Standing Order 14

Initial Degree Examinations

Definitions

The following definitions shall apply in respect of this Standing Order (and of the corresponding University Regulations):

Term	Definition
The University:	Aberystwyth University
University of Wales:	The federal University of Wales
University Examination / Assessment:	An examination/assessment which contributes to the award of a University qualification at Part Two (Levels D and H of the QAA Framework for HE Qualifications) and Integrated Master's degrees.
External candidate:	A candidate who has failed part or the whole of an assessment and who has been permitted by the Examining Board to re-register for assessment purposes only.

Entry

1.

Candidates are admitted to schemes of study by the University in accordance with its Regulations.

Information to be Supplied to Candidates

2.

The University shall publish for candidate's information:

1. methods of assessment to be used in their modules including the weighting given to individual assessment components.
2. information concerning the University's Verification and Appeals Procedure;
3. information concerning the procedure to be followed in the event of allegations of unfair practice arising
4. a statement that any exceptional personal circumstances which may have adversely affected their academic performance must be reported to the appropriate Examining Board(s) prior to the meetings of Examining Boards.

The Superintendent of Examinations

3.

The Superintendent of Examinations shall be responsible for the conduct, probity and security of examinations/assessments at the University. The responsibilities of the Superintendent shall include:

• nomination of invigilators and the making of arrangements for invigilation of examinations (so that normally one invigilator acts for each group of fifty candidates or fewer);
• the making of appropriate arrangements for dealing with absentees from examinations/assessments in accordance with the provisions of this Standing Order, including notification of cases to Examining Boards and the recording and reporting of such cases;
• sending to the University, at the close of examinations, a report on the manner in which they have been conducted, specifying any difficulties which may have arisen, and incorporating any suggestions for improvement in the conduct of them. This report should also detail any special arrangements made in relation to cases of absence from examinations and, in accordance with the paragraph below, in relation to examinations conducted at another institution/approved place.

4.

Each candidate shall be examined in Aberystwyth save that, in exceptional circumstances, a candidate may, with the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, sit a written examination at another approved institution or, under approved conditions, at another comparable institution or place. Approval may be given to such requests provided that satisfactory arrangements can be made for the examination by the Superintendent of Examinations that where the same paper is to be sat by other candidates the examination is taken at the same time as the paper in the Aberystwyth and that any expense incurred will be borne by the candidate.

5.

Any candidate may choose - regardless of whether the main language of assessment of the scheme in question is Welsh or English - to submit examination scripts or assessed work in either Welsh or English. A candidate who wishes to be assessed in a language (ie. either Welsh or English) which is not the main language of tuition for the module concerned is required to notify the Registrar by the time-limit laid down by the University (8 November for Semester 1 assessments and 14 March for Semester 2).

6.

The Superintendent (or nominee) shall liaise appropriately regarding:

• the provision of question papers through the medium of Welsh;
• the necessary arrangements, for the translation and/or marking of scripts in time for the inclusion of candidates' results on the official Notification of Results form;
• the engagement of a suitable person or persons to act as advisory examiners or (at an approved fee) as translators.

Preparation of Examination Papers

7.

Departments shall be responsible for preparing examination papers with the approval of the external examiner(s) concerned.

Adjustments to Examination/Assessment Arrangements

8.

The University shall make reasonable adjustments for candidates with particular needs, in compliance with the requirements of prevailing legislation and subject to approval by the Student Support Services Committee.

Conduct of Examinations

9.

An invigilator shall not admit any candidate to the examination room without the authority of the Superintendent of Examinations.

10.

During the whole examination, the invigilators shall maintain a constant supervision over the candidates and shall see that candidates are provided with the necessary materials. They shall inspect all materials brought into the examination room by candidates and shall see that every candidate complies with the "Directions to Candidates".

11.

No candidates may enter the examination room thirty minutes or more after the commencement of an examination. Candidates are not permitted to leave the examination room until forty five minutes have elapsed, nor may they leave in the last fifteen minutes of the examination. Any candidate who has left the room without the invigilators' authority shall not be allowed to re-enter it during the examination. Under special circumstances, the invigilator may act according to his/her discretion and the circumstances shall be reported to the Superintendent of Examinations. No candidate shall be allowed to take any copy of an examination paper from the examination room until at least forty-five minutes have elapsed from the start of the examination.

12.

During each examination the invigilator shall have power to exclude from the examination room all persons save officers of the University and the candidates sitting the examination. The invigilator shall prevent any unauthorised communication on the part of the candidates amongst themselves or with any other person.

