Standing Order 21 - 2
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Time-limits
15 University time-limits for the completion of a Master's Degree are prescribed in the Regulations. A Department may however prescribe an earlier date for the submission of dissertations; any work submitted after this date shall not be examined and the candidate will be regarded as having failed by non-submission. Such a candidate may be permitted, on payment of a fee, to submit on one occasion only, within a period of twelve months from the original Departmental deadline. Such a candidate shall be eligible for the award of the bare pass-mark only and may not be considered eligible for the award of Distinction or Merit overall.
A candidate who is unlikely to be able to make a first submission within the deadline stipulated should not be advised to either fail to submit by the due date or to make an incomplete submission simply to obtain the ‘additional’ re-submission period. Instead, consideration may be given to the eligibility – or otherwise – of the candidate for a possible extension to the time-limits. The paragraph below describes this process in detail.
16 The University expects that candidates will submit their Part Two work within the prescribed time-limit, and a candidature shall lapse where the submission has not been made within the University’s time-limits. Notwithstanding, a candidature may be suspended, or a time-limit extended, on an exceptional basis, on compassionate grounds, or in case of illness, serious domestic difficulty or because of exceptional professional commitments which can be demonstrated to have affected the candidate adversely. A full and reasoned case, supported by appropriate, satisfactory, medical or other independent evidence, as detailed below, must be put together for consideration:
• in the case of candidates requesting an extension on compassionate grounds, satisfactory evidence must be made available in support of the case; a clear statement must also be supplied, showing that the department concerned has evaluated the candidate’s situation that it considers the requested extension to be appropriate. Such a statement will, wherever possible, follow direct contact between candidate and department.
• in the case of candidates who cite exceptional professional commitments, the request must be accompanied by written confirmation and description by the employer of the exceptional workload borne by the candidate.
• in cases which arise as a result of illness:
(i) satisfactory medical evidence must be supplied. (The extent and nature of the illness as described in the certificate are invaluable in assessing the case.)
(ii) a clear statement must be supplied, showing that the department concerned has evaluated the situation and that it considers the requested extension to be appropriate. Such a statement will, wherever possible, follow direct contact between candidate and department.
17 Applications for suspensions/extensions must be routed via the candidate’s supervisor and Head of Department to the Deans’ Office.
Part One : Progression, Failure and Retrieval
18 The Registry will issue to Convenors an examination result form. Using this form, and the appropriate codes, Convenors are asked to indicate alongside the name of each candidate whether he/she:
| PP | has passed the examination (Part One) and may proceed to Part Two; |
| PD | has passed the examination (Part One) at Distinction level (if applicable) and may proceed to Part Two; |
| PE | has passed the examination (Part One) and may proceed to Part Two with a mark in excess of 65% (i.e. eligibility for a Distinction remains in the mark gained subsequently in Part Two is sufficiently high - see paragraph 14 above); |
| UD | may be awarded a University Postgraduate Diploma (if applicable); |
| AB | was absent, or has further examinations or re-sits to take, including deferrals or referrals; |
| FA | has failed Part One outright (i.e. has no (further) opportunities to retrieve failure). |
19 A meeting of the Departmental examiners shall be held to consider the results of candidates in the examination component of the degree (Part One) and, in particular, to recommend to the Faculty Examining Board which candidates may proceed to Part Two. For this purpose the Examining Board shall consist of the following:
.1 A Chair. The Chair is required to chair any oral examination which may be held.
.2 The external examiner appointed on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor to assess the candidate’s dissertation.
.3 An internal examiner appointed by the Chair of the Examining Board
.4 Advisory examiners (where appropriate).
All taught postgraduate results must be confirmed by the relevant Faculty Examining Board.
20 The appointment of external examiners for taught Master's degree schemes is governed by the University's Code of Practice for External Examiners. Copies of this document are sent to all external examiners at the time of appointment but are available otherwise from the Deans’ Office, or may be viewed via the University’s website.
21 A candidate may, with the Department’s approval, begin supervised or unsupervised preparatory work on Part Two prior to completion of Part One, but may not submit work for examination unless and until Part One of the scheme has been passed.
