Edit an exam
Update exam responsibles and per-student examiner assignments on the Details tab, including edge cases for secondary graders and planning-sourced links.
Open an exam from My Exams and select the Details tab to manage who is responsible for the exam and how examiners are assigned to individual students. Editing here is about people and accountability for a live exam instance — not about rewriting the academic definition of the assessment.
Module, exam type, and duration still come from the linked module version requirement and exam types. Scheduling lives on attempt tabs. Max attempts come from academic rulesets at the module level. Knowing that boundary prevents wasted clicks and incorrect policy changes. For how attempt tabs and usage relate to those rules, see How exam attempts work.
Why it matters
Formal exams need a clear chain of responsibility. Primary and secondary responsibles determine who can plan, who can grade whom, and who answers exam requests. Per-student examiner assignment matters when institutions split large cohorts across several graders or when conflict-of-interest rules require specific pairings — including second markers in many examination regulations.
Getting assignments right before submissions arrive avoids blocked grading queues and last-minute permission escalations. After grades are published, many fields lock — so edit early in the lifecycle described under My Exams. On later attempts (resits and reassessment sittings), the same Details assignments usually still govern who may grade — so get them right before Attempt 2 work arrives.
For a deeper handbook chapter on primary vs secondary examiners, second marking, and handovers, see Manage examiners and second markers.
How it fits
Details is one tab among several on the exam detail page. For the full tab map, see Grade and manage an exam. Planning the instance itself starts in Create an exam. Attempt policy is upstream — How exam attempts work.
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Primary responsible | The main examiner with full management access for this exam |
| Secondary responsibles | Additional examiners who can grade assigned students |
| Examinee responsibles | Per-student secondary examiner assignments, when the institution uses that model |
| Second marker (domain) | In many regulations, an additional examiner who reviews or independently marks work — often modeled as a secondary or examinee responsible |
| Activity log | Chronological record of status updates, grade changes, scheduling actions, and similar events |
| Course planning assignment | A responsible link that originated from course planning — removal may need the planning dialog, not only the Details row menu |
| Published lock | After publish, notes and grades on that attempt typically cannot be changed through the standard grading interface |
What you can edit on Details
Exam responsibles
The Exam responsibles table lists users assigned to manage this exam instance:
- Primary responsible — the main examiner with full management access for this exam.
- Secondary responsibles — additional examiners who can grade assigned students.
To add a responsible, select Add users and choose staff members with the appropriate exam permissions. To remove a responsible, open the row action menu — unless the assignment came from course planning (those must be removed in the planning dialog).
Per-examinee responsibles
When your institution uses per-student examiner assignment, the Examinee responsibles section lets you assign a secondary responsible to individual students. This controls which examiner can grade each student’s submission. The exam type’s examinee assignment mode shapes how responsible-user behavior works for that template.
Staff with permission to plan this exam can update these assignments before grades are published.
Activity log
The Activity section shows a chronological log of changes to this exam (status updates, grade changes, scheduling actions, and similar events). Use it when you need an audit trail for disputes, late changes, or handovers between examiners — including when a student moves from Attempt 1 to a resit on Attempt 2.
What is not edited on Details
These settings are configured elsewhere:
| Setting | Where to change it |
|---|---|
| Module and exam type | Module version examination requirements in OrgHub Database |
| Duration | Exam type definition (for types that require a length) |
| Scheduled date | Attempt tabs — see Schedule exam sittings |
| Max attempts | Academic ruleset assigned to the student, cohort, or study program |
| Attempt workflow | Exam type (auto reattempt vs reassessment period) — see How exam attempts work |
Edit exam settings
Open the exam from OrgHub → Exam Center → My Exams.
Select the Details tab.
In Exam responsibles, add or remove responsible users as needed.
In Examinee responsibles (when available), assign secondary examiners to individual students.
Review the activity log to confirm changes were recorded.
Examiner edge cases
Secondary cannot open a student’s grading view
Secondary responsibles can only grade students assigned to them. If a secondary examiner reports that a row will not open for grading, update Examinee responsibles on Details before the grading window closes — and always before publish locks the attempt.
Planning-sourced primary will not remove from the row menu
If the responsible was created from course planning, the Details row action menu may not remove them. Open the planning dialog and remove the link there, then confirm Details reflects the change.
Large cohort split across graders
Assign examinee responsibles in batches that match capacity (for example, alphabet ranges or seminar groups). Revisit the split before a resit wave: Attempt 2 often concentrates fewer students, so you may rebalance secondary assignments without changing the exam type or module requirement.
Handover mid-attempt
When a primary responsible leaves mid-term, add the successor as primary (or secondary with plan rights as your process allows), then use the Activity log to confirm scheduling and grade events remain attributable. Do not try to “fix” attempt limits on Details — those remain ruleset-driven.
Conflict-of-interest reassignment
If regulations require a different examiner for a student, change Examinee responsibles while designation is still allowed (before publish). After publish, standard grading edits are locked; resolve conflicts before release whenever possible.
Multi-exam modules
A module with several examination requirements may have separate My Exams instances and separate Details tabs. Align primary responsibles across those instances so attempt numbers and publish timing stay coherent for module completion (all required exams pass at the same term and attempt number).
Best practices
- Name a primary responsible before the first deadline. Secondary examiners alone can leave planning and request handling ambiguous.
- Align examinee assignments with capacity. Spread large cohorts so secondary graders are not overloaded on one attempt tab.
- Remove planning-sourced assignments in the right place. If the row menu will not remove a responsible, check whether the link came from course planning.
- Check the activity log after bulk changes. Confirm that scheduling and grade events match what the team intended.
- Revisit assignments before Attempt 2. Resit and reassessment cohorts are often smaller and more sensitive — see Handle exam requests and Exam results and resits.
- Do not confuse CMS responsibles with LMS teachers. Course teachers mark journey content under LMS grading; exam responsibles own the OrgHub exam instance.
Common pitfalls
| Situation | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot add or remove responsibles | Missing plan permission | Request permission to plan exams |
| Cannot remove a user | Assignment originated in course planning | Remove them in the planning dialog |
| Cannot change module or duration | Those fields are inherited | Edit the module requirement or exam type |
| Fields locked after publish | Published attempt read-only rules | Verify before publish; see Publish grades |
| Secondary cannot grade a student | Examinee responsible not assigned to that student | Update Examinee responsibles before grading |
| Trying to change max attempts here | Attempts are module-level ruleset policy | Use Configure attempt limits and How exam attempts work |
FAQ
Who can see the Details tab?
Staff who can view, plan, or grade the exam (organization-wide or on this exam).
Can I change the exam type from Details?
No. Update the module version’s examination requirements or the exam type definition.
When should I set per-student examiners?
When your institution uses per-examinee assignment — ideally before submissions arrive and always before grades are published, while plan permission still allows updates.
Do responsibles change per attempt tab?
Details assignments apply to the exam instance. You still grade on the correct Attempt tab for each sitting; you do not redefine max attempts or the academic requirement from Details.
Related pages
Manage examiners
Primary, secondary, and second-marker practices in depth.
Create an exam
Initial setup including scheduling on attempt tabs.
Grade submissions
Enter grades once responsibles are assigned.
How exam attempts work
Module attempts, completion, and why tabs exist.
Grade and manage an exam
Overview of all exam detail tabs.
Handle exam requests
Resolve accommodations and alternative dates for the same exam.