Changes to marking and grade compensation

Dear student

 

I am writing to notify you about a number of changes that have recently been approved.

 

Changes to the regulations on compensation

Please note that as from 1 September 2012 onwards, the following changes were implemented with regard to compensation for students registered on undergraduate awards:

i) overall grade point 2 may not be compensated;

ii) overall grade point 3 may be compensated in any type of module;

iii) a minimum of grade point 2 must be achieved in each element of assessment in order to pass a module or for that module to be compensated. Any module which includes a grade point 1 for any element of assessment will be downgraded to a grade point 1 overall.

 

For students registered on postgraduate awards, please note that a minimum of grade point 4 must be achieved in each element of assessment in order to pass a module or for that module to be compensated. Any module which includes a grade point 3 or below for any element of assessment will be downgraded to a grade point 1 overall. (Note: there is no change in which grade points can be compensated for postgraduate modules, that is grade points 4, 5 & 6 can still be compensated if award specific regulations permit this.)

 

Change from Grade Point to a % marking scheme

A number of issues have been raised about the University's use of the Grade Point marking scheme as opposed to a percentage scheme, including a lack of understanding and clarity about the Grade Point scheme amongst students, external examiners and potential employers. 

 

As a result, the University has  recently agreed that a phased approach should be taken to replacing grade point with a percentage marking scheme. This means that:

• from 1 September 2012, all assessment attempts on undergraduate and postgraduate awards (excluding reassessments in August 2012, work that is marked pass/fail or utilising other grading systems required by external agencies) will be marked in percentages, while overall module grades and classification in 2012/13 will continue to utilise Grade Points;

• from the start of the academic year 2013-14, overall module results will be calculated and reported in percentages and progression and classification outcomes will also be determined by percentage marks.

 

There are a number of reasons why this phased approach has been recommended. In particular, it will:

i) reduce the number of students for whom ‘transitional' arrangements will be needed for classification purposes, because they have a mix of Grade Points and percentages at the levels used to calculate classification.  Notwithstanding this, there will still be some transitional arrangements required for students who, for various reasons, will have a mix of grade points and percentages in their profile;

ii) provide time to notify students that the way their module results are presented and their degrees are classified will be changing, including how the mechanism for classifying degrees will be calculated for those students with a combination of both Grade Points and percentages;

iii) allow simultaneous roll-out to partner institutions of the various changes which are now underway and grant time to partners to develop systems to support these changes.

 

This means that students will receive written feedback on their work using:

• percentages at Levels 4, 5 and 7 

• grade point at Level 6.

 

The following table sets out how percentage marks will be converted into grade points and this conversion model will be applied consistently across all four Faculties with effect from 1 September 2012. 

 

GP	%
Non-Submission	Non-Submission
1	0-19
2	20-29
3	30-39
4	40-42
5	43-46
6	47-49
7	50-52
8	53-56
9	57-59
10	60-62
11	63-66
12	67-69
13	70-73
14	74-76
15	77-100