Academic Regulations for first degrees and ... - Heythrop College

20.4 Discretion may be exercised in order to raise a borderline degree result by
a class when the deciding mark falls short of the higher classification by
no more than two marks. However, the higher degree classification should
not be awarded automatically in these cases. If it were, the effect would be
to alter the original classification criteria. At the Pre-Board, a meeting of
the Chair of the Board of Examiners with the Assessment Convenors,
Academic Registrar or nominee, and Dean of Undergraduate Studies,
those present must agree that there is a case for discretion, having
reviewed the particular deciding mark(s) which put this result on a
borderline, and judging that these marks should not necessarily hold the
degree result in the lower class. Then, in addition, one or more of the
following must apply:
The undergraduate dissertation mark is normally in the higher Class,
although the ninth (deciding) mark down from the highest mark is in the
lower class band.
There has been significant improvement in the profile of marks over the
period of time that the degree has been assessed, especially at level 6 (or
5 for the Foundation degree) (sometimes called ‘exit velocity’).
21. Academic Conduct
21.1. Students are required to comply with the regulations for the conduct of
examinations, and with published guidelines in relation to academic
conduct, including plagiarism and other assessment offences.
21.2. Assessment misconduct is conduct in relation to an examination or other
assessment task which breaches the regulations and guidelines in such a
way as to give a candidate unfair advantage. The College may initiate an
investigation if suspected misconduct is reported by an invigilator, marker,
moderator, external or intercollegiate examiner or other relevant party.
Anonymous allegations will not be investigated. Misconduct to be
investigated may be in the form of, but is not restricted to:
• Possessing or using unauthorised aids in an examination;
• Plagiarism;
• Assisting another student to gain unfair advantage in assessment;
• Fabricating or falsifying information in work presented for assessment
21.3. The procedures used to investigate assessment offences are detailed in
Appendix H, which also summarises the penalties which may be applied.
The general principle is that the penalty should be appropriate to the scale
of the offence and to the stage reached in the student’s studies.
21.4. A candidate shall have the right to appeal against a decision made
following investigation, on the grounds of new evidence which he or she
was previously unable to provide. A candidate may appeal against the
penalty imposed on the grounds that it is unreasonably harsh.
22. Pass Lists and Notification of Results
22.1. Except for the provisions of 22.4 below, all students following College
regulated undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes will be
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