All roads lead to exam boards: Motivation for the ‘Future of Exam Boards’ QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project

Author

Michaela Pittom
Assistant Registrar (Regulations, Assessment and Student Casework) Kingston University

As a professional in the higher education sector, it is likely you have been involved in exam boards during your career. The experience might have enthused you, eager to complete the important work of conferring awards and making decisions that play a big role in the lives of students. Conversely, it might have filled you with a sense of trepidation as you battled to tight deadlines through the vast associated workload. Perhaps in the midst of this effort, you had a quiet moment to wonder whether there was a better way to do it and ask what a more elegant solution might look like.  

I can attest to similar mixed feelings at my first board, which was around a table in a meeting room, attended by over 30 staff members, shuffling unwieldy stacks of paper. I certainly recognised the importance of the occasion, but also reflected on the time (and paper) that had been expended. Over the years as my experience and knowledge grew, so too did exam board practice at my institution through incremental changes over time. However, the potential for significant change was realised by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Necessity dictated that boards took place differently: online, with a streamlined membership and without paper (or significantly less). This once inconceivable approach not only worked well but was positively received by the majority of staff and external examiners. This sparked an appetite for a new approach and the seed of change was planted. I subsequently spent two years leading on a university-wide project that significantly transformed how we run exam boards at Kingston University, which included the removal of module assessment boards and the implementation of an online mark ratification process.

Personally, I have come to love exam boards for their unbiased scrutiny, attention to detail, application of policy, and the opportunity to continually improve and enhance processes. These processes are the culmination of a considerable amount of hard work from both students and staff and I find it immensely satisfying. My experience leading exam board change, coupled with my passion for this transformation, has inspired me to make a wider contribution to the sector and to help others think about exam boards differently. The possibility to do this supported by the QAA is a fantastic opportunity and I am thrilled to be part of the ‘Future of Exam Boards’ project.

Through this project, I want to equip the sector with tools and resources which would have proved invaluable to me when considering and delivering change to exam boards. One of the project outputs is a framework of exam board practice in the UK, which I hope will be beneficial to anyone who is considering a change to their exam boards but is unsure where to start or what different practices might look like.

Contemplating and implementing change can cause uncertainty or worry around issues such as meeting ‘base line’ requirements, what these requirements are and whether the change aligns with best practice. Institutions may understandably feel apprehensive about adopting a different approach. In addition to surfacing current practice and shaping best practice, engaging in a project which is supported by the QAA provides a valuable opportunity to offer reassurance to institutions and potentially ease any anxieties associated with innovative approaches to exam boards.

During our introductory project meeting, we remarked that we are all engaged in exam boards, and we all strive to carry out this work effectively. However, we must acknowledge that there are real barriers to change, which need to be carefully navigated. These barriers are not always logistical issues with ‘easy wins’, although in some cases they can be. More often, they are systemic challenges, enshrined in the history and culture of an institution, which make a different approach hard to conceive and implement, even if there is buy-in and support. As universities continue to face ongoing challenges, they are striving to streamline processes and reduce costs. In this context, there is increasing importance on conducting exam board activities as efficiently as possible. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring exam boards and their associated processes have the necessary rigour, efficiency and agility to safeguard standards and support timely decisions that compliment a diversity of provision (e.g multiple entry points, non-standard courses, PSRB courses, collaborative partners, degree apprenticeships). I believe that the necessity for the work of the project is reflected in the level of interest expressed so far and we continue to welcome participation and contributions from across the sector. 

It is my hope that this project will help all of us think about exam boards differently, empower institutions to collaboratively problem solve shared challenges and act as a catalyst for widespread enhancement of exam board practices, which benefit both staff and students alike.

For further information about the project, please visit the project webpage.