PGT regulations

1. All awards of the University of Manchester will be given on the basis of the accumulation of credit as mapped out in Table 1 below. This table is based on the credit/awards and levels required by the national Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ). (A1)

Table 1: Credit and Postgraduate Award Framework

Notes:

* denotes the minimum number of credits at Level 7 which are required for the Award specified in column one. Level 7 of the FHEQ relates to a Masters programme. One ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) is equivalent to two UK credits.

2. All students who exit prior to completion of the programme on which they registered will receive an exit award if they have achieved the appropriate amount of credit in accordance with that award, as specified in Table 1 above, within five years of their initial registration. (A2)

3. A student must achieve the minimum amount of credit at the level of qualification in accordance with Table 1 above. On certain AMBS Masters programmes students can take credit at a higher or lower level in order to achieve the minimum credit for the award in accordance with the programme structure. (A3)

4. These regulations apply to:

• MSc Accounting
• MSc Accounting and Finance
• MSc Business Analysis and Strategic Management
• MSc Business Analytics: Operational Research and Risk Analysis
• MSc Business Psychology (Full time and Part time)
• MSc Finance
• MSc Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
• MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (Full time and Part time)
• MSc International Business and Management (Management)
• MSc International Human Resource Management and Comparative Industrial Relations
• MSc Management
• MSc Marketing
• MSc Marketing (Specialism)
• MSc Operations, Project and Supply Chain Management
• MSc Organisational Psychology (Full time and Part time)
• MSc Quantitative Finance

5. See the University Postgraduate Taught Degree Regulations in full via the following link:

• Teaching and Learning - Degree Regulations (C5 – C9)

6. To progress to the research element of the programme including a dissertation or equivalent, a student must:

• reach the pass mark (50%) in individual course units totalling at least 90 credits of the 120 credits and,
• reach the lowest compensatable mark (40%) in all remaining course units (a maximum of 40 credits). (D10)

7. If an Examination Board has documented evidence that (a) a student’s work or attendance or both have been unsatisfactory and (b) the student has been formally warned of the unsatisfactory work or attendance but has not shown significant improvement acceptable to the Board, then the Board has the right to refuse the student assessment.

See Regulation XX – Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students and the Policy on Recording and Monitoring Attendance (D11)

8. Where a student has failed on the first attempt or fails to qualify for a final award after compensation, referrals or the consideration of mitigation, the Examination Board has the following options at its discretion:

• Award an Exit Award if criteria are met in accordance with Table 1, Section A above (D12)

9. Schools may have alternative assessment regulations where these are required by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). (D13)

10. Postgraduate taught programmes can be compensated up to 40 credits for PG Diploma/Masters and 20 credits for a PG Certificate. Postgraduate programmes can be referred in up to half of the taught credits; this includes credits on a PG Certificate or PG Diploma award. The total number of credits allowable for a referral for a PG Diploma/Masters is 60 of which 40 can be compensated. For a PG Certificate, the total number of credits allowable for referral is 30 credits of which 20 can be compensated. (E14, E15, E16)

11. Students may also resubmit the dissertation (or equivalent, see G27) on one occasion, subject to the mark restrictions set out in G28. The number of credits referred and those compensated cannot exceed half the taught credits in total.

Additional requirements for the MSc Management programme. In Semester 3 students take:

• BMAN73150 Trends in Global Business and Management (15 credits)
• BMAN73160 Business Research Project (45 credits)

Compensation and reassessment rules apply for Semester 3 course units provided the student has not exhausted their compensation/referral allowance during the taught element of the programme.

F. Compensation

12. The compensation zone is defined by the standard Unit Marking Scheme for Postgraduate Taught students found in the Guide to the Taught Degree Regulations (F18)

13. Compensation can only be applied up to the maximum amount as specified in Point 10 above (E14). Beyond this maximum threshold, the Examination Board will make a decision on which reassessment can be taken. (F19)

14. Schools can specify when a unit is not compensatable or when PSRB/ESFA rules take precedence.

See Appendix B for a list of Accredited Courses for Professional Bodies and requirements for eligibility. (F20)

15. Compensated credit retains the original failed mark and this is used in the weighted average for the calculation of the final classification/award. For transcript purposes, a compensated course unit mark will be recorded with a suffix C. (F21)

16. Referral marks are compensatable, (provided the number of compensated credits permitted has not been exceeded). (F22)

17. Where the overall unit mark is below the compensation zone (i.e. 29% or below for PG Certificate/PG Diploma; 39% or below for MSc) or the number of compensatable fails has been exceeded, reassessment may be taken, within the credit limitations set out in Point 10 (E15). Reassessment as a result of a fail is known as a ‘Referral’. Subsequent attempts as a result of approved and verified mitigating circumstances are known as ‘Deferrals’. (G23)

18. The reassessment must be designed to assess the achievement of the same intended learning outcomes but need not be of the same form as that originally used. The reassessment will normally take place in the same academic year as the original assessment to enable the students to progress as originally intended. (G24)

