Assessment regulations

• All assessed coursework should be submitted electronically wherever practical, except for cases where it is physically impossible due to format (e.g. physical models, hand-written fieldwork, laboratory or project notebooks/diaries, complex or hand drawn graphics or scientific notation not supported by current technologies etc).
• Schools should not otherwise request the submission of hard copies.  Cases where work is not submitted electronically will be reviewed by Faculty Associate Pro-Vice Chancellors (APVCs) annually to ensure consistent practice. 

• Students must attend all examinations set as part of their programme of study.
• Students must submit coursework required by their programme of study.
• If a student has extenuating circumstances which they believe may affect their performance in assessed coursework or examinations, they should submit an extenuating circumstances claim (EC), by the deadline set in our Extenuating Circumstances Policy.
• If a student has extenuating circumstances which they believe caused them to miss some or all of an examination, they should submit an extenuating circumstances claim (EC), by the deadline set in our Extenuating Circumstances Policy.
• If a student misses an examination or fails to submit coursework and has no extenuating circumstances the University's Regulations governing attendance and engagement will be applied.

For more information about the Regulations governing attendance and engagement, please consult the following:

Regulations governing attendance and engagement

Regulation 1

• Students late for an in-person written examination who arrive before one hour of the examination has elapsed shall be permitted to sit the paper. No extra time shall be allowed, whatever the reason for their lateness.

For more information, please consult the following:

Extenuating circumstances

Regulation 2

• Students late for any written examination who arrive one hour or more into the examination shall not be permitted to sit the paper.

Regulation 3

• No student shall be permitted to leave the examination within the first hour. 

Regulation 4

(a)   A student who misses an assessment (this includes not submitting assessed coursework prior to the meeting of the relevant Board of Examiners) may submit an extenuating circumstances claim. If the student is offered a further assessment, the timing and form of this will be at the discretion of the student's School/Department and will be regarded as the equivalent sit at the assessment.

For more information about extenuating circumstance procedures, please consult the following:

Extenuating Circumstances procedure

(b)   If a student misses an assessment and is offered and declines another opportunity to take the assessment, the original mark will not be used. The student would be awarded a mark of zero for the assessment.

(c)   If a student is offered another opportunity to take an element of assessment through the extenuating circumstances process, and declines the offer, then the original mark will not be used. The student would be awarded a mark of zero for the assessment.

(d)  If a student takes up the opportunity for further assessment described in (a) and subsequently achieves a lower mark, that lower mark will stand.   

For more information about the University's academic regulations, please consult the following category:

Academic regulations

Regulation 5

(a)  Students will be regarded as missing an assessment with sufficient cause if they have an upheld extenuating circumstances claim for circumstances in which the relevant Board of Examiners judges that it would be unreasonable to expect the student to have attempted the assessment.  Boards will reach that judgement on the basis of evidence and recommendations provided by the School/Department.

(b) Where possible, students must make their School/Department aware of circumstances that may constitute sufficient cause prior to the meeting of the relevant Board of Examiners/Extenuating Circumstances Panel.

For more information about extenuating circumstance procedures, please consult the following:

Extenuating Circumstances procedure

Regulation 6

• Where the student has, with sufficient cause and an upheld extenuating circumstances claim, missed an assessment which counts for 50% or less of the overall module mark, the marks obtained from completed assessments may be used as the overall module mark on a 'part for whole' basis.  A Board of Examiners may recommend this course of action only after considering the relevant learning outcomes.

This regulation does not remove the need to offer the student another opportunity to take an assessment.

Regulation 7

• A student who misses a timetabled assessment without sufficient cause will receive a mark of 0% in that assessment. 

Regulation 8

(a)   A student who submits assessed coursework after the deadline (as modified by any extensions granted by the relevant School/Department) shall have the mark for that coursework reduced by 5% for each normal working day (including vacations but not weekends, public holidays or University holidays) that has passed since the deadline, until a mark of 0% is reached. For example, an original mark of 67% would be successively reduced to 62%, 57%, etc.

For more information on the regulations on penalties for late submission, please consult the following:

Policy on penalties for late submission of assessed work

(b)   Notwithstanding (a) above, a student's School may specify any length of time after the coursework deadline as the point at which a mark of 0% will be awarded, so long as: the period is not longer than that which would arise from the application of Regulation 8 (a) above; and the period is given in writing to the student at the beginning of the module. 

