Examinations

Mathematics students take most of their university examinations in Term 3 of each academic year. The scripts are marked, and, together with the marks for assessed work, the marks are processed to produce an end of year each overall percentage for each student (taking a subset of marks, that fulfils regulations, to achieve the best outcome). An examination board for each year makes recommendations and decisions based on these marks and other information. This section aims to inform students of the procedures used by the Mathematics Department and their effect.

Mitigating Circumstances and Self Certification

If your examinations, or revisions for examinations, have been affected by illness or other extenuating circumstances or you wish to appeal against an exam board decision, please refer to the departments Mitigating Circumstances and Appeals document which is also emailed to all maths students and posted around the department during the Examination period.

From 2022/23 there will be no modules in the Mathematics Department that can be self-certified, most modules will have their assessed component made up of a number of smaller pieces of work and then the final mark calculated by the best N-1 out of N (i.e. drop lowest mark) which acts in the same way as self certifying, but gives everyone one assignment for each module which they can "miss".

Assessed Work

Most science modules at Warwick are assessed by written examination in Term 3 (although some examinations take place earlier) and an increasing number now have an assessed component too. A small number are assessed entirely by coursework. For example, the computing option MA117 Programming for Scientists is entirely assessed.

Some modules are required to be submitted to Turnitin to check for plagiarism (mainly, but not limited to, essays and the 4th year projects). It is important that you make sure that the pdf filers uploaded are machine readable, please make sure you read the advice at this link. If you think you have uploaded a file that cannot be read by Turnitin and it is after the deadline DO NOT attempt to replace the file but seek advice from the Taught Programmes Office.

(Pre-)Registration and Deregistration

Registering and deregistering is done on-line via the University's module registration system (for students this is eVision) - see the link from the undergraduate web pages. Core , List A and list B options will be approved immediately on line. For unusual options you must register on-line and also fill in the unusual option form.

Each student is required to make a preliminary registration (or pre-registration) in advance for modules he or she wishes to take. Students pre-register for the first time in Term 1, before the end of Week 3. The university uses data from pre-registration during the year to assess demand for particular modules and to assist in timetabling.

You have several opportunities to fine-tune your current selection of modules: there are registration sessions in Term 1, (until week 3) and Term 2 (again, until week 3) at which you can add or remove modules. For the final opportunity to deregister, see below.

All students (but especially those who scored less than 55% in their previous year) are encouraged to discuss their choice of modules with their tutor. Where a low-scoring student submits an ambitious registration the Department may require further such discussion with a view to focusing the student's attention on a manageable programme.

Deregistration: You may deregister from an optional module, up to the deadline:

End of the last week of Term 2 for modules examined in April,
A further deadline over the Easter Vacation for modules examined in May/June, usually the last week of that vacation. Please keep an eye on your emails for the exact dates.

The Academic Office will not accept deregistration beyond the deadline except on medical or compassionate grounds approved by the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies (this rule is agreed with other university departments, and we enforce it strictly.)

Note, you may not be allowed to deregister from a module for which you have submitted (or should have submitted) work counting for more than 10% of the credit for that module.This is particularly true for modules from departments other than Mathematics, and, in particular, if an exam occurs after deregistration has closed you will almost certainly have to sit that exam and have it count. For Maths modules we tend to be more relaxed about this rule and allow deregistrations even after a typical 15% of assessed work has been completed.

Taking the Examinations

Most University examinations take place in Term 3. Information on timetables, which are created by the Examinations team at the University, is available on the Exams web pages. Personalised timetables are made available shortly after the main timetable is released. Please note that you should not organise your revision on the basis of any provisional version of the timetable that is made available, as this will be subject to change.

As a general rule, maths modules taught in Term 1 are examined straight after Easter Vacation (April/May) and modules taught in Term 2 in the latter half of Term 3 (May/June).

Examinations are held in many locations across campus, e.g. Rootes Hall, Panorama Room and in the Arts Centre, Butterworth Hall, and in a number of other venues such as the Junction, Westwood Sports Hall and the Oculus. It's your responsibility to find out when and where the examination takes place; if you forget to go to an examination, your score is automatically zero. Misreading your timetable, or in rare cases where a module you know you should be sitting is not on your timetable and not querying it, is NOT mitigation!

Use of Calculators: Programmable and graphics calculators are prohibited in all examinations. Moreover the default position is that NO calculators are allowed in Mathematics exams, unless the lecturer has specifically requested that they be allowed for the module that they are teaching, and then the only calculators permitted are those with a display consisting of a single row of digits.

Calculators are also not permitted in any tests organised by the Mathematics Department unless you are explicitly told otherwise. Calculators with a display consisting of a single row of digits are permitted in exams run by other Departments (for example Statistics and Physics).

The Examination Boards and Degree Classes

The first year board is a department Board for the Summer examinations, although decisions need to be officially ratified by a subgroup of the Senate. Summer decisions are generally to progress to year 2, or to take further examinations in September. The first year examination board in September allocates to each student a pass or a requirement to withdraw.

The department informally also awards an honours class, mainly as a guideline for students and their tutors; the final classification of your degree will, of course, depend on your performance in all your years of study.

The second year board is also an internal Mathematics Department committee. It does not allocate an honours class but it can require a student to resit in the next available examination period (September, see the section below on resits). The Finals (third and fourth year) board is a Mathematics Department committee plus external examiners from other Warwick science departments and other universities ("Externals"), who are there to ensure fair play and to see that academic standards are maintained. This board recommends the award of Mathematics degrees (but not Joint degrees) to the university according to the university's conventions which can be found under Assessment Conventions.

