Quality Handbook Supplement 15E - Board of Examiners guidance

1.1 This guide aims to assist academic and professional services staff who are responsible for the preparation and conduct of Boards of Examiners. The guide includes direct reference to extracts of the NTU Quality Handbook (shaded) and provides guidance on how these policies should be implemented in order to ensure smooth operation of boards and safe and secure decision-making about student outcomes.

1.2 The guide should be read in conjunction with the NTU Quality Handbook, especially the following sections:

Part C. Assuring and Enhancing Quality

Section 9: External Examining - Requirements
Section 15: Requirements for Assessment Management and Operation
Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners requirements

Part E: Regulations

Section 16: Taught Course Awards and Registration Periods - Requirements
Section 16A: CAR for Bachelor’s and Integrated Master’s Degrees - Requirements
Section 16B: CAR for Foundation Degrees - Requirements
Section 16C: CAR for Taught Postgraduate Degrees - Requirements
Section 16E: CAR for Higher National awards - Requirements
Section 17A: Consideration of Personal Circumstances policy - Requirements
Section 17B: Academic Appeals Process - Requirements
Section 17C: Academic Integrity - Requirements
Supplement CAR 1: Common Assessment Regulations: Student Route Requirements

2.1 Boards of Examiners have delegated powers from Academic Board for the determination of academic awards to students, and for decisions about the progression of students. Membership, procedures, powers and accountability of Boards of Examiners are clearly specified with paragraphs 13.4 and 13.5 of the Quality Handbook Section 15: Requirements for Assessment Management and Operation

3.1 The Terms of Reference for a Board of Examiners is available in section 3 of the Quality Handbook Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners Requirements.

4.1 Membership of a Board of Examiners is detailed in section 2 of the Quality Handbook Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners Requirements.

4.2 If it is not possible for a module leader (or their representative) to attend the board, the module leader should notify the course leader and / or chair in advance of the meeting so that any issues to do with the overall module results or individual students can be discussed. This will not be possible in last minute absences, but colleagues need to be aware that the University is vulnerable to appeal if a module is not represented and performance in that module affects a student’s overall profile.

5.1 Instances of when a Board of Examiners should meet is detailed in paragraph 2.7 of the Quality Handbook Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners Requirements.

5.2 The types of boards and their roles are detailed in section 4 of the Quality Handbook Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners Requirements.

5.3 The types of Boards covered are:

1. Award Boards
2. Subject Boards
3. Progression Boards
4. Half-year Boards
5. Referral Boards

6.1 The Roles and Responsibilities of each member of the Board of Examiners are available in Quality Handbook Supplement 15F: Board of Examiners Requirements and Quality Handbook Section 9: External Examining. The roles details are:

1. The Chair (QHS 15F: section 5)
2. The Course Leader (QHS 15F: section 6)
   1. Course leaders must also ensure that their external examiner’s tenure is still valid prior to the start of the academic year. Tenures normally run for 4 years. Confirmation of tenure dates can be sought from Jane Dyer (extension 88188; jane.dyer@ntu.ac.uk) in CADQ.
3. The External Examiner (QH 9: paragraph 5.3)
   1. The External Examiners must also ensure equity for each candidate and ensure standards are maintained. A Board of Examiners that does not include an approved External Examiner is not authorised to confirm final awards.
4. The Minute Secretary (QHS 15F: section 7)
   1. Persons appointed to act as minute-secretary to Boards of Examiners are appointed from within the School to which the course(s) belong.
   2. The minute-secretary must not be expected to offer advice to the chair and board on assessment regulations.

