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Part Four
Post Exam Board
Welcome to Post Exam Board, the fourth 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 the post exam board BIRMS processing procedures,
including checking and making changes to existing data in BIRMS, and
releasing final ARTs.
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Learning Objectives
By the end of today’s session, we will have covered the following:
• How to make changes to BIRMS data after the Exam Board.
• The importance of checking BIRMS data prior to release.
• How to use BIRMS/BOXI to identify any data issues.
• How to release marks and ARTs in BIRMS.
• What happens to the data post-release.
• What paperwork is required centrally, and when.
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*NEW* for 2015- EOS Checklist
As publicised in previous sessions, we have designed an EOS checklist.
Today, we will cover from the green section to the end of the checklist.
The document names some useful BOXI reports that we will be referring to
later in the session.
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Extenuating Circumstances
Extenuating Circumstances can result in changes to other data:
• Change module recommendation in ME05 (remember that SU>M, SE>ME, RP>MI
and RS>MX – also, it is a good idea to lock the record).
• Change ART and degree classification in ES03 using the drop-down menus (again,
it is a good idea to lock the record after making manual changes).
• When changing SE/SU to RS/RP, remember that RS = external status, and RP =
normally registered.
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Changes that affect other schools
If a change is required to a student that “belongs” to another department,
remember:
• Contact the owning school as quickly as possible (if you are unsure who to
contact, speak to TSA in the first instance) as the change may affect the student’s
final ART.
• If an ART has changed for one of your students after the Exam Board has taken
place (due to a late change to a module mark), Chair’s Action will be required
before the new ART can be released (an email from the Chair of the Board of
Examiners giving approval will usually suffice).
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Changes Notwithstanding Regulations
Decisions made outside of regulations or programme requirements not due to
Extenuating Circumstances have to be considered by the Progress and Award Board
(PAB).
• Remove the ART in ES03 and lock the record, until the outcome from PAB is
known. This will prevent the recommended decision being inadvertently released
to the student along with the rest of the programme year/cohort.
• Submit to Vicki Phillips by 22nd June. PAB will meet on 24th June to consider these,
and schools will be notified of the decisions taken.
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Cross-checking following the Exam Board
There are a number of reports that we recommend you run to check the changes
that have been made prior to release:
• Current Module Recommendations different from calculated Module
Recommendations.
• Final ART different from Calculated ART.
• Final Degree Classification different from calculated Degree Classification.
• Students with no ART in ES02 – remember, only students you are referring to PAB,
or on Leave of Absence* should not have an ART.
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Common errors
Remember: ALWAYS check the [Display Errors] button if prompted in an information
message.
Consider the commonly occurring errors on your worksheet, and discuss in pairs or
small groups when/how they may occur, and what a possible solution would be in
each case:
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Releasing ARTs and marks
Once all required amendments have been made and you are happy with the
accuracy of your data, it is time to release decisions.
After ticking the box and releasing an ART, the record will lock in that assessment
period, but if the situation changes, or you released an incorrect ART, don’t panic!
Notify a TSA manager, who from this year will be able to unlock the ART in BIRMS.
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Publication of marks
Once an ART has been released, all module marks and recommendations recorded
for that assessment period will display on the student portal.
Component marks will also display where the “All OR” box is ticked in Component
Manager.*
Once published, you may send out an email to students advising them to go online
and view their results. Instructions for students are available from the BIRMS team.*
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 Changes to marks after release
 Module marks can be changed after ART release, and will feed
through to Banner and my.bham.
 The “Correction Approved” box must be ticked before BIRMS will
allow any post-release changes to marks to be saved.
 If you are altering a mark for a student that belongs to another
school, you must notify that school, as the mark change may have
greater implications for the student’s progression.
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What else happens?
Once ARTs and marks have been released, the following also happens:
• TSA are able to generate official transcripts.
• Where applicable, Supplementary module registrations are created and are
available in Marks Entry.
• For successful finalists, students are confirmed for degree congregations and
certificates are produced.
• Continuing students can access Online Registration (when it opens for the new
academic year – 13th July for most students).
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What else happens? (continued)
• From 2015, students given an ART F, G, or K will NOT be sent an email informing
them of the decision and of their right to appeal-they should check the my.bham
portal where the right of appeal will be detailed.
• There is no longer a University deadline for School responses to appeal
submissions.
• Finalists/withdrawn students will be given a status of L (for leaver).
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Important dates
Noon Wednesday 10th June
This is the deadline for the entry of unconfirmed marks in BIRMS. This deadline
applies to everyone, but it of particular importance for those of you entering marks
for students that belong to other schools – please prioritise the entry of these marks
where possible to ensure you meet this deadline.
Noon Monday 22nd June
This is the deadline for the release of all marks and ARTs in BIRMS, for the
submission of Exam Board paperwork to TSA, and for any cases Notwithstanding
Regulations to be submitted to Vicki Phillips.
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Exam Board paperwork
The paperwork required for Board of Examiner meetings varies from school to
school, but there are a number of documents required by TSA following the Exam
Board and confirmation of marks and ARTs in BIRMS:
• A copy of the minutes from the Board of Examiners meeting (including all
Notwithstanding Regulations recommendations clearly identified).
• A pass list (report available via BOXI) for confirmation of all successfully
completing students.
• A copy of the signed Chair of Board of Examiners statement (this is Appendix C of
the examinations pack).
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Exam Board paperwork (continued)
• A summary of extenuating circumstances cases that resulted in a change of
award.
• A summary of Notwithstanding Regulations recommendations to be considered
by the Progress and Award Board. Details should be reported on Notwithstanding
Regulations recommendations pro-forma.
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Preparation for Degree Congregations
• You cannot release marks for students with Holds – if a Hold is removed, Chair’s
Action is required to approve an ART and you should prioritise finalists who have
successfully completed-the turnaround for getting the students registered for
graduation is tight.
• TSA will be checking degree congregation proofs from Thursday 25th June, please
ensure you have submitted a pass list that has been signed off and includes
student names . Please treat queries from TSA regarding students in the proofs as
urgent.
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 Final Recap Quiz
 0-2 Go to jail!
 3-5 Free parking
 A chance to see what
you can remember from
the four sessions..
 6-8 Hotel on Mayfair
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Session summary
This is a very busy time of year for everyone, and deadlines are always tight.
Remember that your TSA contacts and the BIRMS team are always willing to help if
you get stuck.
From everyone in TSA and the BIRMS team, we wish you a very happy End of
Session! Good luck!