University Assessment Regulations, 2009

L.N. 274 of 2009

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

University Assessment Regulations, 2009

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74(5)

and 75(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the

University of Malta has promulgated the following regulations made by

the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred

upon it by articles 75 and 79 of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations shall be cited as the University Assessment

Regulations, 2009.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

“Assessment” means all forms of assessment that are used to award a mark

and/or grade that contributes towards the award of any University qualification. The

method of assessment shall be as prescribed in the Study-Unit description, or in the

regulations or bye-laws of a Non-Modular Course, and may include written

supervised Examinations, oral Examinations, home assignments, whether short or

long essays, dissertations or theses, clinical or practical Examinations, portfolios,

projects, fieldwork, case studies, logbooks, continuous assessment of a placement,

and any other method of assessment approved by Senate;

“Board” means the Board that is directly responsible to Senate for offering a

programme of study;

“Course” means a programme of study leading to a University award; it may

consist of one programme of study or may include a number of programmes of study

in particular areas of study;

“Dean” means the dean of a faculty or the director of an institute or a centre

or of any other academic entity that is directly responsible to Senate for offering a

Course or part thereof;

“Examination” means any assessment, whether written, oral, practical,

clinical, or similar, held under supervision on a set date, at a set time and venue;

“External Examiner” means a senior academic who is an expert in the area of

study being examined and who is not affiliated to the University;

“Faculty” means any faculty or institute or centre or any other academic

entity that is directly responsible to Senate for offering a Course or part thereof;

“Head of Department” means the head of a department or the co-ordinator of

a division or a Course or an area of study, as appropriate;

“Non-Modular Course” means a course not organised on the Study-

Unit/credit system;

“Study-Unit/Unit” means a part of a programme of study carried out upon a

syllabus approved by Senate, to which a specified number of ECTS credits is

assigned, and which is capable of separate assessment; a Study-Unit may take the

form of a series of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical or clinical sessions, field

placements, projects, research work, dissertations, private study, or a combination of

such work, or any other method of teaching; for the purpose of these regulations the

term “Study-Unit” refers also to any part of the syllabus which requires separate

assessment in Non-Modular Courses; and

“Study-Unit Co-ordinator” is appointed for Units taught by more than

one lecturer and means the lecturer responsible for overseeing the Unit and its

assessment; normally a Study-Unit Co-ordinator is the lecturer who delivers the

greater part of a Unit or, when teaching is equally distributed amongst various

lecturers, the most senior lecturer.

(3) Any term used in these regulations which is not defined in paragraph

(2) of this regulation shall, if necessary, be taken to mean as defined in the General

Regulations for University Undergraduate Awards, 2004, published as Legal Notice

127 of 2004.

Applicability

These Regulations shall be applicable with effect from 1 October 2009 for

courses in progress in 2009/2010 and later.

General Provisions

These regulations shall govern all Assessments that contribute towards

any award of the University, excluding awards of the Matriculation and Secondary

Education Certificate Examinations (MATSEC) Board.

The Assessments of the University shall be those prescribed in the

relevant regulations, bye-laws, course plans / programmes or programmes of study,

and each individual Study-Unit description.

(1) Unless in special circumstances and with the approval of the Board,

all students on the same Study-Unit shall be assessed by the same method/s of

assessment. Supplementary Assessments shall normally have the same mode of

assessment as the corresponding first assessment,

provided that

(a) when all the components making up the Assessment are re-assessable,

students shall only be required to re-sit the failed component/s; and

(b) when it is not possible or practical for a failed component of the first

Assessment to be re-assessed, the mark obtained in that component in the first sit

shall be retained and students shall be required to re-sit any other remaining

component/s. If this is not sufficient to ensure an overall pass, students shall

normally need to refer the Study-Unit to the next year, if they are eligible for

conditional progression.

(2) Attendance, whilst normally obligatory, shall not be a component of

any method of assessment.

Administration of Examinations

(1) Examinations, other than viva voce examinations of dissertations and

theses, shall be held on the dates approved by Senate before the commencement of

each academic year, which shall be scheduled as follows

(a)

a period of two weeks at the end of the first semester;

(b) a period of between three and four weeks at the end of the second

semester;

(c) a supplementary session of between one and two weeks at the beginning

of September; and

(d) exceptionally, particularly in evening part-time courses and in distance

learning courses, the Rector, after consultation with the Registrar, may grant

permission for Examinations to be held on other dates.

