UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS. October 2013

Transcription

1 UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS October 2013

2 Contents 1 Overview of Main Amendments 3 SECTION ONE: UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS 4 Introduction 5 Philosophy of Assessment and Academic Judgement 5 Progression through Programmes and Completion of Taught Postgraduate Programmes 6 Compensation 6 Failure at first diet 8 Maximum Number of Attempts at a Module 8 Failure at the re-assessment diet 8 Accumulated Credit and Repetition of Modules 9 Assessments Leading to a Named Award and Distinction 9 Honours Awards 11 Postgraduate Awards 13 Nullification of the Results of Assessment of a Single Module at H and M level 13 Conferment of University Awards 14 Additional Assessments 14 Valid Reasons for Poor Performance at any Level and Aegrotat Awards 14 Withdrawal 15 Students notified by the Finance Office as Debtors 16 Replacement Modules School Based Generic Awards 16 SECTION TWO: APPENDICES TO THE REGULATIONS Assessment Boards and Minuting of Assessment Boards and Notification of Results to Students (including Confirmation of Module Marks and External 19 Examiner Endorsement of Assessment Board Outcomes Pro Formae) 2. External Examiners Marking, the Reporting of Marks (including Normalisation of Module Marks) Examples of Automatic Compensation, Distinction and Profiling Conditions of Entry to Assessments and Assessment Scheme Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances University Regulations regarding Plagiarism and Cheating 61 SECTION THREE: ASSESSMENT AND GRADUATION PROCESSES 69 Page Number 1. Scheme of Invigilation Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations Special Examination Arrangements for Disabled Students Special Examination Arrangements for International Students Resit Examinations at Other Institutions Notes of Guidance to Academic Staff on the Information to be 83 Provided to Students to Assist Their Preparation for Unseen Assessments (Including Assessments Containing an Unseen Component) 7. Guidance Note on Assessment Loading Procedures for the Security, Approval and Retention of Examination Papers Procedure for the Submission of Examination Papers and the 89 1

3 Collection of Worked Examination Scripts 10. Policy on the Retention of Students' Work Academic Appeals Graduation and Awards Regulations Procedures for Project and Dissertation Supervision Procedure for Anonymous Marking Policy on Student Performance Feedback 106 2

4 OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN AMENDMENTS Terms and Conditions A statement on the University s the right to make reasonable changes to the Assessment Regulations during an academic session has been included on page 4. Appendix 2 - External Examiners This replaces the previous External Examiners appendix and includes the following amendments: The term of appointment is changed from 5 years to 4years with the opportunity of a 1 year extension at the end of this period (paragraph 2.3). An External Examiner has the right to raise any matter of serious concern directly with the Head of Governance and Quality Enhancement, if necessary by means of a separate confidential written report (paragraph 2.12g, bullet point 4). An External Examiner may invoke the QAA s concerns scheme or inform the relevant professional, statutory or regulatory body where they have a serious concern relating to systemic failings with the academic standards of a module, programme or programmes and has exhausted all published applicable internal procedures, including the submission of a confidential report (paragraph 2.12g, bullet point 5). Appendix 6 - Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances This appendix replaces the previous Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances procedures (page 42). Academic Appeals The provision for Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances in appendix 6 removes the retrospective submission of mitigating circumstances (previously Special Factors ) as a potential ground for academic appeal. Student Attendance Monitoring Policy This section has been removed. Information regarding student attendance monitoring is available for students and staff on the University website 3

5 UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS The University reserves the right to make reasonable changes to the Assessment Regulations where in the opinion of the University those changes will assist in the proper delivery of education. The University will normally maintain the Assessment Regulations for students within an academic session. However, the University reserves the right to introduce changes during the academic session when it reasonably considers those changes are: (a) for the maintenance of academic standards; or (b) required to secure the University s good operation and legal or regulatory compliance. Appropriate prior notice of changes will be given. 4

6 INTRODUCTION 1. All Programme and Assessment Boards must follow the general Assessment Regulations of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). Programme Boards must state in their programme specification/programme documentation, either: i. that there are no deviations from the University s standard assessment regulations or ii. that there are deviations from the University's standard assessment regulations; these are found in sections.. All deviations from the standard Assessment Regulations must receive formal approval by the University 1. The date and reference of each approved deviation from the general assessment regulations shall be included in the programme documentation. Students must ensure that they are aware of and understand all regulations that are specific to their programme. PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSMENT AND ACADEMIC JUDGEMENT 2. The purpose of assessment is to enable students to demonstrate that they have fulfilled the objectives of the programmes of study and have achieved the standard required for the award they seek. The Senate requires all programmes of study to be subject to programme regulations which relate the assessment requirements of the programme to its objectives 2. It is within these programme assessment regulations that assessors make their judgement on student performance. 3. However, assessment is a matter of judgement, not simply of computation. Marks, grades and percentages are symbols used by assessors to communicate their judgements of different aspects of a student s work and provide information on which the final decision on a student s fulfillment of programme objectives may be based. They are not and should never be considered as absolute values or exact measurements. 4. Within the constraints imposed by the Senate requirements of paragraph 2 above, assessors have wide academic discretion in reaching decisions on the awards to be recommended for individual students. The assessors are responsible for interpreting sensibly the assessment regulations for a programme if any difficulties arise. Regulations cannot be expected to legislate for every eventuality. Experience, knowledge of the student and his/her overall performance together with awareness of best practice in higher education should all combine to allow the assessors to reach an academic judgement. 5. Academic judgements, which are properly and fully minuted, may override strict regulatory interpretation and it should be noted that academic judgements cannot in themselves be questioned or overturned. However academic judgement should be applied, in all cases, in the best interests of the student and cannot be used as a justification to downgrade any credit, mark or degree classification achieved by all normal regulatory calculations. 6. Assessment Boards may obtain guidance on the interpretation of the regulations from the SAS Operations Manager (Assessment & Exams) and the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. 1 Any proposed deviations are first submitted to Governance and Quality Enhancement for consideration and advice. Thereafter they may be submitted to the University Exceptions Committee for consideration. 2 This requirement will be described explicitly in the Programme Specification. 5

7 PROGRESSION THROUGH PROGRAMME AND COMPLETION OF TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES 7. Candidates who satisfy the Assessors in all modules shall proceed, within the terms outlined in the University Qualifications Framework, to the next stage of the programme. Candidates will be credited with the approved credit points accumulated from those modules. i. To progress from: Level 1 to Level 2 a student must have been awarded 80 credits in total at SHE1. Level 2 to Level 3 a student must have been awarded 200 credits in total of which at least 80 are at SHE2. Level 3 to Level H a student must have been awarded 320 credits in total of which at least 90 are at SHE3 or exceptionally awarded 360 credits in total, of which at least 60 are at SHE3. Subject to meeting professional body requirements (where applicable) and achieving at least 90 credits at SHE levels 1 and 2 respectively, and 60 at SHE3 for an unclassified degree or 90 credits at SHE levels 1,2,3 and H respectively for an honours degree, students may take the remaining required credit at any level, including level M modules for honours level students. 3 ii. Where a student has failed to satisfactorily complete module requirements at M level and has 30 or more credits outstanding at the PgD exit point, the Assessment Board may exercise its discretion to require the student to complete any or all outstanding credit prior to undertaking the Masters Dissertation (or equivalent module). The Board may advise students who are not making satisfactory academic progress not to continue with the final component of the programme. iii. At any level, credit at a higher level may substitute for the minimum credit required at that level to progress. 8. In order to satisfy the assessors in any module, candidates must normally obtain the pass mark. For undergraduate programmes the pass mark is normally 40%. For postgraduate programmes, the module pass mark shall be as specified in the module handbook. For modules assessed by coursework and examination, the overall pass mark for the module will be subject to the attainment of a mark of no more than 5% below the overall aggregate pass mark in each of the coursework and examination components of the module assessment. In cases where certain elements of coursework are deemed essential, normally due to Statutory/Professional body requirements, the module descriptor shall specify these elements and the minimum mark required for each element. Where the coursework or examination is compiled from two or more separate elements, the 5% rule applies to the aggregated mark of that component. The Module Leader must ensure that all students are informed of any such specific requirements via the module handbook. All such cases must be approved by the Exceptions Committee When a specific programme requires a total amount of assessed student learning which is greater than the norm at any level of study, for example to satisfy the requirements of a professional body, an appropriate amount of additional credit points will be awarded. 10. Individual Programme Regulations shall specify any particular requirements attached to the choice of modules at subsequent levels. COMPENSATION (Examples of compensation are shown in Appendix 4) 11. In considering compensation, Assessment Boards should be aware that under the terms of the Qualifications Framework, any reference to level refers to the level of the award. This is because an 3 Section 4.10 of the University s Qualifications Framework. 4 See also Appendix 3 and appendix

8 award may be achieved by accumulating credit from modules at different levels e.g. a University Certificate may be awarded through the achievement of 90 level 1 credits and 30 credits at a higher level. 12. i. Having due regard to the standard of the award, the programme objectives, and the programme assessment regulations, the Assessment Board may allow the overall performance of a student to compensate for failure in up to 20 credit points of module(s) at that level. 5 ii. When making the decision regarding compensation the Assessment Board will be expected to take into account such factors as the overall profile of the student, the weighting and level of the module and its contribution to other levels of the programme. iii. Compensation normally may only be awarded following delivery and assessment of all of the modules which contribute to the eligibility for an award at any given level and can only be applied where no more than 20 credit points of module(s) have been failed at any given level. 6 iv. For postgraduate programmes, automatic compensation will be applicable when students have reached the point of potential eligibility for a PgD exit award (i.e. prior to the dissertation phase) 13. i. Assessment Boards will automatically apply compensation when a student obtains an overall mark of between 1% and 5% less than the pass mark for the module and has achieved an overall aggregate mark across all modules at that level of at least 5% greater than the pass mark for the module being compensated. ii In modules where there is more than one component contributing to the overall mark, this is subject to the attainment of a minimum mark of at most 10% less than the normal pass mark for the module in each of the aggregated components which make up the overall mark for the module assessment. iii. In modules where there is only one assessment component (e.g. Coursework only) and where minimum pass mark(s) for individual assessment elements have been defined and approved by the Exceptions Committee (e.g. coursework 1, coursework 2 etc.) this is again subject to the attainment of a minimum mark of at most 10% less than the normal pass mark for the module in the elements (or, where appropriate, the aggregated elements). iv. Where Mitigating Circumstances apply, Assessment Boards must act in accordance with Appendix 6 (Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances). 14. Assessment Boards may apply the following adjustment to assessments where the other conditions for compensation specified in paragraph 13 have been met: i. Where marks do not fall within the parameters of automatic compensation, the Assessment Board can apply discretionary compensation, but only where this involves raising any mark by no more than 1 percentage point. However in modules where there is more than one component contributing to the mark, marks which are less than the normal pass mark for the module by 11% for an individual component may be raised by 1% to allow discretionary compensation. ii In single component modules with specifically defined minimum pass marks, marks which are less than the module pass mark by 11% for an individual element (e.g. coursework 1), or where appropriate, aggregated elements, may be raised by 1% to allow discretionary compensation. 15. To assist the decision making with regard to compensation, the actual marks attained by the student will be used in all calculations for compensation. The purpose of this regulation is to emphasise the need to use the most recently attained resit mark for the module which is to be compensated, together with the actual marks attained for all other modules passed at the same level, to determine eligibility for automatic compensation. 5 Modules which are worth more than 20 credit points are not, therefore, compensatable. 6 For example, where a student has passed 100 credit points of the 120 required at level 1. 7

9 16. Where Mitigating Circumstances apply the Assessment Board shall act in accordance with Appendix 6 (Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances). 17. The decision as to whether a student who has been compensated can proceed to the next level of a module in the same subject area should be determined by the programme regulations. Where appropriate, the Programme Board may offer the Assessment Board advice in this respect. 18. Programme specific regulations, approved at approval or review, may specify that compensation may not be exercised in respect of specified modules, for example a core module(s) which underpin a final Honours module, or where Professional and Statutory Bodies insist on a pass in a named module(s). 19. Compensation will not normally be allowed in respect of a final level undergraduate or postgraduate project or dissertation. FAILURE AT FIRST DIET 20. Candidates who fail to satisfy the Assessment Board at a first diet, including those who did not sit the written papers and/or complete other required work assessed continuously, will normally be required to re-enter the relevant modules at the next available assessment diet. The Assessment Board may, however, require a candidate to undertake a further formal programme of study, which may include repeating an individual module or an entire level of the programme. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS AT A MODULE At the discretion of the Assessment Board a candidate will be permitted the following maximum number of attempts at a module: Levels SHE1, SHE2 & SHE3 - up to four attempts Level SHEH/Level M - up to two attempts 22. Where a candidate fails to satisfy the Assessment Board in any assessable element of a module, the Assessors may amend the form of assessment to be re-entered, provided adequate notice is given to the candidate of the amended form of assessment to be set. 23. Where a candidate was unable to enter an assessment for good cause the Assessment Board may act in accordance with Appendix 6 (Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances). FAILURE AT THE RE-ASSESSMENT DIET 24. i Candidates who fail assessment in one module only (the equivalent of 20 credit points) 8 at the reassessment diet will normally be allowed to carry that module to the next level with the condition that attendance will be required at defined elements of the module(s) delivery, as defined by the Assessment Board. ii Candidates who fail assessment in up to 40 credit points may, at the discretion of the Assessment Board, be permitted to carry the credits to the next level, with the condition that attendance will be required at elements of the module(s) delivery, as determined by the Assessment Board. Such discretion will only be permitted in cases where the student concerned may undertake the equivalent of one 20 credit module of carried credits in Trimester A and 20 credit points in Trimester B and where the Board believes that the student would be able to succeed in the carried module(s) and 7 Except where a different maximum number of attempts is detailed in a programme s specific regulations credit points may be equivalent to one full module or two half modules. 8

10 that in carrying the module(s) the student could reasonably be expected to successfully complete the work of the next level. iii Students who are permitted to carry module(s) will be required to pursue such a programme of study in that module as the Assessment Board considers necessary and will be required to re-enter the assessment in that module on the next normal occasion, or when agreed by the Board. It will be the responsibility of the Programme Board to advise on appropriate levels of support to be provided to students carrying modules and the responsibility of the Executive Dean of School to ensure this support is provided. iv Candidates who fail assessment in more than 20 credit points, and who are not permitted to proceed under the terms of paragraph 24ii will normally be required either to repeat the outstanding modules with attendance or to withdraw from the programme and be given guidance, advice and support as to their future options. The counselling will normally be carried out by the student s academic advisor or, where this is not possible, another appropriate member of academic staff. 25. The provisions of any other section of these Assessment Regulations notwithstanding, an undergraduate student who has failed to satisfy the Assessors after the second diet, may exceptionally be permitted to re-enter the assessments without further attendance at the University. 26. The Assessment Board may allow a student to drop failed module(s) and take replacement module(s) at the appropriate level, provided the replacement module(s) ensure the delivery of the learning outcomes of the programme. The combined number of attempts that the student will be allowed for the original and the replacement modules shall not exceed that which would have been allowed for the original module. 27. In postgraduate programmes, students who fail at the second diet will normally be asked to withdraw from the programme and be given guidance, advice and support as to their future options. Such counselling will normally be carried out by the student s academic advisor or, where this is not possible, another appropriate member of academic staff. ACCUMULATED CREDIT AND REPETITION OF MODULES 28. A student cannot re-enter a module that has already been passed in order to improve his/her marks for that module. Where a student has gained credits points for a module these may not be taken away from the student (except in cases of cheating and plagiarism). Consequently, a student who has been required to repeat a level will only be required to re-enter those modules for which they have failed to record a pass mark. The Assessment Board shall have the discretion to determine the components of each module which should be re-assessed. 29. Where it is deemed in their best interests, a registered student may attend classes in order to improve their knowledge of a module that has already been passed. Such attendance will not involve any assessment or extra payment over and above that which has already been paid. 30. In certain circumstances, for example where a student has taken a significant amount of time out from their programme and there have been significant changes to the content of a module or programme, an Assessment Board may require a student (or a student may request) to re-take a module and/or its assessment prior to progression to a higher level. ASSESSMENTS LEADING TO A NAMED AWARD AND DISTINCTION 31. The Programme Regulations for each award will specify assessment elements in which a candidate must normally satisfy the Assessors in order to be recommended for that award. 9

11 32. When the Assessment Board is satisfied that a candidate has shown special merit in assessment at the first diet, it may recommend that the award be granted 'with Distinction'. The Assessment Board shall normally recommend that an award be granted 'with Distinction' to a candidate who has passed all elements and achieved an overall average of 70% or more and no mark below 55% in any module included in the calculation for distinction. Additionally, in the case of postgraduate awards which have a project/dissertation component, a minimum mark of 70% will be required in the project/dissertation module for the award with Distinction 9. Distinction can only be awarded where a candidate has passed all modules, included in the calculation for distinction, at the first attempt. In addition, candidates must achieve passes at first attempt in all modules at the level where distinction is being considered. Where in the judgement of an Assessment Board the mark of an individual module has the potential to unjustly skew the overall outcome in terms of the award of distinction, the provisions set out in Appendix 3 in relation to the normalisation of marks should be applied. This will most commonly occur in professional and clinical modules governed by PSB requirements. 33. For the purposes for calculating an award with distinction, all calculations shall be based on a candidate's performance in their first attempt at all modules. i. Distinction in the Certificate of Higher Education A student can be awarded a Certificate of Higher Education with 120 credit points of which a minimum of 90 must be at SHE1. The award with Distinction will be granted on the basis of all 120-credit points. ii. Distinction in the Diploma of Higher Education A student can be awarded a Diploma of Higher Education with 240 credit points of which a minimum of 90 must be at SHE2. The award with Distinction will be granted on the basis of the 90 SHE2-credit points and the best 30 credit points of the remainder. In the case of a student who has passed five twenty credit SHE2 modules, distinction will be granted on the basis of the 100 SHE2-credit points and the best 20 credit points of the remainder. iii. Distinction in the Bachelors Degree A student can be awarded a Bachelors degree with 360 credit points of which a minimum of 60 must be at SHE3. The award with Distinction will be granted on the basis of the best 90 SHE3-credit points and the remaining best 30 credit points at SHE2 or above. A student cannot be awarded the Bachelors degree with distinction unless they have passed at least 90 credit points at level SHE3. iv. Distinction in the Graduate Certificate A student can be awarded a Graduate Certificate with 60 credits at a minimum of SHE3. The award with Distinction will be granted on the basis of all 60-credit points. v. Distinction in the Graduate Diploma A student can be awarded a Graduate Diploma with 120 credits at a minimum of SHE3. The award with Distinction will be granted on the basis of all 120-credit points 9 Examples of distinction are shown in appendix 4. 10

12 vi. vii. viii. ix. Distinction in the Postgraduate Certificate A student can be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate with 60 credits of which 40 are at a minimum of SHEM. The award with distinction will be granted on the basis of all 60-credit points. Distinction in the Postgraduate Diploma A student can be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma with 120 credits of which 90 are at a minimum of SHEM. The award with distinction will be granted on the basis of all 120-credit points. Distinction in the Masters Degree A student can be awarded a Masters Degree with 180 credits of which 150 are at a minimum of SHEM. The award with distinction will be granted on the basis of all 180-credit points. Distinction in a Masters Degree (following an integrated programme from undergraduate to masters level study) A student can be awarded such a degree with 600 credits of which a minimum of 120-credit points must be at SHEM. The award with distinction will be on the basis of the 120-SHEM credit points. x. Distinction in CPD awards The award with distinction will be granted on the basis of the 20 credits points awarded. HONOURS AWARDS The following Honours classification scheme should be applied to all programmes except where another scheme has been approved at Programme approval/review or by the Exceptions Committee. 34. A student can be awarded a Bachelors degree with Honours with 480 credit points of which a minimum of 90 are at SHEH. The award "with Honours" will be granted on the basis of the best 180 SHEH and SHE3 credits, of which a minimum of 90 must be at SHEH. A Dissertation/Project must be included For direct entrants to level 4 only, the award "with Honours" will be granted on the basis of the best 90 SHEH level credits plus the next best 30 level credits at SHE3 or above. 36. At any level, credit at a higher level may substitute for the minimum credit required at that level A 40% pass mark for the module will be used in the calculation for Honours Classification where the module has been passed at a second or subsequent attempt. Where a mark for a module achieved at a second or subsequent attempt must be used in the calculation for Honours classification, a classification no higher than a lower second class will be awarded, subject to the discretion of the Assessment Board (see also appendix 4). 38. The Programme Regulations will specify the criteria to be achieved for a candidate to qualify for any particular Honours classification using the following overall average marks as a guide in the first instance: First Class Honours > = 70% Second Class (upper division) Honours 60-69% Second Class (lower division) Honours 50-59% Third Class Honours 40-49% 10 School-based generic degrees may award a degree with Honours without the inclusion of a dissertation/project. 11 Refer to the Glasgow Caledonian University Qualifications Framework (page 4) 11

13 Where in the judgement of an Assessment Board the mark of an individual module has the potential to unjustly skew the overall outcome in terms of Honours Classification, the provisions set out in Appendix 3 in relation to the normalisation of marks should be applied. This will most commonly occur in professional and clinical modules governed by PSB requirements. 39. Classification of Honours will be recommended on the basis of the overall average mark. In no circumstance can the classification produced by the overall average mark be downgraded. 40. Profiling 12 The overall average mark will always take precedence in determining an Honours classification. However where the overall average is within 3% of attaining the 50%, 60% and 70% boundaries (i.e %, 57-59%, 67-69%), the Assessment Board must also take into account how a candidate s 180 credit points profiles at Honours (or Honours profile at level 4, where appropriate) to establish if they are eligible for a raised classification. 41. Classification of an Honours award in terms of the profile of an individual's performance can be determined with each module being marked in accordance with the following scheme: First class % Second class (upper division) 60-69% Second class (lower division) 50-59% Third class 40-49% Failure below 40% Honours Classification profiling based on best 180 credit points at levels SHEH and SHE3 Assuming the assessment of an Honours candidate is based on the equivalent of nine modules, to attain a particular class of degree (first, upper second (2i), lower second (2ii), third) a candidate should normally: i. have reached that standard or higher in 120 of the 180 credit points ii. have a performance in no more than 30 credit points which is more than one division below that standard iii. have attained a pass mark in all modules. Honours Classification profiling for programmes considering performance in Level 4 modules only Assuming the assessment of an Honours candidate is based on the best 90 SHEH credits and the next best 30 credits at SHE3 or above, to attain a particular class of degree (first, upper second (2i), lower second (2ii), third) a candidate should normally: i ii have reached that standard or higher in a minimum of four modules have a performance in no more than 20 credit points which is more than one division below that standard iii have attained a pass mark in all modules. Students who have been compensated cannot obtain a first class honours degree on the basis of profile. 42. In addition to the average marks and profile it may be necessary, in the case of a student whose performance is close to a particular band, to view that student's performance in any or all of the following before reaching a final decision: i. each element of the final assessments 12 Examples of profiling are shown in Appendix 4 12

