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End of Session 2013

Pre-Exam Board Preparation 2: Using BOXI for postgraduate taught programmes

Welcome to Pre-Exam Board Preparation 2: Using BOXI, the third session in a series of End of Session workshops brought to you by Taught Student Administration.

The purpose of this session is to introduce/reintroduce school administrators to using BOXI during End of Session, specifically in preparation for the Exam Boards.

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End of Session 2013

Learning Objectives

By the end of today’s session, we will have covered the following:

• The importance of accuracy in End of Session report processing.• How to quickly identify issues with student Exam Board data.• What is required by the Exam Board and how to produce it.• How to get the best out of BOXI at this busy time of year.• How to perform detailed error checking of final data.

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End of Session 2013

End of SessionQuiz Game!

A series of questions will follow designed to test your knowledge of End of Session. The questions are multiple choice.

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End of Session 2013

Question 1

1. What does the acronym “ART” stand for?

A. Automated Record Transaction

B. Agreed Reporting Tool

C. Authorised Reassessment Transaction

D. Academic Review Type

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End of Session 2013

Question 2

1. How many students graduated in July 2012?

A. 1000

B. 3000

C. 5000

D. 8000

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End of Session 2013

Question 3

1. What must every module have recorded against it in order to run end of session processing?

A. Module mark and component mark

B. Module mark

C. Module mark and recommendation

D. Notes

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End of Session 2013

Question 4

1. Why do we have a BIRMS Marks Entry deadline (this year this is June 5th)

A. So all Schools/Depts can see all marks for their students in good time for the Exam Boards

B. To help with the processing of marks for MOMDs

C. To help administrators of joint honours programmes

D. To give enough time to accommodate corrections to these marks (especially when it is a mark for a module run by a different dept to the student’s “home” dept)

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End of Session 2013

Question 5

1. What is the best thing to do if none of the available ARTs or module recommendations seem to suit a student’s circumstances?

A. Leave the student’s record blank in End of Session

B. Contact Taught Student Administration

C. Release an ART C

D. Wait until the supplementary exam board

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End of Session 2013

Question 6

1. BIRMS has auto-calculated an ART that I don’t think is right, what is the best thing to do?

A. Double check the student’s marks and recommendations using the M or D button

B. Look at the regulations on the progression and award for taught programmes

C. Contact Taught Student Administration

D. Double check the meaning of the ART that has been auto- calculated

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End of Session 2013

Question 7

1. What do most of the End of Session reports require to be entered in BIRMS before they can be run?

A. Marks, recommendations and ARTs for all students

B. A single component mark

C. ARTs for all students

D. Attendance monitoring contact points

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End of Session 2013

Question 8

1. Can any students be omitted from End of Session processing?

A. No

B. Yes, students whose ART does not auto-calculate

C. Yes, only students with holds

D. Yes, students on a leave of absence and students with holds

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End of Session 2013

That is the end of the quiz!

How well did you do?

0 – 2 “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate…”

3 – 5 “I could’ve been a contender. I could’ve been somebody.”

6 – 8 “Made it Ma! Top of the world!!!”

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End of Session 2013

Error checking

Once marks and recommendations for all modules have been recorded in Marks Entry, and ARTs auto-calculated in End of Session, the data should be checked before it goes to the exam board.

It is impossible to filter out all possible errors at this stage, as we often don’t have all the information at our fingertips. However, what we can do is ensure that the data is as accurate as possible by carrying out a few easy checking exercises.

In pairs or small groups, have a go at the exercises on the sheets. There are at least three data issues for you to identify in each exercise.

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End of Session 2013

Error checking: exercise 1

The issues…

1. Emilio Largo has failed module 08635 at the first attempt with a mark below 40, and should therefore have a recommendation of SE/SU and an ART of S.

2. Scaramanga has failed modules at the first attempt, and should therefore have recommendations of SE/SU and an ART of S.

3. Karl Stromberg has a second attempt at module 08638 and should therefore have an ART of S.

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End of Session 2013

Error checking: exercise 1

Continued…

4. Raoul Silva has satisfied the taught requirements of the programme and should have an ART I.

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End of Session 2013

Error checking: exercise 2

The issues…

1. Ben Grimm still has an attempt outstanding at module 45001, therefore he should have an ART S.

2. Scott Summers is missing a recommendation for module 45001, which is why BIRMS won’t calculate an ART for him.

3. Selina Kyle has failed module 44657 with no attempts remaining, therefore she should have an ART P.

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End of Session 2013

Error checking: exercise 3

The issues…

1. David Bowman is missing a mark and recommendation – an ART Q cannot be released for him.

2. Freder Fredersen has not achieved enough marks over 40 to receive a PGCert. If he is withdrawing, he would need an ART F.

3. Thomas Anderson should be given an ART D – the ART C should not be applied to a PGT student unless authorised by TSA in extraordinary circumstances.

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End of Session 2013

Time for a short break…

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End of Session 2013

Exam Board documentation

What is required by an exam board?Considerations:

- Do you need a list, grid, or results sheets?- Are your students finalists or non-finalists?- Do you process your students by “cohort”?- Do you need to produce any statistical reports?- Pass list

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End of Session 2013

Exam Board documentation: Grid Style

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End of Session 2013

Exam Board documentation: Result Sheets (transcript style)

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End of Session 2013

Exam Board documentation: Results Grid (multiple academic years)

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End of Session 2013

Getting the most out of BOXI

To make your BOXI use more efficient, consider the following:

- Scheduling reports during periods of high usage.- Creating shortcuts to “favourite” reports.- Creating an “exam board” folder for easy access to useful reports.- Running reports through BIRMS.

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End of Session 2013

BOXI Grand Prix

It’s time to put your BOXI skills to the test. The next page will specify some data required for an upcoming exam board. It’s up to you to produce the data using BOXI. The first person to produce the correct data will be the BOXI Grand Prix champion!

The paperwork we require may need you to run more than one report!

Please log into BOXI as yourself, and use the Term Code 002011 for all reports that you run.

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End of Session 2013

BOXI Grand Prix

We require a results grid for finishing students on one of your programmes – the report should include taught module marks and dissertation marks for all students, final ART, and their overall weighted average.

We also want a transcript for the student with the best weighted average in the year, and their contact email address, as they have won a prize for high achievement.

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End of Session 2013

Error reports

There are a number of Error Reports that can be run that can help you to quickly identify where there are discrepancies in your data. Some examples of these reports are:

- Missing Marks- Students with no ART in ES02- Error Messages in ES02- Current Module Recommendation different from Calculated Module Recommendation- Missing ARTs

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End of Session 2013

Error reports

The vast majority of errors that you will encounter are easily fixable once they have been identified. Some of the most common errors encountered during End of Session processing are:

- ARTS won’t calculate due to missing marks and recommendations Solution - Run Missing Marks report

- Extenuating circumstances/last minute changes to exam board outcomes

Solution – Run Final ART Different from Calculated ART report -Unresolved errors and problems in ES02

Solution - Run Students with no ART in ES02 and Error Messages in ES02 reports

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End of Session 2013

Session summary

We all know that BOXI can be slow and difficult to navigate, especially at this busy time of year. However, by planning your error checking in advance, and having a clear idea of which reports you need for checking and for producing exam board paperwork, you can streamline this part of End of Session processing. Data quality at this time of year is of utmost importance.

If you ever have any queries, are having difficulties getting a report to run, or would like some advice on which report would suit your needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with TSA.

Discipulus non reliquit – No student left behind!