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Guidance for students about resitting assessments
This guidance is based on the university’s standard undergraduate assessment regulations – you should check for any programme-specific regulations that apply to you.
Module assessment – the basics
To pass an undergraduate module, you must achieve a minimum overall mark of 40%. (For postgraduate modules (SCQF Level 11), you must achieve a minimum overall mark of 50%.)
Modules either have a single assessment (eg an essay, a report or an exam), or they may have several assessment components.
Assessment components may be weighted equally or differently. For example, a module might have an essay and an exam, equally weighted, with each being worth 50% of the total module mark. Or the assessment components may be weighted differently, with an essay worth 70% and an exam worth 30%. You can find this information in each module descriptor or your student handbook.
You must attempt all assessment components. If you do not submit an attempt, the component will be marked at 0, and you will automatically fail the module, regardless of your overall module mark.
Assessment components have a threshold component mark. By default, this is set at 1 mark. If you submit an attempt, you will get at least 1 mark. But the threshold may be higher - it may be set at 30% (or another value), which means you must get a mark of at least 30% in that component as well as an overall mark for the module of at least 40%.
Failing a module Module failure is due to one or more of the following reasons:
- Overall mark is below 40%
- Mark for one or more components is below the threshold component mark
- Non-submission of one or more components
Don’t forget, if things haven’t gone well, you can also seek advice from your student support services team.
Failing a module at first attempt – resit
If you fail a module at the first attempt, you are entitled to a second attempt as a RESIT. This resit opportunity normally takes place during the same academic year – either during Semester 2, or in the summer break. You will not be charged for the resit. Your overall module mark will be capped at 40%, and this will appear on your transcript, regardless of your calculated mark.
Resitting assessments
At the resit attempt, you must reach the overall requirements to pass the module.
Where there is a single assessment for the module, this is straightforward - you must resit it at the next available opportunity.
If there are multiple assessment components, you will sometimes have a choice about which component(s) to resit in order to reach the overall requirements to pass the module. This will depend on the assessment pattern of the module, and the marks you achieved at your first attempt.
You must be clear that you understand what those choices are, and you should discuss these with your PAT or programme leader. You then need to make an informed decision about what approach will give you the best chance of passing the module.
You can carry forward component marks from your first attempt, and you might prefer to do this if they are close to the 40% minimum. It is your responsibility to decide which component(s) to resit in order to give yourself the best chance of passing the module. See the examples below.
You need to consider the likelihood of achieving the required marks, taking into account your resit assessment workload and all your other commitments.
Points to note
- If you resit a module (pass at the second attempt), your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
- If you have not submitted for any assessment component, you must resit that assessment component.
- If you have not met the threshold component mark for any assessment component, you must resit that assessment component.
- You must resit assessments at the next opportunity; you cannot postpone them till a later date (although you can submit a claim for mitigating circumstances).
- You may not resit assessment components that you have already passed in order to get a better mark.
Mitigating circumstances (MC)
If the university has approved a claim for MC for a module which you have not passed, the module is deemed INCOMPLETE, not as a fail. You will not be penalised, the mark will not be capped, and you will normally be allowed to resit at the next opportunity. This is usually during the same academic year – either during Semester 2, or in the summer break. Remember that a MC claim only covers one assessment attempt.
Failing a module at second attempt – repeat
If you fail a module at the second attempt, you will normally be permitted to REPEAT the module, as if for the first time. You will be registered on the module again, normally in the following academic year. You will be charged the applicable module fee. Your marks will be calculated as normal ie not capped. No marks from your original registration on the module will be carried forward.
View assessment results screen (using CLICK TO VIEW link from previous page)
Assessment components and weighting
Attempt number
Component marks
Module grade
Overall module mark
Module assessment patterns
These examples show how different assessment patterns and weightings impact on your overall mark and final grade
Module A – two assessment components, equally weighted. Each component with default threshold component mark ≥1 (greater than or equal to 1).