(2) All Examinations, irrespective of whether the Study-Unit lectures are

held during or after normal hours, shall be held during the periods approved by

Senate from Monday to Saturday, between 8.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m.

(1) The organisation and administration of Examinations shall be the

responsibility of the Registrar, after consultation with the Deans.

(2) The Registrar shall be responsible

(a) for preparing Examination timetables, ensuring that no student is barred

from sitting any Examination because of clashes in the Examination timetables;

(b) for allocating adequate space and providing supervision to ensure proper

conduct of the Examinations; and

(c) jointly with the Deans, for the security of Examination papers and for

this reason may issue procedural guidelines to Faculties.

Where the students have obligations towards the University, such as the

payment of fees or monetary penalties, that are outstanding, the Registrar, after

consultation with the Dean of the Faculty concerned, may direct that

(a) they be excluded from sitting for any Examination; or

(b) the results obtained by them in any Assessment be withheld.

Duration of Written Examinations

(1) When a written Examination weighted 80% or more is indicated as

the main method of assessment of a Study-Unit, Study-Units assigned up to four

credits shall normally be examined by a paper of between one and two hours, Study-

Units assigned five to ten credits shall normally be examined by a paper of either

two or three hours, and Study-Units assigned more than ten credits shall normally be

examined by a paper of either three or four hours, in all cases including reading

time, if any is allowed.

(2) When the Assessment of a Study-Unit includes more than one

component, one of which is a written Examination weighted less than 80%, the

duration of the Examination shall be established taking into account the weighting it

is given towards the award of the credits.

(3) The duration of written Examinations shall be included with the

method of assessment in the Study-Unit description.

(4) The Rector, on the recommendation of the Board and in consultation

with the Registrar, may recommend that Senate approves a different duration for an

Examination if the particular nature of the Examination so merits.

Assignment Submission Dates

(1) The submission date of any work assigned as one of the components

of the Assessment before the end of a Study-Unit shall always be before the date of

the final Assessment of the Study-Unit.

(2) When the last component of the Assessment of a Study-Unit is by a

take-home assignment, the submission date of the assignment shall not be later than

four weeks following the end of the lectures of that Study-Unit.

Language of Assessment

(1) The language of assessment shall be English, except that for areas of

study involving a language or when Senate approves the delivery of a Study-Unit in

Maltese or in any other language, students shall be assessed in that language.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this regulation, a

Board may allow students, for a just and sufficient reason, to present for assessment

work written in any other language after the Board has ascertained, to the

satisfaction of Senate, that all the examiners, including the external examiner, are

sufficiently proficient in that language to be able to assess the work at the same

standard.

(3) Students are expected to bear in mind the necessity for good

expression and orderly presentation in their Examination answers.

Boards of Examiners

(1) There shall be a Board of Examiners for the assessment of each

Study-Unit. The Board of Examiners shall be solely responsible to Senate for

determining the marks to be awarded to each student.

(2) The Board of Examiners shall be appointed by Senate on the

recommendation of the Board and shall be composed of the Head of the Department

academically responsible for the Study-Unit concerned as chairman, the external

examiner when one is appointed, and not less than two other examiners including

the lecturer or the Study-Unit Co-ordinator,

provided that for Boards of Examiners for dissertations and in cases where the Head

of Department is also responsible for the teaching of the Study-Unit, the Head may

delegate the chairmanship.

(1) The Board of Examiners, collectively, shall be responsible for

(a) the preparation of the Assessment to ensure that it meets the

requirements and objectives of the Study-Unit and that it covers the subject content

specified in the Study-Unit description or syllabus; and

(b) the correction of scripts and the moderation and award of the final

marks.

(2) The Chairman shall

(a) ensure that the process of examination is conducted properly and in a

timely manner;

(b) where necessary, engage in discussion with members of the Board of

Examiners with a view to agree the Assessment questions and mark scheme; and

(c) convene a meeting of the Board of Examiners to review and agree

results,

Provided that a Department may agree that the Boards of Examiners of all or of

selected study-units are convened at one meeting during which the results of the

study-units concerned are discussed. In such cases the responsibility of agreeing the

results of each Study-Unit remains solely with the members of the Board of

Examiners appointed for that unit.

