Glossary

A placement undertaken in a clinical environment involving contact with healthcare professionals and patients.  These are typically required on healthcare programmes and must be passed in order to complete the degree.

A group of students who started their programme in the same year. For example, all students starting a programme in September 2025 would be the 2025/26 cohort.

This is a national set of standards which sets out how much credit is required for each type of degree, and the levels of different degrees. It is a formal framework set at national level and all degrees at all Universities must meet this framework.

Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)

A four-year course combining three years of undergraduate study and a single year of postgraduate (Masters) level study.  At the end of the course students get a single degree, at masters level.

The degree award that a student registers for and intends to achieve, usually a Bachelors or Integrated Masters.

A qualification awarded to a student who has failed to meet the requirements of the degree that they were studying for.  Intermediate awards are at a lower level but recognise a student’s achievement on their course. This may be a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate.

A degree awarded to a student following the successful completion of a postgraduate course at a university. The most common Masters degrees are the Masters of Arts (MA), Masters of Business Administrations (MBA) and Masters of Science (MSc). 

The maximum amount of time that a student is allowed to study and complete their course. If a student does not complete their course within this time they will usually have their studies ended and an intermediate award made, where this is possible.

Periods of Registration are in Senate Regulation 2.

A student who is studying a programme after completing a first degree at University. Typically, this is a Masters degree, but it may also be a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma.

The term is also used to refer to the level of degree course at the University, i.e. a postgraduate degree.

Another term for a course.

A Professional Body separate to the University which provide accreditation to courses. Some courses require professional accreditation to be in place in order for the degree to qualify students to work (such as for doctors, nurses, midwives and physiotherapists). 

A specific period within a course representing a period of time to complete a set of modules. This typically corresponds to an academic year.

Assessment for a module that is listed on the module specification

Where an assessment has been failed and a student is required to re-sit, the maximum mark that can be achieved is the pass mark. This is referred to as ‘capping’ the assessment.  Note, the cap is applied to the assessment not the module, so if there are two assessments on a module where one is failed and one is passed, only the mark for the assessment which is failed and re-sat would be capped. This would be combined with the original pass mark for the other component to decide whether the module has been passed overall.

An assessment where a student is required to show a particular skill to a set level.  These are assessed on a pass/fail basis to reflect a judgement of whether a student can, or cannot, demonstrate the required skill.

A mark is typically not awarded.

A compulsory component of a course, with its own intended learning outcomes and assessments. See ‘Module’.

Modules are made up of credits, typically 15, 30, 45 or 60.  A credit represents a unit of time.  One credit is equal to 10 hours of learning which may include teaching sessions, independent work, fieldwork, placement or preparing for assessment.

A 15 credit module represents 150 hours of workload. Students need to accumulate enough credit to get an award.

Assessments that do not contribute to final module marks. They are an opportunity for students to receive feedback on the progress in order to develop for summative assessments.

Recognisably serious or significant event(s), affecting a student’s health or personal life which are unforeseen and beyond the student’s control.  See the Mitigating Circumstances webpages.

A self-contained component of a course, with its own intended learning outcomes and assessments. Degree courses are made up of a number of modules which when combined create a course.

A component of a course, which can be chosen from a group of modules to contribute towards the total credits for their course.

The mark required to pass an individual assessment or a module.  This will typically be 40% for an undergraduate module or 50% for a masters module.

A module that must be passed in order to undertake another related module, typically in the next year.

An assessment within a module that has a specific minimum pass mark which a student must achieve to pass the module overall.

A further attempt at an assessment where the first attempt has been failed.  The marks for assessments which are re-assessed will be capped.

Assessments which contribute marks to the final module mark.

An attempt that has not been affected by accepted mitigating circumstances. Where an attempt has been disregarded due to accepted MCs, this would not count as valid.

Students may typically only have two valid attempts at an assessment.

A module which is considered to be passed with compensation. Credit is awarded for a compensated pass.

A method by which the University awards credits for a module in which the pass mark was not achieved, so that the student can progress their studies. This is on an academic basis where achievement in one part of a degree can make up for poorer performance in another. There is a limit to the number of credits that can be compensated within a degree. Some modules must be passed to achieve the credits, these modules cannot be compensated.

