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Regulations, Policies and Procedures for students

You are here: Assessment 4 Students > Regulations, Policies and Procedures for Students

Pointing to the regulationsThis section covers:

External Examining

External Examining is one of the principal means of maintaining academic standards across the UK. Suitably qualified and experienced External Examiners are appointed to provide informative comment and recommendations upon whether or not:

  • the University is maintaining the threshold academic standards.
  • the assessment process measures student achievement rigorously and fairly against the intended outcomes of the programme(s) and is conducted in line with the University’s policies and regulations.
  • the academic standards and the achievements of students of the University are comparable with those in other UK higher education institutions.

All assessment tasks and student work is marked and moderated by internal members of staff before being sent to the External Examiner. In order to carry out their role, External Examiners are asked to comment on assessment tasks, moderate a sample of student work, endorse Assessment Board decisions, and provide the University with an annual report.

At the end of each academic year, the annual reports and the responses to them are made available to students via the Student’s Union Website, and via the Collaborative Partner. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss the reports during staff/student committee meetings. Students can request a copy of a particular External Examiner’s report in full by emailing quality@shu.ac.uk.

Students may be asked to attend meetings with the External Examiner. The purpose of these meetings is to allow the External Examiner to gain student feedback on modules, course and experience. It would not be appropriate to discuss individual people and/or assessments.

Methods of discussing individual assessments, and engaging with quality management and enhancement processes should already be familiar to you, however if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your tutor and/or Student Services team. 

How is my degree calculated

The Award Classification Tool is designed to help you understand what classification you might be able to achieve. If you have any issues access this tool, please contact the team. 

Please note:

  • An accurate outcome will not be calculated for courses that have exemptions to the Standard Assessment Regulations, visit University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment and Exams section.
  • Make sure you read the instructions!
  • You can access your results transcript on My Student Record.
  • If your final average mark falls between classification boundaries, borderline rules will be used to determine which classification will be awarded. This information is displayed in red at the side of the classification calculation for each method. For full information and example calculations please refer to the Standard Assessment Regulations, as above.

The tools are for indicative purposes only and do not predict the award that you will achieve. They do not guarantee that you will be awarded the classification calculated. We cannot take responsibility for any inaccuracies in calculations. If you have any queries about how your degree is calculated please contact your College Student Support Advisers.   

How is my undergraduate degree calculated?

We normally use two different methods to calculate your final average mark. The highest average mark from these two calculations is used to determine your award classification.

  • Method 1 uses the best 100 marked credits that you have achieved at level 5 and 6. It calculates your final average mark by using 25% of the overall weighted average of level 5, and 75% of the overall weighted average of level 6
  • Method 2 uses the best 100 marked credits that you have achieved at level 6. It calculates your final average mark by using the overall weighted average of level 6

If you have not got at least 100 credits that are marked by a percentage mark, the following 2 methods will be used in place of methods 1 and 2 above. The method which results in the best classification and overall average will be automatically selected:

  • Alternative method 1uses all marked credits that you have achieved at level 5 and 6. It calculates your final average mark by using 25% of the overall weighted average of level 5, and 75% of the overall weighted average of level 6
  • Alternative method 2uses all marked credits that you have achieved at level 6. It calculates your final average mark by using the overall weighted average of level 6.

How your Integrated Masters degree is calculated

We normally use two different methods to calculate your final average mark. The highest average mark from these two calculations is used to determine your award classification.

  • Method 1 uses the best 100 marked credits that you have achieved at level 6 and 7. It calculates your final average mark by using 25% of the overall weighted average of level 6, and 75% of the overall weighted average of level 7.
  • Method 2 uses the best 100 marked credits that you have achieved at level 5, 6 and 7. It calculates your final average mark by using 20% of the overall weighted average of level 5, 30% of the overall weighted average of level 6, and 50% of the overall weighted average of level 7.

If you have not got at least 100 credits that are marked by a percentage mark, the following 2 methods will be used in place of methods 1 and 2 above. The method which results in the best classification and overall average will be automatically selected:

  • Alternative method 1uses all marked credits that you have achieved at level 6 and 7. It calculates your final average mark by using 25% of the overall weighted average of level 6, and 75% of the overall weighted average of level 7.
  • Alternative method 2uses all marked credits that you have achieved at level 5, 6 and 7. It calculates your final average mark by using 20% of the overall weighted average of level 5, 30% of the overall weighted average of level 6, and 50% of the overall weighted average of level 7.

How your Masters degree is calculated

Your award is calculated using all level 7 modules that are marked on a percentage basis and have had credit awarded.

How long do I have to complete my course?

If you are taking additional time to complete your award you need to be aware the all university awards have a limit on the number of years allowed to complete the award. This is referred to as the maximum duration. 

Maximum duration takes into account the years that you study on the course, including any additional time taken due to:

Please refer to University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment and Exams section for the Standard Assessment Regulations for more information.

Assessment and Awards

Visit University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment and Exams section for the full range of assessment regulations, policy and guidance.   

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Extenuating circumstances

While you study with Sheffield Hallam University you may experience some of the difficulties of life that affect most people, such as ill health or personal issues.  Normally, you will be able to overcome these without any impact on your studies.  Occasionally, you might experience circumstances that impact on your ability to complete your assessments on time because they occur suddenly, unexpectedly and are severe in nature. In these cases, you can explain your extenuating circumstances to us and if they meet our definition, we can support you in your studies. Visit our guidance on the University Rules & Regulations > Inclusion and Wellbeing website. 

Our aim is to provide you with the right support, depending on the timing and nature of your circumstances, to help you to complete your studies as close to the normal course duration as possible.

If there has been unexpected and unanticipated difficulties you may wish to:

Request to extend a submission deadline (RESD)

Guidance can be found on the University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment Support & Extenuating Circumstances section. 

Request to repeat an assessment attempt process (RRAA)

Extending deadlines for disability-related reasons

If your learning contract allows you to request extended coursework deadlines, you must contact Student Support Services as soon as you are sure that you will not be able to submit your work before the original deadline date, and with at least 24 hour’s notice.

For further advice visit University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment Support and Extenuating Circumstances section. 

Resitting exams for disability-related reasons

Please note that these guidelines only apply if you have a learning contract that allows for another exam sit for disability-related reasons. Check your learning contract.

For further advice visit University Rules & Regulations > Study > Assessment Support and Extenuating Circumstances section.   

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Conduct and discipline

Visit Assessment 4 Students > Preparing to Submit your Work section for all areas of Academic Conduct.

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Appeals and Complaints

Visit the University Rules & Regulations > Study > Appeals and Complaints section for access to the student complaint and appeals policy and procedures including the relevant forms. 

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Last updated: 1st October 2024 NB. 

For all enquiries regarding this page, please contact the ADI Team.