22 A candidate who has pursued a taught scheme of study for which a University Postgraduate Diploma may be awarded who subsequently either fails to submit a dissertation within the prescribed time-limit or submits a dissertation which is not approved by the examiners may also be recommended for the award of the relevant University Postgraduate Diploma. Such awards of Diplomas may be backdated to the date upon which the candidate completed Part One.
Part Two: Assessment, Failure and Retrieval
23 Part Two of a Master’s degree scheme shall take the form of a dissertation except where an alternative form of assessment has been approved in respect of the scheme in question by the University. Candidates who have qualified to submit for Part Two should be advised to follow the Notes of Guidance for Candidates issued by the Registry together with the Notice of Candidature form, and are required to comply with the relevant University Regulations.
24 Except where specified to the contrary, a dissertation or approved equivalent submission should not exceed 20,000 words.
25 The Registry issues to Convenors of Examining Boards formal result/report forms for completion by the Part Two Examining Board for forwarding to Faculty Examining Boards for confirmation. In certain circumstances, and by arrangement with the Registry, a composite result/report form may be issued when a Department submits dissertations simultaneously for examination by a single external examiner.
26 Although it is customary for the same external examiner to examine a candidate for Part One and for Part Two, an independent examiner may be appointed to examine the dissertation (or approved alternative) where specialist knowledge or expertise is required.
27 When a dispute arises between the external examiner and internal examiner(s) the usual Report and Result Form should be marked by the Examiners and Chair so as to indicate that the Board had been unable to agree upon a recommendation. The Result and Report form should then be forwarded to the Registry so that arrangements can be made to appoint an Arbitrating Examiner.
In such a case it is within the power of the Vice-Chancellor to resort to another external examiner who shall be asked to arbitrate. When selecting an Arbitrating External Examiner the Vice-Chancellor may take into account any written reports submitted by the members of the Examining Board and may also take into account – but need not be bound by – any nomination made by the original Board.
Upon appointment by the Vice-Chancellor, an Arbitrating External Examiner shall be given by the Registry a copy of the candidate’s work together with the reports of the original examiners and the ‘Report and Result Form’ and ‘Notes for Arbitrating External Examiners’.
When considering the candidate’s work, an Arbitrating External Examiner may choose whether or not to refer to the reports of the original examiners (and if so, when he/she might do so). He/she may also choose to conduct a further oral examination and, if so, whether or not the original examiners may be invited to attend.
When the Arbitrating External Examiner has concluded the consideration of the work, the outcome should be communicated to the Chair of the Examining Board, in the first instance. The Chair shall arrange for the ‘Report and Result Form’ to be completed, signed and returned to the University Registry.
Admission to Degrees
28 The process through which candidates are admitted to degrees is detailed in full in Standing Order 18 (‘Congregations of the University and Admission to Degrees’). In brief, however, candidates may be admitted to their degrees either
(i) by attending a formal degree congregation, or
(ii) in absentia, by decree of the Vice-Chancellor. This is an administrative procedure carried out at frequent intervals throughout the year.
For the purpose of the qualification, the examination must have been completed and the Examining Board’s recommendation for the award of the degree - on the Combined Notice of Candidature/ Report and Result form - must have been received by the Registry together with confirmation that all fees have been paid and that the candidate has matriculated, etc.
In respect of candidates who wish to be admitted to their degree at a congregation, the above requirement must have been met by a date early enough in June to allow the Registry to include the candidate in the congregation programme. Those involved in examinations the results of which are expected during the period in question should contact the Registry for information regarding the final cut-off date.
Appeals
29 Candidates who wish to appeal against a decision of the examiners are allowed to do so under the terms of the University's Verification and Appeals Procedure. (The Procedure is distributed to candidates for University examinations at registration.)
Unfair Practice
30 It is an unfair practice to commit any act whereby a person might obtain for himself/herself, or for another, an unpermitted advantage leading to a higher mark or grade than his/her abilities would otherwise secure.
Allegations of unfair practice will be dealt with under the University’s ‘Unfair Practice Procedure’
Aegrotat/Posthumous Awards
31 The University has established Regulations under which awards of aegrotat or posthumous qualifications may be made.
Contact
32 Copies of any of the procedures, Regulations or other guidance mentioned in this Standing Order may be obtained from the Registry.
Postal address: The Academic Office
Aberystwyth University
Old College
King Street
Aberystwyth
SY23 2AX
Telephone: (01970) 622195