Preparation by the academic course team

7.1 In preparation for the board, the course team should ensure that:

1. all student work has been graded, results provided to the Student Data Team no later than five full working days prior to the subject Board, Pre-Board or Board (whichever is earlier) and have been entered into the system;
2. it has clearly been established whether there are any students being considered by the board for whom classification decisions will be based on the previous assessment framework (non-linear 0-100 grade points; previous degree algorithm);
3. all students recommended for the award have the required number of credits and modules, including all core modules, and that sandwich students have completed the necessary number of weeks on placement;
4. provisional recommendations on student outcomes have been agreed, including where students are eligible for compensation;
5. the specific conventions that will be used by the board (in relation to, for example, number of modules that students will be allowed to trail into the following year, specific issues around compensation) have been agreed, documented and are available to board members (an example is provided in Appendix 13: Examples of Board of Examiners conventions); in some circumstances, this may also include reference to borderline conventions for any student who is being considered on the basis of the previous regulations (see note below);
6. the board will have access to information about what constitutes the ‘next available assessment opportunity’ for each module;
7. the curriculum map is up to date and available;
8. information about students’ substantiated CPCs is available (see section 7.10, below);
9. information about students’ Statements of Access is available, where relevant.

Further information:

• The Student Data team will ensure that Exam Board spreadsheets are available no later than two working days prior to the Exam Board or pre-Board. Any grades or grade changes not submitted by the deadline, must instead be taken to the Board or Pre-Board for consideration.

7.2 Course teams should also try to ensure that conversations have been had with students with Statements of Access or ongoing personal circumstances prior to the board so that appropriate recommendations can be made at the board rather than requiring decisions to be deferred.

7.3 Course teams may elect to operate a pre-meeting which provides the opportunity for these complex cases to be prepared. The pre-meeting should not involve the chair or the external examiner(s).

7.4 The course team should also ensure that any prize awards from sponsoring bodies are still valid and propose nominations for such awards for the approval of the board. Any such nominations should be forwarded to Academic Registry at NTU.Graduations@ntu.ac.uk by the required deadline (see section 12, below) using the Excel template provided for this purpose.

Preparation by the Chair

7.5 In advance of the board, the chair should liaise with the course leader and minute-secretary to ensure that:

1. an appropriate agenda is drafted for the meeting;
2. all relevant information concerning students’ performance will be made available including the outcome of consideration of any Consideration of Personal Circumstances and Academic Integrity;
3. they are fully conversant with the definitive course information in CourseLoop, the Curriculum Map, the CAR (and any special validated dispensations from them) and any specific course conventions that will inform decision-making;
4. all final preparations have been made to enable the business of the board to be efficiently conducted within the regulations of the course.

Preparation by the administrative team

7.6 It is anticipated that most boards will meet virtually, while some Schools may decide a face-to-face meeting is preferable. School Administration teams are responsible for booking online meetings via a secure, approved system.

7.7 Minute secretaries may record the meeting to assist in record-keeping, but must follow the approved protocol as follows:

1. Inform all in attendance that they would like to record the meeting and the reason for doing so, and all must agree to the recording for it to go ahead.
2. Be clear to those in the meeting, how the recording will be managed.
3. If downloading the recording, take care it is not shared, and use only for the purpose of the meeting.
4. Take responsibility for deleting the recording in all areas that it is held.

7.8 Each School’s administration teams have responsibility for maintaining membership lists to each of its Boards of Examiners and should liaise with course leaders to update these lists annually.

7.9 School administration teams are responsible for arranging the timetable of board meetings for their own School, booking the venues and circulating the invitation / agenda to those members entitled to attend.

7.10 The minute-secretary should ensure that the following documentation is available at the board. For paperless boards, these should be provided electronically where possible:

1. a membership list and list of any apologies (see Appendix 7: Board of Examiners attendance list);
2. copies of the agenda;
3. the minutes from the previous meetings;
4. copies of the results spreadsheets (unless a paper-less board is planned);
5. information about students’ personal circumstances claims – for students with substantiated claims this information needs to include whether the outcome was an extension or submission at the next assessment point;
6. information about Serious Academic Misconduct Panel recommendations.
7. copies of the curriculum map;
8. copies of details of any special dispensations or conventions that will be used by the board in its decision-making (see Appendix 13: Example of Board of Examiners course conventions for an example);
9. the conferment statement, in the case of Final Award Boards, for the chair and external examiner(s) to sign at the end of the board;
10. expenses claim forms for the external examiner(s);
11. the appropriate Common Assessment Regulations.

