NESS Calculations and Regulations

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Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Module Mark Calculation .................................................................................................................................................. 3

1.1. Compensation ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Reassessment ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

1.3. Absence .................................................................................................................................................................... 3

1.4. Discretion .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

1.3. Mark Schemes .......................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.5. Rounding ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.6. Recording of Module Marks after Reassessment, Compensation or Discretion ...................................................... 4

1.7. Calculating Module Marks ........................................................................................................................................ 6

2. Stage Average/Progression Code Calculations .................................................................................................................. 7

2.1. Compensation ........................................................................................................................................................... 7

2.2. Discretion .................................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.3. Calculating the Stage Average for a student across all Modules .............................................................................. 7

2.2. Stage Progression Codes ........................................................................................................................................... 9

2.3. Stage “Pass by Compensation” for UG/PGT Courses .............................................................................................. 13

3. Final Average/Decision Calculations ................................................................................................................................ 13

3.1. Mark Scheme .............................................................................................................................................................. 13

3.2. Calculate the Final Weighted Average .................................................................................................................... 14

3.3. Final Decision Classifications .................................................................................................................................. 15

3.3. Discretion ................................................................................................................................................................ 17

3.4. Failing Performance ................................................................................................................................................ 17

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Introduction The following document details the process of mark calculations at module, stage and degree level in NESS. Information is provided regarding how the application enforces/applies the University Regulation relating to calculation of marks.

1. Module Mark Calculation In NESS each student has an ‘Assessment Record’ for each attempt at a module. The mark is returned as a percentage of the maximum mark for the assessment. To obtain the final module mark we take the latest assessment record. If the latest assessment record is for an attempt greater than one, the mark will be automatically capped (UG Exam Convention P58). We use the best mark out of all the attempts when a module is failed and when deciding if compensation is appropriate (UG Exam Convention J3 4 and N54). The various University Exam Regulations which are applicable to Module Marks are detailed below.

1.1. Compensation

The mark scheme associated with a module will highlight marks where compensation may be appropriate. At this module level the classification “Compensation” is only an indication that it may be awarded. Later on during the Stage Calculation it is decided if the compensation is to be awarded, depending on whether the compensation criteria is met. All attempts at a module are eligible for compensation. A core module would NOT be flagged as potentially eligible for compensation as detailed in the compensation criteria (UG J33, PGT K34).

1.2. Reassessment

Undergraduates (UG REGS M)

• A student who fails a module has the right to two further attempts at a module for any non final stage. It is enforced in NESS that students can have no more than two reassessment attempts.

• There is no limit on the number of credits which can be reassessed.

Postgraduates (PGT REGS M)

• A student who fails a module has the right to one further attempt at a module. It is enforced in NESS that students can have no more than one reassessment attempts.

• There is a 40 credit limit for reassessment; however, the chair of Board of Examiners can allow further modules to be reassessed. Therefore this regulation is not enforced in NESS.

1.3. Absence

Where a student has been absent without formal approval from an examination, a mark of zero shall be returned for that component of the assessment. Where a student has failed to submit any other element of the assessment, a mark of zero shall be returned for that element in NESS. Therefore if the student is absent from the whole assessment (I.e. all components) and there is no mark entered in NESS for the assessment, they will receive a mark of zero for the module. (UG/PGT REGS C21)

1.4. Discretion

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Board of Examiners may deem a student to have passed specific modules including core modules (UG REGS K39a). This also applies to PGT students (PGT REGS L37a). In these cases the module pass mark is used in NESS for the Stage Average calculations. If the assessment record has a ‘Pass’ classification and a mark less than the pass mark for the module, then NESS deems the module to have been ‘Passed by Discretion’.

1.3. Mark Schemes

There are various Module Mark Schemes available in NESS which are used to classify the module marks into decisions. Every assessment associated with a module must have a mark scheme. The two most common mark schemes used in NESS are:-

Undergraduate Mark Scheme P40C35

Mark Summary description applicable to the Module Mark

0-34 Fail 35-39 Compensate 40-100 Pass This mark scheme highlights module marks which may be eligible for compensation (i.e. if they fall into the range 35-39). Anything below 34 is a fail and any mark over 40 is a pass.

