Examination conventions are the University’s formal record of the specific assessment standards for the course or courses to which they apply. They are a student-facing document and should be written in a clear and comprehensible manner. The same version of the examination conventions should be used by examiners, with more detailed local operational guidance appended if necessary.
At their first meeting, examiners should satisfy themselves that their examination conventions are comprehensive and unambiguous. They may suggest amendments and formalise interpretations: any such modifications must be approved by the supervisory body.
Examination conventions must be circulated to all students and also published, either as part of the course handbook or separately, in a place easily accessible to students at least one full term before the examination takes place. Where assessment takes place in the first term of the course, they should be published at the beginning of that term. Ideally, examination conventions should be publicly available so that prospective students may have access to them. If this is not possible, they should be accessible via Single Sign On (SSO) to anyone in the University so that the Proctors and colleges have access to them.
An examination conventions template is available in Annex I of the Policy and Guidance for examiners.
Responsibilities of the supervisory body and examiners in relation to examination conventions are outlined in Section 6.1 and 6.2 of the Policy and Guidance for examiners.
Related pages: Examination board meetings
