¶ Introduction
When an exam is requested by an examinee, it is automatically assigned to an examiner of the respective Division. This process takes into account the rating of examiners and their workload, therefore assigning the exam only to properly rated examiners with a low amount of exams already in his/her box.
Divisional TC and TAC are eligible and allowed to move these exams within their Division as per divisional regulations.
In the event that the Division lacks a properly rated examiner, the HQ Training department through its Mentor/Senior Training Advisors (SRTAs) may manage and carry out this exam.
¶ Examiner Status
Once a user becomes a training staff or a Divisional HQ, he/she automatically becomes an IVAO examiner. This examiner status allows the user to conduct exams, training and provides the necessary access to training and exam sites and material. Without the examiner status, it is not possible to administer examinations on IVAO.
In the interest of ensuring the best quality of IVAO examiners, the HQ Training Department introduced the approved examiner status. This status ensures that the examiner has established experience in practical examinations and he/she is allowed to carry out exams alone under his/her own responsibility without necessarily being supervised and is represented by a badge.
The graphical badge above indicates that the examiner is eligible to carry out exams alone without any supervision, unless it is mandatory (e.g. staff/staff exams). This badge will be removed if the examiner hasn’t had at least one exam done in the past 12 months or loses the Examiner Status. However, the initial assignment date of his/her approved examiner badge will remain on the Staff comments field.
Without the badge (regardless of the staff comment on the user profile), an examiner is not allowed to supervise/observe or carry out any practical exam alone. If so, the exams cannot be validated and must be redone by the examiner in the presence of an approved examiner.
¶ Become an approved examiner
- The IVAO Examiner Status is ACTIVE
- The examiner is rated at least
- ADC and PP when the examiner is a TC, TAC, DIR or ADIR
- ADC or PP when the examiner is a TA
- The examiner will need to conduct a minimum of 3 exams under the supervision of an approved examiner who must appear on the respective exam page as co-examiner
- The approved examiner will be recommended by the Division and entered as co-examiner on the respective exam page;
- The Division mentor can allow or deny the recommended approved examiner;
- The Division mentor is eligible to determine an approved examiner for a given exam.
- After reviewing the 3 minimum exams, the Division mentor will either request more examinations to be supervised, mainly if he/she judges that the examiner's autonomy is not acquired, or request the badge to the TD/TAD. The examiner is not expected to request the badge by him-/herself, but may well ask the Division mentor for advice on how to improve his/her skills in order to obtain the badge. The assessment of the level of skills and autonomy is the sole responsibility of the Division mentor.
- After being recommended by the mentor, TD/TAD will assign the approved examiner badge and will insert a remark in this regard in the user’s profile.
¶ Maintain the approved examiner status
- It is required to carry out a minimum of two (2) exams and one (1) training per year.
- As soon as the last exam is done and validated, the 12 months counting from the evaluation date.
¶ The badge will become inactive when…
- The examiner loses the IVAO Examiner Status; or
- The examiner has not done any exam (as primary/co-examiner) in the past 12 months; or
- The examiner is an inactive user; or
- The Division mentor has identified major deficiencies that need to be addressed.
¶ The badge will be reactivated when …
- The IVAO Examiner Status is ACTIVE; and,
- The examiner has done a minimum of one exam under supervision by an approved examiner.
- To reactivate the badge, the Division mentor must be contacted;
- The Division mentor is eligible to determine an approved examiner.
- The assessment of the level of skills and autonomy is the sole responsibility of the Division mentor who will then contact the TD/TAD for the badge reassignment.
¶ The badge will be permanently revoked when …
- The TD/TAD has identified major concerns. (f.e. but not limited to: Examiner cheated on an exam, tried to hack the system, etc...)
- In the event the examiner is suspended, the TD/TAD will review the case.
¶ Exams requiring an approved examiner, observer/co-examiner
As stated above, a new and unapproved examiner will need to perform his/her exam with a co-examiner which must be an approved examiner, this will be considered as exams under supervision, where the approved examiner will supervise and help the unapproved examiner with the aim of education and understanding the IVAO exam guidelines. Divisions with a large number of approved examiners willing to supervise new training staff members should coordinate with the Division mentor through the Division TC/TAC.
The observer (or co-examiner) is the examiner that will be present during staff exams and must be an approved examiner. His/her presence must be validated by the Division mentor with a staff approval number.
¶ Staff exams of new examiners
New and unapproved examiners are allowed to take staff exams as primary examiners, if and only if the exam is supervised (see above).
¶ Examiner in command
It is very common to have 2 examiners during an exam. In this situation, there will be always an examiner in command that will have the responsibility to ensure orders and/or lead the examination. The examiner in command will be decided as per the following rules:
- The primary examiner is the examiner in command and responsible for the exam when he/she is approved
- The required observer/co-examiner is in command when the primary examiner is not approved
The examiner in command shall teach and mentor the unapproved examiner as well as show and explain the procedures from the beginning to the end by checking the exam report before it is sent to the validator. If there is anything unclear, the approved examiner will be asked by the validator/Division mentor for clarification.
In the event, a disagreement arises between the 2 approved examiners, the Division mentor must be contacted.
In order to ensure high-quality examiners, a debriefing of both examiners shall take place after the examinee has been debriefed.
¶ Overview
1. Exam of a normal user by an approved examiner
- Examiner can carry out the exam alone
2. Exam of a normal user by a non-approved examiner
- Examiner can carry out the exam under the supervision of an observer
3. Exam of a staff member of any division by an approved or non-approved examiner
- The observer is required in any case
- Approval number required
If you have any questions, feel free to contact your Division mentor.