(3) The lecturer or Study-Unit Co-ordinator shall be responsible for the

setting of the questions, the mark scheme, and/or any other Assessment criteria as

appropriate,

provided that when a Unit is taught by more than one lecturer, the Study-Unit Co-

ordinator shall be responsible for the production of the Examination paper, including

the gathering of questions from the individual examiners/auxiliary examiners, the

writing of the rubric and all other matters related to the proper production of the

Examination paper.

The Examination process shall include a review procedure as follows

(a) when a paper is set by one or two examiners, another member of the

Board of Examiners, referred to as the reviewer, shall be responsible for ensuring

that the paper and mark scheme are free of error and are of the required standard;

and

(b) when three or more examiners are responsible for the setting of an

Examination paper, and it is not practicable to appoint another member to act solely

as reviewer, the review process shall be conducted by members of the Board of

Examiners so that the questions and associated mark schemes prepared by one

examiner are reviewed by another.

When external examiners are appointed for a written Examination, the

Board of Examiners shall submit the draft Examination paper and mark scheme for

advice. External Examiners may suggest questions of their own.

The Board may appoint auxiliary examiners to assist in Assessment

procedures, including the correction of scripts, or to assist in the continuous

Assessment of Study-Units, or to submit questions on a part of the Study-Unit which

they taught as and where appropriate. Such auxiliary examiners shall not be

considered as members of the Board of Examiners but may be required to participate

in the deliberations of the Board of Examiners but only in so far as they concern

those parts of the Assessment in which they were involved.

Assessment of Work Performed over a Period

(1) In the case of the Assessment of students’ performance over a period

(not assessed through a written Examination or written assignments), such as

placements and other Study-Units involving the assessment of a number of students

over a period, that does not render it possible or practicable for the members of a

Board of Examiners to assess all the students themselves

(a) the Board may appoint as many auxiliary examiners as necessary to

participate in the Assessment;

(b) each student shall be assessed by at least two examiners, whether

members of the Board of Examiners or auxiliary examiners;

(c) individual examiners shall assess students according to the criteria set by

the Board of Examiners to whom they shall be required to submit a report on each

student;

(d) the Board of Examiners may, at its discretion, examine or re-examine

any student; and

(e) final decisions shall be taken by the Board of Examiners after having

considered the reports of the individual examiners and provided that any student

declared to have failed would have been seen by at least two of the members of the

Board of Examiners, normally including the External Examiner if one is appointed.

(2) The Board of Examiners shall be convened

(a) during the latter half of each assessment session to consider the progress

of students and take appropriate action in terms of the relevant provisions of this

regulation; and

(b) after the end of the assessment session to agree on the final results.

Oral Assessments and any other forms of Assessment that do not permit

later review shall always be conducted by at least two members of the Board of

Examiners. The Board of Examiners shall keep a written record of the proceedings

briefly describing each student’s performance.

Assessment of Dissertations

In the case of Study-Units involving the writing of a dissertation or

similar, Senate shall appoint a Board of Examiners for each student. The Head of

the Department concerned or his delegate shall be appointed chairman of the Board

of Examiners. The chairman shall ensure that appropriate Assessment criteria and

procedures are used in the Assessment of dissertations.

External Examiners

(1) The Senate shall normally appoint External Examiners, either on a

visiting or a non-visiting basis, for programmes of study in degree Courses. When

appointed, External Examiners shall be members of each Board of Examiners of

compulsory final year Study-Units of an undergraduate programme of study, or of a

subject in a Non-Modular Course, and also members of the Award Classification

Board of the Course that includes the programme of study for which they are

appointed External Examiners.

(2) As members of the Board of Examiners of a Study-Unit, External

Examiners shall

(a) together with the Board of Examiners, approve Examination papers and

mark schemes, and all other Assessment exercises, procedures and practices in

relation to that Study-Unit;

(b) whenever deemed necessary, see the assessed work of students on

compulsory first semester Study-Units of the final year; and

(c) moderate the results of all compulsory final year Study-Units assessed at

the end of the last semester,

provided that when the number of students is too large, it shall be sufficient

for the External Examiner to moderate the Examination by seeing a reasonable

sample of the assessed work, including examination scripts from the top, the middle

and the bottom of the ability range and including work of borderline students.

(1) External Examiners, normally non-visiting, shall be appointed for the

examination of any postgraduate dissertation, to which 30 ECTS credits or more are

assigned.

