Last update: March 4, 2024

All departments are responsible for their own invigilation assignments. The following information may offer some assistance. If you have any questions, you may email  the examination coordinator in Scheduling Services:  finalexams.administrator@ubc.ca.

On this page:

Assigning Invigilators

  • If there are any circumstances that should be taken into consideration before the assignment of the invigilation duties, the department head or designate should be informed before the Exam Schedule with Locations is posted.
  • To assign invigilators, wait for the Exam Schedule with Locations posting.
  • Each room requires a head invigilator, who will ensure that the exams are present and who will sort out any problems that may occur. Assignment sheets should be used to notify individuals of their duties. You can use the example Invigilator Assignment Form (pdf) or design your own.
  • When assigning graduate student assistants, care should be taken to avoid conflicts with their examinations. No assignments are permitted for GA/TAs 24 hours before their own exams.

 

The number of invigilators present is up to the discretion of the department, but use the following as a guideline:

Number of students present Number of invigilators recommended
Fewer than 10 One invigilator
Fewer than 100 Two invigilators
Fewer than 150 Three invigilators
For every additional 50 students Add one more invigilator

The number of assignments per person is approximately two to three. Instructors offering more than two exams will have more duties.

Invigilation Duties

Each room requires one head invigilator to be in charge of setup and problems – normally, the instructor of the course. Instructors are to be available for the entire examination period and are expected to invigilate their own exam.

It is usually necessary to assign two invigilation duties to everyone, and it may be necessary to ask that some invigilators serve three times. These duties are at the discretion of the department.

Invigilation preparation for the day of the exam

To help prepare departments and instructors with invigilation duties, Scheduling Services has created online support material. Download Invigilation Guidelines (pdf) and check the Faculty Service Centre for class lists. If departments receive student enquiries, they should refer students to the exam information and exam guidelines on the students.ubc.ca exam website.

Exam booklets, duplication and cover pages

Examination booklets

On the day of the exam, examination booklets will be provided in the examination’s room for those formal final examinations listed on the official Examination Schedule with Locations.

Scheduling Services provides information on exams listed on the “Examination Schedule with Locations” to Building Operations prior to the exam period. Building  Operations is responsible for ensuring that a sufficient number of booklets are delivered to each exam room prior to each exam. For inquiries about locked doors or missing exam booklets, contact the exam emergency telephone number below (and also listed on your invigilator's report).

Exam emergency cell phone number:

  • 604.827.1981

Additional support numbers for Building Operations include:

  • Main office: 604.822.2664
  • Evening and weekend calls: 604.328.7028
  • Service Centre (formerly Trouble Calls): 604.822.2173

For other final or midterm exams, please contact your departmental office.

Duplication of exams

Enrolment Services is no longer offering exam duplication services as of March 31, 2010.

Sample examination cover page

If you do not use final examination booklets and need to create your own exam cover page, download and modify the sessional examination cover page (doc) template. See also the sample cover for sessional examinations (pdf) for a completed example.

Departments are not required to use this examination cover page, however, if you are creating your own, please note the following guidelines:

  • Margins are required
  • Every page of the examination paper should have a heading. Where applicable, use a format that indicates the length of the document, e.g., "Page 1 of 3"
  • Text should be clear and easy to read on all examinations
  • Note the exam length on the title page

Parking For Exam Invigilators

If required, UBC Parking is sometimes able to provide special parking permits for exam invigilation. They will try to accommodate a request as long as it adheres to certain guidelines and as long as the space is available. You or your department will need to make arrangement for payment of permit fees.  Please plan ahead and contact the Parking Office two weeks before the date of your exam to ensure they have adequate time to assist you. 

If you have further questions regarding parking availability, guidelines, or other parking needs, please call Parking & Access Control Services during daytime office hours at 604.822.6786. For more information, visit UBC Parking

If you require parking for drop-off of exam materials only, loading zones are available at most buildings on campus. Parking in loading zones is normally restricted to 15 minutes, which should be enough time to unload any large boxes of exam materials.

Invigilation Support

Visit the following pages for: