Assessment and Feedback

Coursework submission

University policy states that all submission deadlines must be published by the end of the second teaching week each semester. You should take note of these deadlines at the beginning of each semester and make sure you carefully plan when you will complete each assignment.

Across the University, Schools and module leaders ask students to submit their coursework in a variety of ways (i.e., through Canvas, NESS, or in hard copy). Before submitting make sure that you know exactly how to submit and if you need to submit multiple copies – this is especially important if you are taking modules in different Schools.

Only the Degree Programme Director has the authority to approve changes in coursework submission deadlines once they are published. If a deadline does change, you will be given sufficient notice and a reason for the change.

More information about University policies on coursework submission and the return of feedback is available here.

Plagiarism

The University makes routine plagiarism checks on all appropriate pieces of work. This means that your coursework assessments will be submitted to an electronic text matching software system (directly, by you, or by a member of staff). Your work will be checked against a database of web pages, academic articles and books, and other students’ papers (from Newcastle and other universities) and any matches between your work and those other sources highlighted.  Matching text does not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised, since you may have correctly referenced text from other source.

When you submit your assignments, you will be told how you need to submit to ensure they are checked. There are some file restrictions and file size restrictions, and you will be given guidance on what you can and cannot submit. You should always ask your module leader if you have any questions about a specific assignment.

The University takes plagiarism and academic conduct very seriously, and you are expected to know how to reference other sources correctly.

Late submission

The University has a set policy for late submissions, so you should be careful to submit all assessments well in advance of the deadline.

A fixed penalty of a 5% deduction will be applied to the final agreed mark for every calendar day that the work is submitted late, up to 7 days. If you submit a piece of work more than 7 days after the deadline, it will receive a mark of zero. The calculations for this sliding scale policy are as follows:

• Submission by the deadline: final agreed mark
• < 1 day late: (final agreed mark) *0.95
• < 2 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.90
• < 3 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.85
• < 4 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.80
• < 5 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.75
• < 6 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.70
• < 7 days late: (final agreed mark) *0.65
• After 7 days = mark of zero

There are two circumstances in which late work will always receive a zero: if your piece of work is marked on a non-discriminatory marking scale (i.e. pass/fail or merit/pass/fail), or if you are submitting work for a re-sit assessment.

There may be pieces of coursework for which no late work is allowed. You will receive prior notification in these instances.

If you have a valid reason for submitting your work late (e.g. illness), you should submit a PEC form; there is more information on this form earlier in the handbook. Computer failures and transportation problems are not considered a legitimate excuse for late submission (unless NUIT has confirmed a University-wide computer failure).

University exam period dates are available on the Exams & Awards web pages. Please note that examinations can be scheduled on Saturdays during the main periods. You are expected to be available for examination at the University during all of the main periods.

The University publishes a provisional exam timetable around 8-10 weeks in advance, so that you can check there are no clashes between your modules. A final exam timetable is then published around 6-8 weeks before the exam period. It is your responsibility to check the dates, times and locations of your exams carefully on your timetable.

Prior to your exams you must also read and understand the Exam Rules and Guidance. This provides instructions for what to do before, during and after the exam and details what you can and cannot take into an exam.

The University has a calculator policy for examinations. Students can only use calculators from the Casio FX-83, Casio FX-85 and Casio FX-115 ranges. No other model of calculator is permitted.  

When you are revising for your exams, you will almost certainly find it helpful to obtain copies of recent examination papers; these are available on the University website here. Sample papers should be provided by the lecturer for new courses.

If you wish to be considered for alternative exam arrangements (e.g. extra time, rest breaks, use of a PC, smaller venue etc.) in light of a disability, specific learning difficulty or long term medical condition, then you should note that there are certain deadlines by which you must supply the appropriate medical evidence/documentation. For further information, you should contact the Student Wellbeing Service as soon as possible.

Examinations will generally take place on (or close to) campus, although there are exceptions to this rule. International students, for example, may apply to take a re-sit exam in their home country. More information is available from the Exams Office.

You should have absolute confidence that the marks you receive are fair and consistent across markers. All assessments that are worth a significant part of your final mark are reviewed in advance so that the instructions are clear and the questions are reasonable for a student at your level.

Depending on the assignment, your work may also be moderated. This means that a second marker will look at the mark and feedback given by the first marker and ensure that it is fair and accurate. Several different processes for moderation may be used by the School, including sampling (looking at a sample of pieces of work across grade boundaries) and second marking (where a second marker looks at every piece of work).

All marks that are returned to you are provisional and subject to review and potential moderation prior to the final Board of Examiner meeting. Each taught programme of study (undergraduate and postgraduate) has a Board of Examiners (BoE) which is responsible for decisions about the outcomes of assessment of students on the programme. The BoE has a substantial degree of discretion.  This means that it may award a degree classification higher than that determined by the marks alone.  This can be due to medical or special personal circumstances and this is one of the reasons why it is important to submit PECs.  The Board may also, in certain circumstances deem individual students to have passed particular modules in which they have obtained a fail mark.

The University has a policy on Moderation processes, available here: Policy and Guidance on Moderation and Scaling

As part of the Student Charter, you have agreed to follow University procedures and to maintain the highest standards of behaviour. The University is committed to ensuring that assessments are fair for all students, and it has established a procedure for dealing with situations in which one student uses improper means to ‘get ahead’ on an assessment. These situations are called assessment irregularities, and they may include (but are not limited to), the following:

• Copying from or conferring with other candidates or using unauthorised material or equipment in an examination room
• Impersonating or allowing another to impersonate a candidate
• Introducing examination scripts into the examination process otherwise than in the course of an examination
• Permitting another student to copy work
• The falsification (by inclusion or suppression) of research results
• Plagiarism, defined as the unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas, words or work either verbatim or in substance without specific acknowledgement. It is also possible to plagiarise yourself if you submit the same work for multiple assignments or do not acknowledge ideas or words that you have submitted previously
• Procurement of assessment material i.e. contract cheating/custom essay writing.
• Dishonesty

The University’s assessment irregularity procedure can be found in full here.

More generally, at Newcastle we value high standards of academic conduct. Conduct is an important part of maintaining and developing our reputation. Good academic conduct reflects the values which underpin academic life, such as honesty, integrity, a shared community of ideas and respect for others’ work. The Academic Skills Kit (https://internal.ncl.ac.uk/ask/) provides a range of resources which may help with academic writing. There is also information on appropriate style and referencing guides here: http://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/referencing .

You can expect to receive a briefing on academic conduct and the referencing guidelines that you are expected to follow. You are in turn expected to do the following:

• Maintain high standards of academic conduct
• Show a commitment to academic honesty in your work
• Be familiar with and apply the guidance provided by your School on proper referencing and good academic practice
• Avoid plagiarism.

The Student Disciplinary Procedure will apply to any student who is alleged to have breached the University’s code of conduct. More information is available here.

 This procedure applies to any student who breaches academic codes of conduct as well as non-academic situations (disruption, anti-social behaviour, theft and fraud, violent behaviour, sexual misconduct, harassment, hate crime, criminal offences, etc.)

The University acknowledges that some students will start their time at Newcastle with prior experience – either of studying at other universities or from work. We want to recognise students’ past work appropriately, so you may be able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (if you have credits from a non-UK university or relevant experience) or credit transfer (credits from a UK university).

If your application for RPL or credit transfer is successful, you will not have to take the module (or modules) identified in your application. However, any previous marks (at another University) will not be counted toward your Newcastle degree classification. If you receive credit transfer, you will be considered to have ‘passed’ the module; if you receive RPL, you receive no credit for the module but will be exempt from taking it. It may not always be to your benefit to apply for RPL or credit transfer, since it means that you will have fewer modules that count toward your final degree classification (meaning that each one carries a greater weight).

If you successfully apply for RPL or credit transfer, you could gain permission to study modules outside the degree programme regulations or additional optional modules, with Degree Programme Director approval, up to a full credit load. If you do so, these modules will count toward your final degree classification.

More information about RPL and credit transfer will be available from your School, including information on how to apply and whom you should contact if you have questions. The University policy is available here.