NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
Information and Guidance for
Boards of Examiners’ Meetings
2016
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Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 4
1.
Boards of Examiners ................................................................................... 5
2.
The role of the Chair ................................................................................. 11
3.
The role of the Course Leader .................................................................... 14
4.
The role of External Examiners ................................................................... 16
5.
The role of the Minute-Secretary ................................................................ 17
6.
Common terminology ................................................................................ 22
7.
Reconsiderations and Appeals .................................................................... 24
8.
Issue of results and disclosure of examination grades ................................... 25
9.
Results processing .................................................................................... 26
10. School-based Collaborative courses ............................................................ 27
11. Academic Irregularities .............................................................................. 28
12. Interim awards ......................................................................................... 29
13. Undergraduate module results.................................................................... 30
14. Bachelor’s Degree awards (including Integrated Master’s) .............................. 33
15. Foundation Degree awards......................................................................... 35
16. Postgraduate / Master’s module results ....................................................... 36
17. Postgraduate / Master’s awards .................................................................. 38
18. Non-Degree awards .................................................................................. 39
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: Module results
.................................................................. 40
APPENDIX 2: Progress and awards decisions ................................... …………..
42
APPENDIX 3: Results Spreadsheet ................................................................. 52
APPENDIX 4: External Examiner Pro-forma Letter ............................................ 53
APPENDIX 5: Conferment Statement ............................................................. 54
APPENDIX 6: Board of Examiners: Membership / Attendance List ...................... 55
APPENDIX 7: Final Year List of Recommendations ............................................ 56
APPENDIX 8: Notification of Results ............................................................... 57
APPENDIX 9: Example of Board of Examiners’ Minutes & Pass List ..................... 62
APPENDIX 10: Final Year Letter (A) – Repeat modules ..................................... 66
APPENDIX 11: Final Year Letter (B) – Referred modules ................................... 67
APPENDIX 12: Aegrotat Letter....................................................................... 68
APPENDIX 13: NEC / Academic Appeals Procedures Flowcharts ......................... 69
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APPENDIX 14: Academic Irregularities Process Flowchart ................................. 70
APPENDIX 15: Allegation of Academic Irregularity ........................................... 71
APPENDIX 16: UG GBA grades ...................................................................... 72
APPENDIX 17: PG GBA grades....................................................................... 73
APPENDIX 18: GBA aggregation and rounding in Banner .................................. 74
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INTRODUCTION
A Board of Examiners (BoE) must be in place for each award-bearing taught course –
the constitution and terms of reference of which must conform to the University’s
Quality Handbook.
Details of the constitution and duties of Boards of Examiners are given in Section 1 of
this Guide and in Section 15 and Supplement 15B of the Quality Handbook.
This Guide aims to assist colleagues involved in the work of Boards of Examiners and
replaces the June 2015 version.
The Guide provides general information and advice for colleagues but should be
referred to in conjunction with any specific School procedures and with reference to
the following regulatory documents:
Quality Handbook Section 16A: Common Assessment Regulations (CAR) for
Bachelor’s and Integrated Master’s Degrees (September 2015),
Quality Handbook Section 16B: Common Assessment Regulations (CAR) for
Foundation Degrees (September 2015),
Quality Handbook Section 16C: Common Assessment Regulations (CAR) for
Taught Postgraduate Degrees (September 2015).
Quality Handbook Section 17A: Notification of Exceptional Circumstances
(NEC) Procedures,
Quality Handbook Section 17B: Academic Appeals Procedures,
Quality Handbook Section 17C: Academic Irregularities.
For advice on the CAR please contact Derek Clarke in CADQ on extension 88194 or
Susannah Lamb 85620. For guidance on the GBA Scheme, please visit the Share
Point site or contact your Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator in the first instance. For
further advice on Conferments and Awards, colleagues should contact the Graduation
Team in the Academic Office on extension 82255 or via the REG Awards email
inbox; for advice on Academic Irregularities / NEC / Appeals please contact the
Secretariat and Regulations Team in the Academic Office on 82849/84314.
Note:
Professional Doctorates have Progression Boards for Phase 1 (the taught phase);
these Boards can make recommendations for interim awards but not for final awards
(which are processed via the Graduate School and fall outside the scope of this
Guidance Manual). Full details of Phase 1 of Professional Doctorates can be found
here:
Regulations: Professional Doctorate Degrees – QH 16E,
Progression Boards: Professional Doctorates – QHS 15G.
Recommendations for PhD and MPhil awards are subject to separate regulations and
processes – please contact the Graduate School.
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1.
Boards of Examiners
1.1
Purposes
Each award-bearing course should have a Board of Examiners to:
a.
b.
c.
d.
1.2
ensure there are consistent and fair arrangements for assessment;
make academic judgements on the progress of students;
make academic judgements on the conferment of awards;
consider any case of student performance that is giving cause for concern.
Context
a.
A Board should operate with due regard to:



the course specification;
any Academic Board agreements with other validating, accrediting or
professional bodies (or a collaborating centre) as appropriate;
principles and policies on assessment as set out in Section 15 of the
Quality Handbook.
b.
A Board may appoint a Subsidiary Examination Board if this is necessary,
normally in the context of collaborative arrangements.
c. A Board may be responsible for more than one course provided this is
approved at validation.
d. A Board may operate a two-tier, Award Board / Subject Board, structure.
1.3
Membership
a.
The membership of a Board of Examiners should comprise:





b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
a Chair (normally a senior academic member of the School, e.g. an
Academic Team Leader (ATL));
a Minute-Secretary;
the course leader (and course co-ordinator from a collaborative centre, if
required);
academic staff who teach on the course;
the external examiner(s).
A Progression Board may be chaired by a member of academic staff below
ATL level with appropriate experience, expertise and independence, and
appointed by the Dean. An external examiner is not required to attend.
An external examiner who is unable to be present at a BoE meeting should
subsequently indicate by written notification, using the external examiner
proforma letter (see Appendix 4), via the course leader, their involvement in
the assessment process and their agreement to the decisions made at the
Board. An external examiner need not attend Progression Boards and
Referral Boards, but should be involved in the process.
Module leaders (or their representatives) should attend meetings.
All members must uphold the confidentiality of all meetings of the Board of
Examiners.
A member of the BoE is required to declare any personal interest,
involvement or relationship with a student being assessed.
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g.
A student cannot be a member of a BoE or attend a meeting other than as a
candidate for assessment (i.e. where a viva voce is held).
Notes:
Where an ATL chairs they should be independent of the course(s) being considered at the
BoE.
Module leaders (or their representatives) should attend Boards – if this is not possible, the
module leader should notify the course leader and / or Chair of the Board in advance of the
meeting so that any issues to do with the overall module results or individual students can
be discussed. Clearly this will not be possible in last minute absences, but colleagues need
to be aware that the University is vulnerable to appeal if a module is not represented and
performance in that module affects a student’s overall profile.
A Board member must declare a personal interest, involvement or relationship with any
student being considered. It is particularly important to obtain such declarations in respect
of courses delivered in collaboration or partnership, where the staff may not be known to
NTU, and where such Board members may have (in respect of in-company courses) a line
management relationship to a student. Consequently, it is good practice to include an initial
item on ‘Declaration of Interests‘on every BoE agenda.
1.4
Terms of reference
a. The Board should meet:




b.
at key stages – as set out in the course specification – in order to
determine student progress or awards;
to consider referrals;
to consider – as required - any case of student progress that is giving
cause for concern and is likely to lead to the termination of a student’s
study on the course (In these circumstances it will be the responsibility
of the course leader, or equivalent person, to notify the Head of the
Academic Office or nominee of the need to convene such a meeting);
when required by the Academic Board to reconsider any
recommendation regarding student assessment.
Boards should be formally minuted.
Note:
It is imperative that BoE minutes clearly set out the reasons behind any decisions affecting
students at the borderline, surrounding failure, straying from the norm etc. A recent
University ‘audit’ of minutes has found that the recording of such decisions is not always as
comprehensive as it might be, and leaves the University vulnerable to Office of the
Independent Adjudicator (OIA) complaints.
c.
The business of the Board is to:



confirm that student assessments have been conducted in accordance
with the appropriate Common Assessment Regulations (CAR) (and any
special validated dispensations from them);
ensure that appropriate moderation arrangements are in place and have
been used in the setting and marking of assessment tasks;
receive and consider agreed grades and all other information pertinent
to student assessment and to make recommendations to the Academic
Board on the progress of or the conferment of the award on each
student accordingly;
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