14 ii. the student s complete undergraduate performance iii. an oral assessment 43. On the above basis an individual student may be recommended for inclusion in a higher band but may not be downgraded to a lower band than has been recommended on the basis of their overall assessment results. 44. Where appropriate, oral assessments for Honours candidates shall be arranged under the aegis of the Assessment Board. In such circumstances it is recommended that an informal meeting of the relevant Module Leaders prepare a list of borderline and other students to be assessed orally by the External Examiners, who must be consulted before the final list is agreed. Oral assessments must be arranged in sufficient time to allow the External Examiners to provide a considered assessment at the formal meeting of the Assessment Board. 45. Oral assessments of Honours students may be beneficial to External Examiners in assisting them to confirm: i. the overall standard of the students is comparable to that of other institutions ii. the classification awarded to individual students 46. An Assessment Board and the External Examiners must be satisfied that the overall performance of the student justifies the category of award given. 47. A candidate allowed to re-enter an Honours assessment may, where appropriate, be offered an unclassified degree; the candidate may choose not to accept the unclassified degree but, if the degree is accepted, the candidate will not thereafter be eligible to re-enter the assessment for the Honours degree as part of a continuous programme. POSTGRADUATE AWARDS 48. Postgraduate Assessment Boards will meet after the Trimester B examinations to review student performance to that point. 49. Oral assessments 13 for postgraduate awards may be arranged with the approval of the Assessment Board. In such circumstances it is recommended that an informal meeting of the relevant internal assessors prepare a list of borderline and other students to be assessed orally by the External Examiners, who must be consulted before the final list is agreed. Oral assessments must be arranged in sufficient time to allow the External Examiners to provide a considered assessment at the formal meeting of the Assessment Board. Oral assessments for postgraduate awards may be beneficial to External Examiners in assisting them to confirm: i. the overall standard of the students is comparable to that of other institutions ii. the award of distinction to individual students NULLIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF ASSESSMENT OF A SINGLE MODULE AT H AND M LEVEL 13 On the basis of an oral assessment an individual student may be recommended for an award or an award with distinction. The oral may not be used to downgrade the performance which the student has attained in other elements of assessment except in cases of suspected academic irregularity (see appendix 7). 13

15 50. In exceptional circumstances at Honours Degree and Masters level, with the exception of modules specified as in paragraph 18 above in relation to Professional and Statutory Body requirements, where in the view of the Assessment Board, (fully supported by the External Examiners), circumstances prevail whereby the overall performance of a majority of candidates in one module is clearly and obviously out of line with the overall performance of the students throughout the Programme, the Assessment Board, at its discretion, may nullify the results of that module for the purposes of calculating the final outcome of the students assessments. In such circumstances, a final pass will be recorded on the student record and the students will be credited with the credit points to be accrued from that module for final award purposes. Such actions MUST be fully minuted, with a clear rationale for the action included within the minute. The Chair of the Assessment Board and the External Examiners will also be required to sign an assent form which clearly indicates that they fully concur with this action. The minute and the assent form will be drawn to the attention of the next meeting of the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee which will require to satisfy itself as to the circumstances underlying this action, to take such follow up action as is deemed appropriate and report the matter to Senate accordingly through the Academic Policy Committee. For the purposes of the determination of distinction (or honours classification based on level 4 modules only), the average mark of the remaining modules should be substituted for the mark of the nulled module in all calculations. In the case of an Honours classification based on the best 180 credits at SHEH and SHE3, the average mark will determined by the best remaining 160 credits (assuming the nulled module to be worth 20 credits). CONFERMENT OF UNIVERSITY AWARDS 51. University awards will only be conferred on students who are exiting the University with an appropriate number of credit points or who have successfully completed their programme of study. Once an award has been conferred and the student graduated, the student may not re-enter that programme for any further award as a part of a continuous programme of study. A student may, however, re-enter the University using their Exit Award as an entry qualification for a programme of study leading to a higher award. Such re-entry will be deemed to be as entry to a separate and distinct programme of study and cannot be considered as the continuation of a previous programme of study. For academic purposes, such re-entry can be construed as building upon a previous programme of study. The issuing of University awards shall be subject to such procedures as the Senate may approve from time to time and to the payment of such fees as the University Court may from time to time determine. ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS 52. In special circumstances or where a candidate is unable to satisfy the relevant Assessment Board in course work, laboratory work, formal exams or other work assessed during a module, the Assessment Board may require a student to present him/herself for oral, practical or other additional assessments at any stage of the programme. In situations where a formal examination has been declared invalid, for whatever reason, an Assessment Board may require a candidate or candidates to present themselves for an alternative assessment. The results of such assessments may be used by Assessment Boards to supplement assessed course work and other formal assessments. VALID REASONS FOR POOR PERFORMANCE AT ANY LEVEL AND AEGROTAT AWARDS 53. If it is established to the satisfaction of the Assessment Board that a student's absence, failure to submit work or poor performance in all or part of the assessment was due to illness/personal difficulties or other cause found valid on presentation of acceptable evidence, the Assessment Board shall act in accordance with the provisions set out in paragraphs 56, 57, 58 and Appendix 6 (Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances). Where the assessment forms part of the final stage assessment for an award, the Assessment Board will allow a student to take the whole or part of the assessment, whichever is appropriate, as a first attempt. 14

16 This assessment shall be within two years of the original assessment. If an assessment affected by illness/personal difficulties was itself a second attempt, the student will be allowed to resit as a second attempt and so on. However, where the Assessment Board is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence of the student's achievement or this evidence is subsequently obtained, a student may be recommended for the award for which they are a candidate with or without honours classification or distinction, as appropriate. In order to reach a decision, the Assessment Board may assess the candidate by whatever means it considers appropriate. It is important that the academic judgement for any decision is clearly recorded in the minutes of the Assessment Board and this regulation would only be expected to be used by Assessment Boards in exceptional circumstances. In situations where the Assessment Board decision takes cognisance of Mitigating Circumstances and a pass is awarded in a particular module, no mark should be recorded but a symbol i.e. "P" representing a pass from the Assessment Board based on the Mitigating Circumstances, will be recorded in the student's record and transcript. Once again it is important that the academic judgement for any decision is clearly recorded in the minutes of the Assessment Board. 54. Where a student has had first and/or second diet attempts discounted by an Assessment Board due to Mitigating Circumstances at its resit board meeting, the Assessment Board should consider one of the following procedures in order of sequence (i.e. iv should only be used after options i), ii) and iii) have been thoroughly considered): i) a pass after considering the evidence (see also Appendix 6, paragraphs 6.6 and 6.7) ii) the use of compensation (paragraphs 11-19); iii) the use of carrying (paragraph 24); iv) the use of a special diet of examination in the session in which the first and/or second diet attempts were discounted (see Appendix 6). This option should only be considered where progression or award is dependent upon performance in one module or two half modules only, i.e. 20 credit points. 55. Where there is insufficient evidence to determine the recommendation for an award under paragraph 53 but the Assessment Board is nevertheless satisfied that the student would have qualified for the award for which they were a candidate had it not been for illness/personal difficulties or other cause, the aegrotat award may be recommended, e.g.: - Aegrotat Certificate of Higher Education - Aegrotat Diploma of Higher Education - Aegrotat Degree - Aegrotat Honours Degree - Aegrotat Postgraduate Certificate - Aegrotat Postgraduate Diploma - Aegrotat Masters Degree Such an award should be recommended only exceptionally and normally in circumstances where reassessment within an acceptable timescale would not be possible for the candidate concerned. 56. Before a recommendation of the Assessment Board is confirmed under paragraph 53 or 55, the student must have signified that he/she is willing to accept the award (53) or the aegrotat award (55). 15

17 WITHDRAWAL 57. A postgraduate student who has failed to satisfy the Assessors after second diet results have been determined will normally be required to withdraw from the programme. 58. An Assessment Board may require an undergraduate student to withdraw from the programme provided that: i) either the candidate has, on a previous occasion, failed to progress normally ii) and/or the Board is fully satisfied, both on the basis of assessment evidence and of tutors' reports, that the student concerned would be unable to benefit from the programme *(Note: Assessment Board minutes must show whether (i) or (ii) or both have been applied - see also Appendix 3) 59. An Assessment Board may, exceptionally, require a candidate to withdraw from a programme after a first diet. The reasons for this must be clearly minuted. 60. In all instances where a candidate has been withdrawn from a programme, the student must be offered guidance, advice and support as to their future options. Such guidance, advice and support will normally be provided by the student s Academic Advisor or, where this is not possible, by another appropriate member of academic staff who is an officer of the programme concerned. STUDENTS NOTIFED BY THE FINANCE OFFICE AS DEBTORS 61. In cases where a School has received notification that a student owes outstanding debt to the University, marks and results will be withheld from the student concerned until the debt has been paid. All staff who have access to the results of assessment boards are asked to note that while marks are being withheld, no information of any kind pertaining to the decisions of the Board shall be provided to students either formally or informally. 14 REPLACEMENT MODULES SCHOOL BASED GENERIC AWARDS 62. Students, with the exception of international students currently registered at GCU on a Tier 4 visa (see 63 below), who require up to 40 credits for the completion of an exit award may transfer from their programme of study to the appropriate school-based generic award. It shall be a matter for the Assessment Board to decide at which point during any given student s ongoing attempts at completing a module that the student should be advised or required to transfer to a school-based generic award. Notwithstanding the provisions elsewhere in these assessment regulations, students who transfer to school-based generic awards and undertake replacement modules shall have up to four attempts permitted in that module at the discretion of the Assessment Board. Students who fail to complete a replacement module within the permitted number of attempts will not be permitted to undertake any further modules as a replacement for the module not completed and will be required to progress or exit, as appropriate, with such credit and awards as have been achieved. The normal regulations governing compensation shall be applied within school-based generic awards Students undertaking school-based generic awards shall be subject to the same regulations governing distinction and honours classification as all other students, excepting that replacement modules 14 Refer to the Credit Control and Debt Management Policy ( 16

18 passed as a first attempt shall not be subject to capping and may count towards distinction and honours classification. In the case of honours classification, the classification scheme to be applied shall be that applied within the programme from which the student transferred. 63. International students currently registered at GCU on a Tier 4 visa who have failed on their named programme of study, with a maximum of 40 credits outstanding, and who wish to exit with an undergraduate or postgraduate award of the University, should be appropriately advised of their options. These are: a. Returning to their home country to apply for a non-tier 4 visa (student visitor visa) that will allow them entry to the UK for a short period of time to undertake up to a maximum of 40 credits for the award of an appropriate school-based generic degree; b. The possibility that they may be able to access a module/s that can be undertaken via a distance learning mode from their home country. 17

19 APPENDICES TO THE REGULATIONS 18

20 ASSESSMENT BOARDS APPENDIX Assessment Boards are responsible to the University Senate. 1.2 For each named award within the Institution there will normally exist one Assessment Board. However, suites of closely related named awards may come within the jurisdiction of the same Assessment Board. 1.3 Module assessment is the responsibility of Schools. 1.4 Modules will have one member of the teaching staff of the University appointed as a Module Leader. 1.5 The Module Leader is responsible to the Executive Dean of School for the following: (a) The compilation of instruments of assessment, marking schedules and to stipulate, where appropriate, when candidates are permitted to use specified books, instruments including electronic calculators (specifying the type), notes or other materials or aids. All arrangements must be clearly documented and available for internal and external quality audits. Any arrangements made must provide for the following: i. That all assessment papers have the standard University front cover ii. That all assessment papers are moderated internally. iii. That each assessment paper for final stage 15 assessments and any other paper requested by the External Examiners be submitted to the appropriate External Examiner for moderation in consultation with the internal assessor(s) concerned. iv. that any disagreement between assessors arising out of moderation be reported to the Assessment Board for resolution. v. For each examination paper the Module Leader or appropriate specialist is present in the examination room at the commencement of the examination and remains present for a further 10 minutes to answer any legitimate questions from candidates. For those examinations in which the use of electronic calculators has been permitted, the Module Leader or the appropriate specialist may, at their discretion, undertake a random check of candidates electronic calculators. b) To determine the candidates' marks for modules and to ensure these marks are passed to the appropriate Assessment Board via the University Management Information System, a calendar of Assessment Board meetings will be published annually by 31 st October. The Module Leader must ensure that the marks (as specified below) are published at least three working days prior to the date of the Assessment Board. The Module Leader will ensure that: i. there is uniformity of marking across assessments by academic staff contributing to the module. ii. all borderline cases have been carefully considered and the mark given is, as near as possible, a true reflection of the student s performance. iii. all recommendations are accurate and reflect the marks and the number of attempts. 15 For the purposes of this document final stage assessments are those taken to obtain an exit award at level SHE3 and above. 19

21 iv. a record is kept of the extent to which the External Examiner has been involved and where the External Examiner has: confirmed the appropriateness of the assessment; confirmed the overall standard of the cohort by sampling appropriate scripts; scrutinised the assessments of borderline candidates; moderated all assessed work. c) Module Leaders will make provisional marks (which may be subject to change by the Assessment Board) available to students after the Trimester A assessment period. 1.6 The Composition of each Assessment Board 16 shall be as follows: Chair Programme Organiser The External Examiners Module Leaders Executive Dean of any School (or their nominee) that contributes modules to the programme Each Board will have a Clerk and Secretary 17 associated with it. Within each School, a pool of Assessment Board Chairs will be created from the Senior Staff of the School. Normally the pool within each School would consist of the Associate Deans Learning, Teaching and Quality, Heads of Department and Subject Leads. Subject Leads will only Chair Boards that are not in their own subject area. The Chair of Senate (or nominee from the University Executive) has the right to attend all Assessment Boards. In the case of the Schools which host the programme, the Chair and the Module Leaders from that School shall determine annually which Module Leaders shall be members of the Board. For other Schools, the Executive Dean and the Module Leader will determine who shall be members. Schools contributing modules to a programme must be represented at Assessment Boards. The Programme Board will confirm the membership of its associated Assessment Board at its first meeting of the academic year (such confirmation should be minuted). The confirmed membership will constitute those able to exercise a vote at the Assessment Board. Nominated substitutes of members will be able to exercise a vote. Assessment Boards must have at least 70% of the confirmed members present at the Board. 1.7 Candidates' academic advisors, if not members of the Assessment Board, may, if appropriate, be invited to attend any meetings of the Board at which assessment results are to be considered. They may not, however, exercise a vote in their capacity as academic advisor. 1.8 A student counsellor or the Students Association Welfare Advisor may, if appropriate, be invited to attend any meetings of the Assessment Board at which assessment results of students whom they have counselled are to be considered. They may advise the Assessment Board but may not exercise a vote. 16 In the case of collaborative programmes, the composition of Assessment Boards will be defined during the approval process. 17 The Secretary will be either from the Student Administration Services, Governance and Quality or be a Head of School Administration or an Assistant Head of School Administration who is independent of the assessment process. All secretaries must have had appropriate training. 20

22 1.9 The responsibilities and duties of Assessment Boards are as follows: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) To ensure that the Glasgow Caledonian University Assessment Regulations are applied, including any programme specific regulations. To take into consideration any Mitigating Circumstances properly notified to the Board by a School Mitigating Circumstances Board (See Appendix 6 - The Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances) To determine candidates' assessment results and to decide, when appropriate, if candidates have satisfied the conditions for progression to the next level of the programme as set out in the regulations To determine if candidates have fulfilled the conditions for the attainment of awards (including the award of distinction and the classification of Honours awards) and to make appropriate recommendations for the granting of awards, such recommendations being subject to the approval of External Examiners To make recommendations as appropriate on the withdrawal of students. To consider applications for the award of aegrotat degrees 1.10 The proceedings of Assessment Boards are strictly confidential. Boards' discussions of individual candidates must not be divulged to candidates. Additionally, marks may not be divulged to persons other than the candidate without the express authority of the Board. The marks will be made available to each candidate as soon as practicable after the Assessment Board has met. The Assessment Board is required to provide candidates with an indication of the standard they have achieved. Assessors must not inform candidates of the decisions of Boards prior to their formal publication Formal minutes of all meetings of Assessment Boards will be recorded and made available to the appropriate Programme Board and for the purposes of internal and external audit. A general guide to the format of Assessment Board minutes is outlined on page The Assessment Board s decision regarding a student s overall performance may in certain circumstances result in a consequential amendment to the mark supplied by the Module Leader. In such circumstances it is the responsibility of the Chair of the Assessment Board to ensure that any amendments are properly recorded, that the Management Information System is updated, that the Module Leader is informed and the decision is properly minuted. Frequency of meeting of Assessment Boards 1.13 For undergraduate programmes the Assessment Board meets after Trimester B and after the resit diet For postgraduate programmes with a PgD exit award point, the Assessment Board meets after the Trimester B diet and at the conclusion of the programme Assessment Boards for all programmes should meet after Trimester A (i.e. in January) to identify failing students and take appropriate action Meetings of Assessment Boards may be arranged at other times as required In order to take into account the 7 calendar day timescale outlined the Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances, Assessment Boards must not meet less than 8 calendar days from the date of the last day of the examination diet Assessment Boards should ensure that a pre meeting is held before all Assessment Board meetings. 21

23 Recording of Minutes of Assessment Board Meetings and Notification of Results to Students 1.19 The Clerk to the Assessment Board shall be responsible for ensuring the accurate recording of the minutes of the meeting of the Board. Assessment Board meetings 1.20 As a general guide the minutes should include: i) A record of the title of the Assessment Board plus the date, time and location of the meeting ii) A record of those present and their role iii) A record of apologies iv) Confirmation that, students have taken modules that lead to the qualifications under the jurisdiction of the Assessment Board v) Confirmation from the External Examiners that the standard of any awards to be made is comparable with that of similar awards elsewhere vi) A record of any comments from Module Leaders vii) A record of agreed final decisions for each candidate viii) A record, where appropriate, of the principles or criteria upon which individual decisions were made ix) A record, where relevant, of any Mitigating Circumstances reported to the Assessment Board x) A record of the general comments of the Assessment Board on overall performance xi) A record of any areas of concern or dispute arising from the general decision making processes xii) Comments from External Examiners xiii) Any other competent business xiv) The proposed date and time of the next meeting Items viii, ix and x are confidential and their circulation should be restricted to the Chair, the Clerk, External Examiners, and any other person agreed by the Assessment Board A nominated member of the Department s administrative staff shall be required to clerk the meetings of the Assessment Boards within the jurisdiction of a Department. The Programme Leader will be required to advise on the interpretation of Assessment Regulations and previous practice. The Clerk is required to record decisions with regard to student achievement. A nominated member of the staff of Student Administration Services/Governance and Quality shall normally be present at the meetings of levels 3, H and postgraduate Assessment Boards where award decisions are being made. The member of staff from Student Administration Services/Governance and Quality Enhancement will liaise with Department staff on the collation, dissemination and presentation of marks as appropriate The aim must always be for student results lists to be published on Sharepoint within two working days of the meeting of the Assessment Board. Results may also be published on local Departmental notice boards. Full results shall normally be posted out to each student within seven working days of the meeting of the Assessment Board. The marks for each individual student will be made available to each candidate as soon as practicable after the Assessment Board has met. Changes to Assessment Board decisions must be made using a Chair s Action pro forma. The pro forma and guidance are available on the Student Administration Services Sharepoint site: 3/Intranet/sas/Exams/ISIS%20Assessment%20System%20and%20Sharing%20Good%20Practice/Forms/AllItems.aspx 1.23 Schools will notify all students of their results by post. In all cases Student Administration Services staff will be responsible for issuing award parchments to students. 22

24 1.24 The minutes of meetings of Assessment Boards shall normally be sent to the Programme Board in October of each year. The Programme Board will consider these minutes and any issues arising at a meeting during Trimester A. Issues arising from the minutes of Assessment Boards will also be passed to other School Boards or Committees as appropriate Following consideration by the Programme Board, comments by the Assessment Board shall be considered by the School Board in December of each year The School Board shall, where appropriate, draw to the attention of the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee any matters arising from consideration of the minutes of meetings of Assessment Boards which require the attention of the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee. Data Protection 1.27 Current Data Protection legislation stipulates that any comments made on examination scripts or (comments made about a student) in the minutes of Assessment Boards may be accessed by the student. 23

25 EXTERNAL EXAMINER ENDORSEMENT OF ASSESSMENT BOARD OUTCOMES* SESSION: DIET: FIRST / SECOND (please delete as appropriate) I endorse the decisions made at the meeting of the Assessment Board for the following awards: DATE OF MEETING: Name: Signature: Name: Signature: Name: Signature: Name: Signature: Signature of Chair of Assessment Board: * Only External Examiners associated with programmes are required to endorse the outcomes of the assessment(s) they have been appointed to scrutinise. NB Once signed, this sheet should be attached to a copy of the Assessment Board minutes and retained by the relevant School. 24

26 APPENDIX 2 EXTERNAL EXAMINERS 2.1 Each Assessment Board will normally have two External Examiners, to ensure that the standard of all awards is comparable to the standard of similar awards conferred by other Universities and Institutions within the United Kingdom. 2.2 Each School is responsible for nominating External Examiner(s) to be associated with programmes for which they are administratively responsible. It is recognised that there may be exceptional cases in which the Assessment Board may wish to appoint more than two Examiners. It is also recognised that more than two External Examiners may be required for suites of programmes. 2.3 External Examiners should normally be appointed for four academic sessions with the opportunity for a one year extension at the end of the four year period, starting at the beginning of the session before the first output and finishing with the re-sit diet of the last session for which they have responsibility (normally October-September). 2.4 All modules at all levels will have an associated External Examiner. Each module will have one External Examiner, with the exception of projects/dissertations 18. The minimum expectation is that externals would routinely be involved with modules at level 3 and above. However, Module Leaders and/or Assessment Boards at all levels may consult External Examiners. 2.5 The External Examiners appointed to a programme will be allocated to modules within the programme which correspond to their own expertise. 2.6 Schools which contribute modules to a programme (i.e. not the host School) will assign an External Examiner to these modules. This External Examiner will also normally be responsible for a programme in the subject area of the School, taking into consideration the overall workload of the Examiner. 2.7 In addition to appointing External Examiners to programmes, Schools may assign External Examiners to modules only External Examiners associated with undergraduate programmes are expected to attend the meeting of Assessment Boards after Trimester B and, where necessary, after resit assessments. When External Examiners do not attend resit Assessment Boards they must be consulted (and in the case of final awards confirm in writing) before any formal decisions are notified to students. External Examiners on postgraduate programmes must attend all meetings where awards are being considered. 2.9 Duties of an External Examiner associated with programmes. (a) to ensure that the standard of any award which is recommended by the Assessment Board is comparable to the standard of similar awards conferred by Universities in the UK. (b) to be satisfied that the work and decisions of the Assessment Board are consistent with the policies and regulations of the University and best practice in Higher Education (c) to ensure that students have been assessed fairly and within the regulations approved by the University for the programme 18 Where there is more than one External Examiner for a programme, each assessor will have responsibility for a number of projects/dissertations. Normally each external examiner will consider a separate sample. 19 In this case, the requirements relating to attendance at Assessment Boards do not apply. 25

