Frequently Asked Questions about the New UG and PGT Degree Regulations
At the introduction of the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Degree Regulations in 2012, a number of questions were asked which were compiled into a set of FAQs to help staff members. These have been separated into sections for staff members to search for answers to any queries they may have.
The full PDF version of the list of FAQs is also available below:
A. Assessment and Progression
1. QUESTION:
D9 of the UG Regulations states that ‘Undergraduate students must pass a minimum of 40 credits on the first attempt at each level, including any compulsory units, specified by the School, in order to progress. When a student fails to do this they will have failed the level (see section on repeating the year or exit awards)’.
Does this mean that all compulsory units must be passed at the first attempt; otherwise the student will have failed the level?
ANSWER:
40 credits is the minimum, some Schools may require more; for example, they may require 60 credits of compulsory units to be passed first time. Any more than 40 is for the School to decide and define if in addition to the required minimum of 40 credits.
B. Compensation
1. QUESTION:
I wanted to confirm what the outcome would be for the following scenario:
Two UG students both have failed June exams with a mark of 28, and both have 10 credits remaining of their maximum 40 'compensated fails' credits
The first does a resit in August and gains a mark of 37; the second gets a mark of 60.
What are their final marks?
ANSWER:
In answer to your query, they both get 30R. The first example can be compensated but a compensated referral is still a pass by referral and that means the cap is applied (30R).
The first student would only receive 37R upon resitting if they got a mark of 37 at the first attempt.
2. QUESTION:
If a UG student gets marks across 120 credits which are in the 0 - 39% range, can we allow compensation for 40 credits of those (if they're in the 30 - 39 range) and therefore allow them to resit the other 80 credits as referrals?
ANSWER:
No, students can resit up to 80 credits, of which 40 can be compensated. In this example the student has not passed the required 40 credits (40+) outright and therefore has failed the year.
3. QUESTION:
We have some programmes that don’t allow compensation so when we then have re-sits that are ‘capped at the lowest compensatable mark’ does this mean we would then cap at 50 because that is the lowest mark?
ANSWER:
The answer is that the cap is at 40 as this is an indicator of achievement, rather than an actual mark.
C. Referrals / Reassessment
1. QUESTION:
If a PGT student is allowed a referral, do they need to pass the referred unit (i.e. at 50% +) in order for the mark to be recorded (i.e. capped at 40R)? Or are we saying that a pass at referral is 40%+ ( i.e. the student only has to achieve 40% in order to have passed)?
ANSWER:
The pass mark for a PGT referral is the same as the first attempt (50%) and it’s capped as a penalty rather than an indicator of the pass mark.
2. QUESTION:
Regarding page 5 of the Postgraduate Taught Degrees (September 2012) relating to item 24:
“An Examination Board may allow a student one attempt, per unit, at reassessment (two attempts in total). This principle does not apply to attempts with approved and verified mitigating circumstances".
What happens if a student has failed (badly: 0 and 30%) two assignments on a 30 credit unit – would this mean that he/she can only resubmit one of the assignments?
ANSWER:
The Regulations permit two attempts at meeting the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the unit as a whole.
So, if your students took a unit of 30 credits which has three assessments and they failed two of these, they could resit both assessments if they needed to. It depends what the unit specifications say.
If a unit requires students to pass everything then they will need to resit both failed elements. If the unit specification requires a pass average across all assessments to pass a unit, then the student could only resit one of the failed elements to enable them to meet the average pass mark for the unit and meet the ILO of the unit.
However the students only get two attempts at the whole unit, but can resit as many of the component assessments as required to meet the ILO of the unit. Which elements to take is an Examination Board decision.
D. Referrals AND Compensation
1. QUESTION:
In the New Degree Regulations presentation, examples were given of students with marks of 45%, resitting to get a mark of 50+, and getting a final mark of 45%. My puzzle was that there was no point in that student taking the resit. It seemed that the only reason for taking the resit was if the student's mark was less than 40%.
ANSWER:
Compensation is automatic if it’s in the boundary. We showed some examples of students who might have to resit a mark in the boundary, if they had already exhausted their ‘allocation’ of compensation. So, some may HAVE to resit marks in the compensation zone, say if they had already received 30 credits of compensation. The above student would be awarded the credit because they scored 50+, but their recorded mark would be 45R (for the purpose of a transcript).
2. QUESTION:
We do not allow compulsory modules to be compensated at referral. Is this now overruled by the new rule 18, section E?
ANSWER:
No, Schools can decide when a unit is not compensatable but this must be clearly defined in Students’ Handbooks and programme and unit specifications.
