Examination Boards

First Year Examination Boards

First Year Examination Boards are internal Mathematics department committees, decisions they take need to be officially ratified by a subgroup of the Senate.

Each year there are two First Year Examination Boards, one in summer and one in September. In the summer, First Year Examination Board decisions are about whether to progress a student to the second year or whether to require them to take resit examinations in September. In the September First Year Examinations Board, resit examination results are considered in addition to original results and decisions are made either to progress a student to the second year or to require them to withdraw.

Note that there can be exceptions to this sequence. Due to their circumstances, some students may be sitting some/all module examinations for the first time in September or later or they may be sitting an examination for the second time but it counts as their first attempt (a so-called Further First Attempt). See Mitigating Circumstances for more on this, some students may have the possibility of further resits due to their circumstances.

For more information about the First Year Examination Boards and the outcomes they can give see G100 Year 1 Specifications and G103 Year 1 Specifications.

Second Year Examination Boards

Second Year Examination Boards are also internal Mathematics department committees and again decision they take need to be officially ratified by a subgroup of the Senate.

They are organised in a similar way to the first year boards, there is a summer and a September Second Year Examination Board. The summer board makes decisions about whether to progress a student to the third year or require them to take resit examinations in September. The September board then considers resit examination results and makes decisions about whether to progress a student to the third year or require them to withdraw.

Note that, again, there can be exceptions to this sequence. Due to their circumstances, some students may be sitting some/all module examinations for the first time in September or later or they may be sitting an examination for the second time but it counts as their first attempt (a so-called Further First Attempt). See Mitigating Circumstances for more on this, some students may have the possibility of further resits due to their circumstances.

There is the possibility that G103 year 2 students will be transferred to G100 year 3 at this stage. For more information about the Second Year Examination Boards and the outcomes they can give see G100 Year 2 Specifications and G103 Year 2 Specifications

Finals Examination Boards

The Finals (third and fourth year) Examinations Board is a Mathematics Department committee plus external examiners from other Warwick science departments and other universities (so called "externals"), who are there to ensure fair play and to see that academic standards are maintained.

For G100 Year 3 students and G103 Year 4 students, this board recommends the award of Mathematics degrees to the university according to department regulations and the university's conventions which can be in this handbook.

This board also considers progression (or otherwise) of G103 Year 3 student into Year 4. Note that there is a possibility that G103 Year 3 students are not allowed to progress to Year 4 of G103 in which case they are considered for the award of BSc Honours.

There is also a September Finals Examinations Board to consider resits, once again, the status of exams taken in the resit period can be affected by Mitigating Circumstances.

For more information about the Finals Examination Boards and the outcomes they can give see G100 Year 3 Specifications, G103 Year 3 Specifications, G103 Year 4 Specifications.

Resits

In the absence of Mitigating Circumstances, students usually have two opportunities to pass a module. For most modules the first attempt corresponds to the examinations taking place in term 3, when examination marks are combined with any assessed component to give an overall mark for the module, determining whether the module has been passed. Note that some modules are "100% assessment" where assignments/projects make up the entire mark without any examination components. That, since academic year 21/22, the pass mark for modules at FHEQ level 6 or below is 40% and the pass mark for modules at FHEQ level 7 is 50%. Previous to that the pass mark for all modules was 40%.

If the first attempt is failed then any resits usually take place in September. Sometimes, and when students have their first attempt in August/September for any reason, any necessary resits take place the following academic year.

If a student resits examinations in term 3 of the following academic year (known as resitting without residence) special papers will be set if a module changes from one year to the next to make this necessary.

Required Resits

For non-finalists, if a module is not passed then exam boards may require the student to resit (this will be the case for any Required Core Modules for example, or if a student needs to pass more CATS of certain modules in order to proceed, all these rules are stated explicitly elsewhere in this part of the handbook). These resits are sometimes referred to as 'Required Resits'. The intention of the progression requirements and the resulting required resits is to ensure that students are adequately prepared for work in the next year.

