These responses were (hopefully) correct when this page was last updated.
What are the relative weights of the different years of study?
For F102/FZBF/F103, Y2:Y3:Y4 are weighted 20:40:40. For FZ61, Y2:Y3:Y4 are weighted 20:20:60.
Which set of rules (including 'profiling') will be used to classify my MChem degree?
F102/FZ61/FZBF/F103: The most recent version of Appendix J in the Code of Practice on Assessment (CoPA).
The pass mark for level 7 FHEQ (aka 'level M') modules is 50% (whereas it is 40% for LIFE369) – there is no "35% rule".
Any 'level M' module mark less than 50% (or 40% for LIFE369) is a fail (regardless of how it is flagged in any of the online systems that you can access).
You get no credits for any module that you fail (regardless of your marks in other modules) but that fail mark does of course still contribute to your year average and thus to your final result.
Across Years 3 and 4 you can fail a maximum of 30 credits.
How can I get a transcript of my marks so far?
Read http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/graduation/official-documentation/transcripts/ for information.
What is my Hons Avg?
The overall mark for each year of study consists of a weighted average over all 120 credits and it is rounded to one decimal place. The marks for relevant years are combined using the appropriate weighting for your degree programme into an overall average. This quantity, after it is rounded to one decimal place, is often denoted your Hons Avg (short for Honours Average). The initial indication of your class of degree (provided you have met all of the additional requirements, such as passing enough credits) is provided by rounding your Hons Avg to the nearest integer.
What is 'profiling'?
If your Hons Avg is such that you miss a higher classification by no more than 1% (after rounding) you are automatically considered under various profiling rules. In essence, these require counting how many credits you have achieved in a higher class in each of the relevant years of study. There are various rules, which differ from programme to programme, but it is sufficient to satisfy any one of them for the given programme. All of these profiling rules have multiple requirements, with the first of them for any MChem degree being that you must have at least 60 credits at level 7 FHEQ (aka 'level M') in a higher class – in practice, this usually means that your CHEM480 mark needs to be in a higher class.
What happens to my degree result if an application for Extenuating Circumstances has been accepted?
The Extenuating Circumstances Committee will consider whether a higher degree can be recommended than is suggested by your Hons Avg. Without revealing details of the Extenuating Circumstances, that Committee will make recommendations to the External Examiners and to the Board of Examiners as to the class of degree that should be awarded. If an application for Extenuating Circumstances has been accepted for modules that were taken in your Final Year then you retain the option of turning down the class of degree that has been confirmed by the Board of Examiners and, instead, re-sitting/re-taking relevant assessments ‘as a first attempt’. (There is a formal process, typically in July, to inform Student Administration and Support Division that you do not wish to accept the award.)
How late can I make an application for the consideration of Extenuating Circumstances?
You need to submit your claim by the stated deadline so that the Extenuating Circumstances Committee, having examined it carefully, can make appropriate recommendations to the Board of Examiners. If there is good reason why you cannot yet provide independent documentary evidence, you should still submit your claim form on time – it will then be considered when the evidence/documentation becomes available. Note in particular (CoPA M1 9.1): "Extenuating Circumstances which are submitted after the Board of Examiners has met can only be considered if the nature of the extenuating circumstances themselves could be considered to have prevented you from submitting a claim to the Board of Examiners." (There are minor exemptions to this for some resits or if your studies have been terminated because of a lack of progression.) Additionally (CoPA M1 9.1): "You should be aware that a claim cannot be delayed, nor can evidence relating to it be delayed, on the grounds of sensitive personal, family or cultural reasons." Note that the Department has been instructed that "personal anxieties about COVID-19, or because they are a close contact of a clinically vulnerable person, should not be accepted under the Extenuating Circumstances procedures as grounds for being absent from an examination."
Having started Year 4, can I re-sit failed modules from Year 3?
'Students who meet the requirements for progression from Year 3 to Year 4 will be given the opportunity to be re-assessed in failed Year 3 modules once, during, but not beyond, Year 4, at the next sitting.' This would be as an external repeat candidate in January 2022 or May/June 2022, as appropriate. Notice that this is an 'opportunity' – you are not required to re-take those exams and, historically, it has been relatively rare for students to do so. For the purposes of working out the year average or the class of degree, re-sit marks are capped at the pass mark (except for students with 'first attempt' status).
Can I re-sit/re-take any of the Year 4 examinations?
There are two sets of circumstances for which this is possible. The first is if an application for Extenuating Circumstances has been accepted for modules that were taken in Year 4 but you are not happy with the class of degree that has been confirmed by the Board of Examiners. The other is for failed modules if you did not reach the standard required for the award of the MChem degree – probably because you failed too many modules. Eligible students must usually take certain action within 10 days of the formal confirmation of the result by the Board of Examiners. Note that there are normally no August/September re-sit opportunities, but the rules do provide an optional August/September re-sit/re-take opportunity for students who would be taking that exam with 'first attempt' status because of Extenuating Circumstances. Otherwise, under the 'normal' rules, any re-sit opportunity would be as an external repeat candidate in January 2023 or May/June 2023, as appropriate. Notice that this is an 'opportunity' – you are not required to re-take those exams and, historically, it has been relatively rare for students to do so. For the purposes of working out the year average or the class of degree, re-sit marks are capped at the pass mark (except for students with 'first attempt' status).
Have I 'lost' the opportunity to graduate with a BSc if I fail to get the MChem degree or choose not to complete Year 4?
"If students have failed modules worth more than 30 credits they will not be eligible for the award of a Master’s degree, but may be eligible for the award of a Bachelor's degree." (CopA J 2.4.3). All of you on F102, FZBF and F103 programmes (but not FZ61) would automatically be eligible if you could have graduated at the end of Year 3, and the same is of course true if it is you choose not to complete Year 4.
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