Key to the grades used on transcripts produced by UCL ..., Exercises of English

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TAUGHT PROGRAMMES AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ACCOMPANY TRANSCRIPTS FOR AFFILIATE STUDENTS This leaflet contains the following information:  Key to the grades used on transcripts produced by UCL  Marking Scheme and Information on the interpretation of grades/credits for overseas students  A description of Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland KEY TO GRADES Grade Used Explanation AB / AZ Absent DA Deferred Assessment CX Result not expected due to Covid-19 EP Deferral of Assessment already attempted EX Result Excluded from Final Classification F / F1 / F3 Fail FC Failure Condoned FQ / FZ Failure to Qualify IR Result not yet available (Exam Irregularity) NX Result not expected P Pass FC Pass Condoned WH Result Withheld ZZ Ineligible for Assessment MARKING SCHEME The significance of marks is as follows: Affiliate students are not conferred their final awards by UCL but the following table is provided as a guide to grades. Mark Grade equivalent Classification (if were being awarded) 70-100 A First Class Honours 60-69 B Second Class Honours (Upper Division) 50-59 C Second Class Honours (Lower Division) 40-49 D Third Class Honours 0-39 Fail For MSci / MEng students, a pass mark of 50% will apply to any Masters Level modules (normally taken in the fourth year of study). Description of Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland In England, Wales and Northern Ireland1, higher education institutions are independent, self-governing bodies active in teaching, research and scholarship. They are established by Royal Charter or legislation and most are part-funded by government. Higher education (HE) is provided by many different types of institution. In addition to universities and university colleges, whose charters and statutes are made through the Privy Council which advises the Queen on the granting of Royal Charters and incorporation of universities, there are a number of publiclydesignated and autonomous institutions within the higher education sector. Publicly funded higher education provision is available in some colleges of further education by the authority of another duly empowered institution. Teaching to prepare students for the award of higher education qualifications can be conducted in any higher education institution and in some further education colleges. Degree awarding powers and the title ‘university’ All universities and many higher education colleges have the legal power to develop their own courses and award their own degrees, as well as determine the conditions on which they are awarded. Some HE colleges and specialist institutions without these powers offer programmes, with varying extents of devolved authority, leading to the degrees of an institution which does have them. All universities in existence before 2005 have the power to award degrees on the basis of completion of taught courses and the power to award research degrees. From 2005, institutions in England and Wales that award only taught degrees (‘first’ and ‘second cycle’) and which meet certain numerical criteria, may also be permitted to use the title ‘university’. Higher education institutions that award only taught degrees but which do not meet the numerical criteria may apply to use the title ‘university college’, although not all choose to do so. All of these institutions are subject to the same regulatory quality assurance and funding requirements as universities; and all institutions decide for themselves which students to admit and which staff to appoint. Degrees and other higher education qualifications are legally owned by the awarding institution, not by the state. The names of institutions with their own degree awarding powers (“Recognised Bodies”) are available for download at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees/index.cfm?fuseaction =institutes.list&InstituteCategoryID=1 Higher education institutions, further education colleges and other organisations able to offer courses leading to a degree of a Recognised Body are listed by the English, Welsh and Northern Irish authorities, and are known as “Listed Bodies”. View the list at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees/index.cfm?fuseaction =institutes.list&InstituteCategoryID=2 Qualifications The types of qualifications awarded by higher education institutions at sub-degree and undergraduate (first cycle) and postgraduate level (second and third cycles) are described in the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ). This also includes qualification descriptors that were developed with the HE sector by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA - established in 1997 as an independent UK-wide body to monitor the standard of higher education provision - www.qaa.ac.uk). The FHEQ was self-certified as compatible with the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area, the qualifications framework adopted as part of the Bologna Process, in February 2009. Foundation degrees, designed to create intermediate awards strongly oriented towards specific employment opportunities, were introduced in 2001. In terms of the European Higher Education Area they are “short cycle” qualifications within the first cycle. The FHEQ is one component of the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW). The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Wales (DCELLS) and the Council for Curriculum Examination and Assessment, Northern Ireland (CCEA) have established the Qualifications and Credit Framework (to replace, in time, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)). These authorities regulate a number of professional, statutory and other awarding bodies which control VET and general qualifications at all levels. The QCF is also incorporated into the CQFW. There is a close association between the levels of the FHEQ and the NQF (as shown overleaf), and other frameworks of the UK and Ireland (see ‘Qualifications can cross Boundaries’ http://www.qaa.ac.uk/standardsandquality/otherrefpoints/Qualsbou ndaries09.pdf) Quality Assurance Academic standards are established and maintained by higher education institutions themselves using an extensive and sophisticated range of shared quality assurance approaches and structures. Standards and quality in institutions are underpinned by the universal use of external examiners, a standard set of indicators and other reports, by the activities of the QAA, and in professional areas by relevant professional, statutory and regulatory bodies. This ensures that institutions meet national expectations described in the FHEQ: subject benchmark statements, the Code of Practice and programme specifications. QAA conducts peer-review based audits and reviews of higher education institutions with the opportunity for subject-based review as the need arises. The accuracy and adequacy of quality-related information published by the higher education institutions is also reviewed. QAA also reviews publicly funded higher education provision in further education colleges. 1 The UK has a system of devolved government, including for higher education, to Scotland, to Wales and to Northern Ireland. This description is approved by the High Level Policy Forum which includes representatives of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Scotland and Wales, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Universities UK (UUK), GuildHE and the National Recognition Information Centre for the UK (UK NARIC). Credit Systems Most higher education institutions in England and Northern Ireland belong to one of several credit consortia and some operate local credit accumulation and transfer systems for students moving between programmes and/or institutions. A framework of national guidelines, the Higher Education Credit Framework for England, was launched in 2008. Credit is also an integral part of the CQFW and the QCF. It may be possible for credit awarded in one framework to be recognised by education providers whose qualifications sit within a different framework. HE credit systems in use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are compatible with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) for accumulation and transfers within the European Higher Education Area, and are used to recognise learning gained by students in institutions elsewhere in Europe. Admission The most common qualification for entry to higher education is the General Certificate of Education at ‘Advanced’ (A) level. Other appropriate NQF level 3 qualifications and the kite-marked Access to HE Diploma may also provide entry to HE. Level 3 qualifications in the CQFW, including the Welsh Baccalaureate, also provide entry, as do Scottish Highers, Advanced Highers or qualifications at the same levels of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Part-time and mature students may enter HE with these qualifications or alternatives with evidenced equivalent prior formal and/or experiential learning. Institutions will admit students whom they believe to have the potential to complete their programmes successfully.