19. If an Examination Board has documented evidence that (a) a student’s work or attendance or both have been unsatisfactory and (b) the student has been formally warned of the unsatisfactory work or attendance but has not shown significant improvement acceptable to the Board, then the Board has the right to refuse the student assessment or reassessment. See Regulation XX – Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students and the Policy on Recording and Monitoring Attendance (G25)

20. An Examination Board may allow a student one attempt, per unit, at reassessment (i.e. two attempts in total). This principle does not apply to attempts with approved and verified mitigating circumstances. (G26)

21. When the referred assessment for a postgraduate student includes independent work such as a dissertation or project resubmission, a time limit of a maximum of six calendar months from the date of the Examination Board is permitted. This reassessment of a research/dissertation element does not contribute to the credit limitations set out above in Point 10 (E15). (G27)

In AMBS the time limit allowed for a referred dissertation is normally four months to enable the student to graduate in July.

Reassessment of the dissertation/project is in addition to the number of referral credits permitted on the taught element. Dissertations are not compensatable. A resubmission must reach the pass mark (50%), however, the mark recorded for the resubmission will be the lowest compensatable fail mark (i.e. 40%) unless the first mark achieved was in the compensation zone.

22. Students achieving a mark of less than 30 for their dissertation or project submission are not permitted to resubmit and will be given an exit award in accordance with Table 1, Section A above. (G28)

23. Referral pass marks will be capped at the lowest compensatable mark for Postgraduate Taught students, unless the previous mark was within the compensation zone, in which case the original mark will stand. This mark is used in the weighted average mark for the final award. The capped mark is applied to the unit level mark, not the failed element. (G29)

24. When a student is referred and fails a unit, the first mark stands. (G30)

The table below shows the mark that the student achieved when they were first assessed (First Sit) and the mark they achieved in the resit (Resit Mark). The last column (Final Mark) shows the final mark that is recorded on the student’s record.

Example: Student passes the resit with a mark of 60% and gains the credit for the completed course unit.

Example: Student fails the resit with a mark of 20%. The student has therefore failed the course unit and does not gain any credit.

25. Students may, in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the Examination Board, be allowed to repeat whole units or the entire programme, subject to teaching capacity not being exceeded. (G31)

26. Once a student has exhausted all the opportunities to retrieve referred assessment they will be given an exit award in accordance with Table 1, Section A and as defined in the programme specification. (H32)

27. If a student decides to withdraw, they will automatically be awarded the relevant exit award in accordance with Table 1, Section A and as defined in the programme specification. (H33)

28. For the award of a Pass a student must satisfy the minimum credit requirements specified in Table 1, Section A, Credit and Postgraduate Award Framework of these regulations. (I34)

29. Classifications for Merit and Distinction will be calculated on the basis of an average mark, based on the weighted programme as a whole (See Appendix 1, Table A1). (I35)

MSc Classifications based on weighted average across 180 credits are:

• Distinction, not less than 70.0%
• Merit, not less than 60.0%
• Pass, not less than 50.0%

For the award of Distinction all course units must have been passed at the first attempt without any compensation.

Students can be awarded a Pass/Merit classification if they have a compensated pass in their profile and/or have been referred.

PG Certificate and PG Diploma award is based on credit accumulation for which there is no classification other than Pass/Fail.

31. Rule I37 (separating the average for taught and research elements) does not apply to Masters programmes in AMBS. The award of Distinction is based on the overall average of the programme (180 credits). (I37)

32. Students with credit awarded as a result of a referral or compensated mark will not be eligible for the award of Distinction, only a Merit or a Pass. (I38)

33. Decisions with regards to ‘borderline’ classifications for individual students should be resolved using the mechanisms outlined in Appendix A. (I39)

34. A Postgraduate Taught degree may be awarded in the event of the death of a candidate prior to the completion of their degree (posthumous degree). For more information about posthumous degrees and the options open to Examination Boards, please see:

• Posthumous Awards (J40)

35. A Postgraduate Taught degree may be awarded should the candidate be prevented from completing their degree due to the diagnosis of a terminal or debilitating illness (aegrotat degree). The Examination Board may determine from evidence available to it that a candidate for a Postgraduate Taught degree who has been prevented by good cause from completing the final examination or assessment will be awarded a class of degree the Board judges to be suitable, as long as the candidate has gained over half the credits required for the award. (J41)

36. There are normally three available assessment opportunities: January, May/June and August/September within each academic year. It is expected that all reassessment will take place in the academic year in which the assessment was first attempted; exceptions can be made for programmes with ‘non-standard’ admissions cycles. (K42)

37. There must be an opportunity at the end of every unit of assessment, for a chaired forum to make decisions regarding student’s attainment on completed units. (K43)

38. Examination Boards, to agree student minimum requirement for the achievement of an award, will take place at appropriate points in each academic year, overseen by an External Examiner. Exceptions can be made for programmes with ‘non-standard’ assessment cycles. (K44)