27 (d) to comment on the appropriateness and consistency of assessment practices and procedures across the modules which comprise the award (e) to inform the University on any matter which, in the External Examiner s view, militates against the maintenance of proper academic standards (f) to inform the Head of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement if they decide to resign over a matter of principle in order that this may be brought to the attention of Senate as a matter of urgency (g) to produce an annual report for consideration by the School Board and the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee, on the standards attained by students on the programme and any other matters which may seem appropriate to report An External Examiner appointed to a programme or suite of programmes has the right to take any action which is necessary for the fulfillment of their duties. These rights include the following: (a) to attend any meeting the Assessment Board to which they have been appointed (b) to see any assessment material relating to the programme; particularly, but not exclusively, any final stage assessment paper, scripts, course work or project reports relating to the assessments with which they are specifically associated, and, where appropriate, industrial training reports (c) to require, and be involved in, the oral assessment of any student (d) to meet with students of any level at any point during the academic session Duties of an External Examiner associated with modules. (a) to moderate the work of the internal Examiner in respect of the assessments with which the External Examiner is associated (b) to ensure that students are assessed according to the regulations approved for the modules within that subject area (c) to be satisfied that the work and marks awarded are consistent with the policies and regulations of the University and best practice in Higher Education (d) to inform the University on any matter which, in their view, militates against the maintenance of proper academic standards (e) to inform the Head of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement if they decide to resign over a matter of principle in order that this may be brought to the attention of Senate as a matter of urgency (f) to produce an annual report for consideration by the relevant School Board of the standards attained by students in that subject area and on any other matter which may seem appropriate to report 2.12 An External Examiner associated with modules has the right to take any action, which is necessary for the fulfillment of their duties. These rights include the following: (a) to see any assessment material relating to the modules; (b) to amend draft assessment papers, or set additional assessment questions, in consultation with the appropriate Module Leader(s) (c) to receive written/oral feedback from the Module Leader(s) on any comments pertaining to draft assessment papers (d) to receive marking criteria for all draft assessment papers or other major instruments of assessment. It is recognised that the possible range of assessment methods may necessitate specific marking criteria and that the External Examiner and Module Leader(s) should adopt an approach which is appropriate for the assessment method e.g. suggested solutions, marking schemes, outline answers, etc. (e) to amend a mark given by a Module Leader in connection with an assessment in the module with which the External Examiner is specifically associated (i.e with duties as set out in 2.11) (f) to require, and be involved in, the oral assessment of any student 26

28 (g) to meet with students of any level at any point during the academic session. In any matter on which the External Examiner(s) have declared a matter of principle, the decision of the External Examiner(s) shall either be accepted as final by the Assessment Board or, in exceptional cases, be referred to the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee. Where there is a disagreement within a group of External Examiners on any matter which is declared to be a matter of principle and which cannot be resolved within the group, the dispute must be referred to the Senate. Senate may choose to devolve the responsibility for dealing with such disputes to the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee. In the exceptional circumstance of an External Examiner deciding to resign over a matter of principle, this decision and the necessary background information must be reported by the Chair of the relevant Assessment Board to the Head of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement as a matter of urgency. The Head of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement will then immediately arrange a meeting of the Chairs of Senate, the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee, the Academic Policy Committee and the relevant School Board to discuss any issues arising from the resignation. An External Examiner has the right to raise any matter of serious concern directly with the Head of Governance and Quality Enhancement, if necessary by means of a separate confidential written report. Where this occurs the Head of Governance and Quality Enhancement will review the issues and raise them with the Principal and Vice Chancellor as appropriate. The University will provide a considered and timely response to any confidential report received, outlining any actions we will be taking as a result. Where an External Examiner has a serious concern relating to systemic failings with the academic standards of a module, programme or programmes and has exhausted all published applicable internal procedures, including the submission of a confidential report to the Principal and Vice Chancellor, he/she may invoke the QAA s concerns scheme or inform the relevant professional, statutory or regulatory body. Procedure for the Appointment of External Examiners 2.13 In October of the preceding year, Heads of School Administration will present to School Boards an upto-date list of all External Examiners who are members of Assessment Boards within the School, together with their period of tenure. At the same time, a list of new programmes scheduled to begin in the following academic year together with the proposed number of External Examiners required will be presented to the School Board Following presentation of the above list to the School Board, Heads of School Administration will notify the Chairs of all Assessment Boards and the Executive Dean of School of those External Examiners who are scheduled for retirement and of the need to nominate replacements for retiring Examiners. Heads of School Administration will also notify the Chairs of Programme Development Boards so that External Examiners may be nominated (if appropriate) for programmes scheduled to start in the following academic year. It should be noted that External Examiners for new programmes nominated prior to the programme approval or re-approval event will not normally be eligible to be members of the Programme Approval or re-approval Panel In December of each year, those individuals who have been notified of the need to appoint External Examiners for the forthcoming session, will identify suitable nominees and seek to ascertain, informally, whether the individual would be prepared to be nominated as an External Examiner All nominees must meet with the conditions laid down by the University in the "Criteria for the Approval of External Examiners for Modules and Taught Programmes" (see paragraph 2.30). 27

29 2.17 When a suitable nominee has been identified, they will be requested to complete the institutional nomination form. 20 In the case of new appointees who have no previous experience of external assessing for programmes at that level, the proposed nominee is required to submit a full CV Heads of Learning, Teaching and Quality in each School will ensure that appropriate advice and guidance is provided during the nomination process. At any stage in the process, advice can be obtained from the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement External Examiner nomination forms, copies of the nominees' CVs, if appropriate, and any other relevant information will be forwarded to the School Board, or appropriate School Committee, for endorsement (in Trimester A of the year preceding the appointment) Where the School Board (or appropriate School Committee) feels that an External Examiner's nomination is inappropriate, it will set out its reasons in the minutes and will recommend that the nomination be reconsidered The minutes of School Board meetings (or appropriate School Committee) confirming approval of External Examiner nominations, together with the EXT forms, will be forwarded by the School to the Department of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. The EXT forms will be considered and approved by a sub group of the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee, chaired by an appropriate senior member of University staff The approved EXT forms will be held in the Department of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. The Learning and Teaching Subcommittee will receive notification of all appointments as a For Information item on the committee s agenda. The Heads of School Administration will be responsible for ensuring that each nomination form is checked carefully for accuracy prior to forms being forwarded to the Department of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement All parties involved in this procedure will seek to ensure that the procedure is completed at least six months prior to an External Examiner's first involvement in assessments. The Department of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement will ensure that an institutional record of External Examiner appointments is maintained in a database Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement will issue a formal letter of appointment to the External Examiner showing the period of appointment and the annual fee associated with the post. The current version of the University Assessment Regulations will also be forwarded with the formal letter of appointment. A copy of the formal letter of appointment should also be forwarded to the appropriate Executive Dean of School, who has budgetary responsibility for External Examiners' fees New External Examiners will be provided with an External Examiner s handbook which includes information relating to the External Examiner role. In addition, the relevant School must ensure that External Examiners are made aware of the extent of their own responsibilities in relation to the modules/programmes for which they will act as Examiners. The relevant School will also ensure that all External Examiners are provided with copies of the appropriate programme and module documentation. Schools will be responsible for providing copies of up-to-date programme documentation, including programme specific assessment regulations, to Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. Termination of an External Examiner s Contract 2.26 An External Examiner s contract can be terminated prematurely in the event of consistent failure to fulfill the duties of the role. 20 EXT1: Application for Approval of an External Examiner for a Module and/or Taught Programme 28

30 2.27 The process of terminating an External Examiner s contract can only be initiated by one of the following: Chair of Programme Board Chair of an Assessment Board Executive Dean of School Chair of the Academic Policy Committee Chair of Learning and Teaching Subcommittee Chair of School Board Head of Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement 2.28 The final decision to terminate the contract of an External Examiner will be made by Learning and Teaching Subcommittee, following a recommendation from the relevant School Board When the Learning and Teaching Subcommittee approves the termination of an External Examiner s contract, the Secretary to Learning and Teaching Subcommittee will notify the relevant Head of School Administration and the Head of Governance and Quality Enhancement who will then notify the External Examiner of the decision. 29

31 2.30 Criteria for the Approval of External Examiners for Modules and Taught Programmes The approval of External Examiner appointments is one of the processes by which the University assures the Quality assurance of both subject areas and programmes. For this reason, the University is committed to a policy of rigorous scrutiny of External Examiner nominations. External Examiners should: i) have expertise in the relevant subject area/discipline ii) be experienced in assessing iii) be impartial in judgement iv) be able to give the time needed for the role Where more than one External Examiner is associated with an individual module or programme, it is important that there be an appropriate balance and diversity in the team of Examiners. The following outlines the criteria for consideration of proposed External Examiners; the notes printed beneath each criterion provide a checklist of issues that should be considered by Boards in selecting and nominating Examiners and by School Boards during their scrutiny of nominees. The following guidelines for the appointment of External Examiners will apply: a. An External Examiner's academic/professional qualifications should be appropriate to the module/programme to be assessed Both the level and the subject of the Examiner's qualifications should generally match what is to be assessed in the module/programme b. An External Examiner should have appropriate standing, expertise and experience to maintain comparability of standards Standing, expertise and experience may be indicated by: the present (or last, if retired) post and place of work the range and scope of experience across higher education/professions current and recent active involvement in research/scholarly/professional activities in the field of study concerned c. An External Examiner should have enough recent external assessing or comparable related experience to indicate competence in assessing students in the module/programme at that level If the proposed Examiner has no previous External Examiner experience at the appropriate level, the application should be supported by one or more of the following: extensive internal assessing experience at the appropriate level external assessing experience at a different level other relevant and recent experience likely to support the External Examiner role Proposed Examiners without experience as externals should, where possible, join an experienced team of externals or, where there is only one external, work initially alongside an experienced current external, perhaps on a related module within that subject area. d. External Examiners should be drawn from a wide variety of institutional/professional contexts and traditions in order that the subject areas/programmes benefit from wide-ranging external scrutiny There should not be: more than one External Examiner from the same institution in a team of External Examiners 30

32 reciprocal External Examiners between comparable subjects and/or programmes in two institutions replacement of an External Examiner by an individual from the same institution an External Examiner from an institution which has been the source of Examiners for the same subject area or programme in the recent past (normally five years) e. External Examiners should not be over-extended by their external assessing duties The Examiner should not currently hold more than the equivalent of two substantial undergraduate External Examiners appointments If the Examiner appears to exceed the above limit, supporting arguments must be provided, e.g. that the phasing of assessments alleviates the workload during an academic session, f. There should be an appropriate balance and expertise in a team of External Examiners appointed to Assessment Boards The external assessing experience in the team as a whole must be sufficient and wide ranging The proposed Examiner should complement the external assessing team in terms of expertise and assessing experience There should be an appropriate balance between the academic and professional qualifications/experience of the team The range of academic perspectives necessary to the programme should be represented in the external assessing team The phasing of appointments to the team should be structured to ensure continuity g. External Examiners should be impartial in judgement and should not have previous close involvement with the institution which might compromise objectivity Over the last five years the proposed Examiner should not personally have been: a member of staff, a governor, a student or a near relative of a member of staff in relation to the module/subject area/programme involved as an External Examiner for the module/subject area/programme when it was approved by another validating body significantly involved in recent or current substantive collaborative research activities with a member of staff closely involved in the delivery, management or assessment of the programme(s) or modules in question The proposed Examiner should not personally be: associated with the sponsorship of students required to assess colleagues who are recruited as students to the module/subject area/programme in a position to influence significantly the future employment of students on the programme likely to be involved with student placements or training in the Examiner's organisation h. Chief External Examiners If the team of External Examiners is large there may be a need for a chief External Examiner. Where the Programme Board has identified a chief External Examiner he or she should have sufficient external assessing experience to take an overview of the subject area/programme and ensure that a consistent standard is maintained. The appointment of a chief External Examiner from within a team of approved External Examiners is a matter for the Programme Board. The approval of the appointment of an External Examiner 31

33 who is to act in this capacity will be subject to the normal criteria as set out above and the person will also be expected to have subject responsibilities within the team. 32

34 APPENDIX 3 MARKING, REPORTING OF MARKS AND NORMALISATION OF MODULE MARKS Module Pass Marks and Component Minimums The diagrams below are examples of different module structures. Overall Aggregate Mark (threshold/minimum = pass mark) Exam Aggregate (threshold/minimum = 5% below the pass mark) Coursework Aggregate (threshold/minimum = 5% below the pass mark) Exam element (threshold/minimum = 0) Exam element (threshold/minimum = 0) Coursework element (threshold/minimum = 0) Coursework element (threshold/minimum = 0) Figure 1: Modules with Exam and Coursework Components Overall Aggregate Mark (threshold/minimum = pass mark) Coursework 1 (Threshold/minimum = 0) Coursework 2 (Threshold/minimum = 0) Coursework 3 (Threshold/minimum = 0) Figure 2: Coursework Only Modules 33

35 Overall Aggregate (Threshold/Minimum = pass mark) Exam Aggregate Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark Coursework Aggregate Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark Exam Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark Coursework 1 Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark Coursework 2 Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark Figure 3: Modules with Exam and Coursework Components and with approved exception 21 Overall Aggregate Mark (coursework only) (threshold/minimum = pass mark) Coursework 1 (Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark) Coursework 2 (Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark) Coursework 3 (Threshold/minimum = 5% below pass mark) Figure 4: Modules with Coursework only and with approved exception Normalisation of Marks 3.1 The normalisation of marks should be implemented in situations where a module marking scheme differs from that normally applied to modules on the same programme. Such instances most commonly occur where Professional or Statutory body requirements must be met in professional and clinical modules. Normalisation should not be used where M Level programmes are made up of modules which can have pass marks of either 40% or 50 %. 21 The diagram is an example of a module which has an approved exception to the regulation regarding minimum pass marks being applied to elements or sub-components of module assessment. It should be noted that exceptions are normally allowed only in cases where there are clear professional and statutory body requirements. 34

36 3.2 Programme Boards should identify modules where there is a potential, in the judgement of the Board, for the module mark to skew the overall outcome in terms of Honours Classification and Distinction; for example, where a Professional or Statutory body requires a pass mark of 80%, as is the case in a number of professional and clinical modules. Where such modules are identified Programmes should ensure that an appropriate formula is applied to normalise the mark against the standard academic pass mark for modules within the Programme (i.e. 40% at undergraduate level and as appropriate for post graduate programmes). The following formula will normally be found to be appropriate: (Score old pass mark) x (100 new pass mark) (100 old pass mark) + new pass mark = new (normalised) mark e.g. a student scores 90 in a module with an 80% pass mark. Normal module pass mark = 40% (90-80) x (100-40) (100-80) + 40 = 70% In addition, where a pass mark is set at 100% by a Professional or Statutory body, Programme Boards should give serious consideration to recording the result as pass/fail. Marking and Moderation of Marks 3.3 Normally, all final level Projects and Dissertations should be independently, blind double marked. Scripts relating to assessments at levels 3, 4 and M, will be moderated. Borderline assessments will be moderated at all levels. All individuals involved with marking or moderating scripts will initial the assessment script. In the case of final stage assessments the External Examiner(s) will be involved. External Examiners(s) may also scrutinise sufficient other assessment scripts in any subject area for which they are responsible to satisfy themselves of the general standard of assessment by Module Leaders. Module Leaders will negotiate with External Examiners to ensure that they are given sufficient time to scrutinise all scripts for the assessments for which they have responsibility. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to all assessment diets. 3.4 Where a student has answered more than the required number of questions in any coursework or examination paper, the Module Leader must ensure that all the student s responses are marked. The Module Leader will then determine the mark for the paper by selecting the best marks for the required number of questions (e.g. if a paper requires five questions to be answered and the student has attempted seven then the best five marks are used to calculate the overall mark for the paper). In cases where the examination paper or coursework has more than one section, the same procedure as described above will apply to each section If, in any module at levels 3, H and M, there is a range of assessments which includes course work, laboratory work or any form of continuous assessment, at least two members of the teaching team will normally have been involved in moderating such work and shall report a mark to the assessment Board on a percentage basis. The rounding of marks in University Management Information System is based on: mark >= xx.5 round up; mark < xx.5 round down. This general rule should apply where raw marks are entered into University Management Information System In the event of cumulative average marks being recorded as a fraction, e.g. 59.2, such marks will be rounded up to the next whole number, e.g. in the Honours classification overall aggregate calculation. 35

37 Recording of Marks 3.6 Assessment Boards will have access to records which indicate whether the candidates: have previously entered a module or final stage assessment and with what result(s) (including compensation) have repeated any level of the programme 3.7 The mark to be recorded at second and subsequent diets shall be the actual mark achieved by the student. The actual mark obtained at resit should be used in calculations to determine the candidate's eligibility to benefit from Compensation (see paragraphs 11 to 19 of the University Assessment Regulations). In all other calculations, normally for the purpose of Honours Classification at levels 3 and 4, the mark obtained at any resit should be regarded as 40% 3.8 Where the provision of paragraphs 3.1 and 3.3 above in relation to blind marking, double marking and moderation are not followed in their entirety, the Assessment Board must be provided with a full explanation for any deviation in process and that explanation fully minuted in the record of the Board s meeting. 36

38 EXAMPLES OF AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION, DISTINCTION AND PROFILING 4.1 Examples of the Application of Compensation APPENDIX 4 Module Pass Mark 40% All diets Overall average greater than or equal to 45% Module Mark 35%-39% (No component of the module mark less than 30%) Overall average greater than or equal to 45% Module Mark 34% (No component of the module mark less than 29%) Module Pass Mark 50% All diets Overall average greater than or equal to 55% Module Mark 45%-49% (No component of the module mark less than 40%) Overall average greater than or equal to 55% Module Mark 44% (No component of the module mark less than 39%) Module Pass Mark 55% All diets Overall average greater than or equal to 60% Module Mark 50%-54% (No component of the module mark less than 45%) Overall average greater than or equal to 60% Module Mark 49% (No component of the module mark less than 44%) Automatic Compensation Discretionary Compensation Overall mark is raised by 1% Automatic Compensation Discretionary Compensation Overall mark is raised by 1% Automatic Compensation Discretionary Compensation Overall mark is raised by 1% 4.2 Example of the Application of Distinction in the Bachelor s Degree (marks used in the calculation are shown in bold) Student A: 69, 74, 65, 67, 50, 68 (at Level SHE3) 50, 71, 65, 78, 64, 62 (at Level SHE2) Distinction criteria is not met solely on level SHE3 marks, where the average is 66%. However, taking into consideration the best 90 SHE3 credit points and the remaining best 30 credit points at SHE2 or above, an average of 71% is achieved. Therefore distinction is awarded. Note: Distinction can only be awarded where a candidate has passed all modules, included in the calculation for distinction, at the first attempt. In addition, candidates must achieve passes at first attempt in all modules at the level where distinction is being considered. 37

39 4.3 Examples of Profiling for Honours Classification (marks used in the calculation are shown in bold) Scheme 1 The following examples are for programmes using the Honours Classification scheme calculated on the basis of the best 180 SHEH and SHE3 level credits, of which a minimum of 90 must be at SHEH and where the Dissertation/Project must be included (Scheme 1). (In these examples the dissertation/project is a 40 credit SHEH module which means that one of the marks is counted twice). Profiling can only be used where a student s overall average mark is within 3% of attaining the 50, 60 and 70 boundary. Student A SHEH: 70(x2), 57, 58, 71, 68 (100 credit points used) SHE3: 72, 52, 71, 62, 70, 65 (80 credit points used) Overall Average: 69% = 2.1 Profile: 120 credit 1, no more than 30 credits more than one class below Profile = 1 st class First class honours awarded Student B Student C SHEH: 60(x2), 62, 61, 48, 48 (100 credit points used) SHE3: 63, 53, 52, 51, 62, 55 (80 credit points used) Overall Average: 59% = 2.2 Profile: 120 credit 2.1, no more than 30 credits more than one class below Profile = awarded SHEH: 74(x2), 54, 46, 57, 72 (100 credit points used) SHE3: 70, 45, 75, 58, 55, 73 (80 credit points used) Overall Average: 68% = 2.1 Profile: 120 credit 1, mark is within 3% of boundary but more than 30 credit points are more than one class below Profile = awarded Scheme 2 The following examples are for programmes exempted from the normal Honours Classification scheme and/or for direct entrants to Level 4 and are based on using the best 90 SHEH credit points plus the next best 30 credit points at SHE3 or above, in the calculation of Honours Classification (Scheme 2). Profiling can only be used where a student s overall average mark falls within 3% of attaining the 50, 60 and 70 boundary. Student A: 72, 72, 75, 75, 70, 44: overall average 68% = 2i profile: 1; only one mark more than one class below; no fails; average mark is within 3% of boundary profile = 1st 1st class honours awarded Student B: 62, 64, 61, 63, 52, 40: overall average 57% = 2ii 38

40 profile: 2i; one mark one class below; only one mark more than one class below; average mark is within 3% of boundary profile = 2i 2i awarded Student C: 75, 70, 68, 56, 56, 47: overall average 62% = 2i profile: 2ii or better; one mark one class below: profile = 2ii 2i awarded (Please see also paragraph 41 of the Assessment Regulations) It is clear that performance in one module is "pulling" students A and B down and therefore the use of a profiling system will ensure that these students do obtain an Honours degree appropriate to their ability. In the case of student C, whose performance covers a wide range of marks, the average provides a better reflection of his/her ability. Scheme 3 A number of programmes have been exempted from Scheme 1 and apply a customised calculation to determine Honours classification (Scheme 3). 39