13.

An invigilator who considers or suspects that a candidate is engaging in an unfair examination practice shall inform such a candidate, preferably in the presence of a witness, that the circumstances will be reported and that he/she may continue that and any subsequent examinations without prejudice to any decision which may be taken, but failure to warn shall not prejudice subsequent proceedings. Where appropriate, the invigilator shall confiscate and retain evidence relating to any alleged unfair examination practice, so that it is available to any subsequent investigation. The invigilator shall as soon as possible report the circumstances in writing to the Chair of the relevant Examining Board and to the Superintendent of Examinations.

14.

The invigilator shall collect the scripts and arrange for their transmission to the Superintendent of Examinations or his/her nominee(s) who shall then arrange for their transmission to appropriate examiners, together with the surplus copies of the examination paper or papers and a form giving the names of candidates who did not submit scripts. The invigilators shall make a report to the Superintendent of Examinations on the conduct of the examinations, drawing attention to any special circumstances. A form containing this information and a signed declaration that the examination has been conducted in accordance with this Standing Order shall be sent by the invigilator to the Superintendent of Examinations.

Absence from Examinations and Assessments

15.

A candidate may be deemed absent with good cause from an examination or assessment because of documented illness, accident, close bereavement or on closely related compassionate grounds.

Modular Schemes of Study

16.

The Examining Board concerned shall have discretion to decide whether, on the basis of the evidence received, a candidate has been absent with good cause.

17.

A candidate who, without good cause, has been absent from any University examination or failed to complete other forms of assessment by the required date, shall be awarded a zero mark for the assessment concerned. This zero mark shall be treated as any other mark in an Examining Board's procedure for arriving at the degree result. If the Examining Board's procedure involves an averaging exercise, the zero mark must be included as a mark. Examining Boards must not arrive at a mark for the missed examination by averaging the candidate's other marks or by arriving at a mark derived from the candidate's performance during the session. Where the missed examination is only a component of the overall assessment for a module, the mark gained in the other assessment component shall be counted, pro-rata, in arriving at degree results.

18.

If a candidate completes a module but is absent from the examination/assessment concerned for good cause, the University may permit the candidate:

• to sit a supplementary examination or a special oral examination, before the meeting of the Examining Board; or
• to sit the examination or submit the assessed work as a first attempt on the next occasion on which the examination/assessment is scheduled to take place.

19.

If an Examining Board is satisfied that a candidate is absent for good cause from a final examination/assessment following his/her presentation to the University, provided that the Examining Board is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds, it may:

• award the qualification without further examination/assessment provided that at least two thirds of the modules which count towards the final award have been completed successfully; or
• recommend that the candidate receives an aegrotat award.

20.

The provisions described above may be made only if (i) the external examiner agrees that the supporting evidence is satisfactory, (ii) if the candidate's performance in other examinations or assessed work justifies such action and (iii) if the authorisation of the Vice-Chancellor has been obtained.

21.

Examining Boards shall have discretion to apply the provisions above to candidates who attend examinations/assessments but produce evidence subsequently of illness, accident, close bereavement or of other closely associated compassionate grounds.

Retrieval of Failure

22.

Where a candidate is required to repeat the assessment for one or more modules prior to the start of the following academic year, the re-assessment shall, unless the Examining Board decides that this is not practicable, be of the same structure and be based upon the same syllabus as the assessment at the time of the initial failure.

23.

Where a candidate is permitted to repeat one or more failed modules as an internal candidate, the repeat assessment shall be of the same structure and be based upon the syllabus taught to all internal candidates at the time of their re-assessment.

24.

Where a candidate is re-sitting the assessment as an external candidate, the reassessment will normally be the same as for candidates sitting internally unless the Examining Board decides otherwise.

25.

Where a candidate is re-sitting the assessment as an external candidate and the structure of the assessment is different from that at the time of the initial failure and/or the re-assessment is to be based upon a different syllabus, the Head of Department concerned shall inform the candidate in advance of changes in the structure of the assessment and syllabus content.

26.

A candidate who passes a module in which he/she has previously failed shall be awarded the minimum pass mark only.

27.

In the event of a candidate failing to complete the required amount of assessed work by the required date, an Examining Board shall apply such penalty as is determined by University regulations or as it may consider appropriate in the circumstances. Penalties may include inter alia the lowering of a mark, the award of a fail grade, or failing the candidate in that particular module or the loss of a resit opportunity. However, where there are extenuating circumstances such as illness or accident which have prevented a candidate from completing assessed work by the required date, the Examining Board may allow an extension of the period for the submission of the assessed work, provided that there is sufficient time for adequate and proper assessment of the work prior to the meeting of the Examining Board. Appropriate medical or other evidence shall be submitted to the Chair or his/her nominee in support of the illness or accident.