Agenda

8.1 The agenda of the Board of Examiners should include the following:

1. Apologies for absence
2. Declaration of interests
3. Minutes of the previous meeting
4. Matters arising
5. Outcomes from the Considerations of Personal Circumstances Panel
6. Outcomes from any Serious Academic Misconduct Panel.
7. Regulations/conventions/dispensations that will be used by the board
8. Confirmation of any adjustment of module grades (scaling) (see QH Section 15: Assessment, paragraphs 11.21 – 11.29)
9. Consideration of results
10. Comments from External Examiners
11. Prizes/other awards
12. Any other business

Quoracy

8.2 Quoracy of the Board of Examiners is considered to be the majority of members and the chair is responsible for determining whether the meeting is quorate.

8.3 Where a Board of Examiners Meeting is not quorate the Chair should take appropriate action which can include:

1. reconvene the board at the earliest opportunity
2. take decisions and then ratify asynchronously

Making decisions

8.4 The Board of Examiners should consider the results spreadsheet in order to arrive at appropriate decisions about students’ results. To support consistent decision-making, it may be appropriate to group students according to the recommended outcome and consider these groups in turn.

8.5 Where decisions are straightforward e.g. to pass and proceed or award, these should all be approved en masse at the beginning of the meeting. This is so that the Board can prioritise and devote discussion to those cases which require it.

8.6 Boards of Examiners should refer to the appropriate Common Assessment Regulations when making their decisions about module and stage results. As noted above, there may be some students who are being considered on the basis of previous regulations.

8.7 It is the role of the chair to ensure that:

1. all members of the board are aware of the regulations that will be used when considering student profiles and any course- specific conventions in operation;
2. the board’s recommendations result from informed and impartial academic judgement;
3. decisions are clearly formulated and agreed by the board and that they are in accordance with the regulations for the course;
4. decisions that fall outside the normal framework of the CAR should have the reasons clearly minuted;
5. the external examiner is not asked to moderate in the case of a dispute between markers nor change grades (see QH Section 15: Assessment for further discussion).

8.8 As a board member, the external examiner will contribute to discussions on decisions concerning grades and awards. However, whilst a board might give particular weight to the contributions of the external examiner, the responsibility for agreeing grades and awards rests with all members of the Board of Examiners.

Failed modules

8.9 For specific regulations, please refer to the appropriate Common Assessment Regulations.

8.10 The maximum permitted number of attempts for a student to pass a module is two – first attempt and then referral or repeat. A third attempt should only be authorised in exceptional cases.

8.11 A board may use its discretion to allow a student to enter stage 2 or stage 3 (or stage 4 of an integrated master’s course) carrying a deficiency from a previous stage, normally of up to 20 credits. A board may exercise discretion and allow a student to progress carrying more than 20 credits provided it is reasonable to allow a student to do so, given their overall academic record and the extent of the deficiencies to be retrieved.

8.12 The course team should agree in advance of the board, the conditions in which students will be allowed to trail failed modules. This should be clearly articulated in the conventions shared with the board at the beginning of its meeting.

8.13 The course team should also agree in advance of the board, the conditions in which the board might forgo the initial referral opportunity and require a student to retake a module with or without attendance.

Compensation

8.14 For specific regulations, please refer to the appropriate Common Assessment Regulations.

8.15 A board may consider that in certain cases of element or module failure, the student has demonstrated the learning outcomes elsewhere, such that a compensated pass can be awarded. The curriculum map should be used to determine whether or not the learning outcomes have been met elsewhere.

8.16 A board may compensate a marginal fail grade for a module as a whole. In such cases, the student’s performance will be recorded as a compensated pass for that module.

8.17 In addition, a board may compensate a mid-fail grade for an element provided at least a low 3rd grade (or pass for level 7 integrated master’s modules) has been achieved for the module as a whole. In such cases, the student’s performance will be recorded as a compensated pass for that module.

8.18 Normally a student must have achieved the minimum pass requirement or higher at the end of the stage to be eligible for compensation. In cases where level 6 and level 7 modules contribute to a single stage in integrated master’s courses, the minimum pass requirement at the end of the stage will be the equivalent of an undergraduate low 3rd.