For exams being resat as a second (and final) attempt (but see Further First Attempts below in relation to this) it is the exam mark that is used for decisions, it is not recombined with previous assessed work or examination marks, so 40% must be achieved in each exam being resat, and a capped mark of 40% is carried forward if a module is passed on resit.

Further First Attempts

Exam boards may decide to give students opportunities for 'Further First Attempts' at some module examinations (or some other suitable reassessment method for modules without examinations). This usually happens as a result of Mitigating Circumstances that are deemed serious enough by the exam board to warrant it. In this case the exam mark is recombined with other assessed components and the actual mark is carried forward. Students who sit modules as 'Further First Attempts' would then have the possibility of a resit, just as if the module had been sat for the first time in usual circumstances.

Right to remedy failure (Optional Resits)

In addition to the Required Resits above, students starting their degree in 2021/22 or later have the optional "right to remedy failure" in all modules failed (with the exception of a small number of modules for which resits are not appropriate, such as laboratory modules). These resits are optional (they are sometimes referred to as 'Optional Resits', and are capped at 40%, so this is not a way to try and increase your end of year average, but will increase the number of credits you have passed which may be useful for your transcript. 

The policy can be found here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/examinations/policies/remedyingfailure

Results

Examination results are currently released through Tabula, at dates determined at University level so all students of a year receive their results at the same time. The exact dates can vary, so please see the University's Examinations page for details.

Examination results for finalists are usually released the earliest in order to feed into graduation arrangements. The classification you will receive (Pass Degree, or Honours Class III, II.1, II.2, or I) is that of the overall degree performance.

In the first and second years you are classified as "Proceed'' or "Resit" (although your tutor may give you an unofficial classification based purely on your end of year average for the purposes of references and so on). Third year MMath students will be classified as "Proceed" or will be graduated with BSc Mathematics if possible when they don't meet the requirements to continue into the final year of the MMath. See Year 3 G103 Specifications for more details of this.

First and second year students results are listed on Tabula with either progression confirmation or a note of which exams will need to be passed on resit in order to progress, this will normally happen once term has finished. Students who are required to resit exams will also be sent a separate email from the examinations office with details.

Results will not be given to anyone else, even if they have been given permission to by you.

Once you have your marks, your tutor may be able to discuss them with you, but many tutors will not be available, or unable to reply to emails, over the summer. If you cannot contact your tutor please do not immediately contact other members of the department such as the Senior Tutor or Director of Undergraduate Studies. If you have an urgent query then contact the Taught Programmes Office ( ) in the first instance. They will then be able to put you in touch with an appropriate member of staff if necessary.

Exams are not remarked, and neither you, nor your Personal Tutor, are permitted to see any of your exam scripts. If you have zeros that you think you shouldn't have then you should contact the Taught Programmes Office by email immediately. If you are merely disappointed with your marks then there is nothing that can be done. If you think there has been some procedural irregularity, please bring it to the attention of the Taught Programmes Office, but do not expect an instant response. The department's priority in the weeks immediately after term will be with finalists since any of their queries need to be sorted out as a matter of extreme urgency.

Exit Awards

Exit Awards have been developed in order to recognise the achievement of undergraduate students where it was not possible to award the highest qualification for which they were registered, this includes students as follows:

• those who are required to withdraw, i.e. those who have not met progression requirements and all possible opportunities to progress have been exhausted
• those who withdraw due to personal or medical reasons
• those who are restarting on another degree programme

The following table outlines the total minimum credit to be taken and passed in order to be able to recommend each qualification:

Qualification	Total minimum credit to be taken	Total minimum credit to be passed	Highest level of credit	Minimum credit to be passed at the highest level
CertHE	120	90	4	90
DipHE	240	180	5	90

Prizes

Undergraduate prizes will be awarded for outstanding academic achievement. They will be judged by the appropriate Examination Boards that meet in the last week of the Summer Term.

Normally nine prizes of £100 each will be awarded, three to BSc finalists, three to MMath finalists and three to MMath year 3 students. The criteria of merit will be broadly interpreted and may include a distinguished project or essay as well as an outstanding examination performance. The prizes may be shared and the prize money may be divided in other ways. Prizes are always considered using the exam grid that students appear on at the exam board, i.e. if you are a 3rd year MMath student and ask to graduate with a BSc either at or after the exam board, you will not be eligible for a 3rd year BSc prize.

