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The Form and Timing of Examinations
All modules are examined at the end of the semester in which they are taught. The University Regulations define "examination" as a process of assessment (whether by written examination papers, written or practical assignments, continuous assessment of coursework, or other means) which enables the Examiners to return a grade. You will find that different methods of examination are used in different modules The method of assessment will always be stated in the objectives handed out at the beginning of a module.
If you are unable to attend the final examination in any module, it is very important that you contact the Department BEFORE the examination and explain the situation. If you could have informed the Department in advance, but failed to do so, any evidence of special circumstances will be ignored and a fail grade or ‘NC’ will be returned.
A calculator may be helpful in many exams, and will sometimes be essential. Note that you must have your calculator individually approved by SSiD according to instructions on the SSiD website at https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/exams/equipment. You should do this by mid December for the Autumn Semester examinations and mid May for the Spring Semester Examinations.
The University will publish a Draft Examination Timetable towards the end of the teaching period in each semester. Following a period to allow students to check for clashes or other problems, a Final Examination Timetable will be published shortly before the relevant examination period. Note that it is not unusual for dates and times of some examinations in the Final Examination Timetable to differ from those shown in the Draft Examination Timetable. It is your responsibility to check your examination details in both timetables.
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If you are late for an exam (after 30 minutes) or you miss an exam you must contact MBB (0114 222 2722) immediately. If you cannot get through to MBB you should report to the Exams Team, Registry Services, Level 6, Students' Union.
If you are prevented by illness from completing an examination then, provided you present appropriate medical evidence, you will be not assessed for the module. This means that you can take the examination at the next available exam period. This is normally August for Level 1 and 2 examinations. Every effort will be made to allow students to take missing Level 3 examinations as a first attempt in the August exam period, but it may be necessary to defer these to the normal exam period in the next academic year.
In all cases where illness is a factor, full medical evidence will be required.
If you are ill before or during an examination you should ensure that Dr Baker or one of the Year Tutors is made aware of this, and you should provide a medical certificate as soon as possible. If you claim to have been ill during an examination a substantial time after the event, it will not be possible to take this into account.
If you are prevented by illness from completing a substantial part of the examinations for a degree, and it is clear from work already done that you would have passed the examinations, but it is impossible to determine an appropriate class for the degree, you can be awarded an Aegrotat Degree. An Aegrotat Degree is unclassified.
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First Year: first year re-sit examinations will be held in August for both Semester 1 and Semester 2 modules. If you fail to obtain the necessary credits to proceed into second year after this second attempt at the examinations, you will be allowed one more attempt in the following academic year. You may choose to repeat the failed modules internally (i.e. attend the teaching sessions and the examination) or externally (i.e. attend only the examination). You will normally retain any credits that you are awarded in the first two attempts at the First Year examination.
The Faculty may permit a student who has failed part of the Level 1 examination to repeat the whole year as an internal student with attendance. In such cases, although all the original grades will be retained in University records, only the new grades will be taken into account at the end of the repeated year. It is important that students are aware of the consequences of this arrangement, if permitted, since there is no guarantee that all grades will be improved during the repeated year.
Second Year: second year re-sit examinations will be held in August for both Semester 1 and Semester 2 modules. You will not normally be allowed any further re-sit attempts.
Third Year: there will be no re-sit examinations for third year modules in August. If you are not awarded a degree as a result of failing third year modules, you will be required to be re-examined for a pass degree in the following academic year, at either the end of the first or second semester as appropriate. You will be allowed only one re-sit for failed third year modules.
For students that have been Not Assessed for a third year module due to extenuating circumstances, the department will endeavour to schedule exams during the August period, but this might not always be possible.
If you re-sit an examination and pass you will be awarded a bare pass grade for that examination of 40 on the 100-point scale; if you fail the resit examination and obtain a lower grade than in your first attempt, the grade achieved on the first attempt will supersede that achieved in the resit.
If you’re unable to attend an exam anytime during the year (excluding Sundays) due to religious reasons (e.g. Sabbath, Festival, Friday Prayers etc.), you must complete a Request for Religious Observance Form by 30th October each year.
www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/exams/observance
If you’re a Muslim student fasting during Ramadan, we expect you to continue with normal work and study. To discuss an individual situation please contact the Muslim chaplain: m.ismail@sheffield.ac.uk