8.19 A module or element grade that has been compensated must not be adjusted.

8.20 A board should be cautious in applying compensation to students who have not completed an entire academic stage. A board should not apply compensation if the student has not completed all pieces of assessment associated with that element, unless extenuating circumstances apply.

8.21 Half-year boards should be particularly mindful of the regulations around compensation at the first half-year board as students will not at this point have completed all modules assessments associated with the academic stage under consideration.

Determining the award classification

8.22 The CAR sets out the conditions for determining the appropriate award classification. The recommended award (calculated automatically) is shown on the results spreadsheet.

Deferring a decision

8.23 In some cases, the Board of Examiners may need to defer a decision about a student because of missing information or, in very specific circumstances, because the board considers that a conversation with the student is required.

Recording the discussion

8.24 Boards should be formally minuted by the minute-secretary. Minutes must clearly set out the reasons behind any decisions affecting students that go beyond the ‘automatic’ generation of the degree classification or progression outcome calculated by Banner. Details of referral and retake requirements must be noted carefully. A record should be made of the consideration of the CPC and Academic misconduct reports and any consequent decisions, in addition to details relating to decisions for Student Route students.

8.25 When making decisions, boards should use the standard Module Results: Decision Codes (Appendix 1) and the Progression Decisions (Appendix 2). Advice on the use of these codes should be sought from Academic Registry.

8.26 It is advisable for the minute-secretary to sit next to the chair so that any queries can be raised quietly without necessarily interrupting the meeting. Minute-secretaries should make a note of the comments made in respect of individual students, annotating the results sheet with the decisions reached. Where decisions fall outside the normal framework of the Common Assessment Regulations, the reasons for these decisions should be explicitly recorded.

8.27 For unsuccessful students it is important to clarify how the failure can be made good, the submission dates for referred work, the specific elements that have been failed, whether the student must repeat modules with attendance, whether they can proceed to the next year etc. If an interim award is being recommended, this should be minuted.

8.28 The board may give authority to the chair or course leader to take decisions on missing or un-moderated grades but these should subsequently be reported to the minute-secretary for inclusion in the Board of Examiners file, and to the Student Data Team, if appropriate, for updating records.

Student Route students

8.29 Specific guidance about decision-making for Student Route students is provided in Appendix 10.

Consideration of Personal Circumstances (CPC)

8.30 Students who consider that their performance has been affected by factors beyond their control can submit a Consideration of Personal Circumstances. This process is outlined in Quality Handbook Section 17A: Consideration of Personal Circumstances Policy - Requirements

8.31 If an extension is granted, the delayed assessment will be graded as normal; the Board of Examiners do not need to take further compensatory measures. Extensions do not require ratification by the Board of Examiners, but a report of all CPC outcomes is made available to the chair. The board is required to ratify decisions to offer assessment at the next available opportunity. The CPC chair may attend the Board of Examiners meeting as a representative of the Panel but not as a board member.

8.32 In situations where a student has an upheld case of personal circumstances but also a module grade that is above a pass grade, the board should not require, permit or offer the student an opportunity to undertake a reassessment.

8.33 Where a student discloses circumstances after the relevant Board of Examiners meeting this will be considered through the University’s Academic Appeals Process (Quality Handbook Section 17B: Academic Appeals process - Requirements). In these circumstances the student should submit a Request for Reconsideration.

Academic Integrity

8.34 Quality Handbook Section 17C: Academic Integrity Policy - Requirements defines academic irregularities and outlines the procedure for considering cases. Academic Integrity cases are divided into three categories:

1. Improving Academic Integrity
2. An Academic Misconduct Investigation and
3. A Serious Academic Misconduct Investigation

8.35 Academic Misconduct Investigation penalties range from capping an assessment element at a pass to capping a module at zero.

