1. Assessment and Examinations 26th April 2017
Alison Tyson-Capper
Faculty Postgraduate Tutor
Associate Dean
The Graduate School
Faculty of Medical Sciences
University of Newcastle
Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I would like to describe a series of experiments performed by our group to determine how acute inflammation might contribute directly to the development of chronic renal allograft nephropathy.
19th May, 2014

2. Assessment Why? Monitor student progress Identify problems with
Project
Supervisor(s)-student relationship
Completion rate
‘exit’ strategy for struggling students
Student re-registration
Increased focus on the timeline

3. Assessment
When?

4. Assessment
When?

5. Assessment
What?
First assessment

6. Assessment
Intermediate progress reviews

7. Assessment
Final progress review

8. All PgR students in FMS now include an oral (PowerPoint) at each APR
IT facilities – their responsibility (meeting rooms/lecture theatres
Remember - students can be nervous!

9. Before the interview Read all the documents!
Read the student’s research report
Read the report from the student for the progress panel

10. Read the report from the supervisor

11. Read the report from the supervisor continued….

12. Your report

14. Provide constructive comments
Please do not just write ‘No comments’ or even ‘n/a’
Provide constructive comments
Flag up ideas/ concerns/ suggestions – no surprises!
Do commend a student if:
Include some interesting results
Mastered a complicated technique
Selected to present at a conference
Published a paper
Progress HAS been made !

15. Exit strategy
If you feel a student is struggling do not give him or her the benefit of the doubt!
Students who fail to complete often show weak 1st reviews
But in some cases a prod in the first year can be very beneficial!
If a student “exits” within 12 months, they don’t appear on our overall PhD completion statistics.
And some (not all) grant bodies regenerate the funds for a replacement student

16. The Viva Voce

17. Purpose of an examination
For the University
To assess and maintain quality
To mark ‘completion’ of the degree programme
For the Student
Potentially leads to award of a degree
Is an important and memorable life event
can be a real emotional roller coaster (for everyone involved)

18. Who needs an oral examination?
All PhD and MD candidates
Students need one internal and one external examiner
Staff candidates require two external examiners and an internal ‘moderator’ unless ‘junior’ and a Dean’s concession permits one internal and one external examiner.
Not all MPhil candidates
Same criteria for examiners as above
Oral examination held at examiners request
Not only for weak students
With a good candidate can be fun for everyone!

19. Appointment of examiners
See nomination forms on Graduate School
Completed by supervisor and Head of school/Institute
Examiners must:
be cognisant of standards
have subject knowledge (need CV)
not have played a role in the research
(if external) not have been a member of Newcastle staff for at least 3 years
be able and willing to examine
“command authority”

20. Internal examiners
Do NOT organise the exam, food, accommodation, travel, etc
This is the supervisors responsibility.
Ensure the examination complies with Newcastle University protocol
Ensure appropriate report forms are completed and submitted in a timely manner
Provide balance, fairness and ensure good examination conduct
Potentially play a role during any appeals process

21. External examiners Often is the scientific specialist
Is an experienced examiner
Chicken and egg….
Often thought to have the ‘casting vote’
But there are procedures for disagreement
Maintains inter-university quality
Report provides important feedback to Graduate School (and QA etc)
May not be completely ‘up to speed’ with local regulations!

22. What if 2 external examiners?
Need to appoint an internal chairperson
( each institute has approved list)
This person need not read or understand the thesis
Role is to provide advice on Newcastle examination process
May be required to present records of the exam if the result is questioned (appeal process).