Advice on how end of year averages are calculated for the 3rd and 4th year of the MMath can be found here.

The Finals Board implements the university's conventions according to the Mathematics Finals Examination Board Procedures (this is the 2022/23 version).

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 second year you are classified as "Proceed to honours'' or "Resit" (although your tutor may give you an unofficial classification based purely on your end of year average for the purposes of references etc.)

First and second year students 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.

Appeals: A student dissatisfied with the class awarded by the finals examination board may appeal through his/her Personal Tutor to the Chair of the Mathematics Department. Such an appeal must be based on information not available to the examination board (for example, a serious error of arithmetic, or a medical note made available to the Department but not passed on to the examination board). If you have cumulative credit 58.6% in your final year and think you deserve a II.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.

See the Appeals Section of the University Examination pages for more advice on procedures.

Resits for failed students

Right to remedy failure:

In addition to the below, which outline failed modules that the exam boards may require you to resit, students starting their degree in 2021/22 or later have the "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, 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, or to offset the risk of not passing enough CATS in your final two years combined as required in University regulations (168 CATS for the BSc, for example).

The policy can be found here:

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

First year:

The first year examination board requires first year students with inadequate performance in the June examinations to resit certain papers in September. The intention of the resits is to ensure that students are adequately prepared for second year work. For each module the honours mark is 40%, and students may be required to resit any module in which an honours mark is not attained. Resits are normally required only in the Core modules (in fact usually a subset of the core, designated as "required cores"). Consideration of individual cases can be complicated, but essentially the overall performance of the candidate is crucial, in both the June and September exams. For exams being resat as a final attempt 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. For a student resitting as a further first attempt (e.g. due to mitigating circumstances) then the exam mark is recombined with other assessed components and the actual mark obtained is carried forward.

The required cores for Maths, which must be passed either initially or as a resit, are MA146 Methods of Mathematical Modelling 1, MA144 Methods of Mathematical Modelling 2, MA139 Analysis 2, MA150 Algebra 2. Maths and Economics students (GL11) need to, in addition, pass EC107 Economics 1. In addition an overall 40% must be achieved for the year, and at least 90 CATS of modules passed.

Details of which papers students are required to resit are sent in July to the official Warwick email address of the student, as well as being updated on Tabula.

In cases of extremely poor performance in the June examinations, there may be a recommendation to withdraw from the University. Our experience is that students performing at this level have very little chance of success, and encouraging withdrawal may be kinder than raising false hopes. However, it is only a recommendation, and a student in this position has a right to resit the examinations in September.

The two possible outcomes of the September resits are:

For the student who continues, the credit carried forward comes from the marks in the June examinations (but with failed modules subsequently passed awarded 40%) and not the September resit mark. (the first year accounts for 10% of the cumulative credit for the degree.)

For students who are "required to withdraw" there is the possibility of an appeal on limited grounds, and this form should be read carefully and used to submit a case if appropriate.

Decisions must be made on the basis of the University's First Year Board of Examiners' Conventions.

If you have disappointing results, or asked to undertake resit exams, you should discuss this with your Personal Tutor.

Second year:

A student who fails the second year examinations has the right to resit some/all of the failed modules, in the next available exam session for those modules, as chosen by the exam board. This will sometimes mean a whole year out of residence and resitting exams in April and June of the following year, but more likely in September following the initial attempts. Again it is the exam mark of the resit that must be above 40% to be considered a pass. The mark carried forward for cumulative credit is that obtained at the first attempt (but with failed modules subsequently passed awarded 40%); therefore the function of the resit is to ensure that the student knows enough to cope with third year modules.

Students can currently still continue into the third year without resit, even if they have failed a couple of core modules, provided that their overall average is above 40% and that they have passed at least 90 CATS of modules (at the 40% level). Please see the Second Year Exam Board page for more information.

The University regulations on this can be found here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/examinations/conventions/rulesforaward

Second years who fail to progress will usually be considered for an "exit award", either a CertHE (Certificate of Higher Education) or a DipHE (Diploma of Higher Education) depending on how many CATS of modules have been passed in years 1 and 2. See https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/az/exitawards.

Third year:

A student who fails the final year examinations has the right to resit failed modules, designated by the exam board, in next available exam period for those modules in an attempt to obtain a pass degree, usually in September but sometimes this may mean without residence at the University. In this case, special papers will be set whenever module changes from one year to the next make this necessary.

Progression to 3rd year with low marks

Students who do sufficiently well to be allowed to continue into the third year, but with marks that suggest they will struggle (so typically an overall average near 40% and several failed core second year modules) will be offered (and encouraged) to take MA397 Consolidation and will not be allowed to overcat (i.e. be restricted to 120 CATS, or at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Studies be allowed to go over this figure by a small number of CATS).

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.

Mathematics Department Prizes: 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.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (GAITs)

University policy dictates students must declare the use of a GAITs in contribution to assignments

Students should understand what is considered acceptable use, by reviewing The Institutional Approach to the use of Artificial Intelligence and Academic IntegrityLink opens in a new window - in particular section 3.2.2.1 states;

"the use of GAITs are permitted in a responsible manner, however where such has been used the reason for its use must be stated, its output made clear in the submission, and the student must be able to demonstrate intellectual ownership of the work. Within that it is recognised that assessments may require a prohibition or other restriction on the use of GAITs or other tools."

Further guidance is available in section 4 and 5 of the policy.

Actions
Students using AI must include any such declaration as prescribed in the assignment brief. Students risk losing marks for not declaring its use, and will be judged on a case by case basis.

Complete info. can be found on the Academic Integrity sectionLink opens in a new window of the Education Policy pages.