Academic Policy & Governance

The usual position is that students can request an extension to an assessment submission deadline of up to five working days by contacting the course coordinator (or other staff member, as advised by the School). For the remainder of this academic session students may request an extension of 10 working days in this way. Students should explain their difficulty – whether related to the pandemic or to other circumstances – and provide a copy of any relevant evidence that is readily available. Staff will be as flexible as possible in granting these extensions within the constraints of the particular assessment and programme.

A brief overview of how the Good Cause process works is available here.

Good Cause is the process that students should use to advise the University if their ability to complete assessment has been disrupted by ill health or other adverse personal circumstances. The online FAQs explain how this works and what the consequences are if a claim is accepted. Usually a successful claim will result in students being required to complete the affected assessment(s) at a later date but there is also information in relation to the special arrangements for honours and integrated masters students who are due to complete their degree this year.

Relevant circumstances might include a student’s ill health, additional caring responsibilities, severely disrupted access to study facilities and so on.

Supporting evidence: The process normally requires independent documentary evidence to support Good Cause claims. In view of the particular difficulties to obtain this at the current time, students should make reasonable efforts to support their claims with evidence but a lack of evidence will not be a barrier to bringing adverse circumstances to the University’s attention. 

This concerns:

• the dissertation/project worth at least 20 credits required to be completed by honours and integrated masters students; and
• the dissertation/project worth at least 60 credits required to be completed by PGT masters students.

Projects have been designed to be achievable within the particular restrictions associated with the pandemic. Some students will have experienced further challenges as the project progressed either because of their personal circumstances or because of unanticipated difficulties associated with the research itself. Schools/RIs will offer additional flexibility in relation to the submission date, where possible. This may mean the submission date is extended for a whole class and/or flexibility is offered for students individually to ask for more time where they need it. This includes asking for an extension of 10 working days in the same way as for coursework. Some areas may be able to offer more flexibility than others. For example, if the submission date is already late in the semester, longer extensions may not be possible without the risk that marking will not be completed in time to allow the degree to be awarded in the summer.

For students who have experienced particularly severe or long-lasting disruption to the work on their dissertation/project, it may be possible to defer submission until the summer. This, however, would result in the award being delayed until November/December.

Although projects this year will have been designed with the restrictions of the pandemic in mind, for some students it will not have been possible for their research to be taken forward as intended, e.g. because of the unanticipated closure of libraries, archives, labs or other difficulties, such as lack of access to interviewees. Marking will reflect what it was reasonably possible to have achieved in the context of research restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

Normally an honours/integrated masters degree can only be awarded where a grade of at least D3 is achieved in the dissertation or project. This requirement will not be applied for students completing in 2020-21. However, the grade awarded for the dissertation/project will still be included in the calculation of the final GPA. This applies to all dissertations/projects, including those already submitted in the current session.

On some professional/accredited programmes a D3 in the dissertation/project is required for the degree to be accredited by the relevant body.

The way that this work is scheduled varies greatly between different programmes. Students may have been working on their proposals and/or research throughout the session. For some students, work does not start on the dissertation/project until the taught courses have finished. Whatever the timeline, Schools/RIs will continue to help guide students as to what research will be possible.

The timescale for submission of the independent work should be managed carefully. As with the coursework, extensions of up to 10 working days will be available by contacting the Course Co-ordinator or other staff member, as advised by the School/RI. Students whose work continues to be disrupted by the pandemic may request a deferred deadline, and this should be granted where necessary. A deferred deadline may extend into the next academic session. In such cases, students should be made aware this this may have significant implications (e.g. funding, visas, as well as a delayed date of award). In the event that the grade achieved in the independent work is below the threshold grade for this, as set out in the relevant degree regulations (usually D3), a resubmission will be permitted but this will be treated as a second diet.

Where the work on the dissertation/project has substantially been undertaken during session 2020-21 and a short extension extending into 2021-22 is required, the revised rules on eligibility for award of merit and distinction, as set out here, will apply. If work on the dissertation/project is substantially deferred into session 2021-22 then these rules may not apply. Applicable rules will be confirmed in due course.

For PGT students completing their programme of study in 2020-21 there has been some amendment to the normal requirements, particularly in relation to the award of Merit and Distinction.

Different rules apply depending on the length of the programme and when the various different parts of the programme have been studied.

Requirements for award of the degree: In order to be awarded the masters degree on a standard 180 credit masters programme, students must achieve:

• a grade point average (GPA) of 12.0 on the taught courses with at least 75% of credits at grade D3 or above and all credits at grade F3 or above; and
• a grade of at least D3 in the dissertation/project.

GPA is calculated by combining the course grades achieved on all the taught courses.

Merit and Distinction: In addition to the requirements for award of the degree, the requirements for the award of Merit and Distinction are as follows:

Merit: An overall GPA of 14.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

Distinction: An overall GPA of 17.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

The overall programme GPA is calculated by combining results achieved on all the taught courses and the dissertation/project grade. Only first attempts at assessment count towards the award of Merit and Distinction.

Normally, eligibility for the award of Merit or Distinction also requires students to achieve an additional minimum GPA on the taught courses and a minimum grade for the dissertation/project. For awards made in 2020-21 these will not be applied and students only need to meet the minimum thresholds set for award of the degree itself.

Some students whose combined GPA falls in the range 14.1 – 14.4 and 17.1 – 17.4 may also be considered for the award of Merit or Distinction. Further details are available here.

Requirements for award of the degree: In order to be awarded the masters degree on a standard 180 credit masters programme, students must achieve:

• a grade point average (GPA) of 12.0 on the taught courses; and
• a grade of at least F3 in all taught courses taken in 2019-20 where all assessment was due by 15 March 2020 and in all taught courses taken in 2020-21; and
• a grade of at least D3 in the dissertation/project.

