The following guidance is based on the University’s Undergraduate Degree Regulations. You can access a full copy of these regulations at the following link: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=13147
7.1 Progression
7.1.1 What is required to pass the year?
Each year of your psychology degree consists of course units worth a total of 120 credits, with each course unit being associated with a certain number of course credits (as specified in your Syllabus booklet). To obtain the credits associated with each course unit, you must pass that course unit (i.e. obtain an overall pass based on grades for coursework and/or exam components; the weighting of these elements is specified in the course unit outline, published in the Syllabus booklet). You must obtain 120 credits to pass the year. That is, you must obtain pass marks in all your course units. Students who do not obtain the required 120 credits will have failed the year.
7.1.2 What happens if I fail the year?
Decisions about progression are taken during the Semester 2 examination board, held in June, and the Resit examination board, held in September. If you do not pass the required 120 credits in a given year of study, following allowable compensation and resit attempts (see section 3.6), you may not be permitted to progress to the next year of study and may be withdrawn from the degree programme. Students withdrawn before completion of the degree programme may qualify for an Exit Award (please see the Undergraduate Degree Regulations, linked above for further details).
7.1.3 Carrying forward failed credit to the subsequent year of study
If you pass a minimum of 100 of the required 120 credits, the examination board may permit you to carry forward failed credits to the next year of study. The decision to allow a student to carry forward credit, up to a maximum of 20 credits, is at the examination boards discretion. Carrying forward credits in this way results in a higher workload in the subsequent year of study. For example, if you carried 20 credits from Year 1 to Year 2, you would need to pass 140 rather than 120 credits in Year 2. In recognition of this additional burden, the decision would be based on your academic standing (judged by your performance in other units).
Grades for ‘carried credits’ are capped at 30% and students have only one attempt to regain credit which has been carried over to the next year of study. Failing carried credits would result in withdrawal from the programme, as the requirements for progression have not been satisfied.
7.1.4 Repeating the Year
In exceptional circumstances, where a student has failed the year and carrying forward credits is not appropriate, the examination board may permit the student to repeat the year. This decision is taken on academic grounds; a student who has failed to demonstrate the academic potential to pass the year (judged by assessment grades obtained) would not be permitted to repeat the year. If you were granted the opportunity to repeat the year, all grades for your first attempt at the year would be erased (i.e. you cannot carry forward any grades from your original attempt). Full course fees are payable for the repeated year.
Please note, students cannot opt to repeat the year if they have satisfied the progression requirements. For example, if you pass Year 2 but are unhappy with your grades, you cannot be permitted to re-take Year 2 in order to improve those grades.
7.1.5 Voluntary withdrawal from a programme of study
Occasionally, for a variety of reasons, a student may decide to withdraw from the degree before completing it. This is obviously a major decision and, if you are considering withdrawing from your degree programme, you should talk things over with your Academic Advisor or Year Tutor before coming to a final decision. If, on reflection, you do decide to withdraw, you will be asked to fill in a form to confirm your intention to withdraw. You will also be asked to state your reasons for withdrawing. This is not to make things difficult or unpleasant for you, but so that we can monitor whether or not there are problems with the degree programme that may induce some students to withdraw. If there are, we may be able to do something about it that will benefit future students. It is very important that, if you do decide to withdraw, you do so formally by going through the above procedures. Do not simply stop coming to University without letting us know that you are withdrawing. As far the University is concerned, you will still be registered as a student and will still be liable for tuition fees.
7.2 Failing the Year as a Result of Mitigating Circumstances
We recognise that, in rare cases, failure to pass the year may result from extenuating circumstances (e.g. significant illness which has resulted in extended periods of absence). If you find yourself in a situation where such circumstances threaten your ability to pass the year, you should contact your Year Tutor for support at the earliest opportunity. Your Year Tutor will work closely with you to devise an appropriate plan and to ensure you are receiving all available support. In most cases, such circumstances can be managed with support (see section 8), and/or by applying mitigating circumstances procedures at the level of individual pieces of assessment (see Section 6). Wherever possible, we seek to avoid a situation where a student gets to the end of the year without having reasonable opportunity to pass the required credits (i.e. after exhausting all opportunities to apply mitigating circumstances procedures). If it becomes apparent that your circumstances are likely to prevent you from passing the year, your Year Tutor will recommend an interruption to your studies.
If you do get to the end of the Year without meeting the requirements for progression, and have evidence of mitigating circumstances which can account for this, you would be offered the opportunity to repeat the year. As outlined in section 5.1.4, all grades from your affected attempt at the year would be erased (i.e. you cannot carry forward any grades from your original attempt). Where students repeat the year as a result of mitigating circumstances, course fees for the repeated year would not be payable, although all other costs associated with completing an additional year of study would apply.