8.36 Serious Academic Misconduct Investigation penalties range from capping a module at zero to termination of studies.

8.37 Students will not be allowed to resubmit an assessment to meet the learning outcomes where an allegation of academic misconduct or offence is upheld at the final submission attempt. The Board of Examiners should take a holistic view of the student’s profile, including extenuating circumstances, when making a decision about the outcome for the student. The board has the authority to reduce the penalty, where appropriate, but it may not overturn the academic misconduct investigator or panel’s decision to uphold the allegation.

Decisions about interim awards

8.38 Students who exit a course before its completion may be entitled to an interim award.

8.39 For Honours Degree courses, students who have achieved 120 credit points at Level 4 or above may be entitled to the award of a Certificate of Higher Education, whilst students who have achieved 120 credit points at Level 4 and 120 credit points at Level 5 or above may be entitled to a Diploma of Higher Education. An ordinary degree may be awarded if the student has achieved at least 60 credits at level 6 and met the award outcomes. For Foundation Degrees, students who have achieved 120 credit points at Level 4 or above may be entitled to the award of a Higher Certificate.

8.40 For postgraduate courses, the definitive course information in CourseLoop will identify whether interim awards are available, but generally a student who does not proceed to the Masters award would be entitled to a Postgraduate Diploma (if they have achieved at least 120 credit points at Level 7) or a Postgraduate Certificate (if they have achieved at least 60 credit points at Level 7). Normally a student proceeding through a course will not be entitled to an interim award unless the definitive course information in CourseLoop makes such provision.

Non-degree awards

8.41 Courses leading to non-degree awards should conform to appropriate aspects of this guide unless alternative or modified arrangements have been approved.

Results processing

9.1 Immediately after the meeting, the results should be checked with the course leader to ensure there is agreement with the decisions reached.

9.2 The decisions for every student on the results sheet can be provided by the School to the Student Data Team in either the ‘Banner code’ or ‘General terminology’ format (Appendices One and Two).

9.3 The chair should certify the updated spreadsheet, confirming that any necessary amendments have been made. It is the responsibility of the chair to ensure that they are contactable and available to certify all finalised Exam Board paperwork, to avoid delays to results publishing and certificate generation.

9.4 The course leader is responsible for ensuring any follow-up action is completed.

9.5 A copy of the results should be passed to the Student Data Team.

9.6 The Student Data Team enter progress / award decisions into individual records in Banner and then roll the records for continuing students into the next academic year. Preparations for the referred examinations are dependent on the module decisions having been entered on Banner. Therefore, the published deadlines (set out in section 11, below) need to be met to ensure students are correctly assigned to referred assessments.

9.7 A final decision code needs to be entered against every student, even those that have withdrawn or completed, so that the student record is either fully closed or moved correctly to the next academic year.

The conferment statement

9.8 At the end of the meeting where final awards have been considered, the chair and the external examiner(s) should sign the Conferment Statement (Appendix 5) to confirm their agreement with the recommendations made. This must be included with the signed pass / progression lists sent to Academic Registry.

9.9 In the exceptional circumstance where an external examiner has not been able to attend the board, they are required to confirm in writing that they have been fully involved with the assessments and concur with the recommendations made in their absence. The written confirmation from the external examiner should be sent to Academic Registry with the signed pass / progression lists and conferment statement. A pro-forma letter (Appendix 6) should be used for this purpose.

9.10 Progression and award decisions should not be given to students until this written approval has been received.

9.11 For final year students, a copy of the Banner Pass / Progression List signed by the chair and secretary, with their name printed and the date of the examination board, and showing the classification or result recommended for each student should be scanned and emailed to Academic Registry to process, along with the Conferment Statement, signed by the external examiner(s), chair and secretary, by the final year conferment deadline. A copy should also be given to the course leader and the School Administrator for information and the original filed in the Board of Examiners file.

Publication of progression and award decisions

9.12 Students should be able to access their results online, including details of any referred work required, ideally within 3 – 5 working days, but no later than 7 working days of the board (unless another agreement is made between the School and Academic Registry). Decisions should be provided to the Student Data Team by the School within 1 – 2 working days of the Board. The Student Data Team then requires 3 – 4 working days to process decisions. Turnaround times and processes must be agreed between the School and the Student Data Team prior to the Board.