(c)   In all circumstances, a student will receive a mark of 0% if, without sufficient cause, the coursework has not been submitted prior to the meeting of the relevant Board of Examiners.

There is a requirement for completed e-exam papers to be uploaded within a given timeframe, which depends on the format of the e-exam (see below). 

1.   ExamSys (formerly Rogo) e-exams invigilated on campus:

This timeframe is equal to the duration of the exam plus any period of ‘technical time’ permitted, added by the invigilator when a student has a technical difficulty. 

2.   ExamSys (formerly Rogo) e-exams sat remotely:

An additional 10 minutes is now built in to allow for IT issues, so final submission time is the length of the paper plus a further 10 minutes if needed.

3.   Moodle e-exams of up to 3 hours (STEs):

In addition to the exam length, an additional 30 minutes will be permitted for all students to cover IT issues and upload time.

Information provided to students will clearly state that the time permitted includes additional time for upload, and that work submitted after the end of the additional 30-minute period will not be accepted and will be given a mark of zero unless there are approved extenuating circumstances that are supported by evidence.

4.   Moodle e-exams of 24 hours:

No additional time is given for 24 hours as that already allows time for technical issues.

Work submitted after the end of the 24-hour window will not be accepted and will be given a mark of zero unless there are approved extenuating circumstances that are supported by evidence.

5.   Extenuating circumstances for late submission of e-exam:

5.1    The criteria to be used when considering such extenuating circumstances are:

• The strength of the evidence of any disruption and its duration. 
• The length of the exam and how much potential advantage has been gained through late submission.
• The clarity of communications sent to students about time allocated for uploading and the consequences of late submission.
• The requirements (if any) of any relevant Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs).

5.2   It is noted that not all e-exams are taken in a format where late submission is possible and that some examinations are proctored. These exams are outside of the remit of this policy. Students should follow local guidance on how to proceed in these cases.

5.3   Possible outcomes

• Where a paper is uploaded no more than 5 minutes after the upload time:

Paying particular attention to the potential advantage that might have been gained through late submission and the consequences of decisions made by the EC panel for the student, the EC panel may approve the paper for marking.

• Where a paper is uploaded after the specified upload time and the additional 5 minute window:

EC panels may offer a first sit reassessment; this reassessment will take place at the first opportunity.

6.   E-exams are subject to self-certification, which allows a student to self-certify absence from exams for a maximum of 48 hours (two consecutive days). A student is not able to self-certify after the assessment window has opened.

For more information about self-certification (which is covered by the extenuating circumstances regulations), please consult the following:

Extenuating circumstances regulations

7.   In the case of severe system performance issues:

Academic and professional services leads will be provided with a summary report where there are documented system performance issues during any exam release, and QSC will advise Schools and Departments on approaches to extenuating circumstances.  In exceptional cases (e.g. significant documented system degradation), Schools may seek permission from Quality and Standards Committee to offer a blanket extenuating circumstance to an entire cohort, offering a reassessment at the earliest opportunity. Such requests should be treated, via Registry and Academic Affairs, under the QSC procedure for cases outside of regulations.  

For more information about the QSC procedure for cases outside of regulations, please consult the following:

Quality and Standards Committee

Please be aware that the following Exceptional Regulations were developed and applied during academic year 2019/20 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These records are campus specific and should be read in conjunction with all other content on this page.

• Covid-19 Assessment Exceptional Regulations - UNUK  
• Covid-19 Assessment Exceptional Regulations - UNNC  
• Covid-19 Assessment Exceptional Regulations - UNM  

• Covid-19 PGT 60 Credit Dissertation / Project Exceptional Regulations - UNUK  
• Covid-19 PGT 60 Credit Dissertation / Project Exceptional Regulations - UNNC  
• Covid-19 PGT 60 Credit Dissertation / Project Exceptional Regulations - UNM  

The active application of these arrangements then ceased at the beginning of academic year 2020/21. Any outcomes from their application during academic year 2019/20 will, however, continue to be honoured and used in all decisions regarding those affected. 

For more information about the Exceptional Regulations as a whole, please consult the following:

Exceptional Regulations: Covid-19 - 2019/20 - 2020/21