1.5
1.6
exercise academic judgement upon individual matters concerning
student assessment arising;
act on Notification of Exceptional Circumstances and / or Academic
Irregularities, and – in exceptional circumstances – Academic Appeals;
confirm the procedures to be followed in notifying students of its
recommendations;
consider any special issues concerning student assessment brought to
its attention by an external examiner or other member of the Board;
consider any matter referred to it by the Academic Board.
d.
In line with the terms of reference for Boards of Examiners, Board meetings
should include opportunity for tutors and external examiners to discuss
aspects of assessment design, tasks and coherence and provide advice to
the course leader on assessment issues that may have arisen.
e.
School Administrators now have responsibility for maintaining membership
lists for Boards of Examiners and should liaise with course leaders to
update the lists annually.
f.
There is no specified minimum number of members that have to be
present to make a meeting of a Board quorate. It is the responsibility of
the Chair to decide whether there are sufficient members present to
ensure that the business of the meeting can be conducted properly,
thoroughly and fairly.
Award Boards
a.
Award Boards determine overall results and agree classifications where
appropriate.
b.
An Award Board may be responsible for just one course but can be
responsible for a group of courses in some cases.
c.
Where a system of Subject / Award Boards exists, there should normally
be representation from within the team of Subject Board external
examiners on the Award Board.
Subject Boards
a.
Some Schools have adopted the practice of holding Subject Boards before
Award Boards in an effort to concentrate expertise and minimise the time
spent in a final Award Board. Where such a system exists, it is essential
for the subject / module leader to be present for the whole of the Award
Board to represent staff responsible for that module.
b.
At Levels 4 and 5, Subject Boards can be informal with no secretarial
support from the School but at Level 6 they should be formally constituted
and include the appropriate external examiner(s), module leaders and
teaching staff.
c.
Subject Boards should not make judgements about an individual's overall
result, but at Level 6 (or Level 5 on Foundation Degrees), the Minute-
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Secretary should ensure that an accurate set of agreed grades is conveyed
to the Award Board.
1.7
1.8
Progression Boards
a.
Progression Boards confirm results at levels and stages that do not
constitute the final award stage, e.g. Level 4 on a Foundation Degree,
Levels 4 and 5 on an Honours Degree and often, but not in every case, at
stages on a Master’s course. Such Boards also determine whether, and on
what basis, a student should progress to the next level / stage.
b.
It is not necessary for an external examiner to be present at a Progression
Board. If such a Board makes a recommendation for an interim award
(e.g. CertHE, DipHE or Higher Certificate) the external examiner need not
be consulted unless the course leader and external examiner agree that
this is necessary – this should be agreed at the beginning of the academic
year when the scope of the involvement of the external examiner in the
moderation of the course is agreed (on staged Master’s courses, where the
Postgraduate Certificate / Diploma are routinely awarded it is expected
that the external examiner will be involved in the decisions taken).
c.
Where a system of Subject / Award Boards exists, there should be
representation from within the team of Subject Board external examiners
on the Award Board.
d.
Professional Doctorates – each Professional Doctorate must hold
Progression Boards at least twice a year; the Head of the Graduate School
must chair at least one meeting, and an external examiner should be
present. The role of the Board is mainly to make decisions concerning
progression from phase one to phase two of the course (and
recommendations for interim awards but not final awards). Full details of
the operation of Professional Doctorate Progression Boards can be found in
QHS 15G.
Half-Year Boards
a. A Board (or sub-group of it) may be held following first half-year
assessments to consider the performance of students and make provisional
decisions about individual students – these are a form of Progression Board
and do not require the attendance of the external examiner. The reason
for such Boards is to facilitate some feedback to the students on their
progress thus far and to allow non-final year students, who have marginal
failures, possibly to make good their deficiencies before the end of the
year.
b.
Such Boards should be conscious not to overload students with referred
work during the second half of the year and it is recommended that most
referrals be undertaken in August / September.
c.
It should be stressed that decisions made by these Boards are provisional
and have to be ratified by the full Board of Examiners at the end of the
year.
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d.
1.9
Decisions to terminate a student's study can only be taken by a full Board
of Examiners.
Processes
a. On Banner, a basic results spreadsheet will be available offering different
layouts for the presentation of results. (See Appendix 3 for one example).
b. The Banner system provides the facility for both undergraduate and
postgraduate module assessment grades to be entered and appropriate
training is available to those likely to be involved in this task.
c. It is the responsibility of the course leader to ensure that the moderated
grades on the spreadsheets have been confirmed as accurate by the
module leaders and that any Notification of Exceptional Circumstances are
brought to the attention of the Board (see (e) below).
d. When making decisions, Boards should use the standard Module Reason
Codes (Appendix 1) and the Progression / Awards Codes (Appendix 2).
Advice on the codes to use can be obtained from the Academic Office on
extension 82255.
e. The Board needs to consider the cases of those students whose
performance was deemed by the Notification of Exceptional Circumstances
Contact or Panel to have been affected. The Board should be presented
with two lists – those students whose claims have been substantiated (and
whether the outcome was an extension or submission at the next available
assessment point) and those whose claims have not.
Note:
School Administrators can do this by using the reporting tool in the online Appeals Portal.
f.
It is imperative that clear overall decisions are made in respect of every
student. For students who have earlier failures, it should be clear where
they have to make good their failures before progressing. Care should be
taken to minute the reasons for decisions which fall outside the normal
framework of the CAR; and on occasions where the Board does not
exercise its discretion to allow a student an exceptional third attempt.
g. Discussions on issues concerning the overall delivery of individual modules
or the course should be restricted by the Chair to areas of serious concern
and issues of noteworthy mention.
h. The Board may give authority to the Chair or course leader to take
decisions on missing or un-moderated grades but these should
subsequently be reported to the Minute-Secretary for inclusion in the
Board of Examiners file, and to the Student Tracking staff, if appropriate,
for updating records.
i.
A Board of Examiners that does not include an approved external
examiner is not authorised to assess students for final awards.
However, if, under exceptional circumstances, an external examiner
cannot be present at the meeting then he / she is required to confirm in
writing that they have been fully involved with the assessments and
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concur with the recommendations made in their absence. Results should
not be divulged to students until this written approval has been received
(it is not necessary for an external examiner to attend a
Progression Board, i.e. for Levels 4 and 5 on an Honours Degree).
The written confirmation from the external examiner should be sent to
Academic Office with the signed pass / progression lists and conferment
statement.
Very often external examiners do not attend Boards that are considering
referred results; in such instances, the Chair should indicate on the
Conferment Statement that the external examiner has been involved with
the process.
(A pro-forma letter (Appendix 4) together with a copy of the grade sheet
should be sent to any external examiner not present at the Final Award
Board meeting).
j.
Following the meeting, the Minute-Secretary should check the written
record of the results with the course leader and, where appropriate, liaise
with teaching staff to ensure that any changes to grades and all codes are
input into the system. The Chair or course leader should certify the
updated spreadsheet confirming that the amendments have been made.
RESULTS SHOULD NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL THIS PROCEDURE HAS
BEEN COMPLETED
k.
Once Banner has been updated, it should be possible for students to
access their results on-line and order their own individual results
notification sheet (Appendix 8).
l.
Referred exams will be held from Wednesday 24 August – Tuesday 6
September 2016.
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2.
The role of the Chair
2.1
The Chair will normally be an ATL or above (or their representative) and is
responsible for the effective steering of the Board of Examiners together with
the associated preparation for the meeting.
2.2
Preparation before the meeting:
The Chair should liaise in advance of the meeting with the course leader and
the Minute-Secretary to ensure that:
a. an appropriate agenda is drafted for the meeting;
b. all relevant information, including student's results and the outcome of
consideration of any Notification of Exceptional Circumstances / Academic
Irregularities which may have affected a student's performance, will be
made available to the Board;
c. they are fully conversant with the course specification and the CAR (and
any special validated dispensations from them);
d. all final preparations have been made to enable the business of the Board
to be efficiently conducted within the regulations of the course (ideally by
means of a special meeting with the course leader / Minute-Secretary, held
shortly before the Board of Examiners' meeting).
Note:
It is recommended that the Chair, course leader and other key staff hold a meeting shortly
before each Board meeting (especially Award Boards) to ensure that all final preparations
have been made to enable the business of the Board to be efficiently conducted and in
accordance with the course specification. This will include reviewing all grades and reaching
provisional recommendations on individual students, e.g. those students on the ‘borderline’ of
classifications or eligible for compensation.
2.3
At the meeting
The Chair needs to ensure that:
a. attendance at the meeting enables the Board to fulfil its terms of reference
(where this is not the case it is the Chair’s responsibility to determine the
course of action).
b. the Board’s recommendations result from informed and impartial academic
judgement:
The Chair is responsible for steering the meeting, for ensuring that
decisions are clearly formulated and agreed by the Board and that they
are in accordance with the regulations for the course. Decisions that fall
outside the normal framework of the CAR should have the reasons clearly
minuted.
The Chair should be aware of the number of students under consideration
and the time available and must be prepared to limit discussion to ensure
that all students are given equal consideration. It may be helpful to set
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parameters at the start of the meeting for such things as the number of
referrals being allowed per student and a deadline date for the submission
of referred work.
Where the Board has discretion within the CAR (e.g. compensation,
borderline classifications), the Chair should be aware of any School
policies.
For final year degree courses, Chairs are advised to ensure that, if
appropriate, the final recommendations of the Board are read out to
members before the meeting is concluded and prior to the Conferment
Statement being signed by the designated signatories.
2.4
At the end of the meeting for final year courses, the Chair and the external
examiner(s) should sign the Conferment Statement (Appendix 5) to confirm
their agreement with the recommendations made (the Chair’s name must also
be printed on the statement). This must be included with the signed pass /
progression lists sent to Academic Office via the REG Awards email inbox for
processing.
2.5
Action after the meeting
The Chair is responsible for:
a. approving the minutes as prepared by the Minute-Secretary of the Board
as the official record of the meeting. In approving the wording of minutes,
the Chair should bear in mind the fact that students who appeal against a
recommendation may ultimately be given access to the minutes of the
meeting;
b. ensuring that appropriate information / documentation for final year
courses is sent to any external examiner not present at the meeting. If no
external examiner is present then the results should not be released until
he / she has confirmed their agreement in writing. By agreement, where
there are a number of external examiners, one may act on behalf of the
team;
c. ensuring, in conjunction with the course leader, that all relevant follow-up
action is taken.
2.6
Chair's Action
a. Subsequent to the meeting it may be necessary for decisions to be made
in respect of deferred / referred candidates but it not be deemed
necessary to reconvene the Board. In such cases, the Chair may act on
behalf of the Board having taken advice from the course leader or senior
members of the course team.
Any such decisions should be conveyed in writing to the appropriate
School Administrator with a copy, where appropriate, to the staff
responsible for student tracking.
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If the decision relates to a final year student then a copy of the
Chair’s action memo should also be scanned and emailed to REG
Awards for the Academic Office to process, giving full details of the
student, the course and any award being recommended. The
memorandum must be dated and contain the Chair’s printed
name; it also should be signed by the Chair and should include a
reference to the external examiner being involved with the
assessment. Alternatively, a signed pass / progression list,
containing the Chairs signature, date and printed name can be
accepted.
b. If it becomes necessary to amend the recommendation in respect of a
Final Year student then the full details should be supplied by the Chair to
both the Head of the Academic Office (or their nominee) and the
appropriate School Administrator with an indication that the external
examiner(s) concurs with the change.
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3.
The role of the Course Leader
3.1
The course leader is responsible, on behalf of an ATL, for the academic
oversight and conduct of the course. The specific responsibilities of a course
leader in relation to meetings of Boards of Examiners are:
a. to be involved in planning the schedule of meetings for the academic year,
particularly for Final Award Boards, and ensuring that external examiners