3. QUESTION:
A student who scored, say, 51, 51, 51, 51, 41, 41, 41, and 41 on the taught element of a PGT programme would have an average of 46%. They would compensate two of the 41 marks and resit the other two. If they then scored 51% on each of those, they would be awarded the credits, but their mark would still be recorded as 41 in each, so their average would remain 46. Is this correct?
ANSWER:
Correct. They would get 41C for the 30 compensated credits and 41R for the 30 credits worth of passed referrals. If they had scored 49 on one of the resits, rather than 51, they'd get a Diploma with an average mark of 46%. This is because you can’t compensate the 49, as this example has already had its 30 credits of compensation.
4. QUESTION:
Can students choose whether to resit or compensate on the first two modular failures or is it compulsory to compensate?
If they choose to resit and fail, can they have the original mark as compensation (as long as within the range 40-49 for masters; 30-39 for PGDip)?
ANSWER:
The Degree Regulations state compensation is automatic. Decisions are ultimately up to the Examination Board and students should not be allowed to choose between resit or compensation.
However, they may sometimes have to resit a unit which was in the compensation zone if they have used all the compensation allowance and still have available resit opportunities.
If they resit and fail a unit which was previously in the compensation zone, they get the original mark (38), with no credit (Fail).
If they resit and pass it, the original mark stands (example 38R) with credit.
For that reason the choice must not be the student’s but an Examination Board decision based on academic judgement.
5. QUESTION:
In the old PGT Regulations, if a student passed 7 out of 8 units with flying colours (i.e. above 50%) but got a mark between 40 and 50 in the other one unit, the student would have to re-sit this course unit and obtain a mark over 50% and come out with a mark of 50R. Under the new Regulations, could you compensate this mark without resitting?
ANSWER:
Yes, the mark between 40-50% is automatically compensated in this unit as it falls within the compensation zone for PGT. There would be no need to resit.
6. QUESTION:
What happens in a scenario where a UG student has passed 40 credits of their units; has been given 30 credits of compensation, so still has 10 compensated credits in hand and must resit those units below 30:-
June Resit Result
28 38 ??? (In compensation zone and still has 10 credits worth of compensation left)
28 60 ???
What result is given in the situation where the same student achieves 60 in the resit and they have 10 compensatable credits available?
ANSWER:
In both examples you gave the student would get a 30R, as both were passed at resit (even if one was compensated). Compensated resits are still capped at 30R as we don’t want to advantage this student over a student who received 38 at a first sitting and was compensated.
A student would get a 38C if compensation was given after a first sitting.
7. QUESTION:
I’ve got a very specific question regarding applying the rules to modular programmes. We have an MSc modular programme on which students normally take one module per semester (and pay for their modules as they take them). We would normally hold a progression board after each module to review progress.
I can’t think of a way around giving students the option of whether to resit the module or opt to compensate the module. This will depend on how confident the student is in that particular module as compared to the remaining modules. For instance, if a student takes Immune Physiology and gets 42% for the module, he/she has failed the module. They could resit this for the credit (and get a 42R) but if he/she thinks that this is their weakest module, there is no point at all in them resitting it and it should just be compensated (max two units).
ANSWER:
You do not need to confuse yourself about compensation and giving students the ‘choice’. Compensation is an Exam Board decision and should be done automatically as you go, unless the Board decides there is a good reason not to.
I can see the difficulties with modular programmes but I can’t see any other option, other than, compensating first and then applying resit allowances once Compensation is exhausted. This is done in parallel with counselling students to make them aware of their performance and how it will effect their options on progression and ability to get an MSc.
Also, a compensated resit would be a 40R, not a 40C.
8. QUESTION:
We run a standalone CPD unit, worth 15 credits and the pass mark is set at 50%. If students get less than that we would expect them to resit and the mark would be capped at 40%.
As the new rules for Masters and Diplomas state that a mark of 40-49% must be compensated and resits only offered if they are below the compensation zone, what happens when a student is only doing one unit?
ANSWER:
Compensation can only be applied to a PG Cert, Dip or Masters in the new PGT Regulations. Therefore you cannot compensate one stand alone unit and this must be re-sat and capped at 40R if the pass mark is 50%.
9. QUESTION:
As I understand it the compensation rules apply both before resits and after resits. As a result a UG student who passed 80 credits but failed 40 credits (three between 30 and 40 as well as one below 30) has four resits. However, progression requires that the one unit below 30 must be improved to 30% and compensation requires that this will lead to automatic progression. As such the student has nothing to gain at all from resitting the remaining three. Are Exam Boards expected to ask for one resit only in these cases?
