[ITT-staff] FW: exam retention clarification

[Adams, Joshua]

FYI


From: King, Danielle
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2017 2:29 PM
Subject: exam retention clarification

Hello Department Chairs,

I attended EPCC on Thursday in order to get some clarification on a question I’m often asked by my faculty: How long do we have to keep exams that we don’t return to students?

Over the years, different folks have reportedly received different answers from different sources, with recommendations varying from 30 days to 3 years.  Mary Kay invited me to come help hash it out in EPCC, and I’m pleased to report that we finally have a clear answer!

The short answer is, we must keep exams for a minimum of 30 instructional days into the immediately following semester, and we should be clear with our students about our practice.  For example, I use the following language in my syllabi:

It is the practice of the Biological Sciences Department to not return exams to students.  Exams will be available for review after they are graded and then kept in my office for a period of one year, after which time they will be shredded.

Of course, grade rosters (with all relevant scores) must be kept for at least 2 years (per Policy 3.10 Grading), but it was agreed that exams are not official student records.  Students have 30 instructional days into the immediately following semester to file a complaint/grievance (per Procedure 8.2.2P), including regarding a grade, so that was agreed to be a reasonable amount of time to retain exams.  Personally, it’s easier for me to keep them a year, because I have one set of folders for fall and another set for spring.  Each time a new batch of exams comes in, I toss the previous years’s set into the shredding pile.

I was asked to report this out to DCC, so you can share it with your faculty.  I know this won’t apply to everyone, but I hope it provides some clarity to those who retain exams.  We also discussed posting this in an easily accessible location; one suggestion was to develop a Faculty FAQ page on the Academic Senate website.  Stay tuned!

Best,
Danielle

^o^  ^O^  ^o^  ^O^  ^o^  ^O^  ^o^  ^O^  ^o^
Danielle M. P. King, M.S.
Biology Instructor and Department Chair
Biological Sciences Department
Baker 1822
707-521-7989
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