Examination Organisation for lecturers

The proper course of examinations is in the interest of both lecturers and students. The following description offers lecturers and other stakeholders insight into the steps that are taken within the examination organisation. Given that many different people are involved in the organisation, proper planning is important.

The steps appearing in italics are relevant only for multiple-choice examinations.

Frequently used documents

• Answer Key format (xlsx, 47 kB)
• Proctor Information Paper Assessment (pdf, 1,5 MB)
• Mandatory cover page (docx, 16 kB)
• Checklist Lecturer (docx, 14 kB)

Timetables

1. The lecturer and the programme coordinator determine the testing forms and the duration of the testing.
2. The scheduler plans the dates for examinations and resits within the established examination periods.
3. The OSP will verify the availability of and reserve examination rooms for specific times.
4. Examination date, time and location appear in the Personal Timetable (through the Student Portal and in the course description in the prospectus).

Test construction

Before the start of the course:

1. The lecturer determines the weighting of the test components, as well as the cut-off point.

Weeks 1-6:

1. The lecturer creates a draft version of the test and the answer key (for multiple-choice examinations), correction model (for open questions) or assessment scheme (for papers, theses).
2. The lecturer presents the examination to a fellow lecturer and/or the quality-assurance team.

Email reminder from the OSP

1. One month before the examination, the OSP examination team will send an email reminder to lecturers with regard to the submission period. The deadline for submission is two weeks prior to the examination. The email includes: the obligatory cover sheet (doc, 32 kB) and the format for the answer key (xlsx, 46 kB) (for use only with multiple-choice questions). Unnecessary confusion during the examination can be easily prevented by clearly stating on the cover sheet which types of paper/tools may be used during the examination. The email also includes the Evaluation Service's procedure (docx, 17 kB) for making several versions of the multiple choice exam if needed.

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Submitting the test

1. To reduce the likelihood of fraud, it is advisable to create several versions of multiple-choice tests (or to have several versions created). The Evaluation Service offers a test-formatting service for this purpose. NOTE: If the test-formatting service is used, the submission period will be moved to three working days earlier.
2. Ten working days (thus 14 calendar days) before the examination, the lecturer should submit the following to the OSP:
   - the completed cover sheet and the test in a single digital file (note: proctors are dependent upon the instructions on the cover sheet with regard to allowing or not allowing scratch paper. Be sure that these instructions are clearly stated on the cover sheet)
   - for multiple-choice examinations: the answer key or the .dat and ver.dat files
   - any instructions concerning the OSP and/or proctors (e.g. the type of paper on which the questions should be answered, double-sided or single-sided copies)
   - possibly a telephone number where the lecturer can be reached during the examination, if the lecturer is unable to be present
   - A request can be made for a file with different formatting (relative to the usual formatting) for students with special facilities. Please send the files from a Radboud University email address to: tentamens.fsw@ru.nl, or bring a USB to the OSP.
3. The OSP examination team will send confirmation of receipt to the lecturer.
4. The OSP will send answer keys/examinations and other information (title, course code, date, digital recipients and cost centre) to the evaluation service.
5. The OSP examination team will prepare the examination for copying.
6. If desired, the lecturer may make an appointment to review the copied examination at the OSP.
7. The OSP examination team will compare the number of students who have signed up for an examination to the size of the requested examination room, making adjustments as needed. This team will also request proctors, copy the examination, divide the examination across the various rooms, add the necessary paper and inspect the copied examination sets.
8. The OSP examination team will arrange the special facilities for students with functional disabilities. Students must request these facilities at least five working days before the examination. One or two days before the examination, all students with special facilities will receive an email stating the time and location at which they should be present. The lecturer will receive a copy of this email.
   
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Test administration

1. Proctors should pick up the examinations from the OSP (or from the concierge) and bring them to the examination room/rooms.
2. Proctors will inspect the ID of students and review the list of candidates to determine whether all of those present have signed up for the examination. Students are responsible for signing up for their examinations. If they are not registered for the exam, they will not be given acces to the exam room. The lecturer is not responsible for admitting students to the examination.
3. The lecturer will be present for the first 15 minutes of the examination in order to answer substantive questions. Lecturers who cannot be present and/or whose examinations are being administered in multiple rooms ensure that they have provided the OSP with a mobile telephone number to be noted on the examination, so that proctors can contact them.
4. Students take the examination.
5. Proctors collect the examinations according to the basic instructions provided by the OSP or the instructions that have been added by the lecturer.
6. Proctors should return the examinations to the OSP (or the concierge).

Assessment

1. The assessment period for examinations is 15–20 working days. For all first-year examinations in Periods 2 and 4, the assessment period is shorter, in connection with issuing the Binding Study Advice (see EER). The applicable deadline for these examinations is determined in consultation between the programme coordinator, the lecturer and the OSP.
   
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After the examination

1. The OSP examination team unpacks the examinations.
2. After unpacking the examinations, the OSP will immediately send an email to the lecturer, stating that the examinations can be picked up. The email is accompanied by an Excel file containing the names of the students (in alphabetical order), student numbers, date and results column. In the email, the OSP provides instructions for how the lecturer can shift between alphabetical and numerical order.
3. Only in the case of multiple-choice examinations: On the day of the examination or one day thereafter, the OSP examination team will take the multiple-choice forms to the Evaluation Service (previously ITS). The Evaluation Service will scan the forms, check the data, perform the analysis and email the test report to the lecturer and to the OSP (and, for Psychology, to the quality-assurance team).
4. The lecturer picks up the examination forms from the OSP.
5. The lecturer picks up the scratch forms from the OSP a week after the examination.
6. The lecturer receives the test report from the Evaluation Service and examines the psychometric data.
7. The lecturer determines whether particular questions should be eliminated or whether multiple answers should be counted as correct; this is done in consultation with fellow lecturers and/or the quality-assurance team.
8. If necessary, the lecturer sends an email to the Evaluation Service (evaluatieservice@ru.nl) to request a re-analysis.
9. The Evaluation Service sends the revised test report to the lecturer and to the OSP.
10. The lecturer determines the final marks.
11. The lecturer enters the final marks in whole and half numbers (NOTE: scores of 0, 0.5 and 5.5 are not allowed) into the excel file from the OSP. To ensure quick processing, it is important for the underlying calculation formulas to be turned ‘off’. Use the following trick: select the numbers in Excel; copy them to Word; select the numbers in Word and copy them to Excel. If an examination is administered in order to assess the knowledge that has been acquired, the OSP sends a list of the students who took the examination to the lecturer after the end of the examination. If no examination is administered, and the knowledge is assessed in another manner, the lecturer can request a list of participants from the OSP through the following address: tentamens.fsw@ru.nl. Requests should be sent from a Radboud University email address, noting the course code.
12. The OSP enters the marks into Osiris within one working day after receiving them from the lecturer.
    
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Review

1. Proctors may also be requested for the review. In this case, notify the examination team at least a week in advance regarding the number of proctors needed, the classroom in which the review will be held and the course (using the course code) that the review concerns. The lecturer should ensure that the examinations are brought to the classroom where the review is to be held. If proctors are involved in the review, a list of participants will be required.
2. The lecturer invites students to the review and prepares a list of participants for the OSP, if needed.
3. The lecturer holds a review within 20 working days after the examination.

Archiving

Archiving one copy of the Original exam, the answerkey, the completed examinations and the completed scrap forms for two years is the responsibility of the Education Institute.