FAQ
- Why is Science offering examination scanning?
- Is there any charge for scanning?
- I am an instructor in another Faculty. Can I use your service?
- Do I need to do anything special when writing my exam?
- Why is barcoding necessary?
- How can I provide my students with extra space for responses?
- How do I print my exams?
- Can I photocopy my exams?
- I used the Exam Preflight Tool to generate my exams but realized I need more copies. What should I do?
- What should I do if I have students writing accommodated exams with Examination Services?
- What materials will you scan?
- Will you scan booklets of ruled paper?
- I provided my students with scrap paper in the exam. Will you scan it?
- I didn't realize I had to barcode my exams. What are my options?
General
Why is Science offering examination scanning?
The Faculty of Science is pleased to offer examination scanning to ease adoption of Gradescope for instructors in Science. By eliminating the burden of scanning exams, it is anticipated that instructors will be more likely to take advantage of the convenience and pedagogical benefits of online grading.
The Science Examination Scanning service was launched with support from the Efficiency and Innovation Fund. The Faculty of Science is grateful to the University for its support.
Is there any charge for scanning?
No. Scanning is free to all instructors in the Faculty of Science.
I am an instructor in another Faculty. Can I use your service?
At this time, Science Examination Scanning is available to instructors in the Faculty of Science only.
Exam Preparation and Printing
Do I need to do anything special when writing my exam?
Yes! Please see the Preparing Your Exam page for information on typesetting requirements for your exam. You will also need to barcode your exam using the Exam Preflight Tool.
Why is barcoding necessary?
To scan your exams, our staff will first cut off the corners of each exam booklet to remove the staples. This introduces the risk of pages becoming misordered. To eliminate this risk, Science Technology Services will only scan exams that have been barcoded by the Exam Preflight Tool. Booklets, loose-leaf paper, or other unbarcoded material will be returned unscanned.
The Exam Preflight Tool was developed internally to generate a specified number of copies of an exam and apply a unique barcode to every page. This barcode identifies:
- The ID of the exam batch to which the page belongs
- The exam number to which the page belongs (e.g., exam 5 of 300)
- The page number within the exam (e.g., page 3 of 10)
After scanning, the scanned images will be run through a Postflight Tool, which recognizes the barcodes on each page. This tool then generates a PDF with all pages in the correct order, along with a report detailing any pages missing that Science Technology Services did not receive.
Ultimately, the requirement to use the Exam Preflight Tool is in place to protect you from issues that might otherwise arise if exam pages were to be dropped and misordered. With the Exam Preflight Tool, we can guarantee that your scans are returned to you in the correct order every time.
How can I provide my students with extra space for responses?
Science Examination Scanning will scan only pages barcoded by the Exam Preflight Tool, along with the back of any single-sided pages to capture responses that may continue onto the back of a page. We will return any booklets of ruled paper or scrap paper unscanned.
If you wish to provide additional space in your exam for student responses, there are three options available to you:
- Have extra pages added by the Exam Preflight Tool. Step 2 of the Exam Preflight Tool includes an option to generate extra blank, barcoded pages for you.
- Add extra pages to your PDF before uploading to the Exam Preflight Tool. You may opt to add any extra blank pages to your exam PDF before uploading it to the Exam Preflight Tool. In this case, these pages will be treated as any other pages and barcoded by the Tool.
- Print your exams single-sided (not recommended). We will scan the front and back of all barcoded pages, even if you print them single-sided. Hence, we will capture any responses that might continue onto the back of a single-sided page. This option is not recommended, as it increases printing costs and paper waste.
How do I print my exams?
Please see the Printing Barcoded Exams page for options.
Can I photocopy my exams?
No. Because each page has a unique barcode, exams must be printed and not photocopied.
Photocopying your exams will render them ineligible for scanning.
I used the Exam Preflight Tool to generate my exams but realized I need more copies. What should I do?
There are two options:
- I have not already printed my exams. In this case, simply regenerate your exam PDF(s) using the Exam Preflight Tool, this time specifying the correct total number of copies to generate.
- I have already printed my exams. In this case, upload your exam PDF(s) again to the Exam Preflight Tool, specifying only the additional number of copies needed. Your new batch of copies will be treated as a separate scan job and will be returned in a separate PDF from your other exams.
What should I do if I have students writing accommodated exams with Examination Services?
You must ensure that you advise Examination Services that the exams are not to be photocopied. Instead, you must provide them with the correct number of barcoded exam copies for any students writing exams with them and they must print them.
Alternatively, if the number of students writing accommodated exams is low, you may opt to simply scan the accommodated exams yourself, and bring in the rest for scanning by Science Examination Scanning.
Exam Scanning
What materials will you scan?
Science Examination Scanning will scan the front and back of all pages barcoded by the Exam Preflight Tool. For single-sided pages, this means that we will capture any answers that may have continued onto the back of a barcoded page.
Will you scan booklets of ruled paper?
No, unbarcoded materials should not be brought in for scanning and will be returned to you unscanned.
I provided my students with scrap paper in the exam. Will you scan it?
No, unbarcoded materials should not be brought in for scanning and will be returned to you unscanned. Please see here for options on providing additional space in your exam for student responses.
I didn't realize I had to barcode my exams. What are my options?
We regret that we can only scan exams barcoded by the Exam Preflight Tool. Those with unbarcoded exams may choose to scan them internally within their department. Alternatively, they may opt to have them scanned by Graphic Services for a fee.
Exam Drop-Off and Returns
When can I drop off my exams for scanning?
Exams can be dropped off during regular business hours. Please see our Submission and Returns page for more information.
As we are currently in beta, evening and weekend scanning is available, but staff coverage is minimal. We will revisit this as we ramp up. Evening/weekend drop-off is not offered at this time. Those with exams on a Friday evening or weekend will need to drop off the exams on the following Monday.
How long will it take to scan my exams?
Exams will be processed in first-come, first-served order. As Winter 2020 is our inaugural term, we cannot provide an exact turnaround time at this time, but we will endeavour to return all exams within 3 business days.
How do I retrieve my scanned exams?
Once your exams have been scanned and processed, they will be uploaded to a secure Drop Box in OWL, and you will receive an email notification. Please see Downloading Scanned Exams for information on accessing the OWL Drop Box.
Will you store my physical exams for me?
No, we are not equipped to serve as a storage vault for your physical exams. Instructors using the Science Examination Scanning service are expected to pick up their physical exam boxes in a timely manner.
Security and Privacy
I am concerned about uploading my exam to the Exam Preflight Tool. Is it secure?
The Exam Preflight Tool was built from the ground up with security in mind. Exams are uploaded via an encrypted connection to the server. Once uploaded, the exams are not stored on the web server, so even a breach of the Exam Preflight Tool server would not expose your exams. Instead, exams are immediately published to a heavily-restricted back-end server that is not accessible to the general campus community. On this server, the exams are barcoded and then uploaded over an encrypted connection to a private OWL Drop Box accessible only to you.
Who will be scanning my exams?
Your exams will be scanned by a team of Work/Study students operating under the supervision of Science Technology Services' staff. These students have signed confidentiality agreements and we have copies of their course schedules to ensure no conflicts of interest are present.
Where will my exams be stored while awaiting scanning / pick-up?
Your exams will be stored in a secure storage room. Campus Police has reviewed the security of the room and we are implementing the measures they recommended to ensure that exams are stored securely.
