Marking

For information on Marking, Moderation and the Release of Marks please see Swansea University's Assessment, Marking and Feedback policy.

You will be awarded a mark for each module based on your performance in the various assessment exercises. Faculties/Schools usually issue a set of marking conventions which will explain to you how they arrive at particular marks. This may differ between Faculties/Schools depending on the particular course you are studying, and the requirements of a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) your course may be a subject to. The marking scales presented below, are for guidance purposes only, and some programmes will have specific and/or different scales. Please check any specific information for your course in your course handbook or a Canvas site.

The following scales are used by the academic members of staff when determining marks (except in the case of postgraduate students who started before September 2003).

Pass mark = 40%*

* Please note that the pass mark for postgraduate-level modules (Level 7) has been set at 50%. If you are pursuing an Advanced Initial Degree (e.g. MEng/MMath/MPhys/MOst) you will pursue such modules during the final year and will be expected to achieve a mark of 50% + before being deemed to have passed the module.

Module Marks

Pass mark for credit = 50%

Failure = 0-49.99%

Overall Averages/Result

Postgraduate Certificate Marking Scale

Pass mark = 50%

Failure = 0-49.99%

No toleration applies.

Each module is regarded as being a separate entity and consequently should normally be assessed independently of any other module. Modules may be assessed in a number of different ways:

• examinations;
• oral examination;
• project;
• dissertation;
• continuous assessment (which might include fieldwork reports, practical-class reports, group projects, essay work, etc).

The methods of assessment are designed to test your understanding of the work covered by the syllabus. They are determined by the Faculty/School and take into account the nature of the particular modules. The assessment methods may include formative approaches (purely to provide feedback on your performance) or summative approaches (those that contribute to deciding whether you pass or fail the module/programme).

Details of the methods of assessment for each module are given in Faculty/School Handbooks as well as details of how to redeem failures in modules, which are assessed by continuous assessment.

Faculties/Schooles shall set deadlines for the submission of work (see Penalties for the Late Submission of Assessed Work). You are strongly advised to take note of the various methods which your Faculty(ies)/School(s) has/have decided to adopt on assessing you and to raise any queries which you might have with your lecturers early in the session. For instance, it will be extremely important for you to know in advance whether an essay/practical report etc. will contribute to the overall mark for the module. Please also note any deadlines set by your Faculty/School for the submission of work and the consequences of failing to meet them.

You are also advised to refer to your Faculty/School Handbook(s) for details of the examination periods in which the formal examinations are to be held. You are required to complete all elements of a module’s assessment pattern.

Penalties for Late Submission 

Any student submitting an assessment past the published deadline without submitting a request for Extenuating Circumstances (in line with the Extenuating Circumstances Policy) will be deemed to have not submitted and receive a mark of 0% for the assessment.

Students who are likely to be prevented from meeting the assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances should notify their Faculty/School/University as soon as possible before the assessment deadline. Please refer to the Extenuating Circumstances Policy for further information.

Penalties for Submission of Work Breaching Defined Parameters (e.g. Word Limit) 

Any student submitting an assessment which is in breach of the assessment’s defined parameters (e.g. specified submission format, over word length, video length, font size, poster size etc.) may receive a penalty on the final assessment mark, as outlined in Faculty/School publication materials e.g. Student Handbook).

Any work submitted in Welsh that is translated as a last resort for marking will not be penalised if the translation breaches the assessment parameters, where the Welsh submission is within the defined parameters.