ANSWER:
Currently, the Degree Regulations would require automatic compensation of those units in the 30-39 boundary, as you have suggested. Therefore the student would only be required to resit the 10 credits, where the mark was below 30%.
10. QUESTION:
The new UG Regulations have a provision for limiting the number of resits (unlike the previous ones) to 80 credits. However, if my reading of the above is correct, if someone fails 90 credits they would be automatically excluded or, in the event that at least one failure was between 30 and 40, could they take up to 80 in the hope of obtaining compensated fails?
ANSWER:
If a UG student was taking 120 credits they must pass 40 credits first time at more than 40%. If they failed 90 credits (only passing 30 at first attempt) then they can receive an exit award or repeat the year as they have failed to meet this threshold. Even if 10 out of the 90 credits are in the compensation zone, it cannot be compensated and the rest re-sat as they did not meet the minimum threshold to be considered for compensation or resits in the first instance. In this example the student must also receive an exit award or repeat the year.
E. Repeat without Attendance
1. QUESTION:
I have a question regarding resit without attendance students. We have four first year students who are resitting without attendance in 2012/13. My understanding is that they should be assessed under the old Regulations as they've already had part of the first year assessed under those Regs. My query is, as that work doesn't count towards the degree classification, can they choose to go on the new Regs when they join the 2nd year in 2013/14?
I've looked at the guidance with regards to interrupting students returning to the second year as follows:
"A second year student would normally return on the original Regulations under which they registered. However, if their first year does not count towards their final classification, they can agree to transfer to the New Regulations. Again, there would need to be agreement from the student and a clear paper trail regarding their agreement to the transfer “and wondered if something similar applied to RWA students returning to the second year?
ANSWER:
Yes it could include a RWA student returning to the 2nd year, whose first year does not count, providing your School calculates degrees on the 2nd and final year only.
However, this student may still appeal on the basis that they did not fully understand the implications of the transfer in the future, for example if they got a 2:2 and really wanted a 2:1.
Therefore, I would exercise caution and ensure the paper trail is detailed, maybe including a signed declaration, spelling out the terms of the transfer, signed by the student. This may seem ‘belt and braces’ but I also deal with appeals and complaints and am anticipating such cases in the future.
To avoid any confusion I would say, stay on the original Regulations, to which the student signed up, if at all possible.
F. Exam Boards
1. QUESTION:
Can I just clarify the intention of the following statement: “there should be a chaired forum to make decisions regarding students’ attainment on completed units.”
For our UG, we are planning on having a combined special circs/interim meeting in February to review the mitigating circumstances etc. We are counting this more as a moderation meeting and for pastoral purposes to identify absences, low results, struggling students etc, as our main Exam Board regarding progression and awards is in June. As we’ll be reviewing semester one results and due to the volume of evidence we have received to date, I was planning on using this opportunity to advise students who have failed or been absent from exams what recommendations we are going to make to the June Exams Board, so I’d inform them in February that, subject to their overall mark profile, that the recommendation for the June Exam Board would be they could have a first sit or resit in August.
However, I want to confirm I can contact the students after the February meeting informing them of the recommendations as our main meeting is in June with a full Board and External Examiners.
The February meetings will have a smaller group consisting of the Director of Teaching and Learning, co-ordinator of UG studies, the exam officer, UG programme directors as well exam administrators.
We’re holding two separate meetings for PGT and will be having a full Board in February as we will have students exiting with an award but I’m a little unclear what I can specify to UG.
ANSWER:
A moderation meeting for UG, as you are not making awards, is fine and exactly what Clive Agnew proposed at the recent meetings.
However, you must clearly articulate to your UG students that marks and decisions are provisional and may be subject to change at the June board.
2. QUESTION:
I have a query relating to Exam Boards in February. However, the only relevant thing I found is in section M of the UG Degree Regulations:
"60. There must be an opportunity after every assessment period for a chaired forum to make decisions regarding student’s attainment on completed units.
61. Examination Boards will take place at the end of each academic year or at points in the calendar were decisions are required with regards to progression, overseen by an External Examiner."
This does not say that there has to be an Exam Board in February, only that a full Examination Board is required if decisions with regards to progression are made, so as long as no such decisions are made in February, no full examination board is required. Is this correct?
ANSWER:
Yes you are correct; the Regulations do not now require an 'Examination Board' in semester One. The amendment was made to a previous draft to remove reference to an official 'Exam Board'.
G. Credit carried over
1. QUESTION:
If a student carries course units to the 3rd year and passes them, his 2nd year marks get raised if appropriate, and the mark for carried course units are not included in his 3rd year average. However, the paragraph dealing with the case when the student fails the carried course units, ("50. Where up to 20 credits have been carried over from level 5 to level 6, this credit may be considered under the special compensation regulations providing the maximum allowable has not been exceeded") is silent on how the 2nd and 3rd year averages should be calculated in such a case.