Postgraduate Mark Scheme P50C40

Mark Summary description applicable to the Module Mark

0-39 Fail 40-49 Compensate 50-100 Pass This mark scheme is the same as the UG above, however the compensation range is between 40-49 and a student must obtain a module mark of 50 to pass the module. Schools are able to setup their own mark schemes with additional criteria. For example, there may be certain modules where a student may be required to pass specific components of a module in order to be deemed to have passed the module overall.

1.5. Rounding

NESS stores the module mark to the nearest whole number as specified by the regulation below.

The final mark returned to the board of examiners for a module shall be the rounded nearest whole number. (UG/PGT REGS F28)

Rounding Convention: The rounding of marks shall follow the convention: decimal marks with a decimal component of 0.5 or larger shall be rounded up to the next whole number; marks with a decimal component of less than 0.5 shall be rounded down to the next whole number.

1.6. Recording of Module Marks after Reassessment, Compensation or

Discretion

After compensation, discretion or reassessment the pass mark (40/50) is awarded, however NESS still keeps a record of the original mark. (UG REGS P58, PGT REGS R48) Every time the Module Mark is updated the previous record is stored in a history table. Therefore a user can look at the Module Mark history to see how the final mark was arrived at. UG Exam Convention P58

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Where a student has achieved a passing mark following reassessment at any stage, including the final stage, or has been deemed to have passed in an assessment by the exercise of compensation or discretion, the mark used by the board of examiners, shall be a mark of 40 (or 50 for level 7 modules) except for the purposes of compensation (J34). The mark achieved by the student must be recorded on the transcript, with an appropriate note if compensation or discretion has been applied, and a statement that a mark of 40 (or 50) will be used in any calculations.

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1.7. Calculating Module Marks

The flowchart below details the process of arriving at a module mark. This process is followed for each attempt a student has at a module. To retrieve the FINAL module mark we simply take the latest record for the module.

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2. Stage Average/Progression Code Calculations

In NESS every student has a stage record for each stage of their course. Each student stage record has an associated stage average record which details their average mark across all modules for that stage. The regulations applicable to the stage average calculation are detailed below.

2.1. Compensation

Definition : A student in a non final stage is deemed to have passed a stage and is able to progress notwithstanding the fact some fail marks have been obtained, provided the conditions for compensation are met:- Exam Convention UG J33/ PGT K34

• The average mark over all modules at that stage, taking due account of the credit value, is not less than 40(UG) or 50(PGT);

• No single mark for any module of levels 4-6 assessed is below 35(UG) or 40(PGT);

• No single mark for any level 7 module assessed is below 40;

• Module marks less than 40 (levels 4-6) or 50 (level 7) are compensated at that stage, provided the total credit value of these modules does not exceed 40 (out of the 120 credits studied for UG or out of taught element for PGT);

• No such compensation is permitted for core modules (UG Progress Regulations B 4(i), PGT Progress Regulation A 1(f) and the dissertation module).

NB: Compensation also applies to the award of Certificates and Diplomas. The above conditions are enforced by NESS see section “Stage Progression Codes” for the details of how they are enforced.

2.2. Discretion

Board of Examiners may deem a UG student to have passed the stage of the programme (UG REGS K39b). These cases do not result in any adjustments to the Stage Average, only the Stage Decision. In this circumstance the administrator can edit the Stage Decision and this will automatically set a discretion flag to indicate the student has “passed by discretion”, without any effect on the mark data.

2.3. Calculating the Stage Average for a student across all Modules

Once the module marks are entered into NESS for all the modules that the student is registered to for that the stage, the stage average is calculated and the stage average record created. Whenever module marks are subsequently updated, this triggers the stage average calculation to be ran to automatically update the stage average. There is a mechanism to force a Stage Average record to be created if some of the module marks are not available. This should only be used in rare circumstances. For example, if a student’s external module marks are not ready in time for an exam board. NB: When calculating the Stage Average the credit value of all modules must be taken into account.

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All students will have a stage average record, some students will have multiple records for the same stage if they are required to do resits or have concessions. To get the stage average we retrieve the latest stage average record for the student for the stage.

Module Level

Stage Level

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2.2. Stage Progression Codes

A student is able to proceed from one stage to the next if they pass (or are deemed to have passed) all modules in the current stage or the stage is passed by discretion (not withstanding failures in specific modules). If a student has failed modules then they are not deemed to have been passed and calculations must use the best actual mark. (UG REGS H32) A student must pass all core modules but can carry up to 20 credits of non-core modules into the next stage. The student will be reassessed for the failed modules in the next stage (UG REGS L42). Carrying is not applicable to PGT courses.

