Lower awards (5.103 - 5.127)

5.103

A Foundation Degree is only available as an intended award and cannot be awarded as an intermediate award for a student exiting from another programme.

5.104

A Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education may be awarded to students registered on a Cert HE or DipHE programme, or as an intermediate award to students who have failed to meet the requirements of their intended award.

5.105

Some programmes may not offer a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education as an intermediate award and this will be specified in the relevant programme specification.

5.106

Certificates and Diplomas of Higher Education are awarded in a named discipline but are unclassified. There may be some programmes where Certificates or Diplomas of HE are given as an intermediate award but under a different title for Professional Body or other reasons. Where this is the case this will be specified in the relevant programme specification.

5.107

Where a student is eligible for an intermediate award the Board will award the highest intermediate award for which the student qualifies. Students will not be awarded a Certificate and a Diploma of HE for the same programme.

Foundation degrees: Classification

5.108

Where a student meets the eligibility criteria for award set out in 5.89 the Board of Examiners will apply the following criteria in order to determine the classification of the award. Where credits are referenced, this applies to credits studied in years 1 and 2 of the programme.

Distinction

• A programme credit weighted average of at least 70.00%, or
• A programme credit weighted average of at least 68.00% and modules to the value of at least 60 credits at 70.00% or better

Merit

• A programme credit weighted average of at least 60.00%, or
• A programme credit weighted average of at least 58.00% and modules to the value of at least 60 credits at 60.00% or better

Pass

• A programme credit weighted average of at least 40.00%

Diplomas of Higher Education

5.109

Where a student meets the eligibility criteria for award set out in 5.89 from years 1 and 2 of the programme the Board of Examiners can award a Diploma of Higher Education.

5.110

Where a Diploma of Higher Education is awarded as an intermediate award a maximum of 30 credits at Year 3 may be substituted for failed credit at Year 2.

5.111

A Diploma of Higher Education will be awarded to students who have entered directly into year 2 of an undergraduate programme subject to meeting the award criteria set out in 5.89.

5.112

Where a student has completed a year in Industry or a period (either a year or a semester) abroad they will be eligible to achieve a Diploma of Higher Education in a named discipline with a Year/Semester Abroad or a Year in Industry, subject to meeting the academic requirements set out above and the published requirements for passing the year in Industry or Year/Semester abroad which can be found on the University website.

Certificates of Higher Education

5.113

Where a student meets the eligibility criteria for award set out in 5.89 from year 1 the Board of Examiners can award a Certificate of Higher Education.

5.114

Where a Certificate of Higher Education is awarded as an intermediate award a maximum of 30 credits achieved at Year 2 may be substituted for failed credit at Year 1.

5.115

A Certificate of Higher Education will not be awarded to students who have entered directly into year 2 of an undergraduate programme.

5.116

Certificates of Higher Education are not typically eligible to be awarded with a Year/Semester Abroad or a Year in Industry other than in cases of exceptional mitigating circumstances. The award of a Certificate of Higher Education with a Year/Semester Abroad or a Year in Industry will require approval by the Academic Registrar.

Foundation Certificate

5.117

A Foundation Certificate is provided to a student who completes a foundation year programme and passes all modules but does not progress to an undergraduate degree programme at the University.

5.118

A Foundation Certificate may be provided on request to a student who completes a foundation year programme and passes all modules, progresses to an undergraduate degree programme at the University but does not achieve a Certificate of Higher Education.

5.119

A Foundation Certificate is unclassified.

Aegrotat awards

5.120

A student who has completed their undergraduate degree programme may be considered for an aegrotat degree where, due to exceptional circumstances, such as illness, they have been prevented from completing and passing a maximum of 60 credits for the final year of their award.

5.121

The circumstances experienced by the student should be such that they are unlikely to be able to complete outstanding assessments at a future date and have insufficient credits for a degree to be awarded or a classification determined. In all other circumstances standard re-assessment regulations will apply.

5.122

Boards of Examiners should be satisfied that, on the basis of the student’s performance prior to the circumstances, the student would have been expected to pass the assessments if the circumstances had not occurred.

5.123

Students must have successfully completed 60 credits of the final year of study, including passing the required assessments and may not be exempted from completing a dissertation or research project where this is a requirement of the programme.

5.124

A student should indicate that they are willing to accept an aegrotat award and understand that no further opportunities will be available for re-assessment.

5.125

An aegrotat award will be unclassified.

5.126

If a student has completed a degree programme but completed less than 60 credits of the final year and will be prevented from completing outstanding assessments at a later date, a Board of Examiners will consider them for the intermediate award of either a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education, based on the number of credits accumulated and marks obtained.

Posthumous awards

5.127

A Board of Examiners may posthumously award an integrated Masters Degree, a Bachelors Degree, a Foundation Degree, a Diploma of Higher Education or a Certificate of Higher Education on the basis of credit successfully completed. A Bachelor or integrated Masters Degree may be awarded where a pass has been obtained in at least 60 credits of the final year modules. Where fewer than 60 credits have been passed the appropriate intermediate award will be made on a posthumous basis.