ANSWER:
If passed, you would use the 2nd year (Level 5) capped mark to recalculate the 2nd year average, contributing to the overall average for classification. Carried over units are capped at 30R, regardless of what is actually achieved. If failed, the ‘special compensation’ can be applied, giving the student the credit only for the carried over unit/s and the original fail mark is used in the 2nd year average calculation.
2. QUESTION:
Rules 30 and 18 of the Undergraduate Degree Regulations: Would it be possible to have some confirmation of rule 30:
"Credit for compulsory units cannot be carried over to subsequent levels".
First some background:
There are programmes in the School which have compulsory units and in the past we have allowed students who have failed (mark less than 40) a core module at resit (referral) to carry this to the following year (effectively to regain Honours under the old Regulations).
My understanding of rule 30 means that now, if a student fails a compulsory module after resit, they will have to be given an exit award, or be allowed to repeat the year. (Assuming no mitigation applies, resource constraints etc).
At present, we also do not allow compulsory modules to be compensated at referral. Is this now overruled by the new rule 18, section E (“Referred assessment is compensatable”)?
Or is compensation for a module at referral a decision a School can make for itself.
ANSWER:
The answer is that it is up to the School to refuse compensation on any unit, particularly compulsory ones. This will need to be clear to the students up front though and articulated to them in programme and unit information.
H. Progression to Year 4 of an Integrated Masters
1. QUESTION:
Under the new Regulations, progression to year 4 of an Integrated Masters requires students to obtain at least a 2.2. This does not make sense - strictly it would be impossible because they would need to graduate. I assume the intention is to base it on a weighted average of previous years, possibly with boundary rules, but which weighting (MEng?, BEng?) Should we apply the boundary rules as well?
ANSWER:
This is within the remit of the programme to define the progression requirements to the final year of an integrated masters, including the appropriate weightings. It does mean, as you say, a programme average equivalent to a 2:2. The boundary rules apply, using the boundary rules in appendix A.
I. Mark Review
1. QUESTION:
We hadn’t realised that ‘Mark review’ had become compulsory for UG and is not something that we have done in the past. The PGT Regulations say ‘MAY’ and this is as we had expected. Could we go to Faculty to get a variance approved to say that we do not apply stage 2 (mark review) in the School for UG?
ANSWER:
You can ask for a variance to be approved relating to mark review on Undergraduate programmes. However, the rationale would need to be clear, with good reason, as the expectation is that it is used for all UG programmes.
J. Exit Awards
1. QUESTION:
We have a student currently on a Masters programme but who intends to withdraw and may be eligible for PG Cert exit award. The student has passed 3 x 15-credits so far. For the fourth 15-credit module there are six units of assessment of which the student has submitted three. This so far has given an average of 32% for the unit (49, 79, 68) and therefore the student is in the compensatable zone. Can the student be given a compensated pass if they don't submit the other three assessments?
ANSWER:
Does the unit specification say that students have to pass all elements of the unit to pass or just get an average pass mark averaged across all assignments?
If it’s an average pass, you can compensate, as we allow 15 credits of comp for a PG cert. The student will get a 32C for that unit.
2. QUESTION:
If a student is enrolled on a Masters and uses up all their re-sits / compensations and then mid-way through the programme it is suggested they should change to PGDip, do the modules that have previously been counted as re-sits/compensations get scratched off the record (as long as the mark was in the Dip pass boundary? i.e. they get a 43% first time – have it compensated – then move to a diploma where 43% would have been a pass) so potentially they could then go on to fail some more modules at a lower level.
ANSWER:
If a student changes onto a PG Dip it is appropriate to reconsider their profile at that point. It is acceptable to reconsider the use of compensation, as you suggest in your example. This is because the compensated units at Masters level would become clear passes at PG Dip level, leaving further opportunities to compensate within the limitations of the Regulations on compensation of PG Diplomas.
K. Rescinding/Re-awarding
1. QUESTION:
If a PGT student exits an MRes PGT programme with a PG Cert, due to financial reasons, and then returns the year after to complete the full Masters; under the new Regulations, if that student were to then fail the Masters, would they be re-awarded with the PG Cert – as they’ll already have the credits for this?
ANSWER:
The student would have to rescind their award of a PG Cert to be awarded a Masters as you can’t have two awards at any one time for the same programme of work.
If the student failed the Masters, they could then be awarded a Dip or Cert as an exit award as they had already given the other one back.