(2) Visiting External Examiners shall always be appointed for the

examination of doctoral students.

(3) External Examiners shall be appointed to render service on a year to

year basis, for up to a maximum of three years.

The formal notification of appointment and the invitation to visit the

University shall be issued by the Registrar.

(1) External Examiners shall be invited to submit a report directly to the

Rector regarding the session of Examinations in which they participated and

including any observations and comments they may consider opportune to make on

any aspect of the programme of study as a whole.

(2) The Rector shall forward a copy of the report, or extracts thereof, to

the Dean and the Head of Department concerned.

(3) Copies of the External Examiners’ reports shall be kept at the Faculty

and shall be made available for quality assurance purposes as well as to External

Examiners appointed later.

Procedures for Boards of Examiners

(1) Subject to the provisions of these regulations and to any directions

given by Senate, Boards of Examiners shall determine the procedures to be adopted

for the conduct of the Assessment.

(2) Boards of Examiners shall strive to reach decisions by consensus.

(3) If there is disagreement among the examiners, they shall make

every attempt to resolve the matter on the basis of detailed argument about the

specific academic points arising from the Assessment in order to reach a common

decision. If no agreement can be reached, the matter shall be referred to the Dean

concerned who shall attempt to resolve the matter by mediation. If no consensual

agreement can be reached, a decision shall be taken by a majority vote and be so

recorded in the final report,

provided that any dissenting member may submit a minority report giving reasons

for the disagreement.

(4) No examiner shall be at liberty to abstain from voting.

(5) If an External Examiner is unable to take part in the final

deliberations of the Board of Examiners, it shall be lawful for the other members of

the Board of Examiners to proceed to a preliminary decision in his absence, which

decision shall be communicated to him. If the External Examiner registers

disagreement with this decision, the chairman of the Board of Examiners shall

include the External Examiner’s decision in his report or attach the External

Examiner’s minority report if one is submitted.

(6) Each member of the Board of Examiners shall be required to sign

the final report and/or the Study-Unit result sheet,

provided that, where it is not possible to obtain the signature of all the

examiners, the chairman shall make a statement to that effect.

(7) The chairman of the Board of Examiners shall submit the report or

the Study-Unit result sheet to the Registrar, who, if the decision is unanimous, shall

proceed to publish the results and shall include them in the students’ academic

record. If a report includes a minority report by one or more of the examiners, the

Registrar shall submit it to the Rector who shall either accept the majority decision

or refer the matter for the consideration of Senate,

provided that where an External Examiner has submitted a minority report the

matter shall always be referred to Senate. Senate shall either accept the majority

report, or appoint an additional examiner or examiners, or a new Board of

Examiners to resolve the matter.

Members of Boards of Examiners shall treat as confidential everything

connected with their proceedings.

In the case of written Examinations, examiners shall be available to

clarify any matter pertaining to an examination but shall not normally visit the

Examination venue.

Eligibility of Examiners

(1) No person shall be appointed as a member of a Board of Examiners,

as an auxiliary examiner or as a reviewer of any Assessment if

(a) he is related to a student by consanguinity or by affinity to the third

degree inclusive; or

(b) he has been, at any time during the academic year to which the

Examination refers, a guardian of a student.

(2) The Rector, after consultation with the Dean of the Faculty

concerned, shall appoint another examiner in place of the member who is so

disqualified.

(3) If, prior to the commencement or during the progress of an

Examination, the Rector is satisfied that a member of a Board of Examiners is

unable to perform or to continue to perform his duties, the Rector shall, after

consultation with the Dean of the Faculty concerned, appoint another examiner in

place of that member,

Provided that, in the case of an oral Examination, or a clinical Assessment, or

similar Examinations, the Board of Examiners may act in the absence of one of its

members who is unable to be present as long as any such Assessment is conducted

by at least two examiners.

(4) Where the examiner who is replaced is the chairman of the Board of

Examiners, the Rector shall appoint a new chairman and such substitute examiners

as may be necessary. The substitute chairman shall be the head of another

department within the same Faculty or a lecturer from the department concerned.

Absence from Examinations or Non-Submission of Assignments

(1) When students are absent from Examinations held in either January

or May/June for a reason that Senate considers valid, they shall be allowed to take

the missed Examination/s in the September Supplementary Session as a first sit.

