Exam Directorate Update
Dec 4, 2021 – Don Blake
Transition/staffing
In the recent months, the Exam Directorate team has been in a state of transition. As announced earlier this year, Sarah Bridegroom has decided to step down from the Managing Exam Director role. As I am coming up to speed in the new MED job, I truly appreciate the amount of work Sarah has put in over the past several years. Also leaving the Exam Directorate after many years of tireless service is Assistant Exam Director Sandy Cockerham. Sandy had the critical job of getting the exam data, scans, and RTPs loaded up to the BJCP database. Please join me as I raise a glass in thanks to Sarah and Sandy for all their hard work and dedication!
As a result of Sarah and Sandy’s departure, the Exam Directorate will be appointing two new Exam Directors. With approval of the Board, Stephen Clapham and Tomasz Pupo will be joining the Exam Directorate team. As they move from their Associate Exam Director position, the ED team will be looking to bring on a new ED or two. And of course ,we will be appointing a new Assistant Exam Director soon.
We are always looking for more graders – if you are National or above, please consider volunteering to grade for the BJCP. Refer to the materials at the BJCP website <https://www.bjcp.org/exam-certification/exam-grading> and be sure to email the exam directors at [email protected] . In the coming weeks, I plan to be contacting eligible judges, so please be on the look out for an email from the ED team.
Exam Status
Scheduled exams
As of Dec 1, the exam calendar for 2022 is full for the first quarter and most of the second. The rest of of the year has plenty of open exam slots. There currently are 71 exams on the calendar – 15 to finish off 2021, and 56 scheduled so far for 2022. Of these scheduled exams, about 2/3 are outside the US.
Open exams:
There are currently 44 active exam sets. 21 are being graded or reviewed, 12 are in the translation process and 11 are being prepared for grading.
Pandemic impact
Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic has had a serious impact on the exam program. 81 of 166 exams sites were cancelled in 2020 and 32 of 127 in 2021. Many exam sites have elected to postpone the exam to a later date. When doing so, we push another exam to a later month, which usually has a full schedule.
We are temporarily waiving the 1-year online exam expiration – but these exceptions must be cleared with the Exam Director prior to the exam.
Non-US exams
There is a keen demand for BJCP Certification worldwide. As previously mentioned, 2/3 of the currently scheduled exams sites are outside the US, and about half of them require translations. These international exams generally require more attention from the exam directorate as there are additional concerns – lack of proctors, travel expenses, translations, etc etc.
The Exam Directorate is addressing these issues by
- Reviewing existing translated materials
- Evaluating what additional languages are appropriate for translated materials
- Consideration of online exam translations
- Working with key people in certain regions (Europe, South America, etc) to schedule written exams and hopefully generate more qualified proctors
- Seeking out ‘international’ staff (AD, ED, etc)
- Engaging regional reps and assistant reps to assist with exam scheduling / administration
Other Exam Directorate Activities
Exam Review
The Exam suite, as it currently stands, has been largely unchanged since 2018. The Exam Directorate feels satisfied that the exam is working well and does not anticipate any major changes (exam formats, timeframes, etc) to the program.
The Exam Directorate regularly reviews supporting material (exam study guide, exam administrator’s handbook, grading resources, etc.), and will be conducting a thorough review of the current documentation in the coming months.
Exam material translations
The BJCP exam materials have previously been translated into several languages (Spanish, French, Hebrew, to name a few). In the coming months, the Exam Directorate will be prioritizing the following efforts
- Review of existing translated material for accuracy
- Filling in any gaps where needed
- Adding other foreign languages to the translated materials.
- Translating materials for the online exam
In closing
I’m excited and honored to be taking on the Managing Exam Directorate role. I appreciate your patience as I come up to speed and as we address several of the challenges ahead.