Degree Regulations
The degree regulations for students can be found on the University website.
If you commenced your studies before September 2012 you should consult the degree regulations for students registered on an undergraduate programme on or after 1 September 2010 (but prior to 1 September 2012) which can be found on the University website here.
| Bachelors Degree classification weighted to 120 credits |
Classification thresholds: weighted average (0 to 100 mark range) |
Boundary zone weighted average |
| First class | 70.0 | 68.0 to 69.9 |
| Upper Second class | 60.0 | 58.0 to 59.9 |
| Lower Second class | 50.0 | 48.0 to 49.9 |
| Third class | 40.0 | 37.0 to 39.9 |
Note, unlike the BSc degrees, it is not possible to attain a 3rd class for an MSci degree. Consequently, MSci students who obtain a final mark of less than 50% will fail the MSci degree. However, you will be able to graduate with BSc(Hons) degree based on your performance during your first three year.
Assessments and examinations
First Year BSc Optometry
Marks from first-year examinations will contribute 10% of the total on which the overall degree performance is assessed.
Second Year BSc Optometry
Marks from second-year examinations will contribute 30% towards the total on which the final degree classification is assessed.
Students with an overall average greater than 60%, no fails and good passes in clinical subjects will be considered on merit for transfer to available places on the MSci course and, providing they prove acceptable to the placement supervisors in a preliminary meeting.
Third Year BSc Optometry
Marks from third-year examinations will contribute 60% towards the total on which final degree performance is assessed, the second-year total will contribute 30% and the first-year total 10%. In the case of third-year students who received direct entry into the second year marks from third-year examinations will contribute 67% towards the total on which final degree performance is assessed and the second-year total will contribute 33%.
Progression Regulations for Third Year MSci Students
Students obtaining an overall average of at least 50% and no marks less than 40% in any subject and having completed the stage one core competencies of the General Optical Council (see GOC website www.optical.org or Blackboard unit BIOL30200) satisfactorily will continue onto the MSci placement. Any student failing to meet these criteria will revert to the BSc. (Hons) programme and their results will be considered as a BSc. student.
During the placement year MSci students must complete the designated duration of experience, submit an appropriate number of case reports and perform adequately in the OSCE assessments as well as receive satisfactory reports from the placement supervisors. In the event of student performance in the placement year being unsatisfactory, the student failing to gain adequate skills and experience, the student will be awarded a BSc (Hons) degree as an exit award with a classification based on their marks obtained prior to commencing the placement year.
Fourth Year MSci
The final mark for the MSci will be calculated as follows: 37.5% from the fourth year assessments (; 37.5% from the third year examinations; 19% from the second year examinations; 6% from the first year examinations. The degree of MSci is awarded on achieving 40% or more in all subjects and an overall average of at least 50%.
Registration with the General Optical Council
Students will be eligible to register with the General Optical Council for inclusion on the register of qualified optometrists immediately after they have successfully completed the MSci Optometry course providing they have satisfied the basic clinical competence requirements for unsupervised practice and have submitted documentary evidence, endorsed by their placement supervisors, that the total numbers of patients examined during the training period at least satisfy the minimum numbers for registration stipulated by the General Optical Council.
Pass marks and compensation rules
The pass mark for each unit examination is 40%, and ideally you should pass all the units for which you are registered. However, the examiners realise that not all students will achieve this ideal, and some students may pass most of their units, getting good marks in some but just failing others. The following compensation rules are therefore used, whereby good marks can compensate for some fail marks; the degree of compensation permitted will depend on the marks of all your units (excluding the tutorials).
*Level 1 only*
To obtain a pass in the First Year Examination as a whole you must:
(i) Obtain a mark of at least 70% in the BIOL12051 clinical methodology unit.
(ii) Gain a mark of at least 40% in all components of the BIOL10100 Personal and Professional Development Unit and have satisfactory attendance at PPD sessions and practical classes.
- Gain a mark of at least 40% in any designated non-compensatable units for your Degree Programme (BIOL10190/BIOL10292).
- achieve marks of at least 40% in 80 credits and at least 30% in the remaining 40 credits. This means you will have to achieve a mark of 40% or greater in units worth 70 credits (plus the tutorial) and a mark of at least 30% in all of the remaining 40 credits worth of units
NB – failure of any of the following - BIOL10100 Personal and Professional Development or BIOL12051 clinical methodology unit will lead to loss of compensation and all unit assessments with marks less than 40% will have to be resat.
- For the First Year Optometry Degree Programme, BIOL10190 and BIOL10292 have been designated as non-compensatable units in which you must attain a mark of at least 40%. However, failure of these units may not necessarily result in overall loss of compensation.