are available to attend the meetings and have seen samples of work;
b. ensuring with School Administrators that the membership list for the Board
is accurately maintained, including ensuring that their external examiner's
tenure is still valid prior to the start of the academic year;
c. in conjunction with the Chair and Minute-Secretary, ensuring that the
business of the Board of Examiners meeting is well defined and full
agendas are prepared;
d. providing to the Board all relevant information on students' moderated
results (see notes (i) and (ii) below);
e. ensuring that all final preparations have been made to enable the business
of the Board to be effectively conducted in line with the course specification
(normally this is achieved by means of a special meeting with the Chair
and Minute-Secretary, held shortly in advance of the Board of Examiners
meeting;
f.
ensuring that students recommended for the award have the required
number of modules, including all mandatory modules, and that sandwich
students have completed the necessary number of weeks on industrial
placement;
g. ensuring that any prize awards from sponsoring bodies are still valid and
proposing nominations for such awards for the approval of the Board (the
Graduation Team in the Academic Office should be informed of any such
nominations after the meeting via email to: NTU.Graduations@ntu.ac.uk);
h. checking the accuracy of the final recommendations with the MinuteSecretary at the end of the meeting;
i.
executing action agreed by the Board of Examiners and being responsible
to the Board for such execution. Course leaders should ensure that any
decisions on deferred students are conveyed to the Chair for approval and
action.
The onus will be on the course leader to be familiar with both the
course specification and the CAR (including any validated
dispensations).
Notes:
i)
The Banner system will provide spreadsheets for students currently
enrolled on university courses. Course leaders should liaise with their
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own tracking office staff to obtain the necessary prints. For final year
printouts, course leaders are advised to check that the correct method
is being used to determine the final classification for undergraduate
students by undertaking a random manual check. Final Year
spreadsheets should show the students full profile and give the overall
aggregate upon which the final result is based.
ii)
Some course teams may decide to hold informal meetings to review
grades prior to the Board of Examiners meeting.
iii)
Where Boards have considered cases of Academic Irregularities,
course leaders should inform the Secretariat and Regulations
Team (email REG.AcademicMisconduct@ntu.ac.uk) in the
Academic Office of the outcome so that examples of case law
can be built up.
iv)
Although results should be available on NOW within 3 days of the Board
of Examiner’s meeting, it is acceptable for year tutors to notify students
of their results immediately after the meeting including, where
necessary, the despatch of any referred work, providing that results
have been checked with the Minute-Secretary before being
divulged to the candidates.
Course Leaders should ensure that adequate arrangements have been
made to get referred work to candidates.
v)
Where referred examination papers are necessary, the course leader
should liaise with module leaders to ensure that they are prepared by
31 January 2016 and deposited with the Academic Office by 10 August
2016.
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4.
The role of External Examiners
4.1
No recommendation for the conferment of the final award of a University
course may be made without the consent of the approved external
examiner(s). Where an external examiner is absent from the final meeting of
the Board, then written consent should be obtained before results are
released. Exceptionally it will be acceptable for the course leader to report
that the external examiner has been consulted and their approval given. This
fact should be minuted and the Conferment Statement annotated accordingly.
Interim awards do not require the consent of the external examiner (see para.
1.7).
4.2
All external examiners should be invited to attend the meeting of the Board of
Examiners at which decisions on recommendations for final award are made,
including any Board of Examiners meeting to consider referred candidates. In
practice, at referred Boards, one external examiner may act for the team and
need not attend the meeting – see also para. 6h.
4.3
The role of external examiners is to ensure equity for each candidate and
ensure standards are maintained and their responsibilities are set out in
Section 9 of the University’s Quality Handbook.
It is not the intention that external examiners change grades on the sample
scripts that they consider (as this would prove unfair to the students whose
scripts are not seen), merely that they offer advice on the standard of
marking. If however, an external examiner feels that, based on the sample,
the internal examiner has been either overgenerous or too strict in the
marking then exceptionally a moderation of the grades for the whole cohort
may be recommended. This should be done in consultation with the internal
examiner and all grades adjusted prior to them being presented to the Board.
As a Board member, the external examiner will contribute to discussions on
decisions concerning grades and awards. However, while a Board might give
particular weight to the contributions of the external examiner, the
responsibility for agreeing grades and awards rests with all members of the
Board of Examiners.
4.4
At the end of the meeting at which decisions on recommendations for awards
are made the external examiner is required to sign the appropriate
Conferment Statement verifying their general agreement with the
recommendations made.
4.5
Course leaders must ensure that their external examiner's tenure is
still valid prior to the start of the academic year. Tenures normally run
for 4 years and anyone in any doubt about the expiry date of their
external examiner's contract should contact Jane Dyer (extension
88188 or Caroline Pickering (extension 88200).
4.6
Following the BoE, the external examiner is required to submit an annual
report to the University – completed on-line via the CADQ website. Once
accepted, on-line reports are automatically forwarded to School mailboxes
nominated by the School. On receipt of the report, School Administrators can
initiate payment of the annual fee.
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5.
The role of the Minute-Secretary
5.1
Persons appointed to act as Minute-Secretary to Boards of Examiners are
appointed from within the School to which the course belongs.
5.2
The Minute-Secretary records all the decisions of the Board of Examiners and
ensures the completion of the necessary documents for conferment of awards.
5.3
Following the meeting, the Minute-Secretary ensures minutes and results lists
are prepared, checked and distributed and liaises with appropriate School
Administrators to ensure that the results are entered on Banner in order for
students to access them on the NOW.
5.4
The Minute-Secretary will not be expected to offer advice to the Chair and the
Board on assessment regulations.
These instructions are intended as a general guide and secretaries
should check for any procedures specific to their School.
5.5
Preparation for the meeting
a.
School Administrators are responsible for arranging the timetable of Board
meetings for their own School, booking the venues and circulating the
invitation / agenda to those members entitled to attend.
b.
A School Administrator having liaised with the course leader should update
the membership list for each Board annually.
c.
The Minute-Secretary should ensure that they have a copy of the agenda /
invitation to the meeting with a copy of the membership list and this
should be taken to the meeting along with:
i. a file containing the minutes from the previous meetings (each School
should now be keeping a separate Board of Examiner file for each
course);
ii. a Conferment Statement, in the case of Final Award Boards, for the
Chair / external examiner(s) to sign;
iii. expenses claim forms for the external examiner(s).
5.6
d.
Prior to the meeting the Minute-Secretary should check with the course
leader how copies of the results sheets are to be circulated to Board
members and if possible obtain an advance copy so that the layout will be
familiar and so that students with particular issues can be identified.
e.
Just before the meeting, the room should be checked to ensure that it is
laid out Boardroom style with sufficient chairs.
Note taking / recording
a. Most meetings will follow a similar format:
17 of 74/May 2016
i) Apologies for absence;
ii) Minutes of the previous meeting for approval;
iii) Matters arising from the minutes;
iv) Consideration of the results;
v) Comments from the external examiners.
b. It is desirable for the Minute-Secretary to sit next to the Chair so that any
queries can be raised quietly without necessarily interrupting the meeting:
Once the meeting is underway, the membership list should be
circulated for those present to sign to confirm their attendance (see
Appendix 6).
If no membership list is available, a sheet of paper should be circulated
for members to indicate their presence.
c. Minute-Secretaries should listen carefully to what is being said and make a
note of the comments made in respect of individual students, annotating
the results sheet with the decisions reached:
They should ensure that they are clear as to what decision has been
reached in respect of each student and minute the reasons for decisions
that fall outside the normal framework of the Common Assessment
Regulations.
For final year successful students it should be clear what classification
of Honours is being recommended (i.e. Upper Second Class Honours,
(2:1) – see Appendix 7).
For unsuccessful students it is important to clarify how the failure can
be made good, the submission dates for referred work, whether the
student must repeat modules with attendance etc. If an interim award
is being recommended, this should be minuted. Where a student has
failed for the second time and the Board agrees not to offer a third
attempt, the minute should indicate that the Board did consider that
option but did not exercise its discretion in the case, e.g. because of
the poor academic record of the student.
In Progression Boards, be clear as to whether students can proceed to
the next year or whether they must repeat modules before progressing.
d. At the end of the meeting, ensure the external examiner(s) and chair sign
the Conferment Statement – the Chair’s name must also be printed (see
Appendix 5). Expenses claim forms should be handed to the external
examiners. (The claim forms are to be returned to the appropriate person
in the School responsible for processing the claims).
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5.7
Post-meeting action
a. Immediately after the meeting, the results should be checked with the
course leader to ensure there is agreement with the decisions reached and
the decision codes (see Appendix 2) in respect of each student entered on
the result sheet:
A copy of the results should be passed to the student tracking staff
within the School so that the results can be updated on Banner.
For final year students a copy of the Banner Pass / Progression
List signed by the Chair, with their name printed and the date of
the exam board, and showing the classification or result
recommended for each student should be scanned and emailed
to REG Awards for the Academic Office to process, along with the
Conferment Statement signed by the external examiner(s) and
Chair by the Final Year conferment deadline of 24 June 2016. A
copy should also be given to the course leader and the School
Administrator for information and the original filed in the Board
of Examiners file.
The deadline for final year results for the winter graduation
ceremonies is 4 November 2016.
b. Ensure students are able to access their results via the on-line facility as
soon as possible after the Board, but within the agreed timescale.
c. The minutes should be written within two weeks of the meeting and have
pass / progression lists attached:
Minute-Secretaries should refer to the previous sets of minutes for
guidance on style and general content. An example set of minutes is
given as Appendix 9. Once written, approval of the minutes should be
sought from the Chair and copies should be circulated to BoE members
(with copies to the School Office).
As a minimum, the following members should receive copies of the
minutes – Dean, Chair, ATL, external examiners, course leader, Year
Tutors and where appropriate, Collaborative Centre representatives. A
copy should also be placed on the BoE file along with the grade sheets
and other relevant documentation, which should then be retained in the
School office.
Notes:
i)
School Administrators should ensure that a progress / award code has
been entered for ALL students to ensure they can be rolled to the next
academic year (this includes students currently on Industrial
Placement).
ii)
If letters are being sent to Final Year undergraduate students with
failures, then the details should be explicit and, for instance, indicate
whether a ceiling has been imposed on the classification available for
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referral assessment / repeated modules. Examples of such letters are
given as Appendix 10 and Appendix 11.
iii)
After Final Award Boards ensure that the Chair signs, prints
their name and dates the Pass / Progression Lists, showing the
recommendation in respect of each student. These and the
Conferment Statements – dated and signed by the Chair and
external examiner – should be scanned and emailed to REG
Awards in the Academic Office. Without these, certificates
cannot be produced (See 5.7a for deadline dates).
It is also imperative that the correct progress code and an
award code are entered in SWAPBRD on Banner for each
student eligible for an award; otherwise, it will not be possible
to produce a certificate.
Where students are registered on generic courses but qualify
for named awards it is also essential for the appropriate
concentration code to be added to their record in SFAREGS.
Furthermore, if a student is eligible for a supplementary award,
e.g. a Placement Certificate of Industrial Studies, then a
departmental honours code also has to be entered.
20 of 74/May 2016
Role of Minute-Secretary
Flowchart of Actions
Possible involvement with pre–board meeting
Check venue and documentation
Minute the meeting – be clear on decisions
Obtain signature of Chair / external examiners for Final Years
Check results with course leader
Ensure results are entered on Banner
Scan and email a copy of Final Year Progression Lists / Conferment Statement to the Academic Office
and all results to Tracking staff
Ensure results are entered on Banner
Produce minutes, check with Chair
Circulate minutes
File minutes, pass lists and results spreadsheet
in Board of Examiners file
21 of 74/May 2016
6.
Common terminology
The following terms are often used at Boards of Examiners’ meetings but the
list is not intended to be exhaustive:
a. Aegrotat
Where a student has been unable to complete all or part of the final
assessment because of serious illness or other such cause, the Board
may exceptionally offer an Aegrotat award if it is felt that the student