41 CONDITIONS OF ENTRY TO ASSESSMENTS AND ASSESSMENT SCHEME 5.1 Assessments are open only to students of the University who have complied in all respects with the conditions for admission and registration to the programme and/or all relevant modules thereof. This includes the payment of relevant fees and compliance with such other requirements as may be prescribed from time to time 22. No person whose registration has lapsed, or who has failed to register for the appropriate programme and associated modules, is eligible as a candidate for any assessment. Assessment Boards will withhold the marks of an assessment of any person who appears ineligible pending an investigation and may ultimately disregard the attempt. 5.2 Formal examinations will be conducted according to the regulations given in The Assessment and Graduation Processes, Section 2: Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations. 5.3 All registered students shall be entitled to enter the first diet of assessments on completion of the normal programme of study without a special entry procedure and without payment of an additional fee. Absence from any assessment without good cause and supporting evidence shall be deemed to be an attempt. 5.4 There will be a first and a second diet for modules at all levels. 23 APPENDIX Modules will be assessed during the trimester in which they have been delivered 24. Resit assessments for modules delivered in Trimesters A and B will be held prior to the start of the next academic year. 5.6 Entry to an assessment on a second or subsequent occasion, whether or not at a second diet of assessments, shall be subject to such procedures as the Senate may approve from time to time and to such additional fees as the University Court may from time to time determine. 5.7 Programme and module handbooks shall specify for each level of the programme/module: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) the titles of all modules to be assessed where applicable, the percentage marks awarded to each discrete element of the assessment for each module, for example written papers, coursework, etc (see also section 5.12) the conditions necessary to satisfy the Assessors in any one module the approved criteria for progression whereby candidates will satisfy the Assessors at each level of the programme the number and level of the credit points earned for each module when the assessment criteria are satisfied. 5.8 Where appropriate, Assessment Boards may modify the form of assessment for individual students. 5.9 The Programme Board must be satisfied that, for each module, the coursework/laboratory schedule is made available to students at the beginning of each trimester and that students are informed of the submission dates for that module. Under normal circumstances, it is expected that the Module Leader will perform this duty, using the guidance contained within Notes of Guidance to Academic Staff on the Information to be Provided to Students to Assist their Preparation for Unseen Examinations, 25 as a template. In addition, Programme Boards must ensure that students are 22 The GCU Credit Control and Debt Management Policy lists sanctions which may be applied to students with overdue debt, including prevention from sitting examinations (see page and link Credit Control and Debt Management Policy). 23 See also University Assessment Regulations paragraph 21 Maximum Number of Attempts at a Module 24 With the exception of long thin modules, which are assessed at the end of Trimester B. 25 Contained within The Assessment and Graduation Processes (Section 6, page 71). 40

42 informed of the regulations, which specify the penalties that may result from failure to meet the submission dates for coursework, at the beginning of the session. It is the responsibility of the Module Leader to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place for the recording of the receipt of courseworks from students In each of the following eventualities, it is normally the Module Leader who has the responsibility for determining the new submission date. It is the responsibility of all Module Leaders who grant dispensation to inform the Programme Board. (a) Penalties for late submission of coursework Failure by a student to meet the submission deadlines for any piece of coursework (including dissertations/projects) will be dealt with by the following general regulations 5.11 (a) i iii. However, where a student must attend a specialised teaching session, reference should be made to 5.11 (a) iv. i) Failure by a student to meet any given submission deadline without good cause will normally result in a mark of zero for the piece of work concerned. Where a student fails to submit a piece of coursework which the module descriptor has stipulated as essential then the student will be deemed to have failed the module (see also 5.12). ii) Where a student has good cause for a late submission and intimates this in advance of the submission deadline, a later submission date should normally be negotiated. Where appropriate, documentary evidence should be sought to support the claim. In the circumstances outlined in this paragraph, maximum marks will be available. (It would be expected that this regulation would apply in cases such as the following: serious domestic or personal problems or attendance at the doctor, dentist, hospital, court of law or funeral). iii) Where a student has good cause for late submission that they are unable, or for valid reasons, unwilling to divulge in advance, it is normally expected that notification of the good cause should be given no later than 10 working days after the submission deadline. A later submission date should normally be negotiated. Where appropriate, documentary evidence should be sought to support the claim. In the circumstances outlined in this paragraph, maximum marks will be available. (It would be expected that this regulation would apply in cases such as the following: illness of the candidate or unforeseen personal or domestic problems.) iv) Where assessment requires attendance at a specialised teaching session either at the University (e.g. a laboratory, seminar, clinic, test etc) or elsewhere (e.g. an industrial or clinical placement, field exercise, laboratory visit etc) and where a student has good cause for non-attendance, the following procedures should be adopted: Regulations ii and iii above should be used whenever it is possible to provide the student with an alternative (e.g. provide data from another investigation, arrange attendance on another occasion) and thus negotiate a revised submission date. Where it is impossible to make alternative arrangements, the student should normally be allowed their average mark for a similar exercise(s) to be used in calculating the final mark for that module. Clearly in clinicallybased/workshop-based/laboratory-based modules there is a limit to the number of classes that can be missed and the student still deemed to have reached a satisfactory standard. Where such criteria need to be satisfied, these criteria should be included in the module assessment regulations and approved by the University at approval or review. It is possible that in some circumstances, failure to submit coursework will require to be dealt with under the conditions outlined in Appendix 6 - Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances. v) Where there are sound academic and professional reasons, Programme Boards may seek approval from the School Board for a minimum attendance requirement in respect of 41

43 specific modules or for all, or parts of, a particular programme. The relevant Programme Boards must liaise to ensure that module, programme and student handbooks clearly identify where this regulation is to be applied and the penalty for failure to meet the minimum attendance requirement. 26. vi) Where a student has failed to meet the minimum attendance requirement (as detailed in module descriptors, programme regulations and student handbooks) then the Assessment Board may decide that the student be required to re-enter the module with attendance or, on the basis of the individual's overall performance, that an alternative form of action may be more appropriate within the framework of the assessment regulations. (b) In situations where the means of assessment for a module is one piece of coursework, failure to submit that piece of coursework should be considered in the same way as failure to attend an examination. Where appropriate, the conditions outlined in Appendix 6 may apply In cases where attendance at specific classes is essential, normally to satisfy Statutory or Professional Body requirements, the module handbook shall specify these classes. The Module Leader must ensure that all students are informed via the module handbook Students should not attempt to use the same substantive piece of work to meet the assessment requirements of another item of coursework, dissertation or project. In a situation where an Assessment Board believes there is evidence that a student has attempted to use the same substantive piece of work for more than one item of coursework, the matter will be dealt with under the terms of University Regulations Regarding Plagiarism and Cheating (Appendix 7). Both module tutors and students must be aware of this regulation and it is the responsibility of module tutors to ensure that assessment topics do not overlap significantly. At level three and above the following statement should be incorporated into any piece of coursework submitted by a student: this piece of coursework is my own original work and has not been submitted elsewhere in fulfilment of the requirement of this or any other award. 26 See also information on University procedures for student attendance monitoring at 42

44 APPENDIX 6 CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES NB: A Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF) must not be used by students to request an extension or to provide an explanation for the late submission of an assessment. Requests for an extension or explanations for the late submission of an assessment must be made via direct contact with the module leader. In these circumstances, the procedure outlined in Appendix 5 Conditions of entry to assessments and assessment scheme, paragraph 5.10 must be adhered to. 6.1 School Mitigating Circumstances Board A Mitigating Circumstances Board will operate in each School for the consideration, on behalf of individual Assessment Boards, of the validity of mitigating circumstances submitted by students in mitigation of their performance in assessments which contribute to their progression and for final award. The Graduate School, GCU Lead and other programme areas will ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for their areas. Each School will have a minimum of one combined UG/PG Mitigating Circumstances Board meeting per Trimester plus an Autumn meeting to consider submissions for those students completing their dissertations. Each Board will have a minimum of 8 members and the quorum for the Board will be 75%. The Head of Administration in each School will be responsible for coordinating the School Mitigating Circumstances Board meeting schedule for the Academic Session. It is important to note that Mitigating Circumstances Boards are not intended to be representational but rather an objective Board of appropriate members of senior School academic staff who can provide a consistency of decision making. The membership, including interschool representation, of each Mitigating Circumstances Board shall be as follows: Membership 3 x Dept LTQ reps/champions, with Chair rotating 3 x Dept Academic Disability Co-ordinators One Dept LTQ rep from another School At least one subject lead per dept. by rotation/agreement In Attendance Admin Support Inter School Representation and Chairing of the Mitigating Circumstances Boards by Departmental LTQ leads. School Department Jan May Aug Sept/Oct Combined Combined Combined MSc Award LEAR Chair SHLS SHLS GSBS BM SHLS Chair SSMJ SEBE Chair Chair 43

45 SHLS HCS Chair SEBE SEBE PAHS SEBE Chair LS GSBS Chair Chair SEBE C&S Chair GSBS GSBS MEEE GSBS Chair CCIS SHLS Chair Chair 6.2 Pre-Screening of Mitigating Circumstances forms The Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board (plus one other member of the board) to have delegated authority to screen all MC forms prior to MC Board Meetings and approve applications that clearly meet the eligibility criteria, see para All other applications must be submitted to the full Board for consideration. NB: Where the Chair of the Board has an in depth knowledge of an applicant, the Chair should be passed to another member of the Board for consideration of the application. 6.3 Each student wishing the University to take into account mitigating circumstances must complete the "Mitigating Circumstances Form" (MCF). Students must provide supporting evidence with the MCF and it must clearly relate to the specific dates during which the mitigating circumstances were applicable. If the mitigating circumstance relates to a medical problem, a medical certificate (or letter from a medical practitioner) must be attached - a self-certificate form is not acceptable evidence. The form must be submitted no later than 5 working days after last date of the examination diet in each trimester, as set out in the standard Trimester Calendar. This applies to all assessments which take place within each trimester. Where the submission date for an assessment is outwith a normal exam diet (e.g. an MSc dissertation), the MCF must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the submission/assessment date. Forms received after the deadlines will be rejected and late submissions will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances. The form (MCF) and Help Notes for Students on its completion will be available from Departmental and School Offices and Student Administration Services. Schools will ensure that there is process to confirm that the period of the mitigating circumstances cited concur with the assessment dates. 6.4 Schools will ensure that Mitigating Circumstances forms (MCF) are collated and submitted timeously to the School Mitigating Circumstances Board. The information on the form will be made available to all members of the Mitigating Circumstances Board. The information contained within the MCFs must be treated as strictly confidential and not discussed or divulged outwith the Board. 6.5 For each individual Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF), the School Mitigating Circumstances Board will normally, make one of the following decisions. In the case of Retrospective Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances (RCMCF), the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board plus one member of the MCF Board have delegated authority to make one of the following decisions. 44

46 During its deliberations, the Board must take cognizance of the specified list of circumstances considered to be legitimate grounds for acceptance of a form, listed in paras 6.12 & That the notification contained within the MCF/ RCMCF be accepted and the Assessment Board proceed immediately to take a decision on the basis of the directions set out in Paragraphs 6.7 to 6.10 below That the notification contained within the MCF RCMCF be not accepted and the submission be discounted in the Assessment Boards deliberations That, very exceptionally, the Mitigating Circumstances Board may wish to consult with the Assessment Board Chair where an informed decision cannot be reached by the Mitigating Circumstances Board. Note: Mitigating Circumstances Boards will not uphold mitigating circumstances where corroborative evidence is not provided. 6.6 The Mitigating Circumstances Board shall maintain a record of decisions and their rationale and provide this information to the Assessment Board with respect to each Mitigating Circumstances Form/Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances Form considered. In the case of a student with multiple Mitigating Circumstances Forms submitted, the outcome of these deliberations may be consolidated into a single decision, as appropriate. Decisions of the Schools Mitigating Circumstances Boards cannot be overturned. In exceptional circumstances, the Assessment Board may choose to present a case to the School Mitigating Circumstances Board seeking a reconsideration of its decision. This may include a submission by the Assessment Board to the School Mitigating Circumstances Board under Item 8 of the Mitigating Circumstances Guidelines for Staff. In these circumstances, the decision for the individual student concerned should be recorded as deferred Please note: It is the role of the School Mitigating Circumstances Board to make decisions regarding whether or not the mitigation contained within a MCF/RCMCF should or should not be accepted. This is designed to ensure consistency of decision making. In addition to recording a decision for each student, the decision and rationale behind it must also be recorded on the MCF which should be kept with the student s record. (Note: The MCF must be kept until at least six months after the date of completion of the programme by the student, or six months after their withdrawal) Students must be notified of the outcome of their MCF/RCMCF submission by use of the standard university MCF/RCMCF feedback form. 6.7 It is not the role of the School Mitigating Circumstances Board to make academic judgements on behalf of the Assessment Board. The Chair of the Assessment Board will report the decision of the Mitigating Circumstances Board to the Assessment Board. Where the mitigating circumstances have been accepted by the Mitigating Circumstances Board, the Assessment Board will make a judgement about the most appropriate decision, taking into account the need to maintain academic standards and to act in the best interests of the student concerned. 45

47 The Chair of the Assessment Board shall ensure the following: i) MCFs submitted directly to the Assessment Board (i.e. not via a Mitigating Circumstances Board) are not considered. ii) That there is no discussion of mitigating circumstances relating to any student where these circumstances have not been notified to the Board, via a Mitigating Circumstances Board, by means of a MCF. iii) Where a student has cited mitigating circumstances for a particular module assessment, these circumstances will not be considered in relation to any other module assessments undertaken by the student on the basis of supplementary information notified to the Assessment Board by oral (or other) statement(s). Where a candidate has given, to the satisfaction of the Mitigating Circumstances Board, due notice of mitigating circumstances (in accordance with paragraph 6.3 above) and has been absent from or has failed an assessment, the Assessment Board will consider: the work which the candidate has submitted at the assessment(s), if any, for the module concerned records of the candidate's performance during the entire programme academic evaluation provided by the candidate's tutors the results of any other form of assessment (e.g., oral) which may be set for the candidate concerned 6.8 Where a candidate has given, to the satisfaction of the Mitigating Circumstances Board, due notice of mitigating circumstances (in accordance with paragraph 6.3 above) and has been absent from or has failed an assessment, the Assessment Board may, for example, decide: i) that the student has passed and is eligible for progression or award with the original marks and the mitigating circumstances are not considered to have impinged on the student s performance. However, the submission of a MCF will be recorded in the student s assessment record and the Mitigating Circumstances database for potential future reference. ii) that, on the level of overall performance in a particular year and performance in previous years, the student would have passed had he/she not been affected by circumstances outwith his/her control (see paragraph 54 of the University Assessment Regulations). In situations where the Assessment Board decision is to take cognisance of mitigating circumstances and award a pass in a particular module, no mark should be recorded but a symbol i.e. 'P' representing a Pass from the Assessment Board based on the mitigating circumstances will be recorded in the student's record and transcript. iii) that, in the light of the mitigating circumstances, the attempt at a particular diet be declared void and that the student take the next diet as a first, second, third*, or fourth* attempt as appropriate. iv) that, on the basis of overall performance in a particular year and, if appropriate, in previous years, that the student would not have passed, notwithstanding the fact that he/she had been affected by circumstances outwith his/her control 6.9 Assessment Boards may modify the form of assessment in accordance with the University Assessment Regulations (see paragraphs 53 to 56) On the basis of the information available to it, the Assessment Board may, if appropriate, permit the candidate to proceed, or recommend the granting of a University award, an award with Distinction, a degree, a degree with Distinction, a degree with Honours, etc Submission of Mitigating Circumstances after results have been published (Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances) 46

48 A student who wishes to notify the University of Mitigating Circumstances which were not made available to an Assessment Board before it took its decision must provide a written explanation as to why they did not provide this information in advance of the Assessment Board meeting. Retrospective Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances forms will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances Each student wishing the University to take into account retrospective mitigating circumstances must complete the "Retrospective Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances Form (RCMCF). The form must be received by the appropriate School within two calendar weeks of publication of the Assessment Board s decision. The RCMCF must include full details of the circumstances which prevented the submission of a Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF) by the appropriate Trimester deadline, i.e. in advance of the Assessment Board meeting. All claims must include medical certificates or other documentation which support the retrospective submission of the claim, i.e. the good reason for why the MCF form could not have been submitted before the Assessment Board met. The Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board and one other Board member have delegated authority to screen all retrospective MCF forms and approve applications which clearly meet the eligibility criteria to go forward for consideration under paragraphs 6.5. During deliberations, cognizance must be taken of the specified list of circumstances considered to be legitimate grounds for acceptance of a RCMC form, listed in paras 6.14 & For applications approved for further consideration, the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board plus one member of the MCF Board have delegated authority to act in accordance with paragraph 6.5 and 6.6. Thereafter, the regulations governing the submission of an MCF apply. Students will be notified of the outcome of their submission via the standard university RCMCF feedback form no later than four weeks after the submission of their form. NB: Where students wish to request further consideration of an Assessment Board Decision on the basis of Procedural or other academic grounds, this must be submitted under the University s Academic Appeal Regulation, using the Academic Appeal Form. Procedural or academic grounds for an Academic Appeal are defined as Material administrative error, Regulatory irregularity and other material irregularity. Examples: that the assessments were not conducted in accordance with regulations for the programme; that the Assessment Board Decision does not conform to University Assessment Regulations Legitimate Grounds for the submission of a Mitigating Circumstances Form. Serious or significant medical conditions or illness (including both physical and mental health problems). Ailments such as severe colds, migraines, stomach upsets, etc., ONLY where the ailment was so severe it was impossible for you to attend an examination/complete assessment AND where notification was given to the module leader, normally within 48 hours of the exam/deadline AND was followed by a certificate (or a letter on letter headed or officially stamped paper) from a UK based GP, normally obtained within 48 hours of the exam/deadline. If your illness occurred whilst outwith the UK then an appropriate letter or certificate from a fully qualified medical practitioner on appropriate note paper will be required. 47

49 Exceptional personal circumstances (e.g. serious illness or death of a parent or other person who brought you up, grandparent, brother or sister, spouse or partner or close friend, including participation in funeral and associated rites; family break up; being a victim of significant crime; being in a serious car accident). A significant family crisis where there is evidence of acute stress caused. Exceptional travel disruption beyond your control, and for which you can provide independent evidence, which prevented you from attending an examination or other scheduled assessment Circumstances unlikely to be considered legitimate grounds for the submission of a Mitigating Circumstances Form: Forms submitted without independent supporting evidence Forms which do not state clearly how your performance in your assessments has been affected Minor (usually seasonal) ailments such as sore throats, minor colds, headaches, hangovers etc Long term illness or disability where special arrangements have already been made A description of a medical condition without reasonable supporting evidence (medical or otherwise) A medical condition supported by retrospective / post-dated medical evidence; e.g. a doctor s note which states that you were seen by the Doctor more than 48 hours after the illness occurred without additional corroborating evidence that you contacted your module or programme leader at the time of the illness Circumstances which have already been fully catered for by the granting of a coursework extension Examinations on the same or consecutive days or an inability to prioritise and schedule the completion of several pieces of work over a period of time Adherence to or participation in a religious or cultural observance Death of a pet An inability to adjust to life away from home Problems caused by English not being your principal language Financial issues Concerns about political or social unrest in your home country which was ongoing at the time you left to take up your place at Glasgow Caledonian (other than where there has been a sharp deterioration since your departure) 48

50 Poor time management or personal organisation (e.g. failure to plan for travel problems resulting in late submission of coursework or inability to get to an examination in time; misreading the examination timetable) Failure, loss or theft of data, a computer or other equipment Representing the University or your country at a sporting event (you should advise the Module Leader in advance and arrange for an extension for coursework and/or for a first attempt at a later diet of examinations) Circumstances within your control (e.g. holiday; paid or voluntary employment; choosing to miss an assessment or coursework deadline for something which you consider to be more important) MCF submitted after the published deadline, except where you were unable to meet the submission date for exceptional reasons which can be validated (e.g. hospitalisation). In this case you should submit an application for consideration of Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances RMCF submitted with insufficient evidence of the circumstances which prevented the submission of a MCF by the appropriate deadline Legitimate Grounds for submitting a Retrospective MCF: An application for Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances can be made as a result of being unable to apply for MC before the specified deadline due to exceptional circumstances (such as hospitalisation or extenuating personal circumstances) Inappropriate Grounds for submitting a Retrospective MCF: Ignorance of the MC process or dissatisfaction with academic decisions would not be considered appropriate grounds for submitting an RMCF. 49

51 Overview of the Mitigation Process Mitigating circumstance affects a students performance Extension granted by ML if appropriate, keeping in mind the time to mark and the results publication dates. Module leader makes a judgement re impact/dates etc Student discusses circumstances with module leader yes Missed assignment No Circumstances No impact final happens within assessment trimester time? /exam? No case to consider Yes Mitigation Panel meets Student submits Mitigation form, following the Help Sheet for Students yes There are legitimate grounds for submission and dates are appropriate? (See help sheet for students) No No case to consider Student informed of MITS decision via a copy of the feedback form together with Assessment Board results Impact of mitigation considered by assessment board as per Appendix 6 of Asssessment Regs. Decision passed to Assessment Board Yes Is there about to be a formal assessment board? No Student informed of MITS decision via a copy of the feedback form. Provisional results will be ed Note MITS decisions will normally not be applied until the formal Assessment board Overview of the Retrospective Mitigation Process Formal Assessment Board results are published Student considers that there are Mitigating factors which could not be declared within 7 days of the assessment period due to exceptional unforeseen circumstances Student submits Retrospective Mitigation form, following the Help Sheet for Students Case considered by Chair of Mitigation panel +1 other Accepted Rejected Decision passed to Assessment Board and Chairs Action applied. Student informed of decision via a copy of the feedback form, normally within 4 weeks. Student informed of decision via a copy of the feedback form together with updated Assessment Board result, normally within 4 weeks. October 2010, October 2011, October This version amended October 2013 PW-Governance and Quality Enhancement 50

52 PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE HELP SHEET FOR STUDENTS *Official Use Only *Date Received.. *Submitted On Time: Yes / No Personal Details Mitigating Circumstances Form Name:... Student ID:... Address for correspondence Telephone No:... address:.. Date of Submission of form:... (This date must be entered) Submission of the form Forms must be submitted by the appropriate assessment deadline in each Trimester. The deadlines for session are as follows: Trimester A assessment deadline no later than 24 January 2014 Trimester B assessment deadline - no later than *16 May 2014 Trimester C/Resit assessment deadline no later than 29 August 2014 Where the submission date for an assessment is after the Trimester deadline: In the event that your assessment submission date for the module(s) affected is scheduled after the final Trimester deadline for submission of a Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF), you MUST submit your MCF no later than 5 working days after the submission date. State assessment submission date:... Late Submission MCF submitted after the submission deadlines will not be accepted. If, due to exceptional circumstances, you were unable to submit at MCF prior to the deadline, you may submit a Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances Form, which can be submitted up to two weeks after the publication of the Assessment Board s decision. Category of Attendance (Please tick the appropriate boxes) Full-Time Part-Time Undergraduate Postgraduate CPD Distance Learning Other (please specify):.. 51

