Project Summary

While many university courses are experimenting with more innovative approaches to assessment, the examination still features heavily in the assessment diet of most students. This project explored international students’ expectations and experiences of examinations.  Exams might well be more difficult for international students who may have language issues, potentially unrealistic or different expectations of examinations (cf Jin and Cortazzi 1998; Ballard and Clanchy 1991) and limited time to acculturate themselves (especially for taught Masters’ students). This project used in-depth interviews (with 21 students, and follow-up interviews with 20) and questionnaires (completed by 271 students) to explore international students’ expectations and experiences of examinations in Scottish higher education. The project found a very wide range of experiences both prior to coming to the UK, and also when in the UK.  The project will produce an embedded pdf guide hosted online, created after the final funding installment and hosted on the C-SAP website. This guide will help inform staff of students’ prior experiences, and inform international students of possible experiences here. These experiences are useful because they help illustrate to staff what students have experienced beforehand so as to best prepare them, and they are useful to international students as they give a picture of possible experiences here, and how best to prepare for their exams. In a wider context this has implications for retention, employability, and the student experience.  

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