will not be able to complete the assessments. Aegrotat awards do not
carry a classification. Students who accept an Aegrotat award must do
so on the understanding that this will preclude examination or reexamination for the original award: Appendix 13 is a specimen letter
that a student should sign to confirm acceptance of the award.
Note:
If a student has been unable to complete part of the Final Year assessments for example,
because of serious illness but the Board feel there is enough evidence based on the work
actually completed to form a judgment as to the likely classification that would have been
achieved, then the Board can, exceptionally, recommend a classification or offer the
student the opportunity to complete the missed assessments. The award should be
deferred pending confirmation of acceptance from the student. This is not an Aegrotat
award and the Certificate will indicate the classification awarded.
b. Certification of placement learning
Most sandwich courses make provision for a separate award in
recognition of their placement experience, for students who satisfy the
documented criteria. Any recommendations for such awards should be
recorded in the minutes, entered on Banner and a signed and dated
Banner Pass / Progression list sent to the REG Awards inbox so that
certificates can be produced.
c. Cheating and plagiarism (Academic Irregularities)
Section 11 defines the categories and details the procedures to be
followed in such cases. Boards cannot consider accusations of
Academic Irregularities. A School Academic Irregularities Panel (SAIP)
has to be convened and the student given the opportunity to answer
the charge.
d. Compensation
Compensation can be exercised by a Board in respect of marginal
failures, either between module elements or for a complete module.
If compensation is exercised, the actual grade achieved by the student
in the assessment should not be amended on Banner.
e. Deferred
Used where a decision on progression / award has not been made (e.g.
in the case of a student not completing assessment because of illness).
A recommendation can be made but deferred, e.g., pending completion
of industrial training or re-submission of Project in bound form etc.
22 of 74/May 2016
f.
Interim awards
Interim awards are only available for students who exit a course before
its completion and this should be clearly documented (see Section 12).
g. Pass
The minimum pass grade for an undergraduate module is low 3rd; the
minimum pass grade for a postgraduate module is pass.
h. Referred
Used where a student has failed to meet the pass criteria within a
module and is being required to undertake further work in an attempt
to succeed (e.g. resit examination and / or additional coursework).
Ensure clear details are specified with definitive deadlines. Within the
CAR, referral in a final year Honours course is permitted but on one
occasion only. A Board may nominate one external examiner to
act on behalf of the team (and sign the Conferment Statement)
where there are final year referrals and this should be minuted.
i.
Sandwich courses
All students must have satisfied the requirements for a sandwich award
as detailed in the course specification, which is normally not less than
36 weeks of supervised work experience. A shortfall of weeks requires
deferment of award pending completion of X weeks or a minor shortfall
can be compensated with the agreement of the external examiners. It
should also be noted that the Board might have already decided that
individual students will be awarded a full-time award on a sandwich
course. This must be minuted and noted on the grade sheet.
j.
Notification of Exceptional Circumstances
Students who consider that their performance has been affected by
factors lying beyond their control can submit a Notification of
Exceptional Circumstances (NEC) via the Appeals Portal. This will be
considered by a Notification of Exceptional Circumstances Contact
(NECC) or Panel (NECP) to request that the Board of Examiners take
their situation into account when considering their results. This process
takes place prior to the Board. Such a submission being made after a
Board has been held must go through the Academic Appeals Procedures
(See Quality Handbook Section 17B).
k. Tier 4 students
These are international students who are sponsored by the University
under the UKVI points based immigration system. These students are
identified on the results spreadsheet by having T4 next to their ID
number. There are some restrictions in terms of Board decisions
relating to these students, full details can be found in Quality Handbook
Supplement CAR1: Common Assessment Regulations: Tier 4
requirements.
23 of 74/May 2016
7.
Reconsiderations and Appeals
7.1
The Academic Appeals Procedure applies to all students on taught courses of
the University, irrespective of mode of study, and including Professional
Doctorate students on Phase 1 of their course.
Note
MPhil, PhD and Professional Doctorate students on Phase 2 of their course are governed by a
specific and separate procedure, see QH Section 17F.
7.2
There are basically three University stages to the procedure:
a. The Notification of Exceptional Circumstances (NEC) – students should
present details of Notification of Exceptional Circumstances on the
appropriate form prior to the meeting of the Board of Examiners and in
accordance with the timelines set out in the QHS 17A Notification of
Exceptional Circumstances Procedures. This will then be considered by a
Notification of Exceptional Circumstances Contact (NECC) or Panel (NECP)
which then presents to the Board their findings as to whether the student
has a case or not.
Schools need to set up a system of holding Notification of Exceptional
Circumstances Contact and Panel (NECC / NECP) meetings prior to
meetings of Boards of Examiners to consider all cases of Notification of
Exceptional Circumstances. An NECP will consist of at least three members
of academic staff who are not members of the Board that will be
considering the students results. The NECP is responsible for checking all
NEC applications across a School as well as reviewing specific cases. The
Chair of the Panel may attend the Board of Examiners meeting as a
representative of the Panel but not as a member of the Board.
This system should have the benefit of ensuring some uniformity of
decisions with a degree of confidentiality and a reduction in the time spent
in Boards of Examiners meetings discussing such cases.
b. Request for Reconsideration (R4R) – students may submit a request for
reconsideration of the decision of the Board of Examiners within 15
working days of dispatch of the results within the appropriate timelines set
out in Quality Handbook Section 17B: Academic Appeals Procedures. The
application will then be reviewed by a panel of three independent
academics.
c. Academic Appeal – this may follow rejection at the R4R stage and should
be submitted to the Head of the Academic Office (or nominee) using the
online Appeals Portal. Students have 20 working days from rejection at
the Request for Reconsideration stage to submit an appeal.
7.3
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) – at the conclusion of
all the University’s internal processes connected with the appeals procedures,
the student will be advised of his / her rights of appeal to the OIA.
24 of 74/May 2016
8.
Issue of results and disclosure of examination grades
8.1
Students will be able to access their results on-line, including details of any
referred work required within 3 days of the Board and so the need to write to
individual students should be minimised. Final Year students who are exiting
the course will be sent a Diploma Supplement (Transcript).
8.2
Grades are confidential to individual students and must not be displayed on
notice boards or disclosed to other students.
25 of 74/May 2016
9.
Results processing
9.1
It is the School’s responsibility to enter progress / award decisions into
individual records in Banner and then roll the records for continuing students
into the next academic year. It is best practice to roll your records as soon as
possible, although the rolling of records for referred students should be left
until they have completed their re-assessment. Furthermore, preparations for
the referred exams cannot begin until all the module decisions have been
entered on Banner and Schools must comply with the published deadlines (on
the Academic Office SharePoint site) to ensure students are correctly assigned
to referred assessments. Please also note that it is imperative that a final
decision code is entered against every student, even those that have
withdrawn or completed, so that the student record is either fully closed or
moved correctly to the next academic year.
9.2
You should also be aware that the deadline for entering results and submitting
the paperwork for the final year students eligible to attend graduation
ceremonies is 24 June 2016 for the Summer Graduation ceremonies and
4 November 2016 for the Winter Graduation ceremonies.
26 of 74/May 2016
10.
School-based Collaborative courses
Note:
Where Boards of Examiners consider results for School-based collaborative courses, the
arrangements for the processing of results should be as for our own students since the students
detailed results should be on Banner.
10.1
All collaborative courses are subject to the University's regulations, practices
and procedures as set out in the Quality Handbook.
10.2
For each course, the University will nominate a member of staff to act as the
Co-ordinator and it will be their role to liaise with the appropriate centres.
10.3
All results for collaborative courses are unofficial until confirmed by the
University's Board of Examiners unless devolved authority has been agreed.
10.4
Exceptionally the Board of Examiners may meet in the collaborative centre
with the Chair of the University Board or their nominated representative acting
as Chair. A School administrator or a representative from the collaborative
centre should minute the meeting. A set of the approved minutes and result
sheets should be sent to the University's School office when non-University
staff minute the meeting. In all cases, results for final year students should be
scanned and emailed to REG Awards in the Academic Office together with the
signed Conferment Statement and signed Progression List.
10.5
Wherever possible results should be made available on-line for students on
collaborative courses.
10.6
Successful students on School-based collaborative courses are normally
invited to the University's Awards Ceremony to collect their certificates.
27 of 74/May 2016
11.
Academic Irregularities
11.1
The determination of whether an academic irregularity has occurred is not a
matter for the Board of Examiners. The facts and outcome must first be
established through a School Academic Irregularities Panel (SAIP). The
outcome of the meeting, including a recommended penalty will be presented
to the Board of Examiners for ratification.
Appendix 14 gives a flowchart of the process.
11.2
For examples of different types of academic irregularity, please refer to the
Quality Handbook Section 17C Academic Irregularities, appendix 1.
28 of 74/May 2016
12.
Interim awards
12.1
Students who exit a course before its completion may be entitled to an interim
award.
12.2
On Honours Degree courses, students who have achieved 120 credit points at
Level 4 or above may be entitled to the award of a Certificate of Higher
Education whilst students who have achieved 120 credit points at Level 4 and
120 credit points at Level 5 or above may be entitled to a Diploma of Higher
Education. On Foundation Degrees, students who have achieved 120 credit
points at Level 4 or above may be entitled to the award of a Higher Certificate.
12.3
On postgraduate courses, the course specification will identify whether interim
awards are available but generally a student who does not proceed to the
Masters award would be entitled to a Postgraduate Diploma (if they have
achieved at least 120 credit points at Level 7) or a Postgraduate Certificate (if
they have achieved at least 60 credit points at Level 7).
12.4
Normally a student proceeding through a course will not be entitled to an
interim award unless the course specification makes such provision.
29 of 74/May 2016
13.
Undergraduate module results
13.1
A module within a course is summatively assessed by an element or elements.
Sub-elements of assessment are smaller units of assessment that make up a
single element.
13.2
Each module is marked according to the University’s Undergraduate GBA
grades (see Appendices 16).
Note: Where a student has been admitted on the basis of AP(E)L or has undertaken study at
another institution as part of their course, the credits may be graded on a pass / fail basis. Such
credits are not used to determine the module grade, level result or award classification.
13.3
Pass
The minimum pass grade for a module, an element and a sub-element is a low
3rd. For integrated master’s courses, the minimum pass grade for the level 7
modules, elements and sub-elements, is a pass (postgraduate GBA framework).
13.4
If a marginal fail grade is achieved in an element of a module, then providing
at least a low 3rd grade has been achieved for the module as a whole, the
student’s performance will be recorded as a pass for that module. The
equivalent holds for level 7 credit within integrated master’s courses.
13.5
Where a module is assessed by more than one element, the module result will
be determined by averaging (with appropriate weighting as necessary) the
numerical equivalents of the element grades.
13.6
Compensation
A Board may compensate a marginal fail grade for a module as a whole. In
such cases, the student’s performance will be recorded as a compensated pass
for that module.
13.7
In addition, a Board may compensate a mid fail grade for an element provided
at least a low 3rd grade (or pass for level 7 integrated master’s modules) has
been achieved for the module as a whole. In such cases, the student’s
performance will be recorded as a compensated pass for that module.
13.8
A Board may apply compensation to a maximum of 20 credits at an academic
stage, and beyond 20 credits where Exceptional Circumstances apply. Where
there are no Exceptional Circumstances, but the Board is satisfied that the
course outcomes have been achieved, it may exercise discretion in cases of
marginal and mid fail grades and compensate beyond 20 credits.
13.9
Normally a student must have achieved the minimum pass requirement or
higher at the end of the stage to be eligible for compensation. In cases where
level 6 and level 7 modules contribute to a single stage in integrated master’s
courses, the minimum pass requirement at the end of the stage will be the
equivalent of an undergraduate low 3rd.
13.10 Notwithstanding clauses 13.6 – 13.9, a Board may ultimately use its academic
judgement with care to compensate a student with a module grade below a
marginal fail – provided a student’s individual profile or circumstances merit
such compensation and provided that the student still satisfies the course
30 of 74/May 2016
outcomes and award standard by so doing without compromising the
achievements of the overall cohort.
13.11 A board should not apply compensation if the student has not completed all
pieces of assessment associated with that element, unless exceptional
circumstances apply. In addition, a Board should be cautious in applying
compensation to students who have not completed an entire academic stage.
13.12 A grade that has been compensated must not be adjusted.
Fail
