All of our Occupational Hygiene Module examinations comprise a two-part written paper, taken in one sitting.
Examination format and marking scheme
| All Occupational Hygiene Modules: M101, M102, M103, M104, M201, M202, M203, M304, S301 |
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| Paper A | 40 short answer questions (SAQs) to be answered in approximately 120 minutes. Each question is worth a total of 4 marks. | The total duration of the examination is 180 minutes (3 hours).
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| Paper B | 5 micro essays from a choice of 8, to be answered in approximately 60 minutes. Each micro essay question is worth a total of 20 marks. |
| Marking | Marks are awarded for identification of technical points and evidence of understanding and application of knowledge. Answers should be concise, lucid, comprehensible and grammatically correct (minor grammatical errors and occasional spelling mistakes will be ignored). Bullet points are acceptable. Candidates with English as a second language will not be given any special consideration. |
| Pass Marks | To obtain a pass, a mark of 50% in each paper is required; to obtain a pass with a credit, 70% in each paper is required.
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Sample questions and past papers
Course Providers may well offer some guidance on examination technique. We provide a guidance document on the Short Answer Question (SAQ) examinations, and this document includes information about the marking scheme, as well as sample questions and answers; please note, however, that these may not be current questions, do not necessarily relate to current legislation and do not necessarily cover all of the examination subjects - the sample questions and answers are for guidance only. We also provide a document on Micro Essay Question (MEQs) which provides four sample questions with the associated marking scheme, again as examples only.
We do not, currently, provide past question papers as we are building our question banks up following the changeover from Multi Choice Questions to SAQs and so in some circumstances need to re-use the same paper for future examinations. However, we do hope to be in a position to issue past papers in the near future; these will be available via the BOHS Head Office and there will be a charge levied to cover our paper and administrative costs. Watch this space!
Results
Our target maximum turnaround from receipt of examination scripts to issuing of results is six weeks for all of our Occupational Hygiene Modules. We always issue all results as quickly as possible and frequently manage to do so well within this timescale. However, because we have no control – and little advanced warning – of the number of examinations being taken at any one time, and a robust quality procedure to follow to ensure accuracy and consistency of marking, there are busy periods beyond our control when results can take more than six weeks.
We issue all of our results by post. We NEVER issue results over the phone or by email. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Queries and appeals
Queries, appeals and complaints must be submitted in writing by post, fax or email to the BOHS Head Office . Appeals will be accepted by BOHS before the results have been issued, but in all cases appeals must be received by BOHS within 28 days of the date of the candidate's result notification. Any appeals received outside of this timeframe may not be pursued. In general, queries/appeals should be raised by candidates or Course Providers; issues raised by others (eg. employers) will be addressed but we are unable to discuss individual performances of candidates with a third party, including their employer. If a complaint is specifically about the conduct and/or content of a taught course, this should be addressed directly to the Course Provider concerned in the first instance.
Borderline results on written examinations are automatically remarked before being issued, therefore any request for remarking will be confined to checking that no administrative errors have occurred.
No appeal will be entertained solely on the grounds that the candidate wishes to challenge the judgement of the examiners.
Download our Queries and Appeals Policy for full details (see Downloads box on this page).
Re-sits
Candidates can apply to re-sit the examination only, as an external candidate, via any Course Provider at a date and venue where any BOHS Occupational Hygiene Module examination is being held. Bookings and payment should be made directly with Course Providers.