Failed a unit with 39.90% out of 40%

I go to the University of Plymouth and study computer science, I'm in my final year. This is the first unit iv ever failed and I'm scared I won't get the full honours degree. Iv contacted my tutor but he's part-time and won't answer until next Monday... what will happen? will I be asked to retake the unit completely? or even the year? or will I just be kicked off the course?

Plymouth allow up to 20 credits per level to be "compensated" (meaning that they'll award you the credits for the module, even if you didn't reach the pass mark) under certain circumstances. For that you apply, you need to be with 10 marks of the pass mark (which you clearly are) and the module can't be specifically be designated as "non-compensatable". So this might be what happens. See AST5.1 in Plymouth's Academic Regulations, 2023-24.

You might like to read the whole of AST5, "Procedure in the event of failure (taught programmes / modules)", as it covers other scenarios (including referrals and repeats).

thank you SO much for this. I had no idea where to look. I'm panicking. I have just checked the modules... each optional module in the final year is actually non-compensatable. so.... I think I'm screwed

You're not "screwed"; stop panicking.

If compensation isn't an option, then we look to a referral. AST5.2 (in the same PDF) says:
"Where a student fails one or more taught modules, including those studied as part of a Professional Doctorate, the Award Assessment Board may:
...
allow the student to be referred in the module(s), in whole or in part of each element of assessment, at the next available opportunity."

Given that it's only February right now, "the next available opportunity" would surely be before the end of the academic year. Even if not, later in the same section it says, "A final year undergraduate student may be given an extended referral opportunity, which will mean that they can complete referral assessment by the start of the fourth week after the start of teaching of the next academic year, without having to attend."

So you wouldn't need to repeat the whole module - just the assessment you failed. That should be able to happen before the end of the year; if not it would be at the very start of the next academic year (which would delay your graduation).

okay... so I'll only have to retake the coursework i failed, (since I'm in comp sci, our assessments are actually coursework we just do at home with a deadline, since it's code), instead of the whole unit. - that is a huge relief. Thanks for pointing me to the right document and explaining it lol, as i write this my lecturer (and a friend on the course) has responded and they seem to think the grade could be rounded up to 40%, since it's literally 0.10% off. but ill ask the proper channels just in case. ty for putting my anxiety slightly at ease

The rounding thing did occur to me, but I see nothing in Plymouth'c academic regulations about rounding. Also, the fact that you quoted it as "39.90%" made is seem like that was the exact mark which you had been awarded. If they round marks, would they not have simply given you 40%?

The regulations do suggest a little "wiggle room" that the Subject Assessment Panel has:
"The Subject Assessment Panel will consider the results of all modules in the subject, regardless of the programme or award on which the students are
registered.
The responsibilities of the Panel are to:
...
b) confirm or modify module marks. An Award Assessment Board cannot alter marks once they have been confirmed by a Panel, unless an error is
discovered"

It might be worth getting some advice from the Students' Union (details here); they will be very familiar with the processes and procedure at Plymouth.

Do keep us informed of what happens.

Well, there is a small chance that this panicking is for nothing and I have passed, so I use a website called gradeCalc, to determine my overall module grade. In the unit there is a 30% and a 70%, in the 70, I got exactly 36.00, but in the 30%, I know that I got a 49.??. That's because the online portal won't show my grade for reasons unknown to me, but since it was an online quiz I did get my grade back, I'm just working on memory. So if I had gotten more than 49.30 (or around that I'm not at my PC right now, but it's the decimals that count) then id actually have passed. Iv already been through the channels for advice and to get that grade back, just waiting to hear back from everyone now. Will let u know

Update: I just found out that the 30% grade was actually 49.44, which puts my overall module grade over the 40% to 40.03 (still not amazing but at least there's no issues). What I didnt realise is that there was a way to check all provisional grades, I should've just checked that. panic over lol. at least I'm not in trouble now. we all gud, thank u again for all the help lmao