13.13 A student who has not achieved the minimum pass grade (low 3rd) – and who
has not been granted a compensated pass – has failed the module.
13.14 Following initial failure of a module, a student shall normally be reassessed on
one further occasion to achieve a pass. At Levels 4 and 5, a Board may use its
discretion to authorise a third attempt – whilst a third attempt is discretionary,
it is recommended that the minutes indicate that the Board considered this
option in respect of any student not given such an opportunity.
13.15 The maximum grade for a referred assessment element is low 3rd. But the
actual grade for any element within the module that was passed at the first
attempt is used in the calculation of the module result. A student may,
therefore, achieve a grade that is higher than a low 3rd for a referred module.
13.16 Where a student is referred in more than one element, a low 3rd grade in each
element is required.
13.17 At the discretion of the Board, a failed referred grade or retake module may be
compensated according to clauses 13.6-13.12.
13.18 The maximum grade for a retake module is a low 3rd grade. Where a student
is required to retake a module, any passed elements cannot normally be
carried forward – all assessments must be retaken. Where, for sound reason, a
Board allows a retake student(s) to take forward a passed element, the
module grade will still be capped at a low 3rd irrespective of the grade in the
previously passed element.
13.19 A Board may use its discretion to allow a student to enter stage 2 or stage 3
(or stage 4 of an integrated master’s course) carrying a deficiency from a
previous stage, normally of up to 20 credits. Normally, a student will not be
allowed to enter the final stage of an undergraduate course with modules from
Level 4 outstanding. An exception might be made in the case of a Level 5
student being recommended to proceed to an Ordinary Degree rather than an
Honours Degree. Such students can be allowed to proceed to an Ordinary
Degree and take 60 Level 6 credits alongside the failed Level 4 or Level 5
modules. In such circumstances, a Board may exercise its discretion to allow
a student to carry forward Level 4 deficiencies to their final year as well as
carrying a deficiency of more than 20 credits from Level 5.
31 of 74/May 2016
13.20 Where a student is allowed to proceed to the next stage and take an
alternative module to that failed, that alternative module should be treated as
a retake module with a maximum low 3rd grade.
13.21 The CAR do not specify rules on how to treat students with multiple failures at
Level 4 / Level 5 and Boards are encouraged to agree local conventions for
considering such cases. For example, one School has a convention that allows
students with a deficiency of no more than 60 cp to be referred in September,
whereas those with a deficiency of more than 60 cp are be required to repeat
the failed modules in the next academic year.
13.22 No reassessment is permitted for a student to improve upon an element or
module pass grade.
32 of 74/May 2016
14.
Bachelor’s Degree awards (including Integrated Master’s)
14.1
The following classifications are adopted for each course leading to a
bachelor’s degree with honours:
Bachelor’s
Minimum grade (undergraduate
GBA scheme)
First Class Honours
Low 1st
Second Class
Honours, Upper
Division
Low 2.1
Second Class
Honours, Lower
Division
Low 2.2
Third Class Honours
Low 3rd
The classification for an honours bachelor degree is based either entirely on
the stage 3 result, or may include a contribution of no more than a third from
the stage 2 result. A course team must determine the most appropriate
weighting for the course at its approval and include it in course documentation.
14.2
The following classification bands are adopted for each course leading to an
integrated master’s award:
Integrated master’s
Minimum grade (postgraduate
GBA scheme)
First Class Honours
Distinction
Second Class
Honours, Upper
Division
Commendation
Second Class
Honours, Lower
Division
Pass
For integrated master’s degrees, the classification is based upon a
combination of Level 6 and Level 7 credits according to the weighting agreed
at course approval. The final classification calculation must include
performance at 120 credits of Level 7 study.
(The regulations governing modules undertaken at Level 7 are set out in
Section 16).
14.3
A higher classification may be awarded than that determined by the Honours
classification calculation. In deciding whether to award a higher classification,
a Board should consider the strength of the student’s profile of grades across
the stage including whether there are an acceptable proportion of grades in
the higher classification and also information about a student’s performance
other than the raw grades, such as any particular strengths in important
curriculum areas. Boards may wish to establish local conventions for
considering such cases.
33 of 74/May 2016
14.4
14.5
14.6
Bachelor’s degree (Honours): failure
Where a student fails a module or modules at Level 6 (or has trailing
modules), a Board may agree one of the following:
a.
allow the student’s overall performance to compensate for module
failure(s) of normally no more than 20 credits, and award an Honours
degree based on the Honours calculation achieved so long as the Board is
confident that the course outcomes have been met;
b.
offer the option of either being reassessed for Honours on one further
occasion in the failed modules OR accepting an Ordinary Degree if the
student has achieved 300 credits overall with at least 60 credits at Level 6
and met the award outcomes;
c.
award an Ordinary Degree if the student has achieved 300 credits overall
with at least 60 credits at Level 6 and met the award outcomes;
d.
allow a student to be reassessed in some or all of the failed modules in
order to qualify for the award of an Ordinary Degree;
e.
Require the student to withdraw from the course with no further attempts.
In such cases, a student may be awarded a DipHE if the requirements
have been met.
A student awarded an Ordinary Degree may be recommended for a Distinction
provided they have achieved an award result of at least a low 1st or higher,
and they have attained the required 60 credits at Level 6.
Integrated master’s degree: failure
Where a student fails a module(s) at level 7 (or has a failure(s) in a trailing
module(s)), a board may agree one of the following:
a. allow the student’s overall performance to compensate for module failure
and award an integrated master’s degree and classification provided the
board is confident that the course learning outcomes have been
satisfactorily achieved;
b. offer the option of either being re-assessed for an integrated master’s on
one further occasion in the failed modules OR accepting an honours degree
if the student has achieved at least 120 credits at level 6 and met the
award outcomes;
c. award an honours degree if the student has achieved at least 120 credits
at level 6 and met the award outcomes;
d. allow a student to be reassessed in the failed modules on at least one
further occasion in order to qualify for an honours degree;
e. require the student to withdraw from the course with no further attempts.
In such cases, a student may be awarded a DipHE provided they have met
the requirements.
34 of 74/May 2016
15.
Foundation Degree awards
15.1
The following classification bands are adopted for each Foundation Degree
course:
Foundation degree
Minimum grade
Distinction
Low 1st
Commendation
Low 2.1
Pass
Low 2.2
The classification is based upon the stage result for Level 5 or may include a
contribution of no more than .3 from the stage result for Level 4. A course
team must determine the most appropriate weighting for the course at its
approval and include it in the course documentation.
15.2. A higher classification may be awarded than that determined by the
classification calculation. In deciding whether to award a higher classification,
a Board should consider the strength of the student’s profile of grades across
the stage including whether there are an acceptable proportion of grades in
the higher classification and also information about a student’s performance
other than the raw grades, such as any particular strengths in important
curriculum areas. Boards may wish to establish local conventions for
considering such cases.
15.3
Where a student fails a module, or modules, at Level 5 (or has trailing
modules), a Board may agree one of the following:
a.
allow the student’s overall performance to compensate for module failure
and award a Foundation Degree, based on the award grade achieved,
provided the Board is confident that the course outcomes have been
satisfactorily met (a Board may apply compensation, normally to a
maximum of 20 credits);
b.
allow the student to be reassessed in the failed modules on at least one
further occasion in order to qualify for the Foundation Degree;
c.
award a Higher Certificate or allow a student to be reassessed in the failed
modules on at least one further occasion in order to qualify for the award
of a Higher Certificate;
d.
Require the student to withdraw from the course with no further attempts.
35 of 74/May 2016
16.
Postgraduate / Master’s module results
16.1
Each module is marked according to the University’s Postgraduate GBA grades
(see appendix 17).
16.2
The minimum pass grade for each module, element and sub-element is a pass.
If a marginal fail grade is achieved in an element of a module, then providing
at least a pass grade has been achieved for the module as a whole, the
student’s performance will be recorded as a pass for that module.
16.3
The maximum grade for a referred element is pass. However, a grade in any
other element passed at the first attempt is carried forward into the calculation
of the module aggregate so that a grade above pass may be achieved for a
referred module.
16.4
The maximum permitted number of attempts normally allowed for a candidate
to complete satisfactorily any individual module will be two i.e. first attempt
and referral. However, a Board of Examiners may authorise a third attempt
i.e. either a further referral in the element or a complete retake of the module.
The maximum grade for a retake module is pass and all elements normally
must be taken again. If, exceptionally, a Board allows a student(s) to take
forward a passed element, the overall module grade will still be capped at pass
irrespective of the grade in the previously passed element.
16.5
The Board of Examiners is authorised to allow compensation up to a maximum
of one quarter of the award. Course teams / SASQCs should agree specific
maxima according to the credit structure of the course and should be agreed
prior to the examination board. A board may compensate beyond the maxima
where exceptional circumstances apply.
16.6
Compensation of a failed module will normally only be available where the
module aggregate grade falls within the marginal fail band. A Board may
compensate a mid-fail grade in an element. Normally a candidate must have
achieved an aggregate pass grade or more for the stage to be eligible for
compensation. A board should not apply compensation if the student has not
completed all pieces of assessment associated with that element, unless
exceptional circumstances apply. A compensated grade must not be adjusted.
16.7
Where a module has been failed and the Board of Examiners does not
recommend compensation, a candidate will normally:
a.
b.
undertake a referral in specified elements of the module or undertake an
alternative assessment as determined by the Board of Examiners;
OR
undertake a retake of the whole module assessments again with or
without further attendance.
16.8
At the Board’s discretion, marginal failure in a referred or retake module may
be compensated.
16.9
The Board of Examiners may use its discretion to allow a candidate to enter
the next stage of the course carrying a manageable deficiency. The maximum
number of credits allowed to be carried is 20.
36 of 74/May 2016
16.10 Where a student who has failed an optional module, chooses to take an
alternative module to make up the deficiency, then the maximum grade that
can be attained is pass.
16.11 A course leader can authorise a module leader to allow a candidate to make
good a marginal module failure during the course provided (a) the module is
part of the PGCert or PGDip stage; (b) it would not overburden the student
and (c) the external examiner has moderated the assessment task. It must be
made clear that this will be deemed a referral attempt.
16.12 No reassessment is permitted for a student to improve upon a passed grade.
37 of 74/May 2016
17.
Postgraduate / Master’s awards
17.1
The following classifications are normally available on taught Postgraduate
courses:
Postgraduate degree
Grade bands
Distinction
Distinction, Mid Distinction, High
Distinction, Exceptional Distinction
Commendation
Commendation, Mid Distinction, High
Commendation
Pass
Pass, Mid Pass, High Pass
17.2
A Board may exercise its academic judgement and award a higher
classification than that determined by the overall statistical aggregate profile.
In deciding whether to award a higher classification, a Board should consider
the strength of the student’s profile of grades across the level including
whether there are an acceptable proportion of grades in the higher
classification and also information about a student’s performance other than
the raw grades, such as any particular strengths in important curriculum
areas. Boards may wish to establish local conventions for considering such
cases.
17.3
Only candidates who fail or who leave part way through a course are entitled
to receive the interim award they have earned. Normally, a student proceeding
through a course will not be entitled to an interim award unless the course
specification makes such a provision.
38 of 74/May 2016
18.
Non-Degree awards
18.1
Courses leading to non-degree awards should conform to appropriate aspects
of this guide unless alternative or modified arrangements have been approved.
Although there are no CAR for such courses, Section 16F of the Quality
Handbook sets out guiding principles to be used when drafting regulations for
individual courses.
39 of 74/May 2016
Module results
APPENDIX 1
The codes used to record decisions made about a student’s performance on a module are
entered on the Banner system in the form SWAPBRD or SXATCKS.
Reason codes are normally entered at element level and the element level codes used to
automatically generate the appropriate overall code for the module. The text for all
significant element and module decisions will appear on a student’s notification of results.
The following table lists current reason codes and indicates whether they are entered at
element or module level. Shaded entries are normally system generated so no code need be
entered. The System will automatically generate a pass code whenever element grades
meet the pass criteria.
Code
Text
Element
Pass codes
PA
Pass
PC
Pass with compensation
PN
Pass with Commendation
PM
Pass with Merit
PD
Pass with Distinction
PL
Pass – late submission
PR
Pass following Referral
PF
Pass following Repeat
PX
Pass rpt module after
referral
PH
Pass (Previous System)
PE
Excellent Pass
PG
Good Pass
PQ
Compensated Referred Pass
PK
Compensated pass after
repeat
PB
Pass - Module capped
PJ
Pass – Credit points only
NC
Not competent
PO
Pass - Outstanding
PT
Pass - Competent
PV
Pass - Very Competent
Referral codes
RR
Referred
RE
Referred
RK
Referred
RT
Referred
RM
Referred
Leader
RW
Referred
RF
Referred
RN
Referred
year
40 of 74/May 2016