Examining Boards

28.

UWA shall establish Examining Boards to consider results and make recommendations on candidates pursuing schemes leading to awards of the University of Wales. UWA shall establish conventions for such meetings which shall include the arrangements for a quorum.

29.

In all cases, marks awarded shall be subject to ratification by the external examiner(s).

30.

For each Examining Board there shall be:

• A Chair, appointed by the University, who shall be a senior member of the full-time academic staff. [In addition to the Chair, there may be a Convenor who shall be a member of the full-time academic staff appointed by the Department concerned who will be responsible for administrative arrangements associated with the work of the Examining Board which would otherwise be carried out by the Chair.];
• An external examiner (or examiners) appointed on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor by the University.
• An internal examiner (or examiners) and/or representative(s) of relevant modules appointed by the University;
• The Chair of an Examining Board may invite appropriate persons to attend a meeting of an Examining Board in an advisory capacity. Such persons shall possess no voting rights.

31.

Each Examining Board shall normally meet in Aberystwyth as and when required to consider students' performance and to make decisions on termination of study, progression and recommendations on award of degrees or intermediate awards as appropriate. The latest date by which Examining Boards must meet in any session shall be determined by the Senate.

32.

In the unexplained absence of any examiner from a meeting, the Chair shall take such steps as he/she thinks fit for the due performance of the business of the meeting, and may adjourn it for that purpose. If the Chair is absent, the Examining Board shall appoint one of its members to the Chair.

33.

Where an Examining Board meets to consider the results of modules only the following shall be required to be in attendance: the Chair, Convenor (where appropriate) the relevant internal examiner(s) and the external examiner (where the Examining Board is meeting after the main summer examining period or at the end of the Session).

34.

During Semester One, the external examiner(s) shall perform all the tasks normally associated with examining such as the approval of examination papers. The external examiner(s) will not be required to attend Examining Board meetings but may do so if he or she wishes. Consultation shall take place by correspondence or other appropriate means. The external examiner(s) shall attend Examining Board meetings and perform all functions normally associated with examining in Semester Two.

Results Forms and Pass-lists

35.

The Registrar shall supply to each Examining Board an official notification of results form in respect of those candidates who have been presented for their final examinations. In accordance with instructions on the results form, the Examining Board shall indicate thereon the results of those candidates who pass the final examinations with or without classified Honours where appropriate. The Chair shall return the completed notification of results form to the Registry within one working day.

36.

The notification of results form shall be signed by the Chair of the Examining Board and by the external examiner(s). In respect of those external examiners not present, suitable arrangements shall be made for obtaining their endorsement of the results proposed.

37.

Whenever a case of suspected unfair practice is the subject of investigation at the time when a result form is issued, the result of the candidate concerned shall be withheld from the result form, which should be marked ‘subject to unfair practice investigation'. A supplementary form should be issued and completed later, if appropriate.

38.

If a case of suspected unfair practice arises after the publication of a pass list, and the allegation against a candidate is established, then the Examining Board(s) concerned shall review and re-determine the candidate's result in the light of any penalty which may have been imposed. In such circumstances, the Examining Board(s) shall, if necessary, cancel a result previously published and the Registry shall issue a supplementary pass list for completion as appropriate.

39.

In the case of candidates with outstanding debts to the University, results should be recorded and released to candidates. However, the award certificate may be withheld until payment of the sum due is made.

40.

All Examining Boards shall follow conventions approved by the University.

41.

A record of the marks attained by candidates in all assessed work contributing to the final award shall be available at the Examining Board.

Publication of Pass Lists

42.

The original copies of the signed notification of results forms received from Examining Boards shall be retained by the University.

Admission to Degrees

43.

The process through which candidates are admitted to degrees is detailed in full in Standing Order 18 (‘Congregations of the University and Admission to Degrees'). In brief, however, candidates may be admitted to their degrees either

• by attending a formal degree congregation or
• in absentia, by decree of the Senior Vice-Chancellor. This is an administrative procedure carried out at frequent intervals throughout the year.

Appeals

44.

Candidates who wish to appeal against a decision of the examiners are allowed to do so under the terms of the University's Verification and Appeals Procedure.

Aegrotat/Posthumous Awards

45.

The University has established Regulations under which awards of aegrotat or posthumous qualifications may be made.

April 2008