53 Programme/Module Details Programme of Study... AOS Code (This is indicated on your Student ID card)... School: GSBS SEBE SHLS GCU LEAD GRADUATE SCHOOL (please tick appropriate box) Modules affected by mitigating circumstances (please complete for each module affected) Module Code Module Title Date of Assessment Assessment type* *eg exam, essay, dissertation etc. Nature of Mitigating Circumstances Nature of Mitigating Circumstances Medical Other (please tick box) Duration of impact of Mitigating Circumstances (start date ) to (end) Supporting Evidence You must provide supporting evidence and it must clearly relate to the specific dates during which the Mitigating Circumstances were applicable. If you are awaiting supporting evidence documentation, do not delay submission of the form. If you submit the MCF without supporting evidence, the supporting evidence documentation must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the Trimester MCF deadline and you must supply your personal details with the documentation. Please refer to the Help Sheet for students for further guidance (Section 7. What evidence do I need to attach to my form? ). Please tick the appropriate box I have provided additional separate documentation as supporting evidence consisting of (please specify, e.g. medical certificate,) OR I am awaiting additional supporting evidence documentation (it is your responsibility to submit this within 5 working days of the trimester deadline detailed at the front of the form. If information is not received by the deadline your application will NOT be considered. No reminders for this will be issued.) 52

54 Personal Impact Statement You are required to include details of how the circumstances have affected your studies. Please provide as much information as you feel the Board needs to know to allow it to make a decision and which you feel comfortable disclosing. Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary. Please refer to the Help Sheet for Students for further guidance ( Section 6 What sort of information should I include? ) Declaration The information given in this form must be accurate and must have, or must be believed to have, had a direct and adverse effect on your academic performance. You MUST sign and date this declaration: The information I have given on this form is, to the best of my knowledge, true and has had a direct adverse effect on the assessment(s) named. Signed:... Date:... If you provide information or certificates which are subsequently found to be falsified or misleading in any way, you may be liable to action being taken against you under the Code of Student Discipline. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU COMPLETE PART ONE OF THE FORM OVERLEAF Claims for mitigation will not be deemed valid if: The form is incomplete. The form is submitted after the deadline detailed on page 1 of the form. The form is not accompanied by relevant supporting information. July

55 DECISION OF MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES BOARD PART ONE: STUDENTS TO COMPLETE PART ONE NAME.. STUDENT ID PROGRAMME NAME. AOS CODE YEAR OF STUDY 1 ST 2 ND 3 RD 4 TH FULL TIME PART TIME PART TWO: To be completed by a member of the Mitigating Circumstances Board Claim Accepted (Noted with and X in the box) Your application for Mitigating Circumstances has been accepted and will be considered by the Assessment Board, who will act in accordance with section 6.8 of Appendix 6 of the University Assessment Regulations Claim Rejected The Mitigating Circumstances Board REJECTED your claim on the following grounds (noted with an X) 1. You did not submit the form within the stated deadline. 2. Your mitigating circumstances did not meet the criteria as stated in the guidance 3. Your Personal Impact Statement did not contain sufficient information to allow members of the MC Board to judge the validity of your claim. 4. You did not submit appropriate supporting evidence. 5. The evidence submitted was not judged to have come from an appropriate external third party (such as a medical Doctor). 6. The dates on your form did not coincide with the dates of assessment. 7. You were not enrolled for the module which had been affected by the Mitigating Circumstances 8. Other Grounds (details below) I declare the outcome of the Mitigating Circumstances Board as noted above to be accurate. Signed by a member of the MC Board: Date:... The decision of the Mitigating Circumstances Board is final and there is no right of appeal or opportunity to submit further evidence. Note: Decisions will not be applied until the formal Assessment Board meets and will therefore not be shown on provisional results. For example, where you have submitted an MCF for Trimester A and you have received your provisional results by , the result will not reflect any mitigating circumstances that have been accepted. COPY OF FORM TO BE RETURNED TO STUDENT, ORIGINAL FORM TO BE RETAINED BY THE SCHOOL 54

56 Mitigating Circumstances - Help Sheet for Students 1. What is a Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF)? An MCF is the form provided when you need to tell the University about any circumstances that you feel have affected your academic performance and/or caused your absence from an assessment, i.e. coursework or exam. The University will only accept for consideration Mitigating Circumstances notified by this means, e.g. it cannot accept notification by , discussion with members of staff, letter etc. Please do not use an MCF to request an extension or to provide an explanation for the late submission of an assessment. If you wish to request an extension or explain the late submission of an assessment you are required to contact your module leader. If you wish to request further consideration of an Assessment Board Decision on the basis of Procedural or other academic grounds, this must be submitted under the University s Academic Appeal Regulation, using the Academic Appeal Form. Procedural or academic grounds for an Academic Appeal are defined as Material administrative error, Regulatory irregularity and other material irregularity. Examples: that the assessments were not conducted in accordance with regulations for the programme; that the Assessment Board Decision does not conform to University Assessment Regulations. 2. What is Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances (RMC)? An application for Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances can be made as a result of being unable to apply for MC before the specified deadline due to exceptional circumstances (such as hospitalisation or extenuating and unforeseen personal circumstances). A RMC application must be submitted on the RMC form within two calendar weeks after the publication of the Assessment Board s decision, and must include appropriate evidence for the reason why the application is retrospective. Being unaware of the MC process or dissatisfaction with academic decisions are NOT grounds for submitting a RMC form. 3. Under what circumstances SHOULD I submit an MCF/RMCF? Below is a list of circumstances that are legitimate grounds for the submission of an MCF/RMCF (Taken from Section 6.12 of Appendix 6 of Assessment Regulations) Serious or significant medical conditions or illness (including both physical and mental health problems). Ailments such as severe colds, migraines, stomach upsets, etc., ONLY where the ailment was so severe it was impossible for you to attend an examination/complete assessment AND where notification was given in writing to the module leader, normally within 48 hours of the exam/deadline AND was followed by a certificate (or a letter on letter headed or officially stamped paper) from a UK based GP, normally obtained within 48 hours of the exam/deadline. If your illness occurred whilst outwith the UK then an appropriate letter or certificate from a fully qualified medical practitioner on appropriate note paper will be required. Exceptional personal circumstances (e.g. serious illness or death of a parent or other person who brought you up, grandparent, brother or sister, spouse or partner or close friend, including participation in funeral and associated rites; family break up; being a victim of significant crime; being in a serious car accident). A significant family crisis where there is evidence of acute stress caused. 55

57 Exceptional travel disruption beyond your control, and for which you can provide independent evidence, which prevented you from attending an examination or other scheduled assessment. 4. Under what circumstanced should I NOT submit an MCF/RMCF? Appendix 1 details circumstances unlikely to be considered legitimate grounds for the submission of an MCF/RMCF (Taken from Section 6.13 of the Appendix 6 of Assessment Regulations). If you submit a form with grounds listed as inappropriate it is highly unlikely that your application will be successful. 5. When do I need to submit it by? The deadlines for the submission of MCFs in each trimester are detailed at the front of the form. Where your circumstances are ongoing, e.g. from trimester A to trimester B, you are required submit a MCF and supporting evidence in each trimester affected. RMCF must be submitted no later than two calendar weeks after the publication of the Assessment Board s decision. 6. What sort of information should I include? You must complete the Personal Impact Statement section of the form. Use this part of the form to explain how the mitigating circumstances, medical or otherwise affected you personally in relation to your ability to complete your studies. Use this part of the form to outline as much information as you feel the board needs to know and which you feel comfortable disclosing. You could include details of the situation that has affected you and how this may have impacted on you emotionally. You must include details of how the circumstances have affected your studies, without this information, the Mitigating Circumstances Board will not be able to consider your application. 7. What evidence do I need to attach to my form? You must include appropriate supporting evidence. If the mitigating circumstances relate to a medical issue, a medical certificate (or a letter on letter headed or officially stamped paper) sourced from a visit to a UK based GP, is required - a selfcertificate form is not acceptable evidence. If your illness occurred whilst outwith the UK then an appropriate letter or certificate from a fully qualified medical practitioner on appropriate note paper will be required. If the mitigating circumstance is not due to a medical issue you are required to provide other appropriate evidence or appropriate written corroboration, e.g. a police incident number, death certificate. It is not appropriate to submit uncorroborated statements from tutors or other people whose knowledge of your condition or circumstances is through you informing them of it. If you have been affected by the illness of a close family member or a family bereavement, you need to use the Personal Impact Statement to explain how this impacted on you personally in relation to your ability to complete your studies. In this case, you will need to provide evidence relating directly to you in support of your Personal Impact Statement e.g. a medical certificate or letter from a medical practitioner. Whatever the nature of the supporting evidence, you must ensure it contains the necessary details to clearly relate it to the specific dates during which the Mitigating Circumstances were applicable. If you do not do so it is likely that your MCF/RMCF will not be accepted. All evidence must be submitted in English. 56

58 For RMCF you must also provide evidence as to why you were not able to submit a MCF within the deadline stated and are applying for retrospective MCs. 8. What will happen to my form? There are two stages to the process. The School Mitigating Circumstances Board will normally make a decision whether or not to accept your MCF. You will be notified of this decision. If the MCF is accepted then the Assessment Board for your programme can take the circumstances into consideration when making their decision regarding your progression or award (this will usually happen in June or August). Note, even if you have passed an assessment, if you have had a MC or RMC application accepted, the Assessment Board will take the impact of this into account when considering your results (See Appendix 6.8.i of the Assessment Regulations). 9. What are the possible outcomes? There are a number of possible outcomes which are detailed in Appendix 6 of the University Assessment Regulations. 10. Will my Mitigating Circumstances be treated as confidential? You may be assured that all discussions relating to your Mitigating Circumstances will be treated in the strictest confidence. 11. What do I need to do before submitting the form? You are encouraged to take a photocopy of your form, for your records. Enclose the form and supporting evidence in an envelope marked confidential. 12. When will I hear if my application has been successful? You will be informed if you have been successful or not around the same time as you get your exam results, except in the case of Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances, when you will be informed within four weeks of submitting your application form. 13. Where can I go to get help with completing the form? If you need additional help or support to complete the form you should contact your Academic Advisor or the Advice Centre in the Students Association. 14. To whom do I send the completed form? You can submit your form and supporting evidence in the following ways. In all cases, you will receive an confirming receipt. For programmes within the following Schools: Glasgow School for Business and Society (GSBS): By drop off in the School Mitigating Circumstances collection boxes in the Hamish Wood Building. The boxes are available on the first floor (outside the lifts) and fifth floor (outside the lifts) of the building. By post to the Programmes Office, c/o Gillian Steed, Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA. 57

59 School of Engineering and Built Environment (SEBE): By drop off in the Mitigating Circumstances postbox outside the Programmes Office M209 By post to MCF Submission, M209, School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA School of Health and Life Sciences (HLS): By drop off in the Mitigating Circumstances collection box (outside A506, 5 th Floor, Govan Mbeki Building) By post to MCF Submission, School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA GCU LEAD (Learning Enhancement and Academic Development) By post to the Programme Administrator, Room H113G, Level 1, William Harley Building (programmes run by the Scottish Centre for Work Based Learning) By post to the Programme Administrator, Room H113J, Level 1, William Harley Building (AcceleRATE CPD programmes) Graduate School By drop off in the Submission Box outside Graduate School Office, Milton Street Building, MS009 By post to Programme Administrator, Graduate School, MS007 Milton Street Building, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA GCU London All Schools By drop off to Ruth Cawthorne, Student Office, First Floor, GCU London, 40 Fashion Street, London By post to the appropriate postal contact for your School as detailed above. You may also submit your form to The Base on the Ground Floor of the Saltire Centre. For further guidance on Mitigating Circumstances and Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances, please refer to Appendix 6 of the University Assessment Regulations on the Exams Home Page at: 58

60 (CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES )Appendix I Circumstances UNLIKELY to be considered legitimate grounds for the approval of Mitigating Circumstances or Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances (Section 6.13, Appendix 6 Assessment Regulations) 1. Forms submitted without independent supporting evidence. 2. Forms which do not state clearly how your performance in your assessments has been affected. 3. Minor (usually seasonal) ailments such as sore throats, minor colds, headaches, hangovers etc. 4. Long term illness or disability where special arrangements have already been made. 5. A description of a medical condition without reasonable supporting evidence (medical or otherwise). 6. A medical condition supported by retrospective / post-dated medical evidence; e.g. a doctor s note which states that you were seen by the Doctor more than 48 hours after the illness occurred without additional corroborating evidence that you contacted your module or programme leader at the time of the illness. 7. Circumstances which have already been fully catered for by the granting of a coursework extension. 8. Examinations on the same or consecutive days or an inability to prioritise and schedule the completion of several pieces of work over a period of time. 9. Adherence to or participation in a religious or cultural observance. 10. Death of a pet. 11. An inability to adjust to life away from home. 12. Problems caused by English not being your principal language. 13. Financial issues. 14. Concerns about political or social unrest in your home country which was ongoing at the time you left to take up your place at Glasgow Caledonian (other than where there has been a sharp deterioration since your departure) 15. Poor time management or personal organisation (e.g. failure to plan for travel problems resulting in late submission of coursework or inability to get to an examination in time; misreading the examination timetable). 16. Failure, loss or theft of data, a computer or other equipment. 17. Representing the University or your country at a sporting event (you should advise the Module Leader in advance and arrange for an extension for coursework and/or for a first attempt at a later diet of examinations). 59

61 18. Circumstances within your control (e.g. holiday; paid or voluntary employment; choosing to miss an assessment or coursework deadline for something which you consider to be more important). 19. MCF submitted after the published deadline, except where you were unable to meet the submission date for exceptional reasons which can be validated (e.g. hospitalisation). In this case you should submit an application for consideration of Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances. 20. RMCF submitted with insufficient evidence of the circumstances which prevented the submission of a MCF by the appropriate deadline. July

62 UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS REGARDING PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING Please refer to Section 7.5 for definitions of plagiarism and cheating. 7.1 Plagiarism: Regulations and Procedures Where plagiarism is suspected, the Module Leader concerned shall report the matter in writing to the Head of Department within which the module is located. The report shall contain full details of the circumstances surrounding the alleged irregularity, including all appropriate documentary evidence. Any further consideration of the student s work for the module where plagiarism is suspected and for all other modules undertaken in the Trimester shall be held in abeyance until the procedures below have been completed, which should normally be within 30 days. The student will receive notification of any penalty in accordance with the process outlined in (iv) In the first instance the Head of Department shall consult with Governance and Quality to ascertain if the student has previously committed plagiarism. Thereafter the Head of Department shall: assess the extent of the suspected plagiarism and will deal with suspected cases that are first offences and not considered to be major. refer all suspected repeat offences and suspected cases of major offences to a Plagiarism Assessor 28, via Governance and Quality, for investigation under the provisions of Section below. all cases of confirmed third offences will be referred to the Senate Disciplinary Committee. In minor cases, where the matter is dealt with at Departmental level, the process will be managed by the School. In all other cases the process will be managed by Governance and Quality In determining what constitutes a major offence, the Head of Department will take into account the student's level of study and length of exposure to the procedures, practices and regulations of the University. In addition, the Head of Department may consult informally with an independent Plagiarism Assessor, assigned by Governance and Quality, if he/she requires advice as whether or not the case is a major offence. The Head of Department should also discuss the case informally with the School s Associate Dean of Learning Teaching and Quality to ensure that the Associate Dean s University wide experience as a Plagiarism Assessor is utilised to confirm that the proposed actions are in line with normal University practice First Offences i. With respect to first offences which are not considered to be major, the student will be informed in writing by the Head of Department of the alleged offence and of the requirement to attend for interview, as soon as is practicable. Where the Head of Department has a potential conflict of interest, he/she should pass the case to another Head of Department within the School. ii. The student shall have the right to be accompanied, assisted or represented at the interview by one of the following: a parent or guardian; APPENDIX 7 27 Regulations and procedures addressing all other forms of cheating and academic irregularity begin at paragraph The Plagiarism Assessors will be the Associate Deans of Learning, Teaching and Quality or other appropriate member of academic staff. In any investigation, the Plagiarism Assessor (and their School) will not have any involvement with the student at programme or module level. Governance and Quality will assign an appropriate Plagiarism Assessor. 61

63 a fellow student or other friend; an Officer of the Students' Association; a member of University staff. At the beginning of the interview, the Head of Department will ascertain who is to be the spokesperson for the student (the student or a representative). The Head of Department shall have the right, however, to question the student directly where necessary. The Head of Department will also retain a record of the meeting. iii. At the interview, the student will be shown his or her work and given a clear explanation of the alleged irregularity. The student will be given the opportunity to justify the work. iv. If the Head of Department is satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that an offence has occurred he or she will: Decide on the penalty to be imposed. This will either be resubmission of the work or reduction in the mark for the assignment up to and including a mark of zero; Notify the Chair of the Assessment Board of the penalty in writing; Notify Governance and Quality of the penalty in writing. Governance and Quality will add the case to the central register of students who have plagiarised; Notify the student in writing of the penalty imposed and their right of appeal (see 7.4); Ensure that the student is given written instruction about plagiarism and the necessity of properly acknowledging and referencing sources prior to any resubmission. v. If the Head of Department is not satisfied that an offence has occurred but considers that the student has engaged in poor academic practice then the student will receive a warning and written instructions about plagiarism. Governance and Quality will be notified that an investigation has taken place and that no further action will be taken. vi. If it is judged that there is no case for the student to answer, the student will be informed in writing by the Head of Department and the piece of work in question will be marked in accordance with normal arrangements, without penalty. Governance and Quality will be notified that an investigation has taken place and that no further action will be taken Major Offences/Second Offences i. Where an allegation of a major or repeat offence has occurred, the case will be referred by the Head of Department via Governance and Quality to a Plagiarism Assessor. The Head of Department is responsible for ensuring that the case passed to Governance and Quality is accompanied by all relevant documentation including a signed Plagiarism Major Offence Pro-forma. On receipt of the case, Governance and Quality will immediately advise the student in writing that a major or repeat plagiarism offence is suspected to have occurred and that an investigation by an independent Plagiarism Assessor is in progress. The student will be informed of their right to appear before the Plagiarism Assessor accompanied by a representative (as described in paragraph above) and that full details of the alleged irregularity will be made available to the student at the interview. ii. The Plagiarism Assessor shall arrange to interview the student and, as appropriate, come to a decision on the basis of the student's statement and the supporting evidence. iii. Failure by the student to appear before the Plagiarism Assessor or to submit a statement shall not prevent the investigation proceeding. 62

64 iv. If the Plagiarism Assessor decides the student has committed an offence, the following outcomes are possible: the rescindment of the assessment result or the complete examination diet (in this case this means all coursework and formal examinations) at issue. In either case the rescinded result will count as an attempt(s) at the module assessment; the matter is referred directly to the Senate Disciplinary Committee (this would be automatic in the case of a confirmed third offence); the student is given written instruction about plagiarism and the necessity of properly acknowledging and referencing sources. It is the responsibility of the Head of Department to ensure that this happens as soon as possible after the investigation has concluded and prior to any resubmission; v. The Plagiarism Assessor will notify Governance and Quality of his/her decision. vi. Governance and Quality will: Notify the relevant Head of Department in writing: Notify the Chair of the relevant Assessment Board in writing; it should be noted that the Assessment Board may amend the penalty in exceptional circumstances which must be properly minuted at the Assessment Board. 29 The chair of the Assessment Board must also provide Governance and Quality with a copy of the minute. An example of such a situation would be where Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances has been upheld and the Board feels that the Mitigating Circumstances were a sufficient mitigation for the plagiarism. Notify any other relevant programme staff in writing; Add the case to the central register of students who have plagiarised; Notify the student in writing of the penalty imposed and his/her right of appeal. Advise the student, if appropriate, to consult with their programme organiser to receive guidance/advice as to the academic implications of the penalty imposed. vii. If the Plagiarism Assessor is not satisfied that an offence has occurred but considers that the student has engaged in poor academic practice, the student will receive a warning and written instruction about plagiarism from the Plagiarism Assessor. The Plagiarism Assessor will also notify Governance and Quality, who will notify the Head of Department and the Chair of the relevant Assessment Board in writing of the outcome of the investigation. The provisions of bullet point 2 in vi above also apply in this case. viii. If the Plagiarism Assessor judges that there is no case for the student to answer, he/she will notify Governance and Quality that an investigation has taken place and that no further action is to be taken. The student will be informed in writing by Governance and Quality and the piece of work in question will be marked in accordance with normal arrangements and without penalty. 7.2 Cheating in Formal Assessments: Regulations and Procedures Examinations Where an academic irregularity is suspected in an examination, the senior invigilator shall act in accordance with the procedures set out in the Scheme of Invigilation 30 and shall report 29 Where programmes have programme specific regulations relating to Professional and Statutory Body fitness for practice requirements, the penalty may be amended to meet the requirements of these regulations. These regulations should be clearly described in the programme specific regulations in the programme documentation. 30 See Assessment and Graduation Processes section 1. 63

65 the alleged irregularity to Governance and Quality utilising the senior invigilator's report form. On receipt of notification of an alleged academic irregularity, Governance and Quality shall proceed in accordance with the Code of Student Discipline 31 and shall instigate the procedures required under the regulations in order that the alleged academic irregularity may be investigated and considered by the Senate Disciplinary Committee as appropriate. Other Formal Assessments Where an academic irregularity is suspected in any other formal assessment, the matter will be referred to the Executive Dean of School (or equivalent) to determine whether or not the offence constitutes a major or minor offence under the terms of the Code of Student Discipline. Cases of plagiarism will be dealt with under the procedures for plagiarism detailed in 7.1 above. All Formal Assessments Governance and Quality will inform the Chair of the appropriate Assessment Board in writing that an investigation into an alleged examination irregularity is underway The Assessment Board will not consider the case of any student who is the subject of an enquiry into an alleged irregularity in an examination. However, all course work and examination scripts that are available shall be marked in the normal manner In the event of the allegation not being sustained by the Senate Disciplinary Committee, the relevant Assessment Board will be required to consider the student's performance in the normal manner. However, the Chair of the Assessment Board may, after due consultation with relevant internal and External Examiners, take Chair's action to avoid the need for a formal meeting of the Assessment Board Should the allegation be sustained, the matter will be considered by the Senate Disciplinary Committee. The Clerk to the Senate Disciplinary Committee shall inform the relevant Chair of the Assessment Board of the outcome of the investigation Penalties The Senate Disciplinary Committee has the power to impose penalties. These include: 32 an admonition a reprimand disqualification from appropriate examinations/assessments suspension for a specified period expulsion 7.3 Late Discovery Where an alleged academic irregularity comes to light after an Assessment Board has met to consider a student's assessment the procedure shall be the same as described above. The Assessment Board shall be reconvened as soon as practicable following receipt by the Chair of the Board of the result of the investigation and the recommended penalty. 31 http// 32 Code of Student Discipline, section 4 64