Module
level




























by exam
by coursework
by test
– contact Module
by reworking exam
– final attempt
next academic



Generates
RR code
Defer codes
DF
Defer


First Sit codes
1S
First
1A
First
1N
First
1O
First





Generates
1S code
Fail codes
??
F?
FE
FA
FN
FR
FW
FC
FM
FO
sit
sit in Aug/Sept
sit next academic year
sit next opportunity
Provisional fail (first or
repeat attempt)
Fail after referral
Fail element after referral
Fail-repeat without
attendance
Fail-no more attempts
allowed
Fail - repeat module
Fail – repeat with
attendance
Fail-repeat for credit only
Repeat module with
attendance
Fail – repeat mod or
alternative



Generates
F? code






Generates
FM code





Mark change codes (do not appear on transcripts)

OE
Original entry – system
generated only

EB
Changed at Exam Board

CA
Changed by Chair’s Action

CC
Composite calculation

CR
Capped resit

DL
Degraded late

MC
Mark correction

OG
Original mark – first sit

RC
Re-calculated
Withdrawn codes
WD
Withdrew
WA
Replaced by alternative
module
to be added after Board
41 of 74/May 2016





Progress and awards decisions
APPENDIX 2
The codes used to record decisions about a student's end-of-year progression and award
are entered on the system in the Banner form SWAPBRD.
Many of the progression codes refer to academic stage. For the majority of undergraduate
students, stage is synonymous with level, and most postgraduate programmes have a
single stage. However, there are times when, to provide the flexibility required by some
programmes to group modules in different ways for final degree calculations, a stage may
represent a subset of modules at a particular level. School tracking staff will be aware of
these requirements and translate decisions such as ‘Pass and proceed’ as appropriate to the
academic stage.
The progress decision dictates whether a new student record will be created for the
following session, whether the student stays on the same stage or progresses, and whether
the student stays on the same academic year of the programme or progresses.
So, for instance, code PR - Proceed Stage incomplete, should be used for a Part Time
student who has passed all the modules enrolled for in a particular year but has still to
undertake further modules to complete the Stage (or level). Code PD - Proceed - make good
deficit, on the other hand, should be used for a student who has failed one or more modules
but is being allowed to go on to take the modules from the next Stage and pick up the failed
modules at the same time. However, if a student who has to redeem some failed modules is
going on to a placement, then code PP - Proceed to Placement (Deficit) should be used.
Examples are included in the table below to further ensure the appropriate progression
decisions are selected.
Progression Decisions
P0 Pass Stage 0
P1 Pass Stage 1
P2 Pass Stage 2
42 of 74/May 2016
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
Yes/ Same/ Same/
No
Next
Next
To be used where a student
on a foundation course for
Y
N
N
instance, passes all modules.
To be used where a student
passes all the required
modules at the end of the first
stage of the course. In most
cases, stage 1 of a course
equates to the first year of
study and will comprise Level
4 modules. For part-time
courses, the end of stage 1
might be achieved at the end
of the second year of study.
For Integrated Masters
courses, stage 1 might include
modules at other levels of
Y
N
N
study.
To be used where a student
passes all the required
modules at the end of the
Y
N
N
second stage of the course.
Progression Decisions
P3 Pass Stage 3
PW Pass Within Stage
PR Proceed - Stage incomplete
PU Proceed-same stage/year
PG Proceed-limit of Ord degree
PI
Proceed – placement incomplete
PL
Pass Placement
PC Pass placement-cannot proceed
PS Pass & Proceed to Placement
43 of 74/May 2016
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
To be used where a student
passes all the required
modules at the end of the
third stage of courses which
comprise 4 stages for
example, Integrated Masters
Y
N
N
courses.
To be used where a student
has passed all the modules
taken but has not yet
completed the level and is reenrolling on the same level for
the next academic year.
Typically this would be used
for part-time students whose
course lasts more than one
Y
S
N
academic year.
To be used where a student is
proceeding to next level
having passed all available
assessments but not having
completed earlier level. This
is used where the student is
going into the next academic
year and will study modules at
both the previous and next
Y
N
N
levels.
To be used where a student is
progressing through a course
that spans either 2 academic
years or where no result has
yet been decided. Often
required when the course has
Y
S
S
a non-standard start date.
To be used when a student
has failed a number of
modules and is being allowed
to retake some or all but for
Y
N
N
an Ordinary degree only.
To be used where a student is
proceeding without having
Y
N
N
completed their placement.
To be used where a student
has successfully completed
Y
N
N
their placement year.
To be used when a student
completes the placement year
but has to complete some
outstanding modules before
Y
S
S
progressing.
To be used where a student
has successfully completed
the Stage and is progressing
Y
S
N
to their placement period.
Progression Decisions
PP
Proceed to Placement (Deficit)
PA Qualify for Award
PF
Qualify for Fallback/Interim
PN Complete Non Award Bearing
PT
Pass & Transfer Out
PD Proceed - make good deficit
PX
PY
PZ
Stage 4 Incomplete
Stage 5 Incomplete
Stage 6 Incomplete
RF
Referred
RA Referred in Aug/Sept
RN Referred Next Academic Year
44 of 74/May 2016
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
To be used where a student is
being allowed to proceed to
their placement period
Y
S
N
carrying deficiencies.
To be used whenever a
student completes a course
and qualifies for an award (to
be used along with
Awards/Honours codes). This
might not be the course that
the student originally enrolled
on. This finishes the record
N
for the student.
To be used where a student is
exiting a course before its
completion but is eligible for
N
an award.
To be used where a student
has completed a course not
N
leading to an award.
To be used for a student who
completes part of a course but
is then transferring out of the
N
university without an award.
To be used for a student who
is being allowed to proceed to
the next level carrying
Y
N
N
deficiencies.
To be used for a student who
may have passed everything
taken but has not completed
Y
S
N
the stage.
As PX but stage 5.
Y
S
N
As PX but stage 6.
Y
S
N
To be used for a student who
is being given the opportunity
to redeem failure by referral
but a decision is not taken as
to when. NB The ‘RF’ code
takes precedence when the
student has first sittings as
Y
N
N
well as referrals.
As above in the referred exam
period.
NB The ‘RA’ code takes
precedence when the student
has first sittings as well as
Y
N
N
referrals.
As RE but during the next
academic year. NB The ‘RN’
code takes precedence when
the student has first sittings
Y
N
N
as well as referrals.
Progression Decisions
RS Referred Next Sitting
RC Refer for Credit Points Only
RP Refer for an Ordinary Degree
RR Refers/Repeats – Cannot Proceed
RD Refer or accept Ordinary Degree
RH Referred or accept DipHE
RE Referred or accept CertHE
R3 Referred for a max of a 3rd
R1 First Sitting in Aug/Sept
DF Defer
F1
First sits next year
FT
Fail & Terminate Studies
FR
Fail – repeats permitted next
academic year
FP
Fail Placement
FA
Fail & Transfer
45 of 74/May 2016
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
As RF but when the module is
nest examined (which could
be May/June if the module is
offered in both halves of the
Y
N
N
year).
As RF but where a student
cannot gain an award and is
being allowed a referral to
increase the amount of Credit
N
Points attained.
As RF but with a ceiling on the
N
award to be attained.
To be used when a student
has a mixture of referrals and
N
repeats.
As RF to achieve Honours
Degree or accept Ordinary
N
Degree.
As RF but where a student has
N
not achieved 300 credits
As RF but where student has
N
less than 120 cp at Level 5
As RF with a ceiling on the
N
award to be attained.
To be used where a student
has been given the
opportunity to sit, as if for the
first time, in Aug/Sept. Where
a student has a mixture of
first sits and referrals, then a
referral (RA/RN/RS) code
N
should be used.
To be used where it has not
been possible to make a
decision, possibly because of
N
some missing information.
To be used where a student is
being allowed to take first
sittings the following session
but not progress to next
Y
S
S
stage.
To be used where a student
has exhausted their number of
N
attempts at redeeming failure.
To be used where a student is
being allowed to repeat
modules the following session
Y
S
S
but not progress to next level.
To be used for a student who
Y
S
S
has failed the placement.
To be used where a student
has failed and the
Y
S
S
recommendation is that they
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
transfer to another
programme.
To be used where a student
has been given the
opportunity to repeat some
failed modules and take
others as first sits the
Repeat Yr (with some first sittings) Y
S
S
following year.
To be used where a student
has failed to achieve 120
Fail-award Credit Points only
N
Level 4 credit points.
To be used where a student is
being allowed to repeat
modules but with a ceiling of
Fail & Repeat Mods for Degree
N
an ordinary degree.
As FD but for the maximum of
Fail & Rpt Mods for DipHE only
N
a DipHE.
To be used where a student is
being given the choice of
either repeating failed
modules next session or
Rpt Failed Mods or DipHE
N
accepting the DipHE.
As FD but with a ceiling of the
Fail & Rpt Mods for max of 3rd
N
maximum of a 3rd.
Only to be used for failed
students on the Bar Vocational
Not Competent
N
Course.
To be used where a student
fails first half year modules
and is required to suspend
studies and return the
following year to repeat the
Withdrawn & Repeat Fails
N
failed modules.
To be used at Interim
Assessment Not Yet Complete
N
examination boards.
To be used where students
have suspended their studies
Intercalation (Year Out)
Y
S
S
but will be returning.
To be used where an
academic irregularity may
have occurred to indicate an
Result Not Yet Known
N
outcome is not yet reached.
Academic Office use for
Awaiting Decision
N
graduation record set up only.
To be used where a student
has exited a programme,
particularly before completing
Withdrawn
N
any assessments.
To be used where a student
has left part way through the
Withdrawn - Intends to Return
Y
S
S
year but intends to return.
To be used where a student
Withdrawn - Internal Transfer
Y
S
S
has left one course and
Progression Decisions
FY
FC
FD
FH
FK
F3
FQ
FW
NC
NI
NK
SO
WD
WR
WI
46 of 74/May 2016
Progression Decisions
Roll? Stage? Year? Example
transferred to another within
the institution.
Whenever the codes PA, PF or PN are used then an award code will also have to be entered.
(In the case of PN - Complete Non Award Bearing, although there will not be an actual
award as such, it is necessary to enter a Pass (PA) or Pass for Credit Points (PP) code).
Award/Honours Codes
These codes are entered to specify the class of award. They
are only used in conjunction with one of the awards codes in
progression table (PA, PF or PN)
10
First Class Honours
21
2nd Class Honours-1st Division
22
2nd Class Honours-2nd Division
30
Third Class Honours
DN
Ordinary Degree
DD
Ord Degree with Distinction
AE
Aegrotat
AD
Awarded PGDip
AM
Award MPhil
AP
Award Professional Certificate
DA
PgDip with Distinction
DC
PgDip with Commendation
AC
Awarded PGCert
CA
PgCert with Distinction
CC
PgCert with Commendation
A2
Awarded Dip HE
A1
Awarded Cert HE
AA
Awarded Cert of Achievement
AN
Awarded Cert
HC
Awarded Higher Cert (UFD)
DB
Advanced Diploma
DE
Adv Diploma with Distinction
PV
Cert of Professional Studies
PQ
Cert of Prof Studies (Dist)
BC
Competent (Bar Voc Dip)
BV
Very Competent (Bar Voc Dip)
BO
Outstanding (Bar Voc Dip)
PA
Pass
PP
Pass for Credit Points
PC
Pass with Commendation
PD
Pass with Distinction
PM
Pass with Merit
PE
Excellent Pass
A3
Adv Dip in Studies in Sec Edu
A4
PG Cert in Studies in Sec Edu
A5
Adv Dip in Studies in Prim Edu
A6
PG Cert in Studies in Prim Edu
A0
Awarded Dip
BA
Certificate in Business Admin
DS
PG Dip in Studies in Education
DT
Prof Dip in Studies in Educ
47 of 74/May 2016
DU
DV
HD
HM
PH
