Exam Setting and Moderation in a Transnational Engineering Programme

The practice of writing effective exam questions has attracted plenty of interest in the literature. However, the process of exam setting and moderation has received little attention. Thus, the aim of this manuscript is to describe our approach in exam setting and moderation for a transnational education (TNE) programme between the University of Glasgow and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). Each year, Glasgow University staff members prepare main and resit exam papers for 32 courses in the electronic and electrical engineering subject group. To ensure a smooth workflow and a relatively quick turnover of high-quality exam papers each year, we describe the best practices in exam setting, as well as our approach in exam moderation using a new moderation form and a new system for uploading exam papers online. This new system was designed to facilitate a solid dialogue between exam setters and examiners, so that all summative assessments are fair, consistent and reliable. These best practices can be used by engineering faculty to make informed decisions regarding the process of exam setting and moderation in a transnational engineering programme.