66 If the outcome of the reconvened Assessment Board affects the student's final result, the Chair of the Assessment Board shall inform Governance and Quality in writing of the reasons for the varied result. Governance and Quality will inform the student of the altered final result with the reasons. 7.4 Appeals 33 Plagiarism A student may appeal against the decision following an investigation as follows: i. where the decision was taken by a Head of Department, the student may appeal to a Plagiarism Assessor, appointed by Governance and Quality. ii. where the decision was taken by a Plagiarism Assessor, the student may appeal to the Senate Disciplinary Committee. The decision of the Senate Disciplinary Committee, in the case of such an appeal, will be final. Cheating or other academic irregularity A student may appeal against the decision following an investigation as follows: i. where the decision was taken by an Executive Dean of School (or equivalent), the student may appeal to the Senate Disciplinary Committee. ii. where the decision was taken by the Senate Disciplinary Committee, the student may appeal to the Appeal Committee of the University Court. Appeals will only be considered where new information is presented which was not previously made available during the investigation and valid supporting evidence must be provided. 7.5 Definitions Plagiarism Plagiarism is the deliberate and substantial unacknowledged incorporation in a student's work of material derived from the work (published or unpublished) of another. Examples of plagiarism include: i) The extensive use of another person's material without reference or acknowledgement ii) The summarising of another person's work by changing some words or altering the order of presentation without acknowledgement iii) The substantial and unauthorised use of the ideas of another person without acknowledgement of the source iv) Copying the work of another student with or without that student's knowledge or agreement v) Deliberate use of commissioned material and presented as the student's own vi) Collusion vii) Self-plagiarism (the re-use of own previously written work or data presented for assessment on a previous occasion) Cheating Examples of cheating include: 33 Code of Student Discipline, sections 5 and 6 65

67 i) Communicating during an examination with any person other than a properly authorised invigilator or another authorised member of staff ii) Introducing any written or printed materials into the examination room unless expressly permitted by the Assessment Board or programme regulations iii) Introducing any electronically stored information into the examination room unless expressly permitted by the Assessment Board or programme regulations iv) Gaining access to any unauthorised material relating to an examination during or before the examination v) Obtaining a copy of an 'unseen' written examination paper in advance of the date and time for its authorised release vi) Falsifying data vii) Personating Revised regulations approved by APC, 11 October 2006 (Amended October 2007, October 2008 and September 2010, October 2011) 66

68 Flow diagram Flow diagram of proposed of procedures procedures in respect of plagiarism in respect of plagiarism Minor offence Plagiarism detected by Module Leader Head of Department contacts Governance and Quality to ascertain if it is a first offence and makes an initial judgement on the severity (in consultation with plagiarism assessor if necessary). Repeated minor offence or major offence Governance and Quality adds the case to the central register Head of Department decides on the penalty Student Notified Plagiarism Assessor decides on penalty or passes matter to SDC Student and relevant staff notified Assessment Board -notes the decision Governance and Quality adds the case to the central register Assessment Board -notes the decision Governance and Quality adds the case to the central register Senate Disciplinary Committee Student and relevant staff notified 67

69 PLAGIARISM MAJOR OFFENCE PROFORMA This form is to be used for the reporting of suspected Major Offences of Plagiarism to Governance and Quality. On completion by Head of Department, please return to Plagiarism Offences, Governance and Quality, Room H213, William Harley Building. Student Name: School: Head of Dept: AB Chair: Student ID Number: Course & Level: Programme Leader: Module Leader(s): Yes Has the central register for plagiarism been checked for a previous offence: No Is this a first offence? (Please check with Governance and Quality): Yes No In the case of a second/repeat offence please detail what guidance was previously given to the student: Please list the module(s) and Trimester in which plagiarism has occurred: Please provide details of the offence providing as much information as possible including details of evidence being presented for investigation. In my capacity as Head of Department I consider this to constitute a Major Offence of Plagiarism in terms of the University Regulations regarding Cheating and Plagiarism. Signature: Date: LEC/Plagiarism/Oct

70 ASSESSMENT AND GRADUATION PROCESSES 69

71 1. Scheme of Invigilation 1.1 Appointment of Invigilators Allocation of all invigilators will be done by the Examinations Office, from a pool of externally recruited staff. Duties will only be allocated to Invigilators who have attended an appropriate training session A senior invigilator shall be appointed for each examination room Invigilators shall normally be allocated on the ratio of 1:30 candidates. Two invigilators must be present in the examinations room at all times. 1.2 Roles and Responsibilities Senior Invigilator The Senior Invigilator will: Collect the examination papers, script books, Examination Attendance Records, Display Lists and Certificate of Invigilation Reports, together with any other requisite ancillary materials (as specified by the Assessors) from the Examinations Office at least thirty minutes before the start of the examination. Examinations Office staff will already have laid out materials and put up Display Lists in the main examination rooms Check that the examination room is properly arranged and that the requisite stationery/ancillary materials have been provided, and report any discrepancies to the Assessments Manager Ensure the examination papers and requisite ancillary materials are placed on candidates desks prior to the candidates entering the room. All other preparations for the examination, including putting up the display list(s) outside the examination room, must be completed before candidates are permitted to enter the examination room Open the doors of the examination room at least 15 minutes before the start of the examination and permit candidates to enter. Instruct candidates, as they enter the room, that they must deposit all coats, bags, multimedia equipment, books, etc, at the front or back of the examination room and that they may not read the examination paper or commence written work, other than completion of the front-piece of the examination script, until they are permitted to start the examination Manage situations where candidates whose names are not listed on the Examination Attendance Record present themselves in the examination room. Ensure any names of additional candidates are added to Examination Attendance Record. Ensure also that their details are added to the correct Record and their script(s) are reconciled within the appropriate set of scripts Make the required announcements to the candidates prior to the start of the examination session and with 15 minutes remaining and at the end of the examination Instruct candidates to place their student ID cards on the top, right-hand corner of their desks, where they can be checked by the invigilators without candidates being disturbed. 70

72 1.2.8 Read the items one to ten below to all candidates approximately five minutes before the examination session begins, stating the start time of the examination: Announce appropriate Emergency Evacuation procedures Inform candidates it is expected that they check that they are sitting in the correct seat and have been issued with the correct examination paper Inform candidates that no extra time for examinations will be given in the examination venue. If the candidate should receive extra time to complete the examination, they must go immediately to the Examinations Office in M122A Inform candidates that electronic media devices and mobile phones must be switched off and stored away from desks. Unauthorised aids are not allowed into the examination room and any such items must, on request, be surrendered to the Senior Invigilator who will hand them over to the University Inform candidates that they must not pass any information from one to another, work in collusion with any other person, copy from another candidate or engage in any similar activity State that candidates who feel ill during the examination must make every reasonable effort to inform an invigilator of their condition. Candidates may notify the University of any circumstances they consider may have affected their performance in the examination by using the Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances process, details of which may be obtained from the GCU student website Inform candidates that they may leave the examination after one-third of the scheduled duration has elapsed but may not normally leave during the final fifteen minutes Inform candidates that they may take the question paper out of the room once they have completed the examination but may not remove the question paper before one-third of the scheduled duration has elapsed. If the Module Leader has stipulated for a particular examination paper that the candidates must return all copies of the paper, candidates are not allowed to take the examination paper out of this room at any time Inform candidates it is their responsibility to make sure that script material is securely fastened together using the treasury tags provided and collected by an invigilator. At the end of the examination, candidates must remain seated until your script is collected Inform candidates that they must place their student ID cards on the top, righthand corner of their desk, where they can be checked by the invigilators At the appointed time, the invigilator will announce to candidates they may begin their examinations Inform candidates when there are fifteen minutes remaining and that they must remain seated until an invigilator gives them permission to leave the examination room. 71

73 Inform candidates at the end of the examination session that they must stop writing and make sure their script material is fastened securely, and to remain seated until the script has been collected by an invigilator Admit candidates who arrive late only until the point where one third of the scheduled duration for the examination has elapsed. Candidates will not be allowed to leave the examination venue with a copy of the examination paper during the first third of the scheduled examination duration Arrange a check of the candidate s identity and student ID card, which should have been placed on the top, right-hand corner of desks. Cards can be checked against the name on the Examination Attendance Record without candidates being disturbed. The invigilator must mark AB for absence or indicate the candidate is present by entering a. Ensure the Attendance Record is updated where candidates are admitted to the room after the attendance is taken. (See also above) Ensure invigilators are positioned appropriately within the examination room in order to monitor the candidates and respond to requests for additional materials, i.e. supplementary paper, treasury tags and requests to leave the examination room temporarily. Should a question arise regarding the content of the examination paper, arrange for the Module Leader to return to the examination venue to respond Ensure that if ever any abnormality or anomalous situation is encountered at an examination that it is immediately reported to the Assessments Manager Record any instances of doubt of a candidate s eligibility to sit an examination on the Certificate of Invigilation Report in order that appropriate action may be taken. However, the candidate should not be prevented from sitting the examination Arrange for assistant invigilation staff to leave the examination room on a rota basis for an appropriate refreshment break, provided that there are always at least two invigilators on duty. Breaks should not exceed 20 minutes in duration. Normally, a break will only be given where the examination duration is two hours or more Complete a reconciliation of the worked scripts at the end of the examination session. Assisted by all invigilators, ensure the scripts for each paper being examined are arranged into numerical by seat number order. Carry out a check to confirm, by using the students ID card numbers, that an examination script has been collected from each candidate marked present on the Examination Attendance Record(s) Ensure a thorough search of the examination room is undertaken if there is a discrepancy in the reconciliation and it appears a script is missing. Notify the Examinations Office immediately Complete and sign the Certificate of Invigilation Report pro forma when the reconciliation exercise has been completed. Return the signed Certificate of Invigilation Report, the scripts, the Examination Attendance Record(s) and the Examination Envelopes to the Examinations Office. Any cases arising under and must be fully documented in the Invigilation Report. Further, any errors found in an examination paper should be fully detailed in the report. 72

74 The Senior Invigilator will ensure that all ancillary examination materials are returned to the Examinations Office, except in the case of examinations held in the main examination venues when ancillary materials should be deposited on one of the tables provided. All Invigilators Invigilators must not answer enquiries by candidates as to the meaning of examination questions. The Module Leader or a member of academic staff with specialist knowledge of each paper being examined will be present in the examination room 10 minutes prior to the start of each examination and will leave 10 minutes after the examination has started. In situations where the same examination is being held in 2 or more separate venues at the same time, it is the responsibility of the Module Leader or specialist to make appropriate arrangements with a colleague to provide suitable cover. The Module Leader will be responsible to the senior invigilator for ensuring that candidates have been issued with the correct materials and will answer any questions arising from the content of the paper. They may also conduct a random check of candidates electronic calculators prior to the commencement of the examination Whenever an abnormality or anomalous situation is encountered in the absence of the Senior Invigilator, it must be immediately reported to the Assessments Manager (or their assistant) in order that immediate and appropriate action may be taken, in consultation, where necessary, with the appropriate academic staff During the examination, no other work should be undertaken by invigilators who must devote their whole attention to supervision. While an examination is in progress only essential conversation should be carried out and this as quietly as possible to prevent disturbance to candidates If an invigilator suspects that an examinee is giving or receiving information during an examination or is in any way infringing the Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations, they will note the name of the candidate and the number of their desk and report the circumstances to the senior invigilator. The candidate should be permitted to continue the examination in the normal way but shall be informed that the circumstances will be reported to the Examinations Office. Any unauthorised materials removed from the candidate must be handed into the Examinations Office as soon as possible Invigilators will watch the candidates for signs of stress or illness and report any such occurrence to the senior invigilator In the event of a medical emergency arising during an examination, one of the invigilators on duty should immediately summon first-aid assistance Invigilators will ensure that any candidate who has to leave the examination room temporarily is escorted throughout the absence by an invigilator Assistant invigilators are reminded that the senior invigilator is responsible for all aspects of the conduct of examinations while they are in progress. Invigilators should not leave the examination room during the examination except with the agreement of the senior invigilator All assistant invigilators must assist with the reconciliation of attendance and scripts process and remain present in the examination room until the reconciliation process has been successfully completed. If required, they must assist the Senior Invigilator in returning the scripts and materials to the Examinations Office. 73

75 Emergency Procedures In the event that the University fire alarm sounds or other similar emergency arises during an examination session, the room must be evacuated as quickly as possible, in accordance with standard University procedures. Candidates should be instructed to leave all examination materials, including scripts, on their desks and to report to the invigilators at the assembly point after evacuation of the building. The procedure to be adopted thereafter will be determined by the nature/extent of the emergency All Senior Invigilators should report to the Assessments Manager as soon as possible after vacating the building. The Assessments Manager, in consultation with the Senior Invigilators, will decide whether an examination can continue or not If the examination can continue, invigilators should return to the examination room as soon as possible after the "all clear" has been given. Candidates will be re-admitted to the examination and allowed to resume the examination using the original scripts. An appropriate time allowance should be given to candidates to compensate for the interruption. The attendance at the reconvened examination must be taken. The Senior Invigilator should note in his/her report the time at which the examination was interrupted and re-started and the time at which the examination was concluded. 74

76 2. Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations 2.1 These Regulations apply to all examinations conducted under the aegis of the Senate of Glasgow Caledonian University. 2.2 Examinations for which the University is responsible are open only to registered students of the University who have completed the required programme of study and who have complied with the Regulations for that programme. No person whose registration has lapsed or who has failed to register for the appropriate programme and associated modules is eligible as a candidate for any assessment. The appropriate Assessment Board will withhold the marks of an assessment of any person who appears ineligible, pending an investigation, and may ultimately disregard the attempt (see also section Scheme of Invigilation). 2.3 i) It is a condition of admission to any examination that the candidate agrees to observe these Regulations and any further written or oral instructions issued to him/her by any authorised body or person including Assessment Boards and Invigilators. ii) Failure to observe these Regulations or any such instructions will constitute an academic offence which may lead to proceedings being instituted under the University's Code of Student Discipline. iii) Subject to the provisions of Regulation 2.3 (iv) below, if an invigilator suspects a candidate of infringing any part of these Regulations, and especially any part of Regulation 2.4 below, he/she will permit the candidate to continue the examination in the normal way but shall, as soon as practicable, cause the circumstances to be reported to the Examinations Office. iv) Any candidate whose conduct is, in the view of an invigilator, disturbing to other candidates and who persists in this conduct after a warning, shall be required to leave the examination centre. His/her answer book will be sent to the Examinations Office by the invigilator who will give full details of the circumstances. v) Smoking is prohibited at all University examinations. Candidates will not be permitted to leave the examination centre temporarily for the purposes of smoking. vi) Candidates are not permitted to introduce into the examination centre any foodstuffs and/or beverages the consumption of which, in the opinion of the Senior Invigilator, would disturb other candidates i) Candidates at any examination are only permitted to use books, instruments including electronic calculators, notes or other materials or aids that have been specifically permitted by the appropriate Assessment Board or other authorised body for the examination in question. The use of dictionaries by students whose first language is not English is covered in section 2.4 (ii). The use of electronic personal organisers is not permitted in any University examination and mobile phones and electronic media devices must be switched off and stored away from students desks. Any such devices found to be in use during the course of an examination will be confiscated immediately and may be retained by the University at its absolute discretion for the purpose of investigation. No other books, instruments including electronic calculators and those which may hold electronically stored information, notes, loose papers (written or blank) or other materials or aids whatsoever may be introduced into an examination room or handled or consulted during an examination. Any unauthorised items in the possession of a candidate on entry to the examination room shall be deposited immediately with the invigilator. Coats, bags and similar items shall be deposited outside the examination centre or as directed by the invigilator. ii) Students, whose first language is not English, are allowed to use a standard English/Foreign Language dictionary. iii) Any unauthorised items introduced by a candidate into an examination room must, upon request, be surrendered to the invigilator who will hand them over to the University which may make copies thereof and the original items, together with any copies, may be retained by the University at its absolute discretion. 75

77 iv) Candidates must not read the examination paper or commence written work, other than the completion of the front piece of the examination script, until the Senior Invigilator declares, at the appropriate time, that candidates may start the examination. v) Candidates shall not, unless expressly so authorised, pass any information from one to another, nor shall any candidate work in collusion with any other person or copy from another candidate or engage in any similar activity. vi) Where the Regulations for any qualification provide for part or all of an examination to consist of 'take-away' papers, essays or any other work done in a candidate's own time, course work or any form of continuous assessment, the work submitted by the candidate must be his/her own and any quotation from the published or unpublished work of any other person must be duly acknowledged. 2.5 Save where the relevant Assessment Board has determined otherwise, any materials submitted by a candidate for examination, including written replies to examination papers, essays, dissertations or reports, whensoever written or prepared, will not be returned to candidates and the copyright therein is possessed by the University. Entry to an examination will be deemed to constitute an agreement by the candidate with the University to assign such copyright to the University. 2.6 Where candidates require consideration with regard to disabilities or special examination needs (see Section 3), the relevant Programme Organiser will liaise with the Student Administration Services and with appropriate staff from the Department of Student Services to ensure that appropriate provision is made. 2.7 Any candidate who falls ill during an examination must make every reasonable effort to inform an invigilator of their condition and complete a Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances form if they feel that the illness has adversely affected their performance (See Appendix 6 - Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances). 2.8 All examinations shall take place at the time and place published but the appropriate Director(or nominee) may, in exceptional circumstances, make arrangements for examinations to be held other than as published. In such instances, the Examinations Office will ensure that candidates are notified. It is the responsibility of candidates to ascertain the examination dates and locations from the appropriate, designated University notice boards. 2.9 Candidates should present themselves outside the examination centre at least 15 minutes before the commencement of the examination but shall not enter the room until instructed to do so by the invigilators Candidates must bring their student ID cards and make them available for inspection in the examination venue to allow their identity to be verified. Where necessary a face recognition check may be made to verify a candidate s identity i) Candidates admitted to the examination centre after the starting time shall not be granted any additional time after the end of the examination period stipulated on the question paper in which to complete the examination. ii) Candidates should not leave the examination centre during the first one-third of its scheduled duration except for personal reasons. No candidate shall normally be permitted to leave the examination centre during the 15 minutes prior to the end of the examination A candidate who requires to be absent temporarily from the examination centre shall be accompanied by an authorised person Each candidate should note his/her desk number on all internal answer sheets/books. 76

78 2.14 Complete silence shall be observed whilst the examination papers are being distributed and throughout the examination. If a candidate wishes to attract the attention of an Invigilator, he/she should do so by raising a hand No leaves shall be torn out of examination books. It is the responsibility of the candidate to see that any script material is securely fastened together (using the treasury tags provided by the Exams Office and handed to an invigilator Each candidate shall cease writing at the end of the examination when instructed to do so by the invigilators and shall remain seated at the end of the examination until his/her script has been collected Where a candidate requires special arrangements to be made for an examination, the provisions outlined in Section 3 Special Examination Arrangements for Disabled Students shall apply Candidates whose first language is not English may request additional time for examinations (see Section 4 Special Examination Arrangements for International Students) In exceptional circumstances, arrangements may be made for a candidate to take resit diet examinations at another institution (see Section 5 Resit Examinations at other Institutions). 77

79 3. Special Examination Arrangements for Disabled Students 3.1 Obtain Approval for Appropriate Assessment Arrangements Applicants or students who have notified the University, at application stage, of an impairment or condition which may impact on aspects of teaching or assessment practices will be invited by the Disability Service to attend a meeting at which their needs will be assessed. This Needs Assessment will include consideration of need for adjustments to examination and class test arrangements Students who subsequently disclose an impairment or condition, during the course of their studies, or who subsequently acquire an impairment or condition, or who may reasonably be considered to be disabled (although they may have not previously disclosed or recognized this) should be referred to the Disability Service for a confidential discussion, and Needs Assessment (if appropriate) The Disability Service is an accredited Assessment Centre, and Needs Assessments are conducted in compliance with guidance issued by the Scottish Government in the Toolkit of Quality Indicators. Recommendations for adjustments to academic examinations will only be made where there is evidence of likely substantial disadvantage (related to the impact of disability) without such an adjustment. In all such cases, the Disability Service will require, and retain, appropriate documentary evidence of the specific nature of impairment or condition. This may include: For students with a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, an Educational Psychologist s report; A statement from an appropriately qualified medical professional, such as a GP, Consultant, Occupational Therapist, Audiologist, Psychologist or Psychiatrist. 3.2 Formal Diet Examinations The Examinations Office, based within the Student Administration Services, puts in place arrangements that are consistent with the adjustments recommended for individual disabled students by the Disability Service. This may include the allocation of additional time, separate venues, venues restricted to students with additional exam arrangements, use of computer, scribes/readers, or any other reasonable adjustment agreed with the Academic School. 3.3 Notification of exams arrangements The Disability Service will notify the Programme Administrator, in writing ( or memo) of students exam needs. Programme administrators are responsible for ensuring that these details are communicated to the Examinations Office prior to every exam diet for the duration of the student s course. A deadline for notifying the Exams Office will be published by the Examinations Office prior to each exam diet. If details are not forwarded by the Programme Administrator by the deadline it is the responsibility of the academic school to ensure arrangements are put in place. Cases where failure to meet the deadline was caused by late assessment of the student s needs by the Disability Service (due to either late disclosure or late diagnosis/acquisition of disability) will be considered by the academic school and Examinations Office (with recourse to advice from the Disability Service, as appropriate) on an individual basis. In such cases, a reasonable adjustment will be sought for the immediate exam diet, within the resources and timeframe available. 78

80 3.4 Class assessments (Academic Units) In ensuring consistency for class assessments, students will be entitled to the same or comparable support arrangements which are in place for examinations in the formal diets of December, May and August (resits). 79

81 4. Special Examination Arrangements for International Students 4.1 Policy The University has adopted the following policy for International Students whose first language is not English, undertaking formal examinations at GCU: Students studying in the UK or a collaborative institution for their first year, irrespective of level, should be allocated 45 minutes additional time in a 3-hour exam (pro rata for examinations of alternative duration) No additional time should be allowed for any International Students beyond their first year of study in the UK or a collaborative institution on the basis of English language This policy applies to formal examinations and class tests. 4.2 Procedures Students who come into this category are required to make contact with their Programme Organiser if they require special exam arrangements. Students must make contact with the Programme Organiser no later than the end of week 2 in each Trimester. There is no guarantee that special examination arrangements will be provided if the appropriate deadlines are not met The Programme Organiser/nominee forwards the appropriate pro forma with details of individual students to the Examinations Office no later than the end of week 4 in each Trimester The Examinations Office will notify the Programme Leader/nominee of the examination arrangements for individual students The Programme Organiser/nominee will inform the student of the appropriate details For class tests, Schools will ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place. 80