How is GPA on the taught courses calculated?

GPA is calculated by combining the results from all taught courses. As students were studying in session 2019-20, some of the assessment will have fallen in the period covered by the No Detriment policy (16 March 2020 to 11 September 2020). This has an impact on how the GPA is calculated:

A baseline GPA will be calculated from all assessment completed on the programme before and after the No Detriment period:

The baseline GPA will include:

• the results from assessments taken in session 2019-20 by 15 March 2020; and

• all the taught course grades from the current session, 2020-21.

The final taught courses GPA will be calculated by adding to the baseline GPA the assessment results from the No Detriment period that are better than or equal to the baseline GPA.[1] (In other words, assessments from that time in which a student’s performance was lower than their average will not be counted.)

Merit and Distinction: In addition to the requirements for award of the degree, the requirements for the award of Merit and Distinction are as follows:

Merit: An overall GPA of 14.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

Distinction: An overall GPA of 17.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

To calculate the overall programme GPA, the results that contribute to the taught courses GPA are combined with the dissertation/project grade. Only the first attempts at assessment count towards the award of Merit and Distinction.

Normally, eligibility for the award of Merit or Distinction also requires students to achieve an additional minimum GPA on the taught courses and a minimum grade for the dissertation/project. For awards made in 2020-21 these will not be applied and students only need to meet the minimum thresholds set for award of the degree itself.

Some students whose combined GPA falls in the range 14.1 – 14.4 and 17.1 – 17.4 may also be considered for the award of Merit or Distinction. Further details are available here.

[1] A minimum of 65% of the assessment from the 2019-20 session must be included in the GPA.

Requirements for award of the degree: In order to be awarded the masters degree on a standard 180 credit masters programme, students must achieve:

• a grade point average (GPA) of 12.0 on the taught courses; and
• a grade of at least F3 in all taught courses taken in 2019-20 where all assessment was due by 15 March 2020; and
• a grade of at least D3 in the dissertation/project.

How is GPA on the taught courses calculated?

The GPA is calculated by combining the results from all taught courses. As the students were studying in session 2019-20, some of the assessment will have fallen in the period covered by the No Detriment policy (16 March 2020 to 11 September 2020). This has an impact on how the GPA is calculated:

A baseline GPA will be calculated from all assessment completed on the programme before the No Detriment period, i.e. the results from assessments taken in session 2019-20 by 15 March 2020. 

The final taught courses GPA will be calculated by adding to the baseline GPA the assessment results from the No Detriment period that are better than or equal to the baseline GPA.[1] (In other words, assessments from that time in which a student’s performance was lower than their average will not be counted.)

Merit and Distinction: In addition to the requirements for award of the degree, the requirements for the award of Merit and Distinction are as follows:

Merit: A taught courses GPA of 14.0 and an overall GPA of 14.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

Distinction: A taught courses GPA of 17.0 and an overall GPA of 17.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

To calculate the overall programme GPA, the results that contribute to the taught courses GPA are combined with the dissertation/project grade. Only the first attempts at assessments count towards the award of Merit and Distinction.

Normally, eligibility for the award of Merit or Distinction also requires students to achieve an additional minimum grade for the dissertation/project. For awards made in 2020-21 this will not be applied and students only need to meet the minimum threshold of a D3 set for award of the degree itself.

Some students whose combined GPA falls in the range 14.1 – 14.4 and 17.1 – 17.4 may also be considered for the award of Merit or Distinction. Further details are available here.

[1] A minimum of 65% of the assessment from the 2019-20 session must be included in the GPA.

Requirements for award of the degree: In order to be awarded the masters degree on a standard 180 credit masters programme, students must achieve:

• a grade point average (GPA) of 12.0 on the taught courses; and
• a grade of at least F3 in all taught courses taken in 2019-20 where all assessment was due by 15 March 2020 and in all taught courses taken in 2020-21 and in any sessions before 2019-20; and
• a grade of at least D3 in the dissertation/project.

How is GPA on the taught courses calculated?

The GPA is calculated by combining the results from all taught courses. As students were studying in session 2019-20, some of their assessment will have fallen in the period covered by the No Detriment policy (16 March 2020 to 11 September 2020). This has an impact on how the GPA is calculated:

A baseline GPA will be calculated from all assessment completed on the programme before and after the No Detriment period:

The baseline GPA will include:

• the results from assessments taken in session 2019-20 by 15 March 2020; and

• all the taught course grades from the current session, 2020-21, and from 2018-19 and any other earlier sessions in which they were studying.

The final taught courses GPA will be calculated by adding to the baseline GPA the assessment results from the No Detriment period that are better than or equal to the baseline GPA.[1] (In other words, assessments from that time in which a student’s performance was lower than their average will not be counted.)

Merit and Distinction: In addition to the requirements for award of the degree, the requirements for the award of Merit and Distinction are as follows:

Merit: A taught courses GPA of 14.0 and an overall GPA of 14.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

Distinction: A taught courses GPA of 17.0 and an overall GPA of 17.5 across the 180 credits of the programme.

To calculate the overall programme GPA, the results that contribute to the taught courses GPA are combined with the dissertation/project grade. Only the first attempts at assessments count towards the award of Merit and Distinction.

Normally, eligibility for the award of Merit or Distinction also requires students to achieve an additional minimum grade for the dissertation/project. For awards made in 2020-21 this will not be applied and students only need to meet the minimum threshold of a D3 set for award of the degree itself.

Some students whose combined GPA falls in the range 14.1 – 14.4 and 17.1 – 17.4 may also be considered for the award of Merit or Distinction. Further details are available here.

[1] A minimum of 65% of the assessment from the 2019-20 session must be included in the GPA.