This page explains the basic terminology associated with examination management, starting with “Sittings” and “Examinations”. For information on specific column headings that appear in various tables throughout the system, see the column headings page.
The most crucial distinction is that between a “Sitting” and an “Examination”. Very briefly:
- An “Examination” has candidates who need seats to sit in.
- A “Sitting” has seats which need candidates to sit in them.
To expand a bit on what these actually are:
- An “Examination” belongs to an offering and is a member of a series — Midterm, Final, etc. The offering, series, and number within the series identify the examination: for example, CS 241 Winter 2014 Midterm 1. If “1” is the only number within a series it is omitted. Candidates are selected for an examination.
- A “Sitting” belongs to an offering and takes place starting at a particular time. The offering and start time identify the sitting: for example, CS 241 Winter 2014 on 2014-02-26 at 12:30. Rooms, and therefore the seats within them, are selected for a sitting.
The essential job of the Examination Management System is to match up the candidates selected for examinations with seats selected for sittings.
This distinction is required because an Examination will frequently require more than one Sitting, and a Sitting may provide seats for more than one Examination.
An Examination may require more than one Sitting if some candidates are writing with AAS (AccessAbility Services), or if some candidates need to write at a different time, or for other reasons depending on local circumstances.
A Sitting regularly provides seats for more than one Examination in the case of final examinations administered by the Registrar’s Office or by CEL (Centre for Extended Learning), or at AAS, or in other cases depending on local circumstances.
Many of the other words used in examination management have two meanings, one associated with Examinations and Candidates, the other associated with Sittings and Seats.
| Term | Examinations / Candidates | Sittings / Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Selected | A person who is recorded in the system as being a candidate for an examination is said to be selected for the examination. At present, this will be anybody on the class list as well as anybody added manually as a “special” candidate. | A seat which is recorded in the system as being available for use in a sitting is said to be selected for the sitting. Normally, this will be every seat in every room attached to the sitting. |
| Allocated | An examination candidate who is recorded in the system as intended to write the examination in a specific sitting is said to be allocated to the sitting. | A seat in a sitting which is recorded as intended to be used for a specific examination is said to be allocated to the examination. |
| Designated | An examination candidate may be designated as Assigned or Non-Assigned, indicating whether they will be assigned to a specific seat or choose an available seat when they arrive at the examination.
An examination may similarly be designated, indicating the default designation for candidates for that examination. |
A seat may be designated as Assigned or Non-Assigned, indicating whether it is available to be assigned to a specific candidate or if it is available to be chosen by a Non-Assigned candidate.
A sitting may similarly be designated, indicating the default designation for seats in that sitting. |
| In Use / Occupied / Seated | An Assigned candidate is said to be seated if they are actually assigned to a specific seat. | A seat is said to be in use if it is planned to have a candidate sitting in it. A seat which is in use will have an examination paper produced for it. An in-use seat which is Assigned may be said to be occupied by the specific candidate assigned to that seat. |
| Reserved | An examination candidate may be marked as reserved. If they are unallocated, they are said to be reserved from allocation and will not be allocated to a sitting by automatic processes. If they are allocated, they are said to be reserved from designation and will not be designated by automatic processes. | A seat may be marked as reserved. If it is unallocated, it is said to be reserved from allocation and will not be allocated to an examination by automatic processes. If it is allocated, it is said to be reserved from designation and will not be designated by automatic procesess. |