Duties of Invigilators

1. Distribution of Papers

1.1. The Examinations Officer in your Department will give you the question
papers and you must put one copy on each desk before candidates are due to
be admitted to the hall. You must check carefully against the candidate list to
be quite sure that you have given the correct paper to each candidate. You
must return the spare question papers immediately after the examination to
your Examinations Officer.

1.2. Except where the examination is of such a kind that candidates are required
to use a given number of supplementary answer books, such books should
not be issued to candidates at the commencement of an examination, but
should be issued only on demand during the examination.

2. Distribution of Calculators

2.1. You should arrange with the Examinations Officer in your Department to have
the departmental calculators ready for distribution to candidates, if appropriate
for that examination, before the examination begins. You should put one
calculator on each desk before candidates are due to be admitted to the hall.

3. Books and materials to be taken by candidates into examinations

3.1. Candidates are not permitted to take into the examination room any books or
materials other than those specified for particular examinations in the attached
"Instructions to Candidates". This includes mobile phones, smart watches,
‘palmtop’ computers etc – it is not sufficient for the candidates just to turn
them off.

3.2. Where it is necessary to allow candidates to introduce coats, bags, etc. into
the examination room these should be deposited as far away as possible from
where the candidates are seated, and where they may be under the
surveillance of the Invigilator.

3.3. Candidates should not normally be permitted to approach their belongings

during an examination unless they have been given permission to leave and
not return.

4. Invigilation

4.1. There must be at least one invigilator for every 50 candidates or part thereof.
Normally at least one member of the academic staff should invigilate at each
written examination. Additional invigilators need not be members of the
academic staff.

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4.2. All candidates are required to display their College identity cards on their
desks throughout their exams, in a manner so that you can inspect it and
ensure they are eligible to sit the examination. If a candidate is not willing or
able to display their identity card, or you are not satisfied that you have
established any individual’s identity, you should notify your Departmental
Exams Officer immediately. In such a case the individual concerned should be
allowed to sit the remainder of the examination undisturbed, but advised that
they must not leave the hall until their eligibility to sit the exam has been
confirmed. Such a candidate should be notified that failure to establish their
identity may lead to their examination not being marked, and their possible
investigation for cheating. All details should be noted on the Invigilators’
Report Form.

4.3. Throughout the examination your first duty is to watch for any candidate who
may cheat, whether by consulting books or notes, or by communicating with
or copying from another candidate, or by other means. Suspicious conduct of
any sort must be immediately reported to the Senior Assistant Registrar (ext
48008), Assistant Registrar (ext. 48016) or Records Officer (ext. 48017). If
unauthorised material is seen in the possession of a candidate, this should be
removed with the minimum of disturbance to the candidate or other
examinees. The candidate's script should be annotated by the invigilator at
the point the candidate has reached in his/her answer book with the time the
material was removed.

4.4. No candidate may leave the examination room in the first half-hour of an
examination except to go to the lavatory or to the first aid room which he/she
may do at any time, provided that an attendant accompanies him/her. A
candidate arriving up to half-an-hour late may, at the discretion of the
Examinations Officer in your Department, be given extra time. In all such
cases a report should be made to the examiners of the time the candidate
started and the extent of the extra time allowed. These details should also be
noted on the Invigilators Report Form.

4.5. All candidates who arrive more than half-an-hour after the start of the
examination should be reminded, before starting the examination, that their
work will be accepted only at the discretion of the examiners, and a full report
of all circumstances should be sent to the examiners with a note pointing out
that they may accept the candidate's work in that element of the examination
at their discretion. Details should be noted on the Invigilators’ Report Form.

4.6. Any candidate who leaves the Examination Hall without permission will not be
re-admitted to the examination. For such a candidate the examination is
cancelled by his/her action in leaving the hall.

4.7. Silence must be maintained throughout the examination. You should refrain
from whispered conversations and although periodically in the course of your
duties you must walk round your section of the hall, you should do this without
disturbing the candidates. Do not read or write anything not connected with
your duties, or drink beverages, or eat or smoke.

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4.8. If you leave your post temporarily you must get someone else to take over
your duties until you return.

4.9. You should consult the Examinations Officer in your Department on any
difficulty which may arise and must report immediately anything out of the
ordinary which may affect the work of a particular candidate (e.g. sickness) or
of candidates generally (e.g. excessive noise, stuffiness). If a candidate is
taken ill during an examination, but is capable of continuing it after an interval,
the Examinations Officer in your Department may authorise that the candidate
be allowed extra time at the end of the examination to compensate for any
time lost. Alternatively, where the illness requires this, the Examinations
Officer may be able to arrange for the examination to be completed under
special supervision in the College Health Centre.

4.10. Your attention is drawn to the particular instructions concerning action to be

taken in the event of examination disturbances or fire.

5. Academic Staff

5.1. The member of academic staff responsible for a written examination must be
in the examination room at least ten minutes before the examination is due to
begin. If not acting as the invigilator, he/she must then remain in the room for
a further thirty minutes after the start of the examination.

5.2. Before the examination begins the member of academic staff responsible for it
must check his/her paper for any errors. If any amendments are necessary
he/she shall inform the invigilator on duty (if not themselves) and ensure that
the required announcements are made to all students (including those sitting
the examination in alternative venues). No other person may answer queries
which candidates may have about the contents of the question paper, and
instead must seek immediate advice from either the responsible member of
staff or the Examinations Officer in your Department.

5.3. Before leaving the examination the member of academic staff responsible for
it must ensure that arrangements have been made for him/her to be
immediately contactable in the event of any further questions from candidates
on the paper. That member of staff must also remain on campus for the
duration of the examination.

6. Collection of Answer Books and Calculators

6.1. You must see that candidates stop working immediately time is called.
Particular vigilance is necessary at the end of the examination to ensure that
no candidate interferes with another candidate's script, or removes a script or
unused answer book from the examination room.

6.2. You are required to complete an Invigilators Report Form and to return it to
the appropriate Records Officer, Registry, Sherfield Building. A copy should
be given to your departmental Examinations Officer.

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6.3. At the end of each examination period you must collect the answer books,
carefully checking them against the candidate list. You must ensure that
supplementary answer books, maps or other documents forming part of a
candidate's work are securely tied inside the cover at the back of the main
answer book. Large drawings, however, must be collected separately and
kept flat unless you have been otherwise instructed. Absentee forms must be
inserted in the place of any missing scripts.

6.4. If calculators have been distributed to candidates for use during the
examination, these too should be collected up at the end of each examination
period.

6.5. No spare question papers, unused or spoilt answer books must be left on the
desk at the end of the examination.

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Document title: Duties of Invigilators

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Originator: Students Records and Data
Contact for queries: Head of Student Records and Data
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Notes and latest changes: Formatting changes made on 9 March 2016

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