(2) When the mode of assessment is by assignment, and there are

reasons for non-submission which the Board considers valid, students shall be

allowed an extension of the deadline by a maximum of three weeks, or if this is not

sufficient because of their circumstances, they shall be allowed to submit the

assignment at the first practicable opportunity, but not later than the end of the

September supplementary session.

(1) When students do not obtain all the requirements to proceed regularly

to the following year, having been absent for a valid reason in a September

supplementary session, or having failed an Examination sat in September as a first

sit, they shall progress conditionally, if eligible, and be assessed in the following

academic year.

(2) When final year undergraduate students are absent for a valid reason

in the September supplementary session, or fail an Examination sat in September as

a first sit, they shall sit the missed or failed Examination at the first opportunity in an

extended year of study. When an Examination is not due to be held during the next

twelve months, Senate may approve the holding of that Examination at any of the

regular Examination sessions in the next academic year.

When the reason brought forward is not considered sufficient to justify

the absence or non-submission, students shall be deemed to have failed the

Assessment and shall receive a mark of 0.

Students are bound to follow any procedure for the notification of

absence from Examinations issued by the Office of the Registrar from time to time.

Conduct of Students during Examinations

Students shall be admitted to the examination venue ten minutes before

the start of the Examination, or as deemed appropriate by the invigilator, and they

shall be seated as directed.

(1) Students may be required to place their national or University

identification card on the desk in the examination venue for the duration of the

Examination. Invigilators may, when they have reason to believe that there is cause

to do so, require students to produce further proof of identity.

(2) Students who are not able to provide acceptable proof of identity

may be permitted to continue the Examination provided that they undertake to

produce verification of their identity within a reasonable period, normally on the

same day of the Examination. If verification is not provided, the matter shall be

referred to the Assessment Disciplinary Board that shall, as a minimum, annul the

particular Assessment and assign a mark of 0, unless the students are able to prove

that they were prevented from complying with this regulation for a reason beyond

their control.

(1) Students shall not be allowed into an examination venue after the

first half an hour of the Examination unless the invigilator can confirm that no other

student has already left the examination venue/s, either temporarily or permanently.

(2) When students are allowed to enter the examination venue after the

commencement of the Examination in terms of paragraph (1) of this regulation, they

shall not be given additional time to make up for the time lost because of their

arriving late, unless in special circumstances arrangements have been approved in

advance by the Registrar.

Students shall not be allowed to leave the examination venue whether

temporarily or permanently, during the first half an hour and during the last ten

minutes of an Examination.

(1) Students may be allowed to leave the examination venue temporarily

after half an hour from the start of an Examination and before the last ten minutes of

an Examination, provided they are duly supervised during the temporary absence;

normally not more than one student shall be allowed to leave the examination venue

at any one time.

(2) Students may not be re-admitted to the examination venue after they

have left it, unless during the period of absence they have been under approved

supervision.

Students are required to write all answers and rough work on the

stationery provided by the University. Answers must be written legibly. Examiners

may be permitted by the Board of Examiners not to mark work that is reasonably

considered illegible.

When the invigilator announces the end of the Examination, students

shall

(a) stop writing immediately; and

(b) remain seated in silence until permitted to leave the examination venue

by the invigilator.

(1) Students shall not

(a) during any Examination

(i) introduce or cause to be introduced into the examination venue, any

books, dictionaries, notes or any other printed or written matter or any other form of

recorded matter, any blank paper or any blank recording material, any pencil case or

similar receptacle, any electronic device for mathematical calculations or any

electronic data processor other than those which the examiners have expressly

permitted to be taken into that particular Examination and so indicated in the

question paper rubric, and any means of communication such as mobile phones,

Provided that students may be allowed by the invigilator to leave their personal

belongings, including coats and bags, in a place designated for this purpose at the

examination venue, and

Provided that visiting students who are not registered on a Course leading to an

award of this University may request and be granted permission to use a bi-lingual,

English / native language dictionary during an Examination; English only

dictionaries shall not be allowed;

(ii) allow another person/s to take an Examination in their stead or take

an Examination in lieu of another person (impersonification);

(iii) directly or indirectly give or seek to give assistance to, or seek to

obtain or accept assistance from, any other student;

(iv) by any improper means whatever obtain, or seek to obtain,

advantage in the Examination, or give or endeavour to give assistance to other

students, such as by having or seeking access to unauthorized information or

material or by copying or attempting to copy from, or by communicating or

attempting to communicate with any other person during the time appointed for an

Examination;