A formal group of academic staff which makes the decision of whether a student can proceed to the next year of study or be awarded their degree. Boards of Examiners also agree degree classifications.  Boards operate the schemes of progression, award and classification set out in Senate Regulation 6. 

A formal group of academic staff which oversees the marks achieved by students for their modules and confirms that appropriate marking processes have taken place. Panels of Examiners also agree the award of re-assessment opportunities and module outcomes for approval at a Board of Examiners. See ‘Board of Examiners’. 

Senate Regulation 6, approved by the Senate of the University, sets the rules for how postgraduate taught courses are structured, the requirements for students to progress through their course and the requirements to be awarded a degree.

Students agree to the rules set out in the regulations when they register with the University.

Senate Regulation 7, approved by the Senate of the University, sets out the rules for how courses are assessed, the framework for how decisions are made by Panels and Boards of Examiners, and how the University ensures that students are treated fairly and equitably.

Students agree to the rules set out in the regulations when they register with the University.

A single mark that reflects a student's performance across a range of modules.

This is calculated by combining all of the marks for the relevant modules, weighted by their overall credit weighting.

A Taught Credit Weighted Average is calculated on the basis of the marks for the taught modules of the programme.

A Programme Credit Weighted Average is the combination of all the credit bearing modules in the programmes, including the project or dissertation, weighted by their credit value.

Completing the initial taught modules on a programme and moving on to their project or dissertation, with no further assessments to take.

A decision that may be taken by a Board of Examines when a student has not passed all of the modules for the year. A student is permitted to proceed to their next level of study but must re-sit failed assessment at the same time. This is limited to half the credit value of the taught component of the programme, up to a maximum of 60 credits.

The process by which a Board of Examiners determines whether a student has met the requirements to move from one year of study to another.  A Progression Board will typically occur at the end of each year of study.

A period of study whereby students repeat the teaching and assessment for the course. No previously achieved credits, attempts, or marks are carried over for the year repeated. Students will attend teaching and take assessments as if for the first time.

A period of study whereby students re-sit failed assessments without attending teaching. Students will have access to previous learning materials and are not registered as current students during this period.

Students studying in the UK on a visa may be required to leave the UK if undertaking a re-sit without residence.

A Board of Examiners can decide to terminate a student’s course where the student has failed to meet the requirements to progress following re-sit. This means that they cease being a registered student of the University and cannot continue studying their course. Student access to learning resources and University facilities ceases. Students have a right to appeal against this, and other progression decisions.

The level of the degree that a student is given, for example a Bachelors or Masters. Note, this is different to classification.

A degree classification is a grade used to indicate how well a student has performed overall in their degree. The highest classification is a Distinction followed by Merit and Pass.

A single mark that reflects a student's performance across a range of modules.

This is calculated by combining all of the marks for the relevant modules, weighted by their overall credit weighting.

A Taught Credit Weighted Average is calculated on the basis of the marks for the taught modules of the programme.

A Programme Credit Weighted Average is the combination of all the credit bearing modules in the programmes, including the project or dissertation, weighted by their credit value.

An Aegrotat award is an unclassified award. It is awarded on an exceptional basis where a student reaches the end of their studies but has been prevented from completing all of their credits. Students must have successfully passed the project and typically at least 50% of the taught credits for the award.

Aegrotat degrees are only considered where the exceptional nature of the circumstances, such as illness, mean that a student will not be able to return to complete their assessments at a future date.

A qualification awarded to a student who has failed to meet the requirements of the degree that they were studying for. Intermediate awards are at a lower level but recognise a student’s achievement on their course. This may be a Postgraduate Diploma or a Postgraduate Certificate.

An award at level 7 of the FHEQ. Awarded to students who have achieved 60 taught credits, of which at least 45 must be at level 7 and a maximum of 15 may be from level 6.

These are often awarded when a student has failed to meet the requirements for their full degree, as a means of recognising what a student has achieved.

An award at level 7 of the FHEQ. Awarded to students who have achieved 120 taught credits, of which at least 90 must be at level 7 and a maximum of 30 may be from level 6.

These are often awarded when a student has failed to meet the requirements for their full degree, as a means of recognising what a student has achieved.