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Moderation and Second Marking Guidance

Guidance on Moderation and Second Marking has previously been available on the Academic Policy & Governance website. Following a review by the Clerk of Senate and Academic Standards Committee, the key principles are now reflected in the Code of Assessment and the remaining content will be incorporated into the 2024-25 Guide to the Code of Assessment (which will be published prior to the start of the session).

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Joint Honours Boards of Examiners

It is recognised that it may be reasonable, in some circumstances, to hold Joint Honours Exam Board meetings asynchronously (i.e. via correspondence). However, it is important to ensure that such arrangements are not made on an ad hoc basis; are not such that any student is likely to be disadvantaged; and do not in any way compromise quality assurance aspects of how our Exam Boards are conducted.

Minor edits made to §16.66 in the Code of Assessment highlight the normal expectation that a synchronous meeting will be held, while noting that the Exam Board meeting may, in principle, be held via correspondence. Edits made to the 2024-25 Guide to the Code of Assessment will provide details and guidance about the circumstances in which holding the meeting by correspondence is possible, and what arrangements the subject Exam Boards should put in place for such meetings.

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Nomenclature

References to ‘coursework’ have been changed to ‘assessment’ throughout the University Fees and General Information for Students to reflect modern practices.

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Synchronous and Asynchronous Meeting Guidance

Guidance has been developed on the broader topic of whether meetings more generally (School/College/Senate Committees and Panels) should be synchronous or asynchronous and this will be published on the APG website before the start of session 2024-25.

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There continues to be a high number of academic appeals to both College and Senate Appeals Committees, resulting in difficulties meeting published deadlines and delays for students awaiting their final outcomes. In order to improve the efficiency of the appeals handling process, and following consultation with the Students' Representative Council (SRC) Advice Centre and the teams responsible for handling appeals in each of the four Colleges, several changes have been made, including:

• The introduction of a review stage to both the College and Senate Appeals Codes, which will allow the Convener of the College or Senate Appeals Committee to dismiss appeals that do not state competent grounds for appeal, without the requirement to hold a meeting of either the College or Senate Appeals Committee.
• An expansion of the Senate Appeals Committee membership from 20 to 32.

Several amendments have been made to the Code of Student Conduct for session 2024-25, most of which reflect minor operational changes. More substantive changes include:

• The removal of the ‘Decision Maker’ in procedures relating to non-academic misconduct with the role being assumed by Head of Student Conduct.
• Related to above, where a Level 1 sanction involves a period of suspension, this decision will be made in consultation with the Clerk of Senate.
• The removal of the ‘Decision Maker’ from Senate Student Non-Academic Conduct Committee proceedings.
• Where fraud is committed to achieve academic advantage (for example, the submission of fraudulent medical evidence as part of a Good Cause claim or an Academic Appeal) this will now be considered under procedures for Academic Misconduct which will allow the application of an academic penalty if a breach of the Code is found.
• The inclusion of a statement clarifying that where fraud is alleged in relation to a Visa application, this matter will be referred to the Visa Compliance Team for onward transmission to UKVI (where evidence is forthcoming).

The Expected Behaviour Policy is substantially based on the former Code of Unacceptable Behaviour. The Policy will be supported by additional guidance which is expected to be available before the start of session 2024-25.

Code of Assessment

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Limiting the Percentage of Components and Sub-components of Assessment that are not Reassessable to 25% by Weight of a Course’s Summative Assessment

For all assessments other than those contributing to an Honours classification, the expectation is that reassessment should be available. The Code allows that in exceptional circumstances, and where approved by the Head of School, some of the assessment for a course may be deemed not to be reassessable. It has been agreed that, with effect from session 2025-26, this exception can apply to no more than 25% by weight of a course’s summative assessment.

This change will address potentially unfair assessment practice. It is recognised that the change might present challenges for areas which routinely use groupwork or multiple small (sub) components which are not currently reassessable. There might be exceptional circumstances where it will be impossible to limit this to 25% of a course’s assessment, in which case permission for deviating from the regulation will need to be sought from the Clerk of Senate. Prior to this change being made in 2025-26, APG will seek to explore with Schools where such potential exceptional circumstances might arise.

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Review of Grades

With effect from session 2025-26, several new or amended Grades will come into usage: 

• The ‘MV’ grade will be re-named as ‘GC’ to tie it more closely with the nomenclature of Good Cause.
• The ‘7’ code (which is used to indicate a deferred result) will be re-named as DFR.
• A new grade will be available for any course where assessments are missing in a combination of with and without Good Cause.
• A new set of course grades will be available on programmes whose students must achieve particular component grades. (This is generally associated with requirements set by external accrediting bodies). Where the aggregated course grade hides the fact that any component requirements have not been met, an ‘X’ will be prefixed to the course grade.

Further information will be provided during 2024-25, in readiness for introduction of the new grades in session 2025-26.

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