OCR response on packaging problems

Thank you from EOA members for your feedback and please keep us informed on how this issue is being resolved for you. OCR have assured us that they are trying to address this issue appropriately and ask you to read the following statement below.

In response to recent discussions on the EOA forums, we’d like to take this opportunity to clarify the action that we will be taking to improve our question paper packaging arrangements for the June 2012 series.
 

Why did we change the packaging?

The decision to introduce the opaque window for the January 2012 series question paper despatch was for reasons of security. Our new question paper packets are considerably larger than the old packets and, owing to their size in relation to the contents, a clear window is not an option as it could compromise the security and integrity of the question papers, which must always be our priority. We do appreciate that this is causing many Exams Officers additional work in identifying the contents of the packets and preparing for exams.
 

What are we changing for the June 2012 series?
 

All question paper packet labels for the June 2012 series will be printed to include:

• The date and time of the examination
• The unit title, code and component
• The quantity of papers included 

We are unable to change the opaque window of the packaging in time for the June series as our packing machinery does not allow a change to the size of the packets. However, we are looking into alternative options for future series and are taking into account all Exams Officer feedback as we do this.
 

How do centres find information about additional materials?

To help you find the information on additional materials required for each examination, please download the Exams Directory from OCR Interchange in advance of the examinations. You can access this from the menu by selecting 'Resources and materials' then 'Exams directory'. Clicking on 'Search' without entering any search criteria will give you a list of all exams for which you have entries. You can then click on the 'Assessment/Component' link to view or print the detailed information you need or click on 'Print' to print the Exams Directory for the whole series or date range. You can also order a hard copy of the Exams Directory if you wish. To do this, hover over 'Centre information', select 'Set centre preferences' and ensure the box is ticked.
 

What are we planning for the future?

We are continuing to gather the opinions of Exams Officers to help inform our choice of packaging for future series. We will be doing this through attendance at Exams Officer network events and collating feedback that we receive via our Customer Contact Centre. If you have any suggestions, please contact the OCR team on 01223 553998.