Deadlines, penalties and document limits
Submission dates will be published via Blackboard or by Unit Coordinators.
- a) Submission of Coursework and Penalty for Late Submission
Failure to submit coursework by the due date, in the absence of an extension agreed in writing (see below) will result in penalties. The mark awarded will reduce by 10 marks per day for 5 days (assuming a 0 -100 marking scale), after which a mark of zero will be awarded. Late submission of coursework with a weighting of <7 credits and project/dissertation will result in a mark of zero. If illness or other circumstances prevent submission of course work on time, a mitigating circumstances form and appropriate documentation to confirm the reason for late submission must be submitted to the Student Support Office within one week of the course work deadline.
- b) Policy on word limits and penalities for exceeding word limits
Projects and dissertations for all PGT programmes in the School of Biological Sciences have maximum word limits which students must adhere to. These are outlined in the programme specific section of this handbook. If work is over the word limit then penalties will be imposed as follows:
Up to and including 10% over the word limit 10 marks will be deducted
Each additional 5% (or part thereof) over the word limit 10 marks will be deducted
In excess of 50% over the limit a mark of 0 will be recorded
All projects and dissertations must give the final word count at the bottom of the contents page. The word count excludes the table of contents, bibliography, glossaries, appendices, tables, figures and figure legends but is inclusive of footnotes and endnotes. This is the case for all programmes with the exception of dissertations submitted for the MSc History of Science, Technology and Medicine. The word count for dissertations submitted to this programme will be inclusive of ALL content.
Failure to provide the word count, or the provision of a false word count, may lead to disciplinary action. The School reserves the right to request an electronic copy (Microsoft Word) of any work submitted so that the word counts can be checked by the examiners.