82 5. Resit Examinations at Other Institutions Guidelines Governing Applications by Students for Permission to Take August Diet Examinations at Other Institutions 5.1 Policy It is University policy that all students must attend the University for their examinations in December and April/May and also the resit diet in August. For all students who are required by programme or other GCU regulations to be located elsewhere during an assessment period and are unable to attend examinations (e.g. work placement, GCU Sports Bursaries), the host School, in consultation with the Programme Leader and Examinations Office will be expected to make suitable arrangements for students. No fee will be charged for such students. Where students are unable to attempt examinations due to Mitigating Circumstances such as illness, then the arrangements described within Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances will apply. 5.2 August Resit Diet at Other Institutions For any student who is unable to attend the University for the August resit diet, the University will provide, only in the circumstances specified in 5.2.2, a service which will allow such students to apply for prior permission to take their resit examinations at other institutions. The exercise of this right is contingent upon the student following the procedure set out in paragraph The entitlement to make use of this service will be limited to students who are unable to be in Glasgow due to: residence for personal reasons over 500 miles from Glasgow 34 ; and/or medical reasons, certified by a duly qualified General or other Medical Practitioner, which would not preclude an attempt at an examination but would preclude travel to Glasgow for such an attempt For the avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of these guidelines, personal reasons do not include holidays and non-placement summer employment Incoming Erasmus exchange/study abroad students Each School will operate and administer their own policy for incoming Erasmus exchange/study abroad students. This will include an Incoming ERASMUS handbook, for ALL incoming students to the School, outlining key staff, both pastoral and administrative support, in addition to the International Office staff pages. Definitive dates of academic calendar including resit assessment period, and guidelines thereon with regard to communication of results and result dates, at first and second diet, with the student and the partner institution. Incoming Erasmus exchange/study abroad students and failure at first diet 34 Outwith a geographical area having a radius of 500 miles from the entrance to the Britannia Building, Glasgow Caledonian University, City Campus, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA 81

83 Each School will operate and administer their own policy for incoming Erasmus exchange/study abroad students who fail formal examinations at the first diet. Students will be informed of the policy and arrangements for resubmissions at the beginning of their period of study at GCU, i.e. when students are first introduced to a module by the module leader. Schools may require students to take the formal resit examination or, for example, ask students to: Take an alternative piece of work (such as a coursework) instead of a formal examination. Where an alternate form of assessment is not permitted, for example, by a Professional or Statutory body: Take the same resit examination as GCU students at their home institution (at the same time as GCU students and administered by colleagues at the home institution and by School administrators at GCU) 5.3 Procedure to be followed by Applicants Students may apply for this service by completing a request form provided by the Examinations Office. The completed form must be submitted to the Student Administration Services no later than 7 weeks prior to the start of the August diet and no exception will be made for submission outwith this timescale The Student Administration Services will review your application form in order to confirm your eligibility for the service with regard to the criterion that for personal reasons you reside over 500 miles from Glasgow. The decision of the appropriate Director (or nominee) in this respect is final All applications must be authorised by the appropriate School responsible for the student s programme. This will include confirmation that the personal reasons indicated on your application form which require you to reside over 500 miles from Glasgow are valid It is the student s responsibility to locate an establishment to sit their exam(s). Students must first look to take their exams at a British Council Office. If there is no British Council Office in their home country or the British Council is unable to host the exam they should look for an alternative venue which must be an Institute of Higher Education. No other type of establishment will be considered appropriate The University will apply a fee of 75 for each examination taken at a host institution under this procedure. The fee is payable at the time of application Students will also be liable for any administrative fee charged by the host institution. The University retains the right to withdraw from the arrangement at any stage if it cannot be satisfied, at its sole discretion, on the security of the examination or for any other reason associated with the administration of the examinations(s). In such cases, the application fee for the examination will be returned to the student. In cases where the student withdraws from the arrangement, application fees will not be refunded 82

84 6. Notes of Guidance to Academic Staff on Information to be provided to Students to Assist Their Preparation for Unseen Assessments (including assessments containing an unseen component) Preamble Assessments at Glasgow Caledonian University may take a variety of formats and instruments of assessment may include seen elements which have been approved through normal channels as part of the institution s ongoing procedures for module approval. The following notes of guidance are designed to relate specifically to instruments of assessment which are wholly unseen or to those unseen elements of assessment within formal coursework or examinations. The need for such guidance has been identified through the student Academic Appeals process and also in student reports within Annual Programme Board Reports. It is anticipated that by adhering to the following practices, the risk of inappropriate information on the content of unseen assessments being provided unintentionally and/or informally to students should be minimised if not entirely removed. Paramount within the guidance is that, for all modules at GCU, everything which a student needs to know about an assessment should be provided in a written format. Thereafter, no further information should be divulged verbally by lecturers except where this is a re-iteration of what is provided in the written format. It is important that information given to all students taking a particular unseen assessment is standardised. No individual student, or group of students, should be given any information which may provide, or appear to provide, an advantage over any other student(s). The following guidelines constitute the bounds of acceptable information which should be provided to all students undertaking modules at Glasgow Caledonian University which contain an unseen assessment or to those elements of assessment containing an unseen component: Clear details on the format and structure of any formal coursework or examination paper forming part of the overall assessment for a module must be made available to students either within module handbooks or in notes of guidance distributed to all students on that module - such guidance should clearly indicate the weighting attached to different elements of the paper and, for formal examinations, how many questions will be derived from each distinct area of the syllabus - Under no circumstances should the specific topics of individual questions in a formal unseen examination be divulged to students A general guide to the marking criteria which will be used by all lecturers when marking coursework or examinations for a particular module should be provided within module handbooks or in notes of guidance. Two exemplars of marking criteria are given on pages 72 and 73; however, it is recognised that different discipline areas may have adaptations of these models to suit their own modules. However, these must be consistent with the levels outlined in the exemplars. The marking criteria should provide clear guidance to students on what is expected. This will help to ensure transparency and consistency within an effective Quality Assurance framework. All students should be made aware of the different types of responses which may be required to individual questions, e.g. short response, case study, essay etc, and also the different styles of responses which may be required, e.g. give an account of, discuss, relate, compare and contrast, describe, write an essay entitled etc. Students should be provided with guidance on the features of answers which will gain certain marks. For existing modules, students should be directed towards examples of previous examination or coursework papers as a guide as to what may reasonably be expected in terms of assessment For new modules being delivered for the first time, students should be given exemplars of the types of examination questions which may be set along with clear guidance on the structure and format of any coursework or formal examination papers along the lines indicated above 83

85 Exemplar A Examples of the marking criteria which may be used for marking assessments within a specific module Mark Comment % Excellent - Outstanding in every/almost every respect, and revealing wide reading, lucid writing, extensive knowledge and thorough understanding 70-74% Excellent - Outstanding but at a less elevated level than the above 65-69% Very Good - wide knowledge and good understanding of material covered in the module but without the insight associated with excellence. Clear accurate presentation 60-64% Very Good - as above but may contain minor errors and omissions 55-59% Good - Good knowledge and understanding of the topic but likely to be limited to lecture material and the answer may be marred by poor presentation, inaccuracy or omission 50-54% Good - as above but with more defects 45-49% Satisfactory - Factually correct for the most part but with pronounced shortcomings in content, relevance or accuracy 40-44% Just Satisfactory - A weak answer but containing just enough relevant facts and evidence of understanding to justify a pass 35-39% Marginal Fail - major weaknesses, inaccuracies, irrelevancies and omissions but containing a few relevant facts; could be considered for compensation 30-34% Fail - but containing some relevant facts and some evidence of understanding < 30% Clear Fail - little or no relevant material, generally little or no evidence of understanding For honours programmes: Marks between % equate to the performance expected of a 1 st class honours candidate; Marks between 60-69% equate to the performance expected of a 2i class honours candidate; Marks between 50-59% equate to the performance expected of a 2ii class honours candidate; Marks between 40-49% equate to the performance expected of a 3 rd class honours candidate. 84

86 Exemplar B Examples of the marking criteria which may be used for marking assessments within a specific module Mark Comment % Work of exceptional quality that shows an excellent command of the subject in question and originality in thought and extent of knowledge acquired 70-80% Work that shows an excellent, though not necessarily faultless, command of the subject in question, together with elements of originality in thought and in the extent of knowledge acquired 60-69% Work that shows an above average command of the subject in question, possessing qualities of thoroughness, conscientiousness, and insight 50-59% Work that reveals that the student has acquired a basic command of the material covered in the course 40-49% Work that shows some understanding of the material covered in the course, but of a poor quality and with elements of misunderstanding and lack of thoroughness 35-39% Work that fails to come up to the standard expected of University students admitted to an Honours degree, but where there are sufficient signs that understanding prevails over misunderstanding and could be considered for compensation 30-34% Fail - but containing some relevant facts and some evidence of understanding 0-29% Fail - Work that contains very few, if any, relevant facts and shows little or no understanding of the material covered For honours programmes: Marks between % equate to the performance expected of a 1 st class honours candidate; Marks between 60-69% equate to the performance expected of a 2i class honours candidate; Marks between 50-59% equate to the performance expected of a 2ii class honours candidate; Marks between 40-49% equate to the performance expected of a 3 rd class honours candidate. 85

87 7. Guidance Note on Assessment Loading Examinations Type of Proportion of total Suggested upper limit on Module module assessment examination time % 1.5 hours at L1 and L % 1.5 hours 10 50% and under 1 hour 2 hours at L3, LH and LM % 2 hours at L1 and L % 2 hours 20 50% and under 2 hours 3 hours at L3, LH and LM Coursework Type of Proportion of total Suggested upper limit Module module assessment % 1500 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM 10 70% 1000 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM 10 50% and under 1000 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM % 3000 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM 20 70% 2000 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM 20 50% and under 1500 words or equivalent at L1 and L words or equivalent at L3, LH and LM 86

88 Project/Dissertation Type of Suggested upper limit Module 20 up to 5000 words or equivalent at LH up to 7000 words or equivalent at LM 40 up to words or equivalent at LH up to words or equivalent at LM 60 up to words or equivalent at LH up to 20,000 words or equivalent at LM Notes 1. It is acknowledged that the above guidance on coursework assignments will not apply in some situations e.g. laboratory reports 2. Assessments should be proportionate to the size of the unit of study. A 6,000 word coursework essay for a ten credit unit is clearly too much, since a student studying in six such units would be expected to write 36,000 words that Trimester. 3. As far as possible, individual units of study of 10 credits should be tested by one method of assessment only. Whilst it is recognised that it is the learning outcome which dictates the assessment, staff designing modules should be aware of the potential overload issue when setting the outcomes and when determining the balance between the different components which contribute to the total assessment for the module. There may also be the requirements of a professional body to take into consideration, for example, the need to assess both practical/clinical and academic elements within even a 10 credit module. 4. In formulating assessments, colleagues should pay attention to the forms of assessment which students are being asked to undertake on other units of study offered as part of that course. A balance of assessment is desirable. 87

89 8. Procedures for the Security, Approval and Retention of Examination Papers The following sets out the University s requirements for the security, approval and retention of unseen examination papers, their associated marking schemes and model answers. It will be the responsibility of each individual School to ensure that appropriate processes and procedures are in place to meet these requirements. 1. Each Module Leader is responsible for the production of all assessment instruments required to complete the module. 2. The appropriate draft examination papers for both first and resit diets, together with associated marking schemes or model answers and a record of the process used for internal moderation, will be forwarded by the responsible School to the designated External Examiner for each assessment. 3. Each External Examiner is required to certify that they have received, read and moderated the examination papers sent to them. 4. Where an External Examiner requires changes to be made to a draft examination paper, the changes should be annotated on the paper and each annotation initialled on the draft. The draft should be returned to the appropriate member of academic staff together with a note from the External Examiner stating that, subject to the completion of the annotated amendments, the paper is approved. 5. Where an External Examiner feels unable to approve a draft examination paper, the paper should be certified as received and read, with clear and specific reasons provided as to why approval has been withheld. 6. The record and certification of each External Examiner s moderation will be maintained on file within the School for two years following completion of the academic year in which the examination was delivered. 7. Approved examination papers must be certified and delivered by the Module Leader in accordance with local School procedures no later than the deadline notified by the School Office. 8. Once approved and delivered in accordance with School procedures, under no circumstances must a copy of an examination paper be maintained either electronically or in hard copy by any member of staff, other than those authorised by the Executive Dean to do so, prior to the examination taking place. 9. The copying of all examination papers must be undertaken by Print and Design Services unless otherwise agreed by one of the following: Director of Student Experience, Head of Academic Governance, Head of Student Administration Services, Assessment and Graduation Manager. 10. The School will be responsible for ensuring the secure delivery of the requisite number of each approved examination paper in a sealed envelope to the Examinations Office no later than the deadline previously notified by the University Examinations Office. The Examinations Office shall provide a receipt of delivery and shall secure the papers until their release to the Senior Invigilator on the day of the examination. 11. The School will ensure that an electronic copy of each examination paper submitted by the School is entered into the central University Past Examination Paper database no later than 2 months following the completion of each assessment diet. Where, for whatever reason, it is not possible to convert all or part of an examination paper into an electronic document, then a paper copy shall be held in the School Office and a copy provided to the Examinations Office. All examination papers will be held on the database for a period of six years for internal reference purposes. Approved by Senate 13 December Amended by APPC on 21 May

90 9. Procedure for the Submission of Examination Papers and the Collection of Worked Examination Scripts 1 Standard University Front Cover for Examination Papers The University Assessment Regulations stipulate that all assessment papers must have the standard University front cover. A sample form of this document is issued to Module Leaders (and programme administrators) with examination dates. 2 Submission of Examination Papers Module Leaders or their nominees are required to submit the appropriate number of examination papers to the Examinations Office (Room M122A) a minimum of three working weeks prior to the beginning of the week in which the examination is scheduled to take place. An examination envelope cover sheet must be completed for each venue in which the examination is running. A copy of the cover sheet is issued to Module Leaders (and programme administrators) with Exam dates. Examination envelopes with blank front covers can be obtained from the Examinations Office. 3 Attendance at examination venue by Module Leader or appropriate specialist Appendix 1 paragraph 1.5 (v) of the University Assessment Regulations stipulate that the Module Leader is responsible to the Executive Dean of School for ensuring that for each examination paper, the Module Leader or other appropriate specialist is present in the examination room at the beginning of the examination and remains present for a further 10 minutes to answer any legitimate questions from candidates. 4 Secure submission of additional materials/answer sheets to be submitted by Examination Candidates Any materials and/or answer sheets (e.g. for multiple choice examinations) that candidates have to submit with the examination script booklet must have a hole punched in them (at the top-left hand corner) to allow students to attach them to the examination script booklet with treasury tags. 5 Collection of Worked Examination Scripts Please note that staff will be required to produce staff identity cards upon collection of completed examination scripts for marking. Members of staff are also required to sign out the examination scripts and by doing so are agreeing to ensure that they are kept secure and confidential at all times. In order to ensure the effective and secure administration of an examination diet there are restricted times during the examination period that Module Leaders or their nominees can collect examination papers from the Examinations Office and these are as follows: MORNING: 0930hrs 1130hrs AFTERNOON: 1400hrs 1600hrs (December only) If you wish to collect worked examination scripts from an afternoon session on the same day as the examination, please contact the Examinations Office staff (x3336) who will advise you of the procedure. 89

91 10. Policy on the Retention of Students' Work 10.1 Student work should be retained for a minimum of one calendar year from the date of the relevant Assessment Board This applies to both coursework and examination scripts For the purposes of a student's third year marks being taken into consideration for the honours classification, the assessed work for all modules at Level 3 and above, taken when the student is on Level 3 and/or Level 4 must be retained for one year from the date of the relevant Assessment Board (i.e. the Board at which the honours classification is determined). This will include all honours degrees unless specific exemption has been given In cases where professional or statutory bodies have a requirement for elements of student's work to be retained for a longer period, these requirements will take precedence Regulation 2.5 of the Assessment and Graduation Processes indicates that "Save where the relevant Assessment Board has determined otherwise, any materials submitted by a candidate for examination, including written replies to examination papers, essays, dissertations or reports, whensover written or prepared, will not be returned to candidates.". In cases where Assessment Boards have agreed that material may be returned to candidates, arrangements must be made by the academic unit for the retention of that material, for example, by keeping a copy or, in cases where the piece of work is not in a written format, retaining similar evidence of the production of that piece of work 10.6 At the end of this period, it is important that any the material to be disposed of is disposed of in accordance with the University's procedures for the disposal of confidential waste. Approved by Senate: 26 April

92 11 Academic Appeals 11.1 A student who wishes to exercise their right to appeal, on the grounds of procedural or other irregularity, must do so by completing an Academic Appeal form which must be submitted to the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement within two calendar weeks of publication of the decision against which the appeal is being made. Appeals will not normally be considered if they are submitted outwith the two calendar weeks period unless the student can provide good reasons why the delay has occurred. No appeal will be considered if it is received later than six months from the date of the original decision. The appeal form should include full details of the grounds on which the appeal is based and be accompanied by any supporting documentation All appeal forms shall be given preliminary consideration by the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement, who shall be empowered to act on behalf of the Academic Appeals Committee in dismissing appeals that are not able to be considered under the University s regulations for academic appeals, do not have grounds for appeal or do not have sufficient evidence to support an appeal. In all such cases the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement shall inform the student accordingly and there shall be no further right of appeal. The student may, within seven days of notification of the decision, request a meeting with the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement to clarify the reasons for the rejection of the appeal at this stage On receipt of an appeal form, the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement will notify, when appropriate, the relevant Assessment Board Chair who shall prepare a written statement providing, in detail, the proposed outcome of the appeal, including any proposed change to the original Assessment Board decision. This statement will normally be lodged with the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement within five working days of notification Disagreement with the academic judgment of an Assessment Board, (e.g. with regard to assessment marks, progression decisions or final level of award) cannot, in itself, constitute grounds for an appeal. Also, an appeal cannot be considered that is based on information which has already been given full and proper consideration by an Assessment Board or that is based on information which, for no good reason, was not made available to the Assessment Board at the time it took the decision in question Where the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement is satisfied that there appears to be sufficient grounds for appeal, they will investigate the case and seek a resolution in consultation with the relevant academic staff 35. Where a resolution is achieved, agreed by the Department Governance and Quality and the Chair of the Assessment Board, the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement shall inform the student accordingly and there will be no further right of appeal. Where an agreed resolution is not possible, the appropriate Director (or nominee) will consult with the Chair of the Academic Appeals Committee and, where necessary, convene a meeting of the Academic Appeals Committee within twenty-eight days of receipt of the student's appeal and shall provide the student with seven days' notice of the date, time and place of the meeting Where a meeting of the Academic Appeals Committee is deemed to be necessary, appellants shall have the right to appear personally before the Academic Appeals Committee and to be accompanied by a person of their choice The Academic Appeals Committee may, if it so wishes, consult with the Chair or some other appointed representative of an Assessment Board against whose decision an appeal is being considered, and it may call for any information it requires, including details of student attendance and academic performance, in order to make an informed decision. 35 Where an appeal is upheld and the original decision of an Assessment Board is changed, an Assessment Board Chair s Action must be taken immediately. 91

93 11.8 Should the Academic Appeals Committee decide that a case for reconsideration has not been proven, the appeal shall be dismissed. The Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement shall inform the appellant in writing of the reasons for the dismissal and there shall be no further right of appeal In those cases where the Academic Appeals Committee requires an Assessment Board to reconsider its decision, the appropriate Director (or nominee) will inform the Assessment Board Chair in writing accordingly and the Assessment Board shall reconvene forthwith to reconsider its decision In all cases referred to an Assessment Board for reconsideration, the External Examiner(s) shall be informed of the appeal by the Chair of the Assessment Board and be given full information on the background to the appeal If the Assessment Board rejects an appeal and if, in the opinion of the Academic Appeals Committee, due and proper account has still not been taken of the relevant factors, then the Academic Appeals Committee can recommend to Senate that the decision be annulled. The Academic Appeals Committee may recommend to Senate that the decision be annulled if it is not possible to reconvene the Assessment Board to hear the appeal The appellant and other students affected, if appropriate, shall be informed in writing by the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement after the ruling of a decision of annulment and shall be informed of the follow-up action being taken by Senate If the External Examiner(s) cannot attend the meeting of the Assessment Board at which the matter is to be discussed, the views of the External Examiner(s) shall be sought prior to the meeting, preferably in writing All factors relevant to the appeal and the Assessment Board's decision shall be minuted The Assessment Board Chair shall, as soon as possible after the meeting of the Assessment Board, inform the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement in writing of the Board's decision The Academic Appeals Committee may decide that the case in support of an appeal is not sufficiently strong or that the material submitted has already been properly considered by the Assessment Board concerned. In either of such circumstances the appeal shall be rejected and there is no further right of appeal. In the following circumstances the Academic Appeals Committee may require an Assessment Board to reconsider its decision: If the Academic Appeals Committee is satisfied by evidence from a student or any other person that there has been a material administrative error, or that the assessments were not conducted in accordance with the current regulations for the programme, or that some other material irregularity has occurred The Academic Appeals Committee may, if it considers that the Assessment Board has not taken due and proper account of the relevant factors as specified in above, remit the matter for consideration by Senate and may advise Senate to annul the decision of the Assessment Board In cases where it is not possible to reconvene an Assessment Board, the Academic Appeals Committee may recommend to Senate that the decision of the Assessment Board be annulled without making a prior request for reconsideration. If an error or irregularity is found to have affected more than one candidate, Senate may be advised to annul the whole assessment or any part thereof. 92

94 Academic Appeals Committee Terms of Reference The Academic Appeals Committee is directly responsible to Senate and has the following terms of reference: To consider appeals from registered students against University Assessment Boards' decisions which result in their studies being terminated or their normal progression being delayed or which relate to the classification of their awards. Composition of the Academic Appeals Committee The Academic Appeals Committee consists of a Chair who shall be nominated by the Chair of Senate, four members of full-time academic staff and a full-time officer of the Students' Association. Appellants have the right to object to the involvement of a representative of the Students' Association and, in such circumstances, the representative of the Students' Association would not attend or take any other part in the proceedings The four members of the Academic Appeals Committee are drawn from a pool of full-time academic staff appointed by the School Boards for a period of three years. No member may be involved in considering an appeal against a decision of an Assessment Board of which he or she is a member The Chair and two other members will constitute a quorum and meetings will be clerked by a representative of the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. 93