*Level 2*
To obtain a pass in the Second Year Examination as a whole you must:
(i) Obtain a mark of at least 70% in BIOL22051 & BIOL22062 Clinical Methodology units 2 and 3 and BIOL21701 Critical Writing Skills.
(ii) Gain a mark of at least 40% in all components of the Personal and Professional Development Unit (BIOL20200) AND have satisfactory attendance at tutorials and practical classes.
- Gain a mark of at least 40% in any designated non-compensatable units for your degree programme (see below).
- Achieve marks of at least 40% in 80 credits and at least 30% in the remaining 40 credits. This means you will have to achieve a mark of 40% or greater in units worth 70 credits (plus the tutorial) and a mark of at least 30% in all of the remaining 40 credits worth of units.
NB – failure of any of the following – BIOL20200 Personal and Professional Development BIOL22051 or BIOL22062 Clinical Methodology units will lead to loss of compensation and all unit assessments with marks less than 40% will have to be resat.
- For the Second Year Optometry Degree Programme, BIOL20080, BIOL20090, BIOL20100, BIOL20362, BIOL20372, BIOL20391 and BIOL21392 have been designated as non-compensatable units in which you must attain a mark of at least 40%. However, failure of these units may not necessarily result in overall loss of compensation.
- The University gives the Board of Examiners the right to refuse a referral to a student whose Work and Attendance has been unsatisfactory and who has received an official warning letter.
If after the application of the above compensation rules you are found to have failed overall, then you will be required to take referral examinations in August/September. If you have passed 40 or more credits at the first attempt the Board of Examiners will specify which unit assessments you are required to refer in order to gain at least a compensated pass in the August/September examinations.
Note the Board of Examiners may choose to exclude you from further study in the Faculty, if you are absent without explanation from all exams in a given examination period or if you fail on first attempt more than 80 credits worth of assessments.
ABSENCE FROM EXAMINATIONS/ASSESSMENTS: you must inform the Student Support Office if you are absent for any examinations or assessments BEFORE THE START OF THE EXAM (see Section Absence from examinations due to ill health). If you are absent for all exams within a given examination period, without prior notice and documentation to mitigate this absence, the School will assume that you have withdrawn from your programme of study and will not permit you to progress to the subsequent year.
Tutorial Assessments: your tutorial work is usually assessed by marking several pieces of work. If you miss part of this assessment through properly documented illness (see Section Absence affecting submission of written work), the examiners may base your overall mark for the unit on the marks for the remaining pieces of work that you did complete.
Unit Examinations: absence from any of your Examinations, for whatever reason, will score 0% for that examination. If, however, the absence is mitigated (see section Mitigating Circumstances Committee), your referral in August/September may be counted as your first attempt at the examination (and the fee may be waived). See also Section Absence from examinations due to ill health.
Degree classification is based on the marks from the four components weighted as outlined in section Assessments and examinations (Level 3), and is determined at a meeting of the Board of Examiners for a particular Degree Programme, with the External Examiner present to act as advisor and arbiter. The following numerical boundaries will be used as guidelines by the Board of Examiners in deciding your degree category: Please note, that there are additional criteria to be met in order to obtain a degree class commensurate with the final weighted average mark. In addition to obtaining a final mark within boundaries set out above, in order to obtain a lower second degree or above, 80 final year credits must have marks of at least 40%. To obtain a third class degree, 60 final year credits must have marks of at least 40%. Please read carefully the “Regulations for Undergraduate Awards” paragraphs 35-39 which sets out these criteria and those for the award of an ordinary degree. See http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=13147 N.B. The Board of Examiners will take into account the following points when deciding degree classification Absence from any final-level examination will normally result in a zero mark being returned for that examination. There are no referrals. A candidate who is ill must follow the procedures indicated under 'Guidelines on Ill Heath' Section. However, students should make every effort to take the paper.Pass marks and degree classification
August/September referrals
If you pass a minimum 40 credits but have failed to meet the expected standard in up to 80 of the remaining credits, you will be able to have one more try at the assessment. This is known as 'referred assessment' and these assessments will normally take place over the summer period. This will all happen in good time for the examination board to make decisions on your progression for next year's enrolment.
- No more than 80 credits can be referred
- Please note that it will be the mark that you obtain in the referral examination that will determine whether you obtain a pass in a unit (we do NOT take the better of marks obtained on the first or second attempt). The mark will be derived solely from the referral examination and will not include any coursework/eLearning component carried over from the first sitting, unless the exam is being taken as a first attempt.
- To give credit for passing referral examinations, any passed referral mark will be capped at 30% for the purposes of progression and will be recorded on academic transcripts as 30R. It is the mark that will be used to calculate your final degree classification.