9.13 Results are released at 10am on the results publication date held in Banner. Publication of progression and award decisions must not be released to students until procedures outlined in the sections above have been completed.

9.14 Final year students who are completing the course are sent a Diploma Supplement or will be able to access their HEAR report.

9.15 Grades are confidential to individual students and must not be displayed on notice boards or disclosed to other students.

9.16 Course leaders should ensure that adequate arrangements have been made to get referred work to candidates. Where referred examination papers are necessary, the course leader should liaise with module leaders to ensure that they have been prepared within the required timeframe.

9.17 Course leaders should also ensure that someone in the course team is available to support students who need to make choices where their situation is complex. If there are financial implications for the student following a decision to repeat with or without attendance, the student should be directed by the course team to financial advice from Student Support Services.

Agreeing minutes

9.18 The minutes should be written within two weeks of the meeting and have pass / progression lists attached.

9.19 The chair is responsible for approving the minutes as the official record of the meeting. In approving the wording of minutes, the chair should bear in mind the fact that students who appeal against a recommendation may ultimately be given access to the minutes of the meeting.

9.20 Copies of the minutes should be circulated to board members and filed by the School Administration Office.

Chair’s action

9.21 Subsequent to the meeting, it may be necessary for decisions to be made in respect of deferred / referred candidates but it may not be deemed necessary to reconvene the board. In such cases, the chair may act on behalf of the board having taken advice from the course leader or senior members of the course team.

9.22 Any such decisions should be conveyed in writing to the appropriate School Administrator with a copy, where appropriate, to the Student Data Team.

9.23 If the decision relates to a final year student, then a copy of the chair’s action should also be scanned and emailed to Academic Registry to process, giving full details of the student, the course and any award being recommended. The form must be dated and contain the chair’s printed name and signature and should include a reference to the external examiner being involved with the assessment. If it becomes necessary to amend the recommendation in respect of a final year student, then the full details should be supplied by the chair to both the Academic Registrar (or their nominee) and the appropriate School Administrator with an indication that the external examiner(s) concurs with the change.

Requests for Reconsideration and Academic Appeal

9.24 Quality Handbook Section 17B: Academic Appeals - Requirements details the process and applies to all students of the University, irrespective of mode of study, except Research Degree Students.

9.25 Quality Handbook Section 17F: Research Degrees Complaints and Appeals Procedure - Requirements details the process and applies to all Professional Doctorate candidates.

9.26 It is important that academic staff who might be required to provide information about specific circumstances to the Reconsideration Panel are available during the period in which the Panels are convened. Academic teams should ensure appropriate cover for this purpose and communicate contact information to the Request for Reconsideration (R4R) administrator.

Capping of grades

10.1 The treatment of retaken modules is in direct alignment with the treatment of referred modules with respect to the capping of re-assessments. Where elements of modules which are being re-taken have been passed, then these element grades will go forward to contribute to the overall module aggregate, and only the grade(s) associated with the retaken failed element(s) will be capped. This should have no impact on the decision of the examination board which will continue to consider whether reassessment should be via a referral within the current academic year, or a retake the next academic year in accordance with the CAR. Boards should decide what form the re-assessment should take in order for the student to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes.

School-based Collaborative courses

10.2 The requirements related to School-based Collaborative courses can be found in section 17 of Quality Handbook Section 10B: Academic Partnerships - Review.

10.3 A set of the approved minutes and result sheets should be sent to the University’s School office when Collaborative Centre staff minute the meeting. In all cases, results for final year students should be scanned and emailed to Academic Registry, together with the signed Conferment Statement and signed Progression List.

10.4 Wherever possible, results should be made available on-line for students on collaborative courses.

Incomplete assessment

10.5 A student may be offered an Aegrotat award where they have been forced to withdraw from their studies due to a serious illness and has failed one or more modules. This is detailed in Quality Handbook Section 16: Taught Course Awards and Registration Periods - Requirements, section 7.2. Appendix 12 is an example letter that a student should sign to confirm acceptance of the award.