Appeals

Formal appeals against decisions of Boards of Examiners must be made through the Examination Section of the Academic Office within a specified short period immediately following the release of examination results. Students may appeal on one of the following grounds:

(a) the student is in possession of evidence relevant to their examination performance which was not available to the Board of Examiners when its decision was reached and can provide good reasons for not having made the Board of Examiners aware of this evidence;

(b) there appears to have been procedural irregularities in the conduct of the examination process;

(c) there appears to be evidence of prejudice or bias on the part of one or more of the examiners.

There is no appeal against the academic judgement of Boards of Examiners on a student’s academic performance.

Appeals can often be settled informally within the Department and you should make your grounds for appeal known to the Head of Department (James Robinson), the Senior Examination Secretary (Damiano Testa) or the Taught Programmes Office as soon as possible after the release of results (without prejudicing your right to a formal appeal on the grounds set out above).

If you have cumulative credit 58.6% in your final year and think you deserve a 2.1, then you can be quite sure that the examination board has already seriously discussed the merits of your case. Appeals may also be made to the University in certain circumstances - see Regulation 8.12 in the University Calendar.

As described in the University Regulations, a student required to withdraw has the right to appeal formally to the Appeals Committee of the Board of the Faculty, in writing, within 10 days of the publication of the examination results.

An appeal form can be downloaded from the Student Administrative Services pages.

First-year and intermediate-year undergraduate students have the right to appeal only against a decision that they be required to withdraw from their course of study, and then only if they are in possession of relevant evidence which was not available to the Board of Examiners when its decision was reached. An appeal will not be considered if both the Chair of the Board of Examiners and the Chair of the Appeals Committee consider that no such relevant evidence has been presented by the student. Please refer to the appropriate section of Regulation 8 for your degree in the University Calendar (University Regulations) for further information. You are required to complete a form if you wish to appeal. This form, which includes contact details for advice on appeal procedures, is available here. This form is for first-year and intermediate-year students only. Appeals by first- and intermediate-year students under Regulation 8 are administered by the Faculty Secretariat of the appropriate Faculty Board (see the appeal form for further details and faculty contacts). An appeal must be lodged in writing within 10 days of the publication of the exam results.

NB The appeal procedures may not be used to challenge the academic judgement of examiners nor to dispute marks awarded in individual modules or pieces of work.

Extenuating or mitigating circumstances are those events which have had a detrimental effect on your study, to the point that it is in your interest to draw your department’s attention to them and ask for them to be considered in mitigation of poor performance. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) illness, both bodily and emotional; the severe illness or death of a close family member; a shocking or traumatic personal experience. In addition, sudden, unexpected changes in family circumstances might affect your ability to make academic progress as a consequence of their demonstrable emotional impact upon you, and may also be considered as mitigation.

The University is aware that in some cultures it is considered shameful or embarrassing to disclose the details of these kinds of circumstances to those outside one’s family. This is not the case in the prevailing UK culture and you should be aware that your department and the University are fully supportive of students in difficult circumstances and want to assist if at all possible. If you feel inhibited from talking to a tutor or other member of staff in the first instance, you may also consider talking to a member of your SSLC, the Students’ Union, or a counsellor for initial, informal advice.

Clearly, though, in order for your circumstances to be considered as mitigating by your department, they must be conveyed formally to someone in your department (a tutor, the Director of Graduate/Undergraduate Studies, a course/module convenor, for instance). The University expects that you will discuss your circumstances before Exam Boards meet, so that they may be taken into account in good time. You should be aware that, in the event you feel you need to appeal the outcome of an Exam Board, offering extenuating or mitigating circumstances at that point will need to be accompanied by a good reason why you withheld the information earlier. Without wanting to invade your privacy, the University does expect that you bring such circumstances to your department’s attention in a timely manner, despite the discomfort you might feel in so doing. Failure to disclose such circumstances at a time when you could have done so may subsequently be problematic. Your department will do all it can to support you in difficult situations.