- Should you still not pass the Examination on this referral (when the compensation rules will again be applied) the following decisions by the Board of Examiners may be taken.
You may be
- permitted to carry forward up to 20 failed credits to the next year. This decision is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners and will be based on your academic standing and any mitigating circumstances. Whole units must be repeated in attendance, with assessment taken in full. Marks are capped to the lowest compensatable mark. Failed non-compensatable units cannot be carried over to subsequent levels. See Section Pass marks and compensation rules (Level 1) (Level 2)
- permitted to repeat the year on your current degree programme. This option is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners and can only be granted after the Board of Examiners meets in September to discuss the results of the referral examinations. It will normally only be available where you can demonstrate that your current academic performance is likely to improve in the following year and will be dependent on availability of places for the following year.
- excluded from your Degree Programme
Dates for the August/September examination period are printed at the front of this handbook. Please bear this in mind when making plans for the summer. Should you be ill and be unable to take an examination in January or May/June you will need to be in Manchester for the referral opportunity. It is NOT possible to take referral examinations at another location or to reschedule them.
Note the referral examination is only provided to allow you to gain sufficient credits. The aggregate mark carried forward to your final degree mark is derived only from capped referral mark (see (c) above) or, if greater the original mark for that subject. However, it will be the mark that you obtain in the referral examination that will determine whether you obtain a pass in a referred unit (we do NOT take the better of marks obtained on the first or any subsequent attempt).
Disclosure of marks and record of academic performance
Marks for practical assessments and unit examinations will be made available to you via My Manchester Student Portal; details on how to access them can be found at http://www.exams.manchester.ac.uk. Please see section Key Dates and Deadlines (Level 1) (Level 2) for the dates the examination results will be published. Practical assessment and other coursework marks may be published on an ongoing basis.
Decisions on progression to the next year will be communicated to you via My Manchester Portal during the summer vacation - In some circumstances a letter will also be sent to you at your home address.
It is entirely your responsibility to ensure that you learn the contents of these important messages in a timely manner.
Any queries about your marks should be made to the Unit Coordinator or your Personal Advisor, NOT the Student Support Office.
Publication of examination results and degree classifications
Following the Board of Examiners meetings all degree classifications will be published by the date advertised in the front cover of this handbook and will be communicated through the My Manchester Student Portal; details on how to access them can be found at http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-life/exams/results/.
Results for individual examinations will be published on the date advertised in the front cover of this handbook (for semester 1 examinations). Practical assessment and other coursework marks may be published on an ongoing basis.
Precise publication dates and times for certain groups of degree programmes may occur before this and full details will be published nearer to the examination boards.
Academic Transcripts
The University has implemented a secure online document service called e-Docs. This system allows graduates to access their documents online and allows employers to verify the authenticity of these electronic documents via a secure website hosted at The University of Manchester. This allows you to manage the release of your documents to a third party, e.g. a prospective employer, electronically, effectively allowing them to verify the information via the University's secure website. This removes the need to entrust your original documents to the post and speeds up the communication process considerably. See the Crucial Guide Live at https://my.manchester.ac.uk/d/crucial-guide/academic-life/award-confirmation/transcripts/ for further information.
External Examiners
External Examiners are individuals from another institution or organisation who monitor the assessment processes of the University to ensure fairness and academic standards. They ensure that assessment and examination procedures have been fairly and properly implemented and that decisions have been made after appropriate deliberation. They also ensure that standards of awards and levels of student performance are at least comparable with those in equivalent higher education institutions.
External Examiners’ reports relating to programmes within the School of Biological Sciences will be shared with student representatives at the Student/Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC), where details of any actions carried out by the School in response to the External Examiners’ comments will be discussed. You should contact your student representatives if you require any further information about External Examiners’ reports or the process for considering them. External Examiners’ reports and the School’s responses to them can be found here.
The External Examiners for each programme are as follows:
| Programme | External Examiner | Institution |
| Optometry/Master of Optometry | Prof Roger Anderson | University of Ulster |
| Optometry/Master of Optometry | Dr Robert Cubbidge | Aston University |
Please note that it is inappropriate for students to make direct contact with External Examiners under any circumstances, and in particular with regards to a student’s individual performance in assessments. Other appropriate mechanisms are available for students, including the University’s appeals or complaints procedures and the UMSU Advice Centre. In cases where a student does contact an External Examiner directly, External Examiners have been requested not to respond to direct queries. Instead, External Examiners will report the matter to their School contact who will then contact the student to remind them of the other methods available for students. If students have any queries concerning this, they should contact the Student Support Office in the first instance.