Do all universities cap resits at 40 percent no matter the mark?

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RightSaidJames

By resits we mean the ones that are done in the summer. Generally, if someone takes the exams the following year, they've often resat the entire year or worked out some sort of weird arrangement whereby they do both the first year and the second year at the same time. Generally the former.

Ah ok, then I believe what your talking about is referrals. Resits are quite common at UCL, and won't affect your grade provided you don't have to retake too many modules (indeed more than 1 in maths and you fail).

Reply 41

jinglepupskye

The normal practice is that in most universities the course is divided into modules each worth 10 or 20 credits. The main exception to this is the dissertation in the final year which counts as 40 credits. You need 360 credits for an Honours degree.

For each module you need to pass at the approved mark - generally 40%. If you fail you are given the option to resit or be referred and if you pass that resit or referral you get a mark of 40%. In practice this means that if you get 70% for the resit exam or referral you will only be given a mark of 40%. Tough.

If you have mitigating circumstances, such as the death of a close relative, or you are ill and not capable of giving your best efforts, you may be given the opportunity to resit the piece of work as a first attempt. In practice this normally means that whatever the resit work for that module is, you will complete it as a first attempt and your mark will not be capped.

Reply 42

RightSaidJames

"Candidates may be permitted, at the discretion of the Year Examining Board, up to two further attempts to redeem any failure in a module. However, they will be eligible only for the award of the minimum pass mark (40%), irrespective of their level of performance. In Year 1 this will be of less importance than in Years 2 and 3, where the quality of the pass has a direct bearing on the classification of the degree.

Resit examinations follow the same structure and are based on the same syllabus as the original assessment.

The Resit examination period usually takes begins in mid-August so that all marking, moderation and Examining Boards can take place well in advance of the start of the new session. Holidays are not regarded as an acceptable reason for non-attendance."

It then goes on to say that if you are allowed to progress without resitting, then you need to do extra credits in the next year to make up for the ones you failed, and that you might also be permitted to do entirely new modules which would allow you to get up to 100% rather than just the 40%.