10.6 If a student has been unable to complete part of the final year assessments for example, because of serious illness, but the board feel there is enough evidence based on the work actually completed to form a judgment as to the likely classification that would have been achieved, then the board can, exceptionally, recommend a classification or offer the student the opportunity to complete the missed assessments. The award should be deferred, pending confirmation of acceptance from the student. This is not an Aegrotat award and the Certificate will indicate the classification awarded.

Posthumous awards

10.7 An award may be offered posthumously to a student who has died during the course of their studies. The level of the award will be determined by the number of credits completed by the student, as in Quality Handbook Section 16: Taught Course Awards and Registration Periods - Requirements, section 5.1.

10.8 Where a Posthumous award is awarded, the Executive Dean or nominee should confirm the award via Chair’s Action, as outlined in the Student Death Protocol, and provide the confirmed paperwork to the relevant Student Data Team. The Student Data Team will update the record with details of the award and liaise with the Exams, Graduation and Conferment Team in relation to the production of the certificate. Once a certificate has been produced, the Student Records team should be notified to ensure the record has been closed in line with the Student Death Protocol.

Certification of placement learning

10.9 Most sandwich courses make provision for a separate award, in recognition of their placement experience, for students who satisfy the documented criteria. Any recommendations for such awards should be recorded in the minutes, entered on Banner and a signed and dated Banner Pass / Progression list sent to the REG Awards inbox so that certificates can be produced.

Sandwich awards

10.10 All students must have satisfied the requirements for a sandwich award as detailed in the definitive course information. A shortfall of weeks requires deferment of award pending completion or a minor shortfall can be compensated with the agreement of the external examiners. The board might have already decided that individual students will be awarded a full- time award on a sandwich course. This must be minuted and noted on the grade sheet.

Interim awards

10.11 Interim awards are only available for students who exit a course before its completion and this should be clearly documented (see section 8.38, above).

Student Route Students

10.12 These are students who are sponsored by the University under the UKVI points based immigration system. These students are identified on the results spreadsheet by having T4 next to their ID number.

10.13 To maintain sponsorship by the University, students must:

1. Be studying a minimum of 60 credit points across the academic year.
2. Be required to be in the country full time for the study of all 60 credits.
3. Be subject to the same academic engagement monitoring obligations as outlined in Quality Handbook Supplement 2A.

10.14 When a Student Route student is progressing with a deficit, the above are not required, and they are subject to the same rules as non-sponsored students.

10.15 There are also restrictions on board decisions regarding numbers of attempts: A discretionary third attempt at any assessment must be the final attempt for all Student Route students. Moreover, any failure to attend or submit an assessment or failure in that assessment will always count as one of the three permitted attempts, even with an upheld CPC. For further information, see Appendix 11: Specific guidance for examination board decision-making for Student Route students, and Quality Handbook Supplement CAR 1: Common Assessment Regulations: Student Route Requirements.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

10.16 On completion of the Academic Appeals process, students have one year to request an independent review of their case by the regulatory body for academic appeals and student complaints. The OIA will investigate whether the University followed its own procedures, and whether the outcome was fair and reasonable for the student.

2026 Summer graduation ceremonies

• Notification of prizes for programme: 24 June 2026

• Conferment deadline - Final year results on Banner: 24 June 2026

• Conferment deadline for non-final year results on Banner: 17 July 2026

• Graduation Ceremonies: 15 – 31 July 2026

2026 Winter graduation ceremonies

• Notification of prizes for programme: 30 October 2026

• Referral Board Conferment Deadline: 11 September 2026

• Conferment deadline - Final year results on Banner: 30 October 2026

• Graduation Ceremonies: 14 – 18 December 2026

12.1 For advice about the University requirements related to Boards of Examination and Common Assessment Regulations, contact Head of Academic Quality: extension 83342 / eqp.enquiries@ntu.ac.uk

12.2 For advice on Academic Integrity, contact: REG.AcademicMisconduct@ntu.ac.uk

12.3 For advice on CPCs, R4Rs and Academic Appeals, contact: REG.AcademicAppeals@ntu.ac.uk