New co-examiner system will ensure compliance with ministerial orders

CensorIT (Co-examiner-IT in English) is a digital system for the allocation of co-examiners that automatically handles the selection of co-examiners and which is intended to simplify the distribution of co-examiner assignments. A number of external co-examiner bodies at universities around the country have begun using CensorIT during the last few years. Now it is the turn of a number of degree programmes at Health. The first degree programmes at the Department of Public Health began using the system in autumn 2017. As of 1 April 2018, the system will be rolled out at odontology, medicine and public health.

The primary reason for introducing CensorIT now is that the previous way of doing things made it difficult to live up to the Examination Order. 

Improved overview for the chairmanship of the external co-examiners

“Using the old method, it was difficult to maintain the overview that you need so as to ensure compliance with all the provisions. In a body of external co-examiners like ours, which has around 150 co-examiners, we can face a challenge in making sure there is an equal distribution of assignments and in avoiding reciprocal co-examinations where examiners undertake co-examiner assignments for each other,” says Verner Møller, chair of the body of external examiners for sport science.

CensorIT makes it much easier for the chairmanship of the individual body of external co-examiners to get an overview of the actual use of co-examiners, in that they have the opportunity to download statistics for a range of parameters. With this overview, it will in future be far easier to live up to the Examination Order, which requires that the chairmanship of the external co-examiners ensure:

• An equal distribution of assignments among the body of external co-examiners.
• That all co-examiners regularly and at least each second year are assigned co-examination assignments.
• That all co-examiners are as far as possible given assignments at more than one university.
• That an annual co-examiner report is sent to the universities based on the co-examiners’ reports.

“All the automatic registrations in the new system will in future also give us the opportunity to produce better and more detailed co-examiners’ reports for the individual degree programmes. This is actually very important as the co-examiners’ report is included in the overall evaluation of the degree programme,” says Verner Møller.

A new and streamlined practice for co-examiner allocation

The new system will also help to make the administration of allocating co-examiners simpler. The system standardises the assigning of co-examiners and automates a large part of the correspondence that previously took place between co-examiner and examiner.

“Clearly there will be a transition period during which both co-examiner and examiner will have to get used to the new practice, but the feedback from the bodies of external co-examiners who have already made the switch to CensorIT is positive and shows that there are advantages for users at all levels,” says Verner Møller.

On Health’s staff page you can read more about CensorIT.

Contact

Educational Consultant Liselotte Steentoft
HE Administrative Centre - Educational Services and Guidance
E-mail: lst@au.dk
Tel.: (+45) 8715 3074