to be agreed by Faculty Board of Biology (FBB)
First Meeting of Senior Examiners (Parts IA & 1B)
Call for questions; First meeting of Subject Examiners
Subject Examiners draft, first version of papers; Where relevant, draft sent to External Examiner for comments; Appoint Assessors, where required (*)
Final drafts of papers, taking into account External Examiner's comments; Papers printed by Reprographics
Examiners arrange attendance and invigilation during exams, and finalise marking arrangements
Senior Examiner ensures exam scripts are collected from the exam hall (Note 3); Subject examiners meet to finalise subject markbook
Final meeting of Senior Examiners (Parts IA & IB); Results submitted to FBB Office
Senior Examiner deals with complaints/appeals; Senior Examiner compiles report for FBB (Note 8)
Notes
Done by General Board (GB) on recommendation of FBB. The Education Section of the GB has issued guidance on Form and Conduct Notices on their website.
Convened by Chair of Examiners (Note 2)
Done by Senior Examiners
The Senior Examiner should ensure that all internal Tripos examiners receive copies of the FBB guidelines Guidance for marking written Tripos answers.
Senior Examiners should submit a camera-ready copy of the examination paper to the Reprographics Centre (Old Schools) by mid-April.
Lists of candidates, in the form of a markbook, are supplied by the FBB Office.
All Senior Examiners must be present at the Final Meeting in June to sign the Class List unless special permission has been granted by the Vice Chancellor for absence.
Details of the University's review procedure can be found here.
Notes:
1Appointment of Examiners
- Chairmen and Senior Examiners: by the start of Michaelmas Term
- Internal and External Examiners: by the division of Michaelmas Term
- Assessors: 4 weeks before the examination.
2Chair of Senior Examiners – two Chairs, appointed for:
- Part IA
- Part IB and Part II/III
3Senior Examiner ensures exam scripts are collected from the exam hall:
- After the examination, the Senior Examiner should collect the scripts from the exam hall, in liaison with the Student Registry. Examiners may also make special arrangements to collect scripts completed in College from the Student Registry. This is highly recommended as there can sometimes be delays getting these scripts delivered to departments.
- Candidates should record in the cover sheet which questions they have attempted, and examiners are advised to check scripts as they are received and to record the details of any that appear to have material missing, or to have been damaged. They should report any apparent loss of material to the Student Registry as soon as possible, so that searches of the exam room can be arranged.
- Senior Examiners should report to the Chairman of Examiners on any apparent loss of answers; if material is not found the Chairman will decide whether this could have affected the overall class of the candidate concerned.
4Senior Examiner Reports
- Senior Examiner’s reports should be sent to the Secretary of the Faculty Board, copied to the Course Organiser, within one month of the examination, as there is very little time to make changes in a course following an exam. The report should also be sent to the person who will be Senior Examiner in the following year.
Exam guidance Documents (FBB):
Examination information for NST
Examination information for MST/VST
Examination information for All triposes
