Exam Timetabling Policy

A central timetable is produced by the Academic Registry, on behalf of all Schools and Departments, for exams held in Semester 1, Semester 2, Semester 3 and the Special Assessment Period. The following policy document sets out the guiding principles which determine the production of the exam timetables.

1. Timing聽

The Exam Timetables are produced in accordance with Regulation VII which states that:

For Semester 1 and 2 examinations, an examination timetable shall be published at least three weeks before the date of any examination included in that timetable. For the Special Assessment Period, an examination timetable should be published at least two weeks before the date of any examination included in that timetable.

2. Basic Principles

Exam timetables are generated following consultation with Schools and Departments and in accordance with the following broad principles:

  • Most exams will be hosted in a central venue.
  • Students with most “off-the-shelf” reasonable adjustments will also be hosted in a central venue. Students with “bespoke” reasonable adjustments or complex needs may need to sit their exam in their School. These students will be seated at the same time/date as the main venue.
  • All exams will be scheduled between Monday and Friday (inclusive) but not on official Bank Holidays (where applicable).
  • All short-window exams will be scheduled within the core hours of 9:00am – 6:00pm. Long-window exams will have start and submission points within these core hours.

3. Additional Considerations

In addition to the broad principles outlined in section 2, the following considerations will be adhered to wherever possible. 

  • No student should be scheduled to have more than one exam per day.
  • The scheduling of exams for finalist students will be prioritised, as far as possible, for the first 10 days of the Semester 2 exam session.
  • Exams should be scheduled to minimise the number of students with four “back-to-back” (on consecutive days) exams. Three back-to-back (on consecutive days) exams is considered acceptable.
  • Exams should be scheduled to minimise the number of students with online long-window exams preceding in-person exams. Where this cannot be avoided, in-person exams will be scheduled for later in the day to allow a gap if possible.
  • Exams with large numbers of candidates will be given priority and will be scheduled earlier in the exam period. This is to maximise the time available for marking of scripts.
  • Exams containing common content, as identified by Schools, will be scheduled together.

In very rare cases, it may not be possible to apply all of the additional considerations to an individual’s timetable. In these cases, and only in consultation with the relevant School/Department, it may be necessary to timetable an exam outside of these principles.

4. School/department Requests聽

Individual School/departmental scheduling requests will not normally be accommodated in the timetabling process. Exceptions include:

  • Where exams need to be scheduled together because they have common content.
  • Where an exam needs to be scheduled at a particular time in the day to accommodate a student sitting the paper overseas at the same time.

It is not anticipated that there will be other circumstances that require a School/department to make a specific scheduling request. However, in the event that there are, then a case should be presented to the relevant AD(E&SE) with a clear rationale as to why the request is necessary.

If approved by the relevant AD(E&SE), the exceptional request will then be passed to Student Records and Operations for further consideration.

Updated June 2022
Academic Registry 

 

Exam Timetabling Policy (PDF, 2022)