Examination guidelines

This page describes how we conduct examinations within our FIR.

The Controller Practical Test (CPT) policy for VATSCA is the policy that regulates exams. Examiners are required to stay updated on and follow this policy.

Examination procedures

An exam normally consists of three different stages as outlined below.

All exams for ratings, with exception of S1, shall be conducted on the network. Validations for T1 endorsements shall also be completed on the network.

Exams on SweatBox must be approved by VATEUD in advance. Validations on Sweatbox must be approved by local training staff. Contact training staff if relevant.

Before an exam

Be familiar with the Evaluation Criteria for the exam (also found in examination templates)
Download and use the latest Examination Template for the exam
Show up prepared in Discord, no later than 5 minutes before the scheduled exam time
Make sure to have updated sector files to avoid issues during the exam

Use of Discord

Exams should be conducted using the dedicated coordination channel for the position to ensure focus and avoid disruption while still being available for required coordination. Do not use open "Pilots & ATC" voice channels.

During an exam

The examiner is responsible for the service provided on the network and are expected to take measures if necessary.

Refer to the VATSCA CPT policy in the top of this page.

Logging on

Allow the student to log on first to prevent tag transfer issues
Log on using the correct callsign:
- The main examiner shall always use X as the midfix.
  Examples: ENBR_X_TWR, ENGM_X_APP.
- If applicable, the secondary examiner shall use XX as the midfix.

Specific to S2 CPTs

Due to evaluation criteria 1b, the candidate shall set up the ATIS. If an adjacent controller has ATIS connected, they should release it.

Handling standby positions

Examiners must make sure to familiarize themselves with the top-down requirements from the Controller Practical Test (CPT) policy for VATSCA, linked in the top of this page.

The examiner is the one to decide when standby positions may log on. While the student may request it, the examiner shall make an assessment whether or not the traffic level or complexity require underlaying positions to log on.

While top-down is an important criteria in any exam, the candidate is only expected to demonstrate the ability and as such should not have to sit top-down longer than necessary to fulfill this requirement.

Refer to the staffing thread for the exam in #norway-staffing in Discord to see who is on standby. They are required to be ready within 5 minutes. If they don't respond in due time, try to get a replacement if able and inform training staff as soon as possible.

When a standby position is required to log on, the examiner is responsible for communicating this with the person on standby and inform the candidate. It is recommended to ask the person on standby to report ready to the candidate for an efficient handover.

The examiner may also ask underlaying ATC to log off if traffic levels are too low.

Permitted underlying positions during exams

S2: DEL and GND are standby
S3: GND allowed, TWR is standby
C1: TWR allowed, APP is standby
ENGM T1 TWR: DEL and GND are standby
ENGM T1 APP: TWR allowed if the candidate holds a T1 ENGM TWR Endorsement, otherwise standby.

Exam duration

All exams should take between 60 and 120 minutes. CPTs which are clearly marked as failed may be ended earlier.

Extending an exam

While it should be avoided in most cases, the examiner can, in agreement with the candidate, extend the exam duration if necessary in cases where it is required to get a result. It can however not be expected that overlaying or standby positions are staffed during an extension.

The reason for an extension shall be clearly stated in the exam report.

Shortening an exam

Ending an exam early should be avoided to adhere to event bookings. If the exam needs to be ended early, the examiner shall either take over the position for the remaining planned duration of the exam or ensure that another controller does. Leaving everything top down for overlaying controllers is not acceptable.

After an exam

IMPORTANT! Examiners are required to save and keep the Euroscope log file for one month after the exam is conducted per VATEUD requirements.

Debrief

The candidate shall be debriefed after the exam has concluded. Use the "Exam debrief" voice channel in Discord if available, otherwise use a Training Room.

A debrief should give the result and summarize the performance. Some tips and general feedback may be given as well.

An exam has 4 possible outcomes as described below:

Status	Description
Passed	Candidate is compliant with the criteria and CPT guidelines and is recommended for the rating or endorsement.
Failed	Candidate is not compliant with the criteria and CPT guidelines.
Incomplete	Not enough traffic amount or complexity to fulfill the criteria. Candidate must be observed again in a new exam.
Postponed	Result in CC only for postponed exams. An exam report is not required, but an explanation to training staff is.

Delayed result

In cases where a result cannot be given during the debrief, the candidate shall be informed about this. We are required to provide the student with a final result within 24 hours from the exam has concluded. In all cases where a result is delayed, training staff shall be informed with a reason.

Next steps

The candidate shall be informed about the next steps after the exam is concluded, depending on the result.

Pass

If the exam is passed a rating upgrade request shall be submitted along with the exam report. This request will be forwarded to VATEUD for approval. The candidate will get an e-mail from VATEUD once the rating is upgraded and ready for use.

For S1, the candidate will receive the theory exam from VATEUD which must be passed before rating upgrade is requested.

Fail or Incomplete

If the result is failed or incomplete, the candidate might get another attempt depending on the number of earlier attempts. Training staff will get in contact with the student once the report is submitted.

Exam report

Always download and use the latest version of the exam template. Reports may be rejected by VATEUD if the wrong version is used.

Writing thorough exam reports is important both for VATEUD processing, quality control by local training staff, and for the student to review their own performance. See VATEUD CPT guidelines for a complete outline of how to complete the exam report, but some important information is highlighted below:

The CPT log should be filled out with short and clear sentences that describe the exam session. Positive points should be marked with the same care as negative points.
If any field is marked as insufficient, a clear explanation shall be provided in the comments section for that topic. A summary of the CPT in the general comments section is required.
An exam cannot be marked as failed if no competency was insufficient. On the other hand, if any competency is marked as insufficient and the trainee still passes, a clear comment explaining this must be provided.
- For local validations, some competencies are considered "highly weighted". Two or more insufficient highly weighted competencies lead to a failed validation.
By default examiners should assume that the candidate had their competencies on “lower” positions verified in the lower position exams. Whenever an examinee shows a lack of knowledge on such “lower” positions covered top-down, this should not solely decide about the outcome of the exam.
The final review should consist of: weather (if relevant), neighboring active ATC sectors, assessment of average pilot ability, brief description of achieved competences, description of any non-standard situations.

New examiners

All examiners assessing on new levels shall be acompanied with an experienced examiner on the same level. The experienced examiner shall assist and assess the new examiner throughout the exam and review the draft report before the new examiner uploads it.

The experienced examiner shall inform training staff whether the new examiner is recommended to examine the level on their own. New examiners will be recommended by training staff to the Training Director of VATSCA who will issue a division examiner endorsement.

S1 and T1 Validations are local examinations, examiners on these levels do not require division examiner endorsements. S1 and T1 examiners are approved by the Polaris FIR Training Lead after accompanying an experianced examiner on a validation.