PG Cert in Studies in Educ
Prof Cert in Studies in Educ
Awarded Higher Cert with Dist
Awarded Higher Cert with Comm
Pass with Honours
Departmental Honours Codes
These codes are used to indicate supplementary awards such as Certificate in Industrial
Studies or Distinction in Spoken French in the form SHADEGR
AEL
Advanced Diploma in English Law
APE
Adv Dip in Studies in Prim Edu
ASE
Adv Diploma in Stud in Sec Edu
CAS
Cert in Accounting Skills
CBP
Cert in Business Practice
CCA
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Wk & Study)
CCD
Placement Cert in Professional Skills with Dist
CCS
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Study)
CCW
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Work)
CDA
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Wk & Study)
CDS
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Study)
CDW
Placemt Cert of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Work)
CEL
Certificate in English Law
CIE
Placement Cert in Industrial Experience with
Comm
Placement Cert in Industrial Experience with
Dist
Placement Cert in Industrial Experience
CIP
Placement Cert in Industrial Studies
CIS
CLS
Certificate in Industrial Studies
Cert of Language Study Abroad (Work &
Study)
Cert of Language Study Abroad (Study)
CLW
Cert of Language Study Abroad (Work)
CML
Cert in Mentorng and Lship Dev
CMS
Certificate in Management Studies
CPC
Cert of Practical Competence
CPD
Cert Prof Practice in Design
CPI
Cert in Prof Practice with Dis
CIC
CID
CLA
48 of 74/May 2016
CPM
Cert in Prof Practice with Dis
CPO
Cert in Prof Practice with Com
CPP
Cert in Professional Practice
CPT
Cert in Professional Studies
Placement Cert in Industrial Studies with
Comm
Placement Cert in Industrial Studies with Dist
CSC
CSD
CTC
CTD
Placement Cert in Professional Studies with
Comm
Placement Cert in Professional Studies with
Dist
CVS
Cert in Vocational Studies
DCA
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Wk & Study)
DCS
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Study)
DCW
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with
Comm (Work)
DDA
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Wk & Study)
DDD
Dip in Professional Studies with Distinction
DDS
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Study)
DDW
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad with Dist
(Work)
DEC
Placement Diploma in Industrial Experience
with Comm
DED
Placement Diploma in Industrial Experience
with Dist
DEL
Diploma in English Law
DIC
Dip Ind St with Commendation
DID
Dip Ind St with Distinction
DIE
Placement Diploma in Industrial Experience
DIS
Diploma in Industrial Studies
DLA
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad (Work &
Study)
DLS
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad (Study)
DLW
Placemt Dip of Lang Study Abroad (Work)
DPC
Dip in Prof Prac with Commend
DPD
Dip Prof Practice in Design
DPM
Dip in Prof Prac with Merit
DPP
Dip in Professional Practice
DPS
Dip in Professional Skills
DSD
Dip Prof Skills with Distinction
DXC
Placement Diploma in Professional Skills with
Comm
49 of 74/May 2016
DXP
Placement Diploma in Professional Skills with
Dist
Placement Diploma in Professional Studies
EUB
Eurobachelor
IPD
International Placement Diploma
DXD
IPDCOM
IPDDIS
ISD
ISDCOM
International Placement Diploma with
Commendation
International Placement Diploma with
Distinction
International Study Diploma
International Study Diploma with
Commendation
ISDDIS
International Study Diploma with Distinction
ISPD
International Study and Placement Diploma
International Study and Placement Diploma
with Commendation
International Study and Placement Diploma
with Distinction
International Placement Diploma in
Professional Practice
International Placement Diploma in
Professional Practice with Commendation
International Placement Diploma in
Professional Practice with Distinction
Placement Certificate in Professional Practice
with Comm
ISPDCO
ISPDIS
IPDPP
IPDPPC
IPDPPD
PCC
PCD
Placement Certificate in Professional Practice
with Dist
PCG
PGCert Pro Stud in Career Guid
PCP
Placement Certificate in Professional Practice
PCS
Placement Cert in Professional Skills
PCT
Placement Cert in Professional Studies
PDS
Placement Diploma in Professional Skills
PGD
Postgraduate Placement Diploma in
Professional Practice
PIC
PID
Placement Diploma in Industrial Studies with
Comm
Placement Diploma in Industrial Studies with
Dist
PIS
Placement Diploma in Industrial Studies
PLA
Placement Cert of Language Study Abroad
(Work & Study)
PLS
Placement Cert of Language Study Abroad
(Study)
PLW
Placement Cert of Language Study Abroad
(Work) (incl Ass’t)
PPC
Placement Diploma in Professional Practice
with Comm
50 of 74/May 2016
PPD
Placement Diploma in Professional Practice
with Dist
PPE
PG Cert in Studies in Prim Edu
PPP
Placement Diploma in Professional Practice
PPS
PSC
Placement Cert in Professional Skills with
Comm
Placement Diploma in Professional Studies
with Comm
PSD
Placement Diploma in Professional Studies
with Dist
PSE
PG Cert in Stud in Sec Edu
SDD
Dist in Spoken French & Span
SDF
Distinction in Spoken French
SDG
Distinction in Spoken German
SDI
Distinction in Spoken Italian
SDM
Distinction in Spoken Mandarin
SDS
Distinction in Spoken Spanish
SGD
Dist in Spoken Spanish & German
SGI
Dist in Spoken German & Italian
SID
Dist in Spoken Italian & Span
SMF
Dist'n in Spoken Mand & French
SMG
Dist'n in Spoken Mand & German
51 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 3
52 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 4
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
EXTERNAL EXAMINER PROFORMA LETTER
Course: ___________________________________________
I was unable to attend the meeting of the Board of Examiners for the above course held on
_______________ for the following reason(s):
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
However, I confirm that I have been involved with the assessment of students and that I
agree with the final recommendations reached as indicated on the grade sheet
Dated: ____________________________________
Signed: ____________________________________
Name: _____________________________________
Date: ______________________________________
53 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 5
CONFERMENT STATEMENT
Title of Board:
Exam Board Date:
Subject
Mode of
Attendance
Course Code
Award
I confirm I was present at the final meeting of the Board of Examiners meeting and agree with
the awards conferred.
External Examiners Name
Signature
Signed:_____________________________ Print Name_____________________________
Chair of the Board of Examiners
Date:_________________________________
54 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 6
ATTENDANCE / MEMBERSHIP LIST
BOARD OF EXAMINERS: BROADCAST JOURNALISM
INITIAL IF
PRESENT
..........
T
..........
BEESLEY
EXTERNAL EXAMINER
H
BAEHR
EXTERNAL EXAMINER
..........
RB
ASHLEY
Arts and Humanities
..........
B
CHARLSWORTH
Social Sciences
..........
..........
..........
DR A
DR E L
PROF S J
DINGSDALE
HAPGOOD
HARRIS
Arts and Humanities
Arts and Humanities
Arts and Humanities
..........
DR J
HILL
Arts and Humanities
..........
J
IVES
Arts and Humanities
..........
G
MOORE
Arts and Humanities
..........
H
PURDEY
Arts and Humanities
..........
GN
SHELDON
Computing & Informatics
..........
DR R J P
WILLIAMS
Arts and Humanities
..........
DR G K W
WOODS
Arts and Humanities
..........
GM
YOUNGS
Arts and Humanities
55 of 74/May 2016
A
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
APPENDIX 7
UNIVERSITY FINAL BOARDS: LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Foundation Degrees:
Pass with Distinction
Pass with Commendation
Pass
Honours Degrees:
First Class Honours
Second Class Honours (First Division)
Second Class Honours (Second Division)
Third Class Honours
(1)
(2.1)
(2.2)
(3)
Ordinary Degree
Ordinary Degree with Distinction
Masters Degrees:
Pass with Distinction
Pass with Commendation
Pass
Interim or non-degree awards
Pass with Distinction (PGDip, PGCert, DipHE, CertHE, Higher Cert and other non-degree awards)
Pass with Commendation (PGDip, PGCert, Higher Cert and other non-degree awards).
Pass (All awards).
A few courses may also have provision for the following categories:
Pass with Merit
Pass with Credit
All Courses:
Fail
Referred
Deferred
All Courses (exceptionally)
Aegrotat
56 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 8
57 of 74/May 2016
58 of 74/May 2016
59 of 74/May 2016
60 of 74/May 2016
61 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 9
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
School of Aeronautics
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Examiners for BSc (Hons) Aeronautics held on Friday
8 June 2016
Present:
Professor J Duncan (Chair)
External Examiners
Dr D White
Professor A Wilson
Members
T Ards
J A Benskin
Professor M Davy
D Day
F Giles
J Jones
Dr A A Lowrey
1.
T Moore
Dr R More
F Noble
G Nutter
P Parrott
D Queen
L Rushby
Professor K Shott
C Singh
G Taylor
H Tongue
J Vaughn
C Smith (Secretary)
Dr B Kilroy
M Mew
Observing
Lord Derek Clarke
F Swain
Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from A Smith, B Jones, A Turner, B Johnson and B Lamb (External Examiner).
2.
Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes of the meeting of 12 June 2015 were agreed as a true and accurate record.
3.
Matters arising
There were no matters arising
4.
Consideration of results
The Board considered the results for the Final Year students on the BSc (H) Aeronautics, Full-time,
Sandwich, Part-time and Distance Learning courses and agreed to the classifications on the attached
sheets.
Before considering the results the Chair outlined a strategy for dealing with borderline candidates, as
agreed by the School's Undergraduate Courses Group.
Borderline students would be considered for raising to the higher classification provided that they had 50%
of their grades in that classification and there were no objections to the raise.
The Board agreed not to consider raising other students unless there were mitigating circumstances that
had previously been considered by a Notification of Exceptional Circumstances Panel.
62 of 74/May 2016
The following students were the subject of discussion either because they had failed one or more subjects
or because of some other factor:
a)
BSc (H) Aeronautics, Part-time, Year 4
i)
STUDENT, A
b)
BSc (H) Aeronautics, Full-time, Year 3
i)
STUDENT, E
Compensated for fails in Modules 1, 2 and 3 and a 3rd class degree
awarded.
ii)
STUDENT, F
In view of the recommendation of the Notification of Exceptional
Circumstances Panel in relation to Israeli students having language
difficulties, it was agreed that compensated passes would be granted for
modules 1, 2 and 3 and the student was awarded a 3rd class degree.
iii)
STUDENT, G1
Following the recommendation of the Notification of Exceptional
Circumstances Panel the Board considered a proposal either to ascribe a low
2.1 grade for Module 1, in view of the student’s illness, or to offer a first sit
in September. The Board resolved to offer the student the choice between
taking the ascribed grade and the resultant degree, or returning in
September for a first sit.
iv)
STUDENT, H
Since this student had failed four modules in his final year, the Board felt
unable to award a degree and recommended instead that he resit the exams
in Modules 3, 4, 5 and 6 in September. The Board also agreed to impose a
ceiling of 3rd class honours on any award made in September.
v)
STUDENT, K2
In view of the student’s excellent performance in the Semester 2 exams
there was some discussion as to whether this student should retain the first
sit in Module 1 offered in Semester 1, or whether a grade could be ascribed.
Following a vote, a Low 2.1 grade was agreed upon. The student would be
given the choice whether to accept the ascribed grade and the resultant
degree, or whether to return in September for a first sitting.
vi)
STUDENT, R
Following a recommendation from the Notification of Exceptional
Circumstances Panel, the Board heard that in view of his illness this student
would take a first sit of the exams in Modules 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in September.
This student had applied to defer her finals for one year as she would be in
hospital at the time of the examinations. The Board heard that the Academic
Team Leader had granted this request and the student would be sitting
Distance Learning versions of her exams in the following June with her
coursework and project grades carried forward.