7.2.1 Interruption of studies
Although most students will complete their degree programme in a continuous three year period, some students may need to interrupt their programme of study and to complete it at a later date. Permission to interrupt is only granted in cases where extremely adverse circumstances, such as prolonged illness or serious personal problems, have had a major impact on your studies. The period of interruption is to allow you to recover from these problems. Permission to interrupt is not an automatic right, but has to be applied for. Each case is considered on its merits. Applications for interruption should be made by completing the appropriate request form (available from Ryan Hurst, based in the Student Support Office).
It is important to realise the wider implications of interruption. If you interrupt you will not, for the period of the interruption, be registered as a student of the University. That means that you cannot use University facilities, such as the Library, and cannot live in University halls of residence. The University will not charge tuition fees during such a period. If, however, there is a rise in tuition fees during the period of interruption, you will have to pay the new, higher tuition fees upon recommencing your programme of study.
Interruption, then, is not something to be taken lightly: it is only approved in the most serious of circumstances and it can have major financial impacts as well as delaying your graduation. If, however, you feel that you may have to interrupt your studies, it is important that you discuss the matter with your Year Tutor before applying for permission to interrupt. If you know beforehand that you may have to interrupt your studies (due, for example, to pregnancy or to planned medical treatment), you should apply for permission before you actually have to stop attending University.
Detailed guidelines on the University’s policy on interruption of programmes of study can be found at the following web site: http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/policy-on-interruptions/
7.3 Guidelines for the Award of Degree Classifications
At the end of each year of study, your ‘Year Average’ mark will be calculated. This mark is the average of the marks achieved for each of your course units (including both examination and coursework components), weighted by their credit ratings. Your final ‘Weighted Average’ mark is then calculated by combining the average of the second year marks and that of the third year marks in the ratio 33:67.
To obtain an Honours degree, you must obtain 360 credits. This means that you must pass all course units (either by gaining a pass mark or by compensation.
In general terms, the degree class you are awarded corresponds to your Weighted Average mark as follows:
Class I 70 or above
Class II (I) 60-69.9
Class II (ii) 50-59.9
Class III 40-49.9
If a student has a Weighted Average mark that falls within the 2% ‘boundary zone’ below the higher classification threshold, they will be promoted to the higher degree classification IF two thirds of their unit credits in the Final Year are equal to or higher than the higher classification. For example if your Weighted Average mark was 69.3% (which falls within the 2% boundary zone below a 1st Class), and 80 out of 120 of your Final Year Unit grades were 70% or higher, you would be awarded a 1st Class degree.
The Examination Board can also apply a further stage of ‘Classification Review’ if a student’s Weighted Average mark falls within the 2% boundary zone of the higher claissification threshold, but the student has not satisfied the rule that two thirds of their Final Year Unit credits fall within the higher classification. This review involves examining the assessed work of that student across the 2nd and Final Year of the degree to determine whether promotion to the higher classification is warranted. The decision to promote a student in this way must be supported by an External Examiner.
Upon Graduation, final year students will be able to access an official transcript of their results online, via the eDocs system. Documents accessed via eDocs are digitally signed to make them legally valid and tamper-evident, allowing for quicker and more efficient verification of genuine documents. The eDocs system can be accessed here: https://edocs.manchester.ac.uk/wallet/servlet/UserWalletApp
7.3.1 British Psychological Society: Accreditation Requirements
In order to gain a degree that confers the British Psychological Society’s Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) status, you must pass the Final Year Project* (achieving a minimum of 40% for this unit) and obtain an overall degree classification of lower second class honours (2.2) or higher.
* Please note in the case of the Joint Honours Psychology and Neuroscience degree, the BPS requirements stipulate a minimum number of Psychology course credits and that the Final Year Project is undertaken in Psychology. If students do not (and will not in the future) have any intention of applying for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), they need not take this constraint into consideration.
7.4 Academic Appeals
Academic Appeals Procedure: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=1872
A basic guide to Academic Appeals: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=23874
Students can appeal final decisions of the examination board (for example, the award of a particular degree classifaction, or the decision to withdraw the student from the degree). If you are thinking of submitting an appeal, you must first contact the Exams Officer or Programme Director who will attempt to resolve the matter informally. If you still wish to proceed to a formal appeal, it is strongly advised that you familiarise yourself with the Appeals Procedure (linked above). This sets out the possible grounds for appeal, the evidence you will be required to submit in support, how appeals will be considered and the possible outcomes. You are welcome to contact a member of staff (e.g. your Academic Advisor or Year Tutor) for support and guidance with this procedure. Advice on appeals is also available from the Students Union or from the Information, Advice and Guidance Service located in the Atrium.
Please be aware that appeals must be submitted within 20 working days of notification of the result or decision. Appeals should be submitted to Kevin Hewitt, Teaching and Learning Advisor (Student Appeals, Complaints, Discipline and Fitness to Practise), Room 3.21, Simon Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (e-mail: kevin.hewitt@manchester.ac.uk).
