Undergraduate Rules of Assessment

1
Undergraduate Rules of Assessment

• Credits
• Structures
• Marks
• Progression
• Award of Degree

2
Credits

• Workload is expressed in credits and credits will
  awarded for achievement students will accumulate
  credit.
• Pass mark 40 to achieve credit
• The volume of work that must be passed at each
  stage, and in order to achieve a degree, is
  expressed in credits.

3

• A three year Honours degree consists of 360
  credits of workload (480 credits for four
  years including a preliminary year)
• 120 credits must be achieved to progress from
  first or preliminary year
• A further 210 credits must be achieved in
  second and final years to be eligible for a
  degree total 330 credits. 30 credits can be
  failed, this can either be in the second or
  final year.

4

Structures

• 120 credits in each full time undergraduate
  year, normally divided into four components
  of 30 credits each, 8 components of 15 credits
  each or any combination thereof.
• Credit is awarded for achieving the pass mark
  for the component.
• Can aggregate two 15 credit courses in a single
  30 credit component.
• Aggregation will typically be applied where two
  courses deliver material which can be
  considered to be sufficiently coherent (in terms
  of learning outcomes) to enable the
  students achievement in respect of each course
  to be aggregated.

5
The relationships between aggregated courses are
scheme-specific, they are not fixed for all
instances where the courses are delivered
6

Marks Processing

• The following will be calculated, processed and
  stored in each students record
• Course Mark
• Component Mark
• Component Class (for second year and above)
• Year Mark
• Degree Mark (Year Marks weighted 60 final
  year, 40 second year)

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Progression

• 120 credits are required to progress from
  Preliminary or First Year.
• Second year resits are introduced
  comprehensively
• 90 credits required to progress from second
  year, but 30 failed credits are expected to
  be resat, though can ultimately be condoned.
• Resits are normally limited to 60 credits
• Resits are capped at the pass mark for the
  course
• Resit out of residence can be offered by the
  Board of Examiners
• Repeat study can be part-time, with successful
  marks carried forward and tuition repeated
  in failed courses (capped), or full-time
  (uncapped)

8

• If Outside Option failure prevents progression
  at first year, failure can be condoned
  after resit if the mark is 35 or above.
• One first sit, one resit and one further
  attempt to complete a stage
• No resit available on a repeat year
• One repeat stage permitted within a degree
  scheme

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Award of Degree

• Resits at next opportunity or repeat study
  offered to students ineligible for a degree
  at end of final year.
• Degree Class is calculated and displayed for
  every student by both of
• Dominant Quality method
• Arithmetic Average method
• and the most favourable degree class shall
  be awarded to the student.

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Dominant Quality
Arithmetic Average
11
Taught Postgraduate Schemes

• Credit Framework
• Rules of Assessment

12
Postgraduate Taught Schemes

• Masters degree 180 credits
• Postgraduate Diploma 120 credits
• Postgraduate Certificate 60 credits
• All at M level

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Credit Framework

• All Masters schemes must have a dissertation
• Normally between 60 and 90 credits
• Taught courses will have the following weightings
• Full-year courses 30 credits (or 40 credits)
• Half-year courses 15 credits (or 20 credits)
• Departments must use the same model for all their
  schemes

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Dissertation

• 60 credit dissertation
• Preliminary meetings in the Spring Term
• Detailed work starts in the Summer Term
• 80/90 credit dissertation
• Preliminary meetings in the Autumn Term
• Some detailed work starts in the Spring Term
• Within departments, and within discipline
  groupings, there must be consistency in word
  length for dissertations with the same credit
  weighting

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Rules of Assessment

• For a Masters degree, failure in up to 40 credits
  can be condoned, subject to certain restrictions
• All Masters students have the right to
  reassessment for up to 40 credits, subject to
  certain restrictions

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RoA - PG Diplomas and Certs

• All Masters Degrees must have PG Diploma and Cert
  exit routes
• Subject to satisfying learning outcomes,
  dissertation credits can be used towards the
  award of a PG Diploma
• There are RoA for stand-alone PG Diplomas and
  Certs
• These include criteria for condoning and
  reassessment

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Feedback

• All PG schemes must include a piece of assessed
  work that is set and marked in time for feedback
  to be provided to students before the Christmas
  vacation

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Plans for Implementation

• New UG and PG RoA, and PG Credit Framework come
  into effect from 2007-08
• During 2006-07
• New schemes for approval for entry in 2007 will
  need to follow the new Rules
• Scheme structures and RoA for all existing
  schemes (UG and PG) will need to be updated

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Timescales

• UG Schemes
• All scheme structures and Rules of Assessment
  updated by end February 2007

• PG Schemes
• All scheme structures and Rules of Assessment
  updated by end April 2007