___________________________________________________________________________
Post Meeting Note
STUDENT, G
The student subsequently chose to accept the ascribed grade and was awarded a 2:2
degree.
STUDENT, K
The student subsequently accepted the ascribed grade and graduated with a 2:1
1
2
63 of 74/May 2016
vii)
STUDENT, S
This student had admitted to an academic irregularity in respect of Module 2
and the Board agreed that he would be required to retake and pass another
exam in September and, if successful, would be granted the credit points
but a zero grade ascribed. Thus his overall result would be lessened and the
most he could achieve would be a 3rd class degree. If he failed or chose not
to sit them the Board confirmed that an Ordinary Degree would be awarded.
viii)
STUDENT, T
There was strong support for this student to be awarded a 2:1 degree,
despite her result grade of High 2.2, on the basis of the strong improvement
in performance and the attainment of eight low 2.1 grades in the final year.
x)
STUDENT, U
Following the recommendation of the Notification of Exceptional
Circumstances Panel, the Board noted that the grade for Module 3 would be
recorded as a mid 3rd rather that a low 3rd for late submission, and a 2:2
degree was awarded in view of the evidence that permission for late
submission had been verbally agreed.
xi)
STUDENT, V3
The Board heard that further evidence was being sought regarding this
student’s appeal against late submission of courseworks for Modules 4 and
5. As the student failed her Level 5 Module 1 for a second time, it was
agreed that no degree or compensated passes could be awarded and the
Board recommended instead that she should resit the Level 5 Module 1 (as a
final attempt) and Modules 2, 3 and 6 as referrals in September.
Additionally it was agreed that a ceiling of 3rd class honours be imposed on
any award made in September.
c)
BSc (H) Aeronautics, Sandwich, Year 4
i)
STUDENT, BB4
There was some discussion as to whether this student should retain the first
sit in Module 1 following a good overall 2:2 performance, or whether a grade
could be ascribed. Following a vote, a grade of Low 2.2 was agreed upon.
The student would be given the choice whether to accept the ascribed grade
and the resultant 2:2 degree, or whether to return in September for a first
sitting.
___________________________________________________________________________
Post Meeting Note
STUDENT, V
The student subsequently provided satisfactory evidence to explain her late
submission of Modules 4 and 5 coursework, and Chairs Action recommends
therefore that the original grades of low 2.2 and mid 2.2 respectively are
reinstated. The ceiling of a 3rd class honours would stand.
STUDENT,BB
The student subsequently chose to accept the ascribed grade and was
awarded a 2:2 degree
3
4
ii)
STUDENT, DD
64 of 74/May 2016
This student handed in her project sixteen days late, claiming that her
supervisor had given her a two week extension. The student had spoken to
two separate members of staff prior to the deadline, both of whom had
advised her that the Final Year Tutor was the only person authorised to
grant an extension, and advising her to contact the Final Year Tutor
immediately. The student did not do so. However, since the supervisor had
not responded to repeat requests to verify this information, and had not
attended the Board of Examiners, the Board felt that the student should be
awarded the grade of Low 2.1 and a 2:1 degree was awarded.
5.
Prize Awards
The Board agreed that Student FF (S/W Yr 4) be awarded the course prize for the best student.
6.
Posthumous award to Mr B Jones
The Board was asked to sanction the award of a posthumous Certificate of Higher Education to B Jones
who died in March whilst in his second year of study on the Full-time course. Mr Jones' family had asked
that the award be made when the rest of his friends would be graduating.
The Board sanctioned this request.
7.
Any other business
(a)
Comments from External Examiners
All three External Examiners were happy with the way the assessments and the Board of Examiners had
been conducted. However, one examiner, Professor A, went on to comment on how frustrating it was
that a member of staff who had played a major part in an incident, such as the supervisor in the case of
Student DD, was neither present at the Board of Examiners, nor had left notes to assist the Board in its
deliberations.
(b)
Vote of Thanks
The Chair thanked the external examiners for their guidance over the last year. She then went on to
thank members of staff for their prompt marking of work during a very tight turnaround time and finally
she thanked the Secretary and course leader for the work they had done in collating and presenting the
results, again, within a very short space of time.
(NB Banner progression list to be attached showing the result for each student)
65 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 10
FINAL YEAR LETTER (A)
(Repeat Modules)
Dear
Course
At a recent meeting of the Board of Examiners for the above mentioned course, it was agreed that you
had failed to satisfy the examiners in the following modules:
1
2
3
The Board recommended that you must repeat the failed modules in the next academic year with
attendance (i) for the award of an ordinary degree only or (ii) for an Honours degree when a maximum
of a 2:2 will be available. (include or adjust as appropriate)
I should be grateful if you would confirm your intention to retake these modules by writing to the course
leader with a copy to the School office.
If you wish to request a reconsideration of this decision of the Board, you should do so within 10 working
days of receipt of this notification in accordance with the procedures laid down in the university
regulations.
Yours sincerely
66 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 11
FINAL YEAR LETTER (B)
(Referrals)
Dear
Course
At a recent meeting of the Board of Examiners for the above mentioned course, it was agreed that you
had failed to satisfy the examiners in the following modules:
1
2
3
The Board recommended that you could either accept the award of an ordinary degree or retake the
assessments in the failed modules in September for the award of a Honours degree with a maximum
classification of a 2:2 (or 3rd). (include or adjust as appropriate)
I should be grateful if you would let me know your intentions.
If you wish to request a reconsideration of this decision of the Board you should do so within 10 working
days of receipt of this notification in accordance with the procedures laid down in the university
regulations.
Yours sincerely
67 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 12
AEGROTAT LETTER
Dear
Course
At a recent meeting of the Board of Examiners for the above mentioned course it was agreed that
because of your special circumstances you should be offered an Aegrotat award rather than be required
to complete the assessments.
I must point out that acceptance of this Aegrotat will preclude you from re-examination for the original
award in the future.
I should be grateful if you would sign the declaration below indicating your preference and return it to
the address shown.
Yours sincerely
................................................................................................................................................
To be returned to: School Administration Manager, NTU, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU;
Name: .........................................................
Course: ........................................................
a)
I wish to accept the offer of an Aegrotat award and understand that this precludes me from
completing the original award in the future. I also acknowledge that the word Aegrotat will appear
on my certificate.
b)
I do not wish to accept the offer of an Aegrotat award and prefer to complete the assessments for
the main award.
Signed: ..........................................................
68 of 74/May 2016
APPENDIX 13
Notification of Exceptional Circumstances Flow Chart
Student fills out and
submits an NEC claim to
the Subject School, who
will provide the information
to the NECC
NECC reviews
claims and
supporting
evidence and if
appropriate
discusses the
options with the
Student
Not
Upheld
Upheld
Student is
informed of the
outcome
Student is
informed of the
outcome
NECP/NECC is
informed of the
outcome
BoE informed of
the outcome
69 of 74/May 2016
If additional support is
required from another
department within the
University, the
application will be
forwarded to the
relevant team to make
contact with the
Student
Referred to
NECP
NECP review the
application
APPENDIX 14
Academic Appeals Procedures Flow Chart
Student
receives online
results after
BoE
Student seeks
informal
guidance from
their Course
Leader
If upheld
passed to
the BoE to review
decision within
10 working
days
Upheld
The application can be
sent to the BoE with a
recommendation within
10 working days
Student submits
an R4R
application to
their School
with 15 working
days with the
appropriate
evidence
R4R panel
review the
application and
make a decision
with 20 working
days
Not
upheld
Student
informed of the
outcome of the
R4R and the
final stage of
the appeals
process
Student can submit an
academic appeal within
20 working days of the
last communication from
the University in relation
to their R4R application
An academic
appeal hearing
can be held
within 30 days
Student
informed of the
outcome
Student can submit a
complaint to the OIA
within 12 months
70 of 74/May 2016
Schools notify Academic
Office of Final year
students with live R4R so
they can be removed
from the graduation
Ceremony until appeal
resolved
Not
upheld
Outcome letter
sent to student
within 25
working days
APPENDIX 15
Academic Irregularities Procedure Flow Chart
Allegation of Academic
Irregularity Identified
ATL determines if an allegation should
be progressed to School Academic
Irregularities Panel
No
End of process and no
notes held on the
student file
Yes
Student invited to School Academic
Irregularities Panel
Copies of all relevant paperwork sent with
10 working days notice
School Academic Irregularities Panel
conduct in line with University format
School Academic Irregularities Panel
decide on the outcome of meeting
Upheld
Not Upheld
School Academic Irregularities Panel
suggest a recommended penalty
Student outcome letter sent
within 1 working day and a
copy of the minutes within 5
working days
Student outcome letter sent
within 1 working day and a
copy of the minutes within 5
working days
Minutes and recommendation sent to
the Chair of the Board of Examiners,
Programme Leader and ATL
Board of Examiners confirm
penalty
Student’s right to appeal to the
PVC AC (or nominee) about the
decision of the School Academic
Irregularities Panel
Appeal
Rejected
Appeal
Approved
For
Consideration
Student outcome letter
sent within 1 working day
and a copy of the minutes
within 5 working days
Academic
Irregularities Panel
convened to examine
the Appeal
Appeal
Upheld
Student is written to within 10
working days of the Board Meeting
The Student retains a right to appeal the
Board of Examiners decision under the procedures
detailed in ASQH Section 17QA
71 of 74/May 2016
Appeal
Rejected
Student outcome letter sent
within 1 working day and a
copy of the minutes within 5
working days. SAIP and ATL
informed
APPENDIX 16
Undergraduate GBA grades
Class
First
Upper
second
Lower
second
Third
Fail
Zero
Grade
Numerical
equivalent
Mark range
Exceptional 1st
96
100 – 93
High 1st
89
92 – 85
Mid 1st
81
84 – 78
Low 1st
74
77 – 70
High 2.1
68
69 – 67
Mid 2.1
65
66 – 64
Low 2.1
62
63 – 60
High 2.2
58
59 – 57
Mid 2.2
55
56 – 54
Low 2.2
52
53 – 50
High 3rd
48
49 – 47
Mid 3rd
45
46 – 44
Low 3rd
42
43 – 40
Marginal fail
38
39 – 35
Mid fail
32
34 – 30
Low fail
18
29 –
Zero
0
Note:
For Foundation Degrees, the classes in the first column are:
Distinction –
Commendation –
Pass –
Low 1st to Exceptional 1st,
Low 2.1 to High 2.1,
Low 3rd to High 2.2.
Fail and zero are as in the above table.
72 of 74/May 2016
0
1
APPENDIX 17
Postgraduate GBA grades
Class
Distinction
(excellent)
Commendation
(very good)
Pass (good)
Fail
(insufficient)
Zero
73 of 74/May 2016
Grade
Numerical
equivalent
Mark range
Exceptional Distinction
96
100 – 93
High Distinction
89
92 – 85
Mid Distinction
81
84 – 78
Distinction
74
77 – 70
High Commendation
68
69 – 67
Mid Commendation
65
66 – 64
Commendation
62
63 – 60
High Pass
58
59 – 57
Mid Pass
55
56 – 54
Pass
52
53 – 50
Marginal Fail
47
45 - 49
Mid Fail
42
40 - 44
Low Fail
24
1 - 39
Zero
0
0
APPENDIX 18
74 of 74/May 2016