Exams and Assessments
Jump to: Programme Completion | Submission of Assessed Work | Extensions to Assessed Work | Examination Procedures and Conventions | Mitigating Circumstances | Cheating and Plagiarism | Return of Provisional Marks
Completing the Programme
You must achieve a minimum of a Pass grade in each of the four (4) academic modules (including Inquiry and Research Skills) to be deemed to have successfully completed the Warwick IFP.
In order to achieve a minimum of a Pass grade in a given module of study, you must pass each final Summer Examination (by scoring at least 40%) and achieve an average score of at least 40% across all other pieces of assessed work.
If you have achieved at least 40% across all other pieces of assessed work but fail the final examination, you will be permitted to re-sit the examination in the Summer vacation (at the University of Warwick) immediately following the end of the academic year. The maximum score you may receive in any examinations you re-sit will be 40%.
Submission of Assessments
All assessed coursework must be submitted via Tabula by the deadline specified on Tabula and on the module's Moodle Page.
For modules which require the submission of hand-drawn graphs or hand-written equations, you will be asked to submit an additional identical hard-copy to the Departmental Secretary by the stated deadline.
Late submission of assessed work will be subject to a deduction of five (5) percentage marks for every University working day, or part thereof, that it is late unless a formal extension request to the submission deadline has been granted (see below).
Extensions to Assessed Work
There may be circumstances beyond your control which may mean that you are unable to submit an assignment by the stated deadline.
In a very limited number of circumstances, an extension to the submission deadline may be granted to you to enable you to complete the work within a more appropriate timeframe.
Extensions to the regular deadline will only be allowed on solid medical grounds, or in cases of severely difficult personal circumstances (such as a family bereavement).
The following points should be considered with regards to extension requests:
- Where the request relates to a medical circumstance, solid medical evidence must be produced with clear information allowing the relevant tutor to understand why submission by the stated deadline would not be possible.
- Supporting evidence is required where the matter relates to severe personal circumstances. We recognise that this can sometimes be difficult to acquire at short notice and we advise you to keep your Personal Tutor informed of any such circumstances as soon as they arise (all information shared with your Personal Tutor is treated confidentially).
- Where extension requests are made on grounds of long-standing illness or personal difficulties, evidence relating to the specific long-term nature of the condition should be provided.
- The department will check the validity of the evidence and, if it is found to be invalid, may retrospectively withdraw an extension request.
The following matters are not considered sufficient for an extension:
- Computing problems, including the inability to submit work through Tabula on the day of the deadline
- Loss of work through a failure to make appropriate back-ups
- Being unable to access a computer to submit work
- Minor disruptions (see below)
- Submission of an incorrect version of an essay
- Stress caused merely by the nature of the examination and/or assessment period
The department expects students to plan their time effectively. It is reasonable to expect that minor disruptions will occur during the writing period and these expectations should be built into your work schedule. Extensions will not be granted for disruptions of less than three days.
Process for Requesting an Extension
If you wish to request an extension for a piece of work you must do so through Tabula.
Please note that extension requests cannot be granted verbally by module/course tutors and all requests must be submitted using Tabula.
To request an extension you must complete the online Extension Request Form in the 'Coursework Management' section of Tabula, clearly indicating:
- The severity of the impact upon your work
- The length of time you were affected
You must attach documentary evidence to your request (through Tabula).
If you wish to discuss your request for an extension, you must contact the Senior Tutor.
Retrospective extensions will only be granted in instances where you were unable physically to submit an extension request prior to the deadline.
Please see the Examination Conventions for further details.
Examination Procedures and Conventions
Examinations delivered within Warwick Foundation Studies are delivered in the same way as other examinations across the university and are governed by the rules and procedures detailed in the University's Examinations and Assessment Policies.
The department deploys a range of quality assurance processes to ensure that examinations and assessments are carried out fairly and in an appropriate manner.
Please see the Examination Conventions for further details.
During your time with us, you may experience situations that you did not expect that had a significant negative impact on your work. You may be able to apply for Mitigating Circumstances for this to be taken into account when your work is marked.
If you think that you need to apply for Mitigating Circumstances for an assessment we recommend that you make an appointment with your personal tutor or the Senior Tutor in order to discuss any mitigating circumstance (MC) claim before submission. Once you have submitted your claim online through Tabula it will be assessed in confidence by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel (MCP) of the Department. The deadline for submission of mitigating circumstance requests to be considered by the exam board is the 18/06/2020.
Please see the Mitigating Circumstances web page for further information.
Cheating and Plagiarism
The university has strict procedures in place to address accusations of cheating during students' studies. Regulation 11 of the University Calendar will be applied to students suspected of cheating at any level of study, including the Warwick IFP.
You should consult the department's Cheating and Plagiarism Policy for further details.
Return of Provisional Marks
It is the University's policy that feedback will be returned to students within twenty (20) working days of the published assessment deadline. In most cases, feedback within Warwick Foundation Studies will be published or provided in a shorter timeframe than this.
Feedback for summative and formative assessments will normally be provided through Tabula, however, in some cases, it may be more appropriate to provide verbal feedback through a one-to-one meeting or group feedback in a class.
The method of feedback to be expected for each module assessment will be detailed on the Module's Moodle page.
Find out more about the types of feedback