Undergraduate Courses

The flowchart below details the process of deciding the stage progressions code for a student stage. The options generally are Pass, Pass by Compensation, Pass by Discretion, Proceed carrying a fail, Resit Required, Fail or No Decision. Here it is decided if modules flagged as potentially compensatable are to be awarded, depending on the students overall performance. Where the principles of compensation have been enforced they are detailed below.

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Postgraduate Courses

NESS currently only supports one year postgraduate courses. Each PGT student’s stage average record will have a decision made at two points in time. Once when the taught element of the course is completed and once when the dissertation has been marked. At the end of the taught element of the course the decision options are Proceed, Proceed by Compensation, Proceed by Discretion, Extension Granted or No Decision. Once they have completed the course the decision options are the same as the ones detailed in Mark Scheme MSc+DM (see section 3.1) Please not that compensation is only allowed for the taught element of a postgraduate course. Ness limit the number of credits allowed for compensation to 40, so the project module (usually worth 60 credits) will never be able to be compensated.

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2.3. Stage “Pass by Compensation” for UG/PGT Courses

Once the stage progression code has been decided, NESS needs to check if any stage averages need to be updated with the passing average. When “Pass by Compensation” is awarded the modules marks for those modules are increased to the pass mark for the calculation of the stage average. Therefore in this circumstance we need to update the stage average to the “Passing Average”. The module mark will still be displayed as the original mark with a compensation classification as required for the transcript.

3. Final Average/Decision Calculations Once there is a stage average record for the final stage of a course, NESS creates the final degree decision record for the student. When a weighted stage average (i.e. the stage counts towards the final degree) is updated this triggers the final average calculation to be ran to automatically update the final average.

3.1. Mark Scheme

There are various Degree Mark Schemes available in NESS. Every course must have a degree mark scheme. UG Exam Convention F27 The mark for each module on an Honours degree programme shall be returned to the board of examiners, and disclosed to students, using one of the established University Common Scales. The two most common degree mark schemes are:-

Undergraduate Mark Scheme Honors

Mark Summary description applicable to the Final Weighted Average

0-39 Fail 40-49 3rd Class 50-59 Second Class, Second Division

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60-69 Second Class, First Division 70-100 First Class There are also other options that the user can manually select for a student such as Pass Degree, Certificate and Diploma.

Postgraduate Mark Scheme Msc(+DM)

Mark Summary description applicable to the Module Mark

0-39 Fail 40-49 Diploma 50-59 Pass 60-69 Pass with Merit 70-100 Pass with Distinction Schools are able to setup their own degree mark schemes with additional criteria.

3.2. Calculate the Final Weighted Average

NESS combines the stage averages for a student according to the prescribed weightings as detailed by UG REGS N53. Please note that since NESS only supports PG course of length one stage then the final average is the same as the stage average.

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3.3. Final Decision Classifications

Once the final average has been calculated the final decision need to be decided. The two flowcharts below describe the process for classifying UG and PGT student’s final degree decision using the marks scheme detailed in section 3.1.

Undergraduate Courses

A student must have passed all the modules in their programme or have failed no more than 20 credits after stage 1 in order to be awarded their degree. Also, the Final Weighted Average at the end of stage 3 must be no less than 40. (UG REGS N50)

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Postgraduate Courses

Unlike for UG students, PGT students have no right to fail any modules except by the compensation rule.

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3.3. Discretion

The Board of Examiners may recommend a final stage or other UG student eligible to leave the University with an award, for a higher award or degree classification (UG REGS K39). Similarly for PGT students, it may be recommended a student is eligible to leave the University with an award, for a higher award or degree classification (PGT REGS L37b). These cases do not result in any adjustments to the Final Weighted Average, only the final decision. In this circumstance the final decision can be updated and the discretion flag will be automatically set by NESS to indicate the decision is a discretion.

3.4. Failing Performance

If the Final Weighted Average is less than 40, the Board of Examiners may recommend a Pass Degree, Certificate or Diploma. In these cases the Final Decision can be updated by selecting the appropriate classification from the degree mark scheme. NESS does not currently determine if a student has qualified for a Pass Degree, Certificate or Diploma. It does however provide an indication of what the student may be entitled to.

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