Examination Data Retention Policies

The Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos has produced the following statement in response to the University General Board guidance relating to examinations of taught courses.

Part IA and Part IB of the Tripos

Examination Data Retention Policy

The following data is retained by Colleges and the Natural Sciences Tripos Coordinator:

• Data: Final Mark Book
• Retention period: Indefinitely
• Accessible through: College DoS or Tutor, or the NST Coordinator (natsci@admin.cam.ac.uk)

The marks contained in the final mark book include a mark for each subject taken and the overall class. Further information is routinely released (as part of the markbook) and will include ALL information that the Examiners have determined as being meaningful or helpful as indicators of examination performance.  All the details of your performance contained in the mark book are available through those listed above.

Other information that is not included in the mark book is considered to be relatively meaningless as an indication of examination performance, given the moderation processes that are used in determining a class by Examiners.

In line with University policy, examiners and assessors are expressly instructed not to write comments on examination scripts, and they are not returned to students.

Where any automated compiling or processing of marks is used, the results are subsequently deliberated by the Board of Examiners responsible.

Please request data in writing from:

Part II and Part III of the Tripos

The examinations in each Part II or Part III subject of the Tripos are run exclusively from the Department responsible for the teaching of that subject. The Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos have agreed that, for Parts II and III of the Tripos, all responsibility is devolved to the relevant Department and that the Department should fully address all concerns relating to those examinations and the format, retention and storing of data.

Students should contact the relevant Department for more information, who should draw up a Departmental Examinations Data Retention Policy for the parts of the Natural Sciences Tripos that they contribute to.

Release of data under this policy does not constitute a subject access request under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Formal requests for access to all other personal data should be directed to the University’s Information Compliance Office (https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/subject-access-request).