95 ACADEMIC APPEALS Appeal form received & acknowledged by Governance & Quality. Appeals must be received within 2 calendar weeks of publication of decision being appealed. Is the appeal within scope of the academic appeals regulations and does it contain valid grounds for appeal? NO Appeal is dismissed. Governance & Quality informs student. There is no further right of appeal. Governance & Quality gives preliminary consideration to appeal and notifies appropriate Assessment Board Chair who prepares a written statement to be lodged with Governance & Quality, normally within five working days. Has a satisfactory resolution been achieved and appeal upheld following initial consideration? NO YES Does Governance & Quality believe that there are still grounds for further consideration following feedback from Assessment Board Chair? NO YES Appeal is dismissed. Governance & Quality informs student. There is no further right of appeal. YES Appeal is upheld. Governance & Quality informs student. There is no further right of appeal. Governance & Quality consults Chair of Academic Appeals Committee and convenes a meeting of the Academic Appeals Committee within 28 days of receipt of appeal. Is the appeal upheld? Academic Appeals Committee requires Assessment Board to reconsider its original decision. YES NO Assessment Board considers appeal and outcome reported to Governance & Quality who reports the outcome to Academic Appeals Committee. Appeal is dismissed. Governance & Quality informs student. There is no further right of appeal. Has the Academic Appeals Committee concluded that the Assessment Board has still not taken due and proper account of the relevant factors? YES NO Decision of the Assessment Board is confirmed and student informed by Governance & Quality. There is no further right of appeal. Appeal is referred to Senate by the Academic Appeals Committee with the recommendation that the decision of the Assessment Board be annulled. Senate decides on annulment as appropriate and Governance & Quality informs student of final decision and any follow up action, if appropriate. There is no further right of appeal. 94

96 Glasgow Caledonian University Academic Appeal Form - Help Sheet for Students What is an appeal? An appeal is a formal procedure by which a registered student can appeal, on the grounds of procedural or other irregularity, against a University Assessment Board decision which result in their studies being terminated or their normal progression being delayed or which relate to the classification of their awards. In order to submit your appeal you must complete the University s Academic Appeal Form. On what grounds can I appeal against an Assessment Board s decision? Appeals can be made on the grounds of material administrative error, regulatory irregularity or other material irregularity, for example that the assessments were not conducted in accordance with current regulations for the programme. You must provide documentary evidence in support of your appeal. Academic Appeals cannot be made on the grounds of personal or medical factors. In such cases, students should submit a Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances Form (refer to Appendix 6 of the University Assessment Regulations). An appeal will be rejected, and therefore not re-considered by the Assessment Board or referred to the Academic Appeals Committee, in the following circumstances: 1. The case in support of the appeal is not sufficiently strong 2. The information contained in the appeal has already been properly considered by the Assessment Board concerned 3. The appeal is against a requirement to re-sit an assessment at the normal re-sit diet 4. The appeal is based solely on a request for another opportunity to be given 5. The appeal is based solely on disagreement with the academic judgement of the Assessment Board 6. The appeal is based solely on the student not understanding or not being aware of the published assessment regulations and procedures for a module or programme. How long do I have to submit the appeal? You have ten working days (two calendar weeks) from the publication date of the Assessment Board s decision. Appeals will not normally be considered if received outwith this period, unless you can provide valid reasons for the delay. No appeal received after six months from the date of the Board s decision will be considered. How do I appeal? 95

97 The appeal must be made on the University s Academic Appeal Form available from: The Base on the Ground Floor of the Saltire Centre The Exams Guide website at Who considers my appeal? All appeals are given preliminary consideration by the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement. If the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement is satisfied there are grounds for appeal, the appeal may proceed to the Academic Appeals Committee only where a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached in consultation with the relevant academic staff. The Academic Appeals Committee will normally meet within 28 days of the Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement receiving your appeal. How long do I have to wait to hear the result of my appeal? The Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement will notify you in writing as soon as possible once a decision has been made. What are the possible outcomes of my appeal? The appeal may be upheld. An example outcome may be to treat an attempt as void or to allow to proceed with your studies. The appeal may not be upheld. In such decisions there is no further right of appeal. Where do I send the completed Academic Appeal Form? You can submit your appeal form and supporting evidence in the following ways: By hand, to the Academic Appeals Drop Box, located at the Base. By post, to Academic Appeals, Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, G4 0BA. 96

98 ACADEMIC APPEAL FORM Before completing this form please take time to read the attached information on Academic Appeals PERSONAL DETAILS Name: Address for Correspondence: ASSESSMENT PERIOD Student ID. No. address: Telephone Number: School: Programme: Please indicate the assessment period which your appeal relates to (please tick): May/June January/February August/September Other (please indicate month) GROUNDS FOR APPEAL Please detail the grounds on which you are appealing (continue on a separate sheet if required). Grounds include material administrative error, regulatory irregularity or other material irregularity. Academic Appeals cannot be made on the grounds of personal or medical factors. In such cases, students should submit a Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances Form (refer to Section 6.11 of the University s Assessment Regulations). Please provide details of the written evidence you are submitting in support of your appeal (continue on additional sheet if required). Please note that failure to supply valid supporting evidence, as required by the Academic Appeals Regulations, is likely to result in the appeal being rejected. Please detail modules and/or assessments and the Trimester the appeal relates to. 97

99 Please indicate your preferred outcome of this appeal The information given in this form must be accurate and must have, or must be believed to have, had a direct and adverse effect on your academic performance. You MUST sign and date this declaration: The information I have given on this form is, to the best of my knowledge, true and has had a direct adverse effect on the assessment(s) named. I am aware of the timescales for the submission of Academic Appeals. I give my permission for the information contained within the appeal and supporting documentation to be considered by appropriate members of University Staff. If you provide information or certificates which are subsequently found to be falsified or misleading in any way, you may be liable to action being taken against you under the Code of Student Discipline. Signature: Date: Please submit completed appeal forms: By hand, to the Academic Appeals Drop Box, located at the Base. By post, to Academic Appeals, Department of Governance and Quality Enhancement, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, G4 0BA. LEC/Appeals/Oct

100 12. Graduation and Awards Regulations 12.1 Conditions of Entry to Graduation Graduation is open only to registered students of the University who have fulfilled the academic requirements of their programme and who have been recommended for the appropriate award by the relevant Assessment Board (hereafter referred to as Graduands) In order to receive their award parchment and become a graduate of the University, Graduands must register for their graduation and pay the appropriate registration fee as set by the University. A graduand will not be deemed to be a graduate of the University until they have registered and completed the process of graduation at a University graduation and awards ceremony, either in person or in absentia, and their name and level of award included in the official graduation listings Potential graduands are required to register for graduation within the specified registration period by applying University graduation procedures as determined by the University. Potential graduands will be notified via their official GCU address. Dates for registration will be published on the Graduation website and the student academic calendar Potential graduands will be registered for gradation in the name that is recorded on the Student Records System at the time the award decision was made by the Assessment Board. The award parchment will bear the registered name of the graduand and cannot be changed at a later date Attendance and In Absentia Reports The Graduation and Awards Unit will post the appropriate parchments(s) to all graduates who have registered to graduate in absentia, and have paid the appropriate fee, by recorded delivery to the address provide by the graduate on his/her graduation registration form A graduand who indicates on his/her graduation registration form that he/she intends to attend the graduation ceremony in person, but subsequently does not attend the graduation ceremony, will be deemed to have graduated in absentia. Such a graduate will not be eligible to attend another ceremony for the purpose of receiving the specific award(s) with which he/she has been deemed to have graduated in absentia Any graduand who has not returned to their programme of studies and/or who has not accepted the University s invitation to register for graduation by the beginning of October of the year following their recommendation for an award, will be graduated in absentia at the November ceremonies. The graduation parchment will only be posted to the graduate s home address or be available for collection from the University once the graduation registration fee has been paid Progression through Programme of Study Certificate/Diploma/Unclassified Degree awards will be conferred only on students who exit at that level of the programme. They will not normally be conferred on students who continue their studies immediately to the Diploma/Degree and Honours level respectively or who transfer to a different programme within the University using their existing credits. Where a student does not successfully complete the Diploma/Degree or Honours level and he/she is eligible for the Certificate/Diploma or Degree award, he/she will be issued with the appropriate award. 99

101 A student who successfully completes the Honours level will be conferred with the appropriate Honours award as determined by the Assessment Board. Such a student does not have the right to be conferred with the Undergraduate Degree award based on a previous session(s) performance at Level III University Postgraduate Certificate and named Postgraduate Certificate awards will be conferred only on students who exit at that stage of their programme of study. However, they will not normally be conferred on students who continue their studies immediately to the Postgraduate Diploma and Masters level respectively. Where a student does not successfully complete the Postgraduate Diploma or Masters stage, and he/she is eligible for and awarded the University Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Certificate or University Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Diploma, he/she will be issued the University Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Certificate or University Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Diploma, as appropriate All potential graduands who leave the University before the end of their programme of study and have eligibility for an exit award, must contact the Graduation and Awards Unit and register to graduate either in person or in absentia Appeals Once a graduand has graduated from the University, they are deemed to have accepted the recommendation of the Assessment Board and to have become a graduate of the University. Academic appeals from graduates against award recommendations of the Assessment Boards will not be considered by the University Graduands who wish to appeal the award recommendation of an Assessment Board may do so by utilising the regulations of the Academic Appeals Committee. Graduands who lodge an academic appeal have the following options: i) Attend the graduation ceremony as planned while the Appeal is being considered; ii) Defer graduation until the next set of ceremonies by which time the result of the Appeal will be known; iii) Graduate in absentia and await the outcome of their Appeal Graduands who wish to take up Option (i) will be included in the graduation listings with the award they are appealing against. They will not be given their award parchment at the ceremony but will receive a presentation folder with a letter. Once the Appeal has been heard and a decision made and the School has made a change (where applicable) to the student s award decision 36, the Graduation and Awards Unit will post the award parchment, by recorded delivery, to the graduate s home address. The graduate will not be invited to attend another ceremony. If the Appeal is upheld, the graduate s name and new level of award will be included in the next set of graduation ceremonies to record the higher award Graduands who wish to take up Option (ii) will be invited to attend the next set of ceremonies once the decision of their Appeal has been reached. The award parchment will be presented to them at the ceremony Graduands who wish to take up Option (iii) will be included in the graduation listings and their award parchment will be posted, recorded delivery, once a decision has been made. The graduate will not be invited to attend another ceremony. If the appeal is upheld, the 36 Any change to a student s award decision must be recorded by an Assessment Board Chair s Action Sheet and the change must be made by the School on the University s Central Record System before an award parchment can be sent to the graduate. 100

102 graduate s name and new level of award will be included in the next set of graduation ceremonies to record the higher award Graduands who appeal against the decision of an Assessment Board which states that they are not eligible for an award, cannot attend a graduation and awards ceremony or be included in the graduation listings Graduation and Awards Unit The Graduation and Awards Unit establishes and maintains the official University Graduation and Awards listings The Graduation and Awards Unit is the only office in the University which is authorised to issue award parchments bearing the University s Official Seal No duplicate copies of award parchments will be issued by the Graduation and Awards Unit. However, graduates may apply for a replacement of lost, stolen or damaged award parchments. Satisfactory evidence of loss, damage or theft must be provided and a declaration signed by the graduate confirming the validity of the request. A fee will be levied for the issue of replacement award parchments, as determined by the University, from time to time Regulation of the issue of University Awards and Appropriate Fees The issuing of all University awards shall be subject to these Regulations as amended and approved by Senate, from time to time, and to such additional fees as the University Court may, from time to time, determine Prospective graduands who have outstanding debt(s) to the University will normally be excluded from attendance at a Graduation and Awards Ceremony and from receipt of an academic parchment. 101

103 13. Project and Dissertation Supervision If there are particular reasons for not following the procedures below, the reasons must be clearly documented in the minutes of the School Board and the deviation highlighted in the Module Handbook Administration of Supervision The Module Leader for a dissertation/project module shall normally discharge the duties of Dissertation/Project Co-ordinator. Responsibility for the implementation of these guidelines shall (unless otherwise specified) rest with the School The duties of the Dissertation/Project Co-coordinator will normally include overseeing the processes by which: research methods are taught (where these form part of the learning outcomes of the module) (see also 13.2 below); titles are approved (see also 13.3 below); supervisors are allocated; guidelines are issued to students and supervisors; students' progress is monitored; students' work is assessed; grievances are dealt with (see also 13.4 below). ethical approval is given for any research, including questionnaires and surveys, involving human participants enhanced disclosure is sought, if necessary proposals comply with health and safety legislation; 13.2 Research Methods Programme Boards shall ensure that the programme of study of each student who is required to submit a dissertation/project is structured so as to ensure that they are adequately prepared in research methods appropriate to their discipline and programme. Programme Boards shall be required within their Approved Programme Documentation to identify where such preparation in research methods is received Approval of Outline Proposals Schools shall have in place mechanisms which ensure the feasibility of a student's choice of title is established at the earliest possible date. The criteria used in the approval of a dissertation/project title include: is it related to the student's own range of interests? is it related to the aims and objectives of the student s programme? does it combine an academic approach with some practical work? is the problem reasonably open-ended? will it require an original contribution from the student? are the resources required readily available? In cases where students are required to produce an outline proposal for approval, such a proposal should be submitted by students to the Dissertation/Project Co-ordinator as early as possible. Schools may give consideration to the outline proposal being formally assessed so as to encourage students to produce an outline proposal of high quality. It is noted that in respect of certain dissertation/project modules, students choose a topic from a list of suitable topics provided by the Module Leader. In such cases the outline proposal would discuss how the student intended to approach the chosen topic. 102

104 13.4 Guidelines to Students and Staff Schools shall ensure that for dissertation/project modules, a Module (Dissertation) Handbook is issued to students. This Handbook should also be issued to supervisors. It is required that within the Handbook there are clear arrangements for a grievance procedure and it must be explicitly stated that where the student's grievance relates to the standard of supervision, no appeal against the mark awarded for the dissertation/project will be entertained unless the student has initiated the grievance procedure prior to submission of the dissertation/project. The Module (Dissertation) Handbook must contain a copy of this section of the Assessment and Graduation Procedures and also material relating to: a timetable for dissertation/project stages and submission the organisation and management of the dissertation/project the procedure for approval of outline proposal and title supervision arrangements (internal and external as appropriate) - including a statement of the respective responsibilities of supervisor and supervisee the presentation of the dissertation/project the assessment schedule/statement of assessment criteria arrangements for: student support mechanisms for feedback from students grievances ethical approval enhanced disclosure 13.5 Monitoring of Student Progress It is required that supervisors keep a formal record of contact with students. Schools should develop and issue a suitable pro forma for this purpose It is required that Dissertation/Project Co-ordinators ensure that supervisors provide them with regular progress reports. It is required that these should be in a standard format developed by the School for this purpose Respective Roles of Supervisor and Student It is recommended that the supervisor should meet the student regularly. The ultimate responsibility lies with the student for making contact and maintaining contact with the supervisor The supervisor and student should agree a set of control points for monitoring progress Supervisors are expected to warn students where there is a possibility of the student failing the dissertation/project or of not realising their full potential in respect of the dissertation/project component. However supervisors must avoid raising a student's expectation of a particular classification and students should not be given any indication of the actual mark which the dissertation/project is likely to be awarded. 103

105 13.7 Assessment What is expected of students? student to be independent student to seek advice and comment on their work from others to have regular meetings with supervisor student to be honest when reporting on progress student to follow advice which has been specifically requested by the student student to be interested in the work student to take ultimate responsibility for the direction and content of the dissertation/project What is expected of supervisors? to read the student's work and be familiar with it to be available when necessary, and within reason to be friendly, open, supportive to give students serious attention during interviews to be constructively critical to have a good knowledge of the research area and to exchange ideas freely to be aware of future pitfalls in the research topic A marking schedule or statement of assessment criteria must be made available to both students and supervisors. It is required that this be included in the Module (Dissertation) Handbook There should be independent second marking of all dissertations/projects. The second examiner should have no knowledge of the mark given by any other examiner. Where there is a failure to agree a mark, it shall be the responsibility of the Dissertation/Project Co-ordinator to organise the reassessment of the dissertation/project in order to reach a formal mark All markers should be required to complete a pro-forma statement/report to justify the mark awarded It is required that a representative sample of dissertations/projects should be scrutinised by the appropriate External Examiner. Agreement should be reached with the External Examiner in respect of the nature of the sample, which will be scrutinised Students should incorporate into their dissertation/project the following statement: this dissertation/project is my own original work and has not been submitted elsewhere in fulfilment of the requirements of this or any other award Students are advised to retain all the data and materials relating to their dissertation/project (including lab books) until after they have graduated. Section 14 revised by Academic Secretariat August

106 14. PROCEDURE FOR ANONYMOUS MARKING (FORMAL WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS) Specialist examination stationery will be produced for anonymous marking. Candidates will be required to enter their name and signature in the space provided for this purpose on examination answer books, which they will then conceal by folding over and gumming down the top right hand corner of the answer book Candidates will also be required to enter their student ID number in the space provided for this purpose on the examination answer books and also on any supplementary answer books or sheets they may use. They should not enter their names or signatures on supplementary answer books or sheets. Candidates will be responsible for entering the correct student ID number onto the examination answer book. In order to accommodate students who fail to bring their student ID card with them, student ID numbers will be available from the attendance lists provided to the senior invigilator (procedures for verifying the identity of students who do not bring their student ID cards are issued under separate cover). The names and signatures of candidates will remain concealed until the point at which the marks are to be entered onto the examination results publishing system. Once the internal marking process has been completed, a member of staff designated by the Head of the academic unit concerned will reveal the candidates names and transfer each candidate s mark(s) to the examination mark sheets. Anonymity should be removed from scripts before they are issued to External Examiners. Examination mark sheets will include candidates names and student ID numbers. The current practice whereby Assessment Boards are presented with the names and marks of candidates will continue. Assessors will be expected to observe the principles and practice of anonymous marking. Where any form of examination irregularity is suspected, the appropriate Director (or nominee) will have the authority to allow the removal of anonymity on the examination answer books of the relevant student(s). 105

107 15. POLICY ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK 1. At programme level, details of the practice of student performance feedback must be provided in Student Programme Handbooks. 2. All modules will have a published student feedback strategy. 3. All Schools will adopt the Principles of Student Feedback practice (see below). 4. Student feedback will be given on all forms of assessed work and on any other group or individual contributions to a module. 5. All modules will provide generic assessment feedback using Blackboard or some other appropriate method. 6. All modules will set up bulletin boards which include the facility for students to pose questions. 7. All programmes will have a programme portal through which feedback can be provided on meetings of SSCGs and Programme Boards. Principles of Student Feedback For each of the 7 principles of good feedback practice, some practical examples are presented below. These examples do not represent a comprehensive list nor is any one example mandatory. However there is an expectation that many modules will use one or more of these or alternative techniques to satisfy the principles. A: Facilitating the Development of Self-Assessment Students can be asked to: i. request the kinds of feedback they would like when they hand in work; ii. identify the strengths and weaknesses in their own work in relation to criteria or standards before handing it in for teacher feedback; iii. reflect on their achievements and selecting work in order to compile a portfolio; iv. set achievement milestones for a task and reflecting back on progress and forward to the next stage of action; v. give feedback on each other s work (peer feedback) also helps support the development of selfassessment skills (for example, Gibbs, 1999). B: Encouraging Teacher and Peer Dialogue Good examples of feedback dialogue in class include: i. providing feedback using one-minute papers (Angelo and Cross, 1990); ii. reviewing feedback in tutorials where students are asked to read the feedback iii. comments they have been given and discuss these with peers they might also be asked to suggest strategies to improve performance next time; iv. asking students to find one or two examples of feedback comments that they found useful and to explain how they helped. Other ways of using feedback dialogue in a planned way, for assignments, might involve: (a) having students give each other descriptive feedback on their work in relation to published criteria before submission; (b) group projects. C: Clarify Good Performance Strategies that have proved effective in clarifying criteria, standards and goals include: i. providing better definitions of requirements using carefully constructed criteria sheets and performance level definitions; ii. providing students with exemplar assignments with attached feedback; iii. iv. increasing discussion and reflection about criteria and standards in class; involving students in assessment exercises where they mark or comment on other students work in relation to defined criteria and standards; 106

108 v. workshops where students in collaboration with their teacher devise their own assessment criteria for a piece of work; vi. combinations of the above five have proved particularly effective. D: Providing Opportunities to Close the Gap between Current and Desired Performance Strategies for teachers that can help students use external feedback to close the gap include: i. increasing the number of opportunities for resubmission; ii. modelling the strategies that might be used to close a performance gap in class (for example, model how to structure an essay when given a new question); iii. writing down some action points alongside the normal feedback they provide. This would identify for students what they should do next time to improve their performance; iv. asking students to identify their own action points in class based on the feedback they have just received thereby integrating the process into the teaching and learning situation and involving the students more actively in the generation and planned use of feedback. E: Delivers high quality information to students about their learning Strategies that increase the quality of feedback include: i. making sure that feedback is provided in relation to pre-defined criteria but paying particular attention to the number of criteria; ii. providing feedback soon after a submission; iii. providing corrective advice, not just information on strengths/ weaknesses; iv. limiting the amount of feedback so that it is used; v. prioritising areas for improvement; vi. providing online tests so that feedback can be accessed anytime, any place and as many times as students wish; vii. focusing on students with greatest difficulties. F: Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem The implication of these studies for teaching practice is that motivation and self-esteem are more likely to be enhanced when a course has many low-stakes tasks with feedback geared to providing information about progress and achievement rather than high stakes summative assessment tasks where information is only about success or failure or about how students compare with peers. Other strategies that would help encourage high levels of motivation to succeed include: i. providing marks on written work only after students have responded to feedback comments; ii. allocating time for students to re-write selected pieces of work this would help change students expectations about purpose; iii. automated testing with feedback; iv. drafts and resubmissions. G: Provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching Strategies are available to teachers to help generate and collate quality information about student learning and help them decide how to use it include: i. using one-minute papers where students carry out a small assessment task and hand this in anonymously at the end of a class, such as What was the main point of this lecture? or What question remains outstanding for you at the end of this teaching session? ii. having students request the feedback they would like when they make an assignment submission; iii. asking students to identify where they are having difficulties when they hand in assessed work; iv. asking students in groups to identify a question worth asking, based on prior study, that they would like to explore for a short time at the beginning of the next tutorial; v. quick evaluation strategies at key points in teaching. Approved by Academic Policy and Planning Committee 25 May 2005; Approved by Senate 11 October Amended September 2003, October 2004, November 2005 This version: amended October 2006: PW-Governance and Quality 107