Assessment 1 – essay (50% weighting)
Assessment 2 – exam (50% weighting)
MODULE
MARK
MODULE
GRADE
CALCULATION
STUDENT 1 68 52 60 B ((0.68*0.5) + (0. 52 0.5))100 = 60
STUDENT 2 48 36 42 D ((0. 48 *0.5) + (0. 36 0.5))100 = 42
STUDENT 3 34 36 35 F ((0. 34 *0.5) + (0. 36 0. 5 ))100 = 35
Module B – two assessment components, differential weighting. Each component with threshold component mark ≥30 (greater than or equal to 30).
Assessment 1 – essay (70% weighting)
Assessment 2 – exam (30% weighting)
MODULE
MARK
MODULE
GRADE
CALCULATION
STUDENT 1 68 52 63 B ((0.680. 7 ) + (0.520. 3 ))100 = 63.2. Rounded to 63 STUDENT 2 48 28 42 FAIL ((0.480.7) + (0. 2 80.3))100 = 42 STUDENT 3 34 36 35 F ((0.340.7) + (0.360.3))*100 = 34.6. Rounded to 35
Module C – three assessment components, differential weighting. Each component with default threshold component mark ≥1 (greater than or equal to 1).
Assessment 1 – essay (25% weighting)
Assessment 2 – report (50% weighting)
Assessment 2 – exam (25% weighting)
MODULE
MARK
MODULE
GRADE
CALCULATION
STUDENT 1 68 62 52 61 B ((0.680.25) + (0.620.5) + (0.520.25))100 = 61
STUDENT 2 48 48 28 43 D ((0.480.25) + (0.480.5) + (0.280.25))100 = 43
STUDENT 3 42 36 42 39 F ((0.420.25) + (0.360.5) + (0.420.25))100 = 39
Essay (50% weighting)
Exam (50% weighting)
MODULE
MARK
MODULE
GRADE
COMMENT
STUDENT 6 36 28 32 F Student 6 has the same choices as Student 5, but should consider the implications of which component(s) they resit. If they resit both components, they must achieve a calculated mark of at least 40 (calculated across all components). If they resit the essay only, they must get a mark of at least 52 to meet the overall module requirements. If they resit the exam only, they must get a mark of at least 44 to meet the overall module requirements.
See Note 3 – threshold component mark must be achieved. STUDENT 7 36 0 18 F Student 7 must resit the exam (like Student 2) - but they can choose to resit the essay as well. If they believe they can get a significantly better mark for the essay at the resit, resitting both components may give them a better chance of meeting the overall module requirements, if they are less confident about their resit exam.
STUDENT 8 36 MC 18 IN incomplete
Student 8 must resit the exam, but this is treated as a ‘first attempt’ due to the mitigating circumstances. Student 8 may choose also to resit the essay, if they believe resitting both components may give them a better chance of meeting the overall module requirements. Because this will also be treated as a ‘first attempt’, they would be able to demonstrate their true potential.
See Note 4.
Notes:
- Best attempt mark will stand. - If you achieve a worse mark at resit for any component than you did at first attempt, but still achieve the requirements to pass the module, then the first (higher) mark will stand, and the resit mark will be disregarded. For example, if Student 5 chose to resit both components, and achieved Essay = 44 and Exam = 32 at the second attempt, this would calculate to 38 Fail. However, the higher exam mark from the first attempt would stand, hence Essay = 44, Exam = 37, resulting in 40.5, capped at 40 Pass.
- No resit for a better mark. - You cannot resit assessment components that you have already passed in order to get a better mark.
- Threshold component mark must be achieved. - If any component has a specific threshold component mark, that mark must be achieved, as well as an overall mark of at least 40, to meet the overall module requirements. For Student 6, if the exam component has a threshold component mark of ≥30, they must resit the exam.
- Module mark not capped if MC approved. -If you have MC approved in relation to a module, and require to ‘resit’ any component(s), your module mark will be calculated as normal once both component marks are available (ie will not be capped).
- This guidance applies to resits only , not to REPEAT modules. If you REPEAT a module (in the following academic year), no marks from your original registration on the module will be carried forward.
