Repeating a year of study
Some questions you might have about resit examinations…
- I think my son or daughter needs to repeat a year in order to retake some exams…what should they do?
- My son or daughter is resitting level 2 or level 3 modules …
- My son or daughter is resitting level 3 or 4 (their final year) … is this different to level 1 or 2?
I think my son or daughter needs to repeat a year in order to retake some exams…what should they do?
If your son or daughter needs to repeat a year in order to retake modules again they should first of all speak to their academic department to ensure this is the appropriate course of action for them.
There are 3 ways of repeating a year:
• Repeating externally ie called repeating without attendance – A student will only pay to retake the assessment for the module they failed previously (take an examination and/or submit coursework) at the appropriate time, without attending lectures or any other classes. If this is what your son or daughter decides to do, this process is not carried out by the TPO, but is administered by the Examinations Office (another part of Student Services). Your son or daughter should be able to register for external resits online via the Re-examination / Re-assessment web page; they will also get instructions on how to do this when they get their examination results online.
• Repeating as an internal student ie repeating by attending classes - If your son or daughter decides to retake exams, or submit coursework, but wants the support gained by attending lectures, tutorials and other services offered by their department, they will be resitting internally and they need to be a fully registered student. For this, a Change of Status form will need to be completed, with the help of your son or daughter’s department. The form is obtained from the Student Services Information Desk (SSID) or online. There are also instructions on how to fill the form in from that web page.
Your son or daughter will need to ensure the Change of Status form contains clear details of the modules to be repeated, and is signed by the relevant academic department(s) offering the module(s). Once the form has been signed by their department, your son or daughter should attend the Repeat Study Event held by Student Services each September, and bring along their signed form. They will see details of this event when they get their results in July and September. At the event your son or daughter can register for the new academic year.
If your son or daughter is funded by the Student Finance England (SFE) (sometimes known as the Student Loans Company) TPO will inform the SFE of their intention to repeat the year.
• Repeating the whole year – If your son or daughter is a first year student they can repeat the whole year again as if they were a new student - referred to as ‘wiping the slate clean’. This will require Faculty approval (sought by TPO on the student’s behalf), so they should talk this option through with staff in their department, for example a personal tutor, as the department will need to agree that this is a suitable option.
A Change of Status form will need to be completed by students ‘wiping the slate clean’, with the help of their department. Your son or daughter can obtain a Change of Status form from the Student Services Information Desk (SSiD) or online.
| TIP: Your son or daughter should contact the Student Finance England (sometimes known as the Student Loans Company) before deciding on how they are going to repeat the year to check how this may affect their funding. |
My son or daughter is resitting level 2 or level 3 modules …
All resit results are capped, which means the maximum grade a student can achieve when retaking a module is 40, known as a “bare pass”. If your son or daughter is on level two (2nd year of their degree programme) or above, even if they achieve a grade of 80 in their resit, the grade reflected on their university record for that module would be 40 - which will contribute to the overall classification of their degree.
Similarly, if your son or daughter obtained a "conceded pass" at level 2 (a year end result given at the discretion of the department which means they can go onto the next year even though they have not passed everything) it is still worth considering retaking modules they haven’t passed, as their final degree classification will be based on their performance across Level 2 and 3 (and level 4 in certain cases). Low grades from failed modules could bring down the average grade and therefore, potentially, the degree classification; whereas a pass at 40 might raise the average up.
My son or daughter is resitting level 3 or 4 (their final year) … is this different to level 1 or 2?
On 3 and 4 year courses:
Your son or daughter will need 240 credits at level 2 & 3 (120 per level); or if they are a 4 year course, 360 credits at level 2, 3 & 4 (120 per level) to automatically receive an honours degree. The classification of a degree is based on the grades achieved in each module on years 2 and 3 (or 2, 3 and 4 on a 4 year course).
If a student hasn’t been awarded a degree, for example if their final year end result is Fail (Final), because of failing too many Level 2 or 3 (or 4) modules, they can retake failed modules on one further occasion in the following year (not in August), but they will only be eligible for a Pass degree.
Further information is available online regarding a student progressing from one year to the next.