26. Criteria – all theses Should be: Authentic Scholarly Professional
Well-structured, written and presented

27. MPhil candidates Should MPhil theses need not
Demonstrate advanced knowledge
Have good knowledge of literature
MPhil theses need not
Demonstrate consistent originality
Be worthy of publication

28. PhD/MD candidates Should provide evidence of adequate industry
demonstrate ability for originality
understand relationship with wider field
thesis should contain material worthy of publication

29. Types of thesis ‘Standard’ By publication
Divided into chapters with results and interpretations
By publication
A review and a series of ~5 related papers
Can be difficult to examine as papers have already satisfied external referees!
Staff candidates only

30. Useful WWW sites: Examiners handbook ncl.ac.uk/calendar/volume1/…
ncl.ac.uk/calendar/volume1/…
(conventions, regulations etc)

32. Reading a Thesis Are you a proof reader or a scientist?
You will need to provide a list of corrections if you require them
For a good thesis, I (and most colleagues) usually stick “post-it” notes to the margin to localise my questions within the thesis
Be sensitive though; hundreds of these can look very scary!
If the thesis is poor, it might be better to have a more detailed critique with lists of specific questions and problems.

33. Preliminary Report Regulations vary between institutions -read them!
Many (but not all) institutions require examiners to independently produce reports before the examination
Some need these to be submitted (well) before the examination to flag up potential problems
Some don’t require submission of these reports until after the examination!
But they should be exchanged with the other examiner’s report on the day.

34. Newcastle

35. Imperial college

36. Liverpool University It is almost unheard of to
suggest examiners speak
to each other before an
exam!

37. Viva Seminars: all FMS students
Three formats;
Open seminar
Selected audience (e.g. research group and assessors)
Solely to the examiners (and internal chair if required)
* Questions : Students decision
**Examiners do not ask questions**

38. How to conduct the examination - 1
Arrange the room
Often good to have pencils and paper to draw on
At the start candidates can be very nervous!
Put them at their ease if possible with a soft start (but don’t anticipate the result!)
Remember to arrange refreshment breaks
Consider the candidate’s bladder

39. How to conduct the examination - 2
Agree a plan with your co-examiner
Remember:
Oral examination of a good candidate can/should be one of the most pleasurable academic experiences for all involved
Examination of a poor thesis/candidate can be truly awful!
You need to devise different strategies for both situations

40. Questioning The soft start
“what result in your thesis are you most proud of?”
“what led you to choose this study”
“what are you doing now?”

41. How long should the exam last
No fixed duration but >4 hours is exhausting for everyone
Often examination of good students will last longer!
Use your judgement

42. At the end (if all has gone well)
Ask the candidate to withdraw for a few minutes
REMEMBER you do not award the degree!!
Work out what you wish to say, then invite the candidate back
Tell the candidate what recommendation you will be making to the higher degrees committee (or other appropriate authority).
Smile and shake hands

45. Examination Results

46. Can you do more to recognise excellence?
In many countries, 1st rate PhD students can be defined.
the French system allows PhDs to be awarded as "honourable (not very good)", "very honourable" (average) and "very honourable with felicitations" (top 5%).
there is no similar recognition in the UK.
In Newcastle we will soon ask examiners (on a separate report sheet) to indicate whether they consider the thesis to be in the top 10% of theses they have examined.
A committee will consider this recommendation and prizes will be awarded.
We hope this will be good for the student’s CV.

48. At the end (if it has NOT gone well) - 1
Make absolutely sure you know what your options are (read the regulations)
You are not obliged to tell the candidate anything (although you will feel some pressure to do so)
the candidate will receive written confirmation of the outcome in due course
You may wish to speak to the supervisor
You might need clarification of the regulations (Graduate School)

49. At the end (if it has NOT gone well) - 2
You will need to fill in the report form with very comprehensive details of any changes you require
This outcome results in much more effort in the future for the examiners!
All report forms look different.
Make sure you know the precise significance of a tick in every optional box!
For example, ticking box 3 (pass) at Newcastle can produce a very different outcome from box 3 at Imperial College (fail)!

50. The appeal process

51. Invitation to examine This is not necessarily an honour!
Not even a valued career move?
Why you and not someone else?
Are you a ‘soft touch’?
Are you the supervisor’s best friend?
You will/should see the abstract of the thesis at the time of invitation
Think about the thesis
You have the right to REFUSE!

52. Any questions?