Regulations

Grade criteria guide

• Progression between stages or years (section E)

  Additional detail can be found in the University Regulations:

  Students' progression will normally be reviewed at the end of each year by a Programme Progression Board.

  In order to proceed from one stage to another, a student must pass the required number/level of credits or be allowed by a Programme Progression Board to proceed with a credit deficit, provided it is not too large, and make up the deficit by reassessment, deferred assessment, or by taking up to an additional 30 credits.

  You may also be required to change your future modules choices and, in some cases, transfer to a different target qualification, if you have failed modules which are prerequisites to further study.

  If you are not allowed to proceed this will result in:

  • moving from full-time or sandwich to part-time study; or
  • interrupting study until reassessment or deferred assessment takes place if you have failed required modules; or
  • having to leave the University; this will normally occur if you fail, after reassessment, more than one-third of the requirements for your proposed qualification.

• Compensation (section E8)

  This regulation specifies the discretion of faculty assessment boards and Programme Progression Board to compensate failed modules, provided that the mark in the module or modules is a 17 or 18 and there is satisfactory overall performance. Compensation is not automatic. A compensated module will be treated as a grade 16 for degree classification purposes. Compensation will not be granted in modules which have been deemed 'non-compensable' in the programme specification, due to their special contribution to the achievement of programme learning outcomes.

• Reassessment (section E6)

  You are normally permitted to be reassessed once in a failed module.

  For modules at levels 3/4 the overall grade following reassessment will be the grade achieved at the second attempt.  For example:

  1st attempt - grade 17
  2nd attempt - grade 12
  Overall module grade 12

  This will be shown on the transcript as 12(17/12).

  For modules at level 5 and above, a maximum grade of 16 will be applied to the reassessed component.  For example:
  Component A (50%)   Component B (50%)   Overall Module Grade
  1st attempt 8 17 17 RC
  2nd attempt 8 (as before) 10 (capped at 16)         12 (17/12)

  Reassessment must take place at the next available opportunity for assessment.

  Reassessment of deferred assessment will normally be undertaken either in late August or April/May.

  Unless deferral of reassessment has been granted under the Extenuating Circumstances Policy, you will be failed with a grade 20 if you fail to submit coursework or fail to attend an examination at the next available opportunity for reassessment.

• Classification of undergraduate honours degrees (section E43)

  Classification is based on the amount of credit you pass in each 'class' (first, upper second etc.). The system has been established to enable Assessment Boards, which decide on classifications, to focus clearly on students who are in the borderlines between two classes.

  In simplified terms, to get a 1, 2.1 or 2.2 class of degree you must get 50% or more of all graded credit in the class.

  If you get too much credit at a low level, you will be considered as a borderline candidate and given further consideration by the Assessment Board.

  The Assessment Board considers two profiles which display the proportion of credit you have gained in each class:

  * all passed credit (i.e. grades 1 to 16) at level 5 and above
  * all passed credit (i.e. grades 1 to 16) at level 6 and above

  This means there are usually two separate profiles which in a small number of cases give a different classification to be awarded or they are borderline.  In these cases the Assessment Board will consider your case further using University guidelines, including your performance in the final stage of your programme.

  You should note:

  1. You must pass sufficient credit at the specified levels to get an Honours degree (360 credit points at level 4 and above, of which 210 must be at level 5 or above, of which 120 must be at level 6 or above)
  2. fail and incomplete grades (17 to 20, X, I) are not considered for classification
  3. the classification is not based on averages of grades - it is the proportion of credit in each class
  4. all passed grades (1 to 16) except at level 3 and level 4 are considered for classification - no modules are 'dropped' even if you pass more than the minimum number of credit points required
  5. modules are of different sizes (15 credit points, 30 credit points, 60 credit points etc.) and the classification is based on the amount of credit not the number of modules
  6. ungraded credit (grade Y) which may come from work taken at other universities or as part of a placement counts towards the credit requirement of a degree, but is not considered in the classification

• Appeals (section G)

  Information on Academic Appeals.

• Academic Integrity and Academic misconduct (section F)

  Taking unfair advantage over other students in assessment is considered a serious offence by the University which will take action against any student who contravenes the regulations through negligence, foolishness or deliberate intent.

  Academic misconduct is a corrosive force in the academic life of the University; it jeopardises the quality of education and devalues the degrees and qualifications of the University.

  Academic misconduct takes several forms, in particular:

  Plagiarism – using extensive unacknowledged quotations from, or direct copying of, another person’s work and presenting it for assessment as if it were your own effort. This includes the use of 3rd party essay writing services.

  Collusion – working together with other students (without the tutors permission), and presenting similar or identical work for assessment.

  Infringement of Exam Room Rules – Communication with another candidate, taking notes to your table in the exam room and/or referring to notes during the examination.

  Self-Plagiarism – including any material which is identical or substantially similar to material that has already been submitted by you for another assessment in the University or elsewhere.

  Other examples of academic misconduct and the penalties for proven academic misconduct can be found in Section F of the University Regulations.

  This Academic Misconduct report covers all alleged attempts of academic misconduct reported to the Secretary to Academic Board between 1st October 2016 and 30th September 2017.