(v)

write anywhere other than on the stationery provided by the

University;

(vi) write their name on any part of the examination book or make any

other mark thereon calculated to disclose their identity to an examiner, except when

specifically directed to write their name in a space provided for the purpose;

(vii) remove examination books or parts thereof from the examination

venue;

(viii) act in any way as to disturb other students taking an Examination,

in which case the Registrar or his delegate may order the student to leave the

premises where the Examination is being held;

(ix) communicate with any other student in an examination venue, prior

to, during, or at the end of the Examination on any matter or in any way whatsoever;

(x) disobey the directions of the invigilator/s; and

(xi) enter or leave the examination venue without the permission of the

examination invigilator as indicated in these regulations;

(b) in any form of Assessment

(i) engage in plagiarism - defined as the unacknowledged use, as one’s

own, of work of another person, whether or not such work has been published, and

as may be further elaborated in Faculty or University guidelines;

(ii) submit work or part thereof that has been submitted by the student

himself or by any other student, for the Assessment of another Study-Unit, unless,

when submitting part of one’s own work that had previously been submitted, prior

permission is obtained from the examiner and the insertion is clearly indicated;

(iii) allow another student to submit one’s own work for Assessment as

the other student’s own work;

(iv) make false declarations in connection with any work submitted for

Assessment;

(c) in a practicum, clinical placement, field placement, or similar, fail to

inform the examiners of one’s own absence or by any means attempt to cover up for

one’s own or anyone else’s absence;

(d) in any Assessment, collude with other students to cover one’s own or

other students’ breach of these regulations; and

(e) in any Assessment, by any means act in any way that may be reasonably

considered by the Assessment Disciplinary Board to constitute an act of cheating, or

an attempt at cheating or an act intended to assist others to cheat in an Assessment.

(2) Students shall abide by any other additional instructions as may be

applicable to particular Examinations due to their specific nature.

(3) Students shall not submit false claims for special arrangements in

an Assessment intended to gain an unfair advantage.

When students are alleged to have committed a breach of any of the

provisions in regulation 39, a report shall be made in writing to the Registrar, and

such reports shall be referred to the Assessment Disciplinary Board appointed by

Senate.

(1) Cases of alleged plagiarism in work submitted for Study-Units to

which less than 8 credits are assigned shall be investigated by a Faculty Assessment

Disciplinary Board, composed of the Dean of the Faculty or his delegate, the Head

of Department and the lecturer responsible for the Unit.

(2) When plagiarism is established to have occurred, the Faculty

Assessment Disciplinary Board shall

(a) in the case of plagiarism deemed to be minor, being the student’s first

offence, cancel the result of the Assessment or of the relevant Assessment

component if applicable, and award a mark of 0; and

(b) in the case of plagiarism deemed to be major, or if minor, being the

student’s second or subsequent offence, refer the case to the Assessment

Disciplinary Board.

(3) If plagiarism is detected after the result of a study-unit has been

published or after an award has been conferred, the Assessment Disciplinary Board

may direct that the result of the Study-Unit be annulled and/or that the award be

withdrawn.

(4) The Assessment Disciplinary Board may give direction and more

guidelines to Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Boards on procedures to be used in

such cases.

Assessment Disciplinary Board

The Assessment Disciplinary Board shall be composed of

the Rector or his delegate, as Chairman

the Registrar, as Vice-Chairman

an academic member appointed by Senate

the Head of the Department responsible for the Study-Unit concerned, and

a student appointed from among the students’ representatives on Senate.

The Assessment Disciplinary Board shall have the power to summon

before it

(a) a student against whom a complaint has been made; and

(b) for the purpose of giving evidence at any hearing, any student, any

invigilator, and any academic or administrative member of staff of the University.

(1) The Assessment Disciplinary Board shall impose penalties in cases

where it is established that a breach of the regulations has been committed.

(2) Penalties shall differ in severity depending on the extent and nature

of the breach of these regulations as ascertained by the Assessment Disciplinary

Board, previous instances of cheating by the student, and any extenuating

circumstances.

(3) Penalties that may be applied by the Assessment Disciplinary Board

include any one or more of the following

(a) oral or written reprimand;

(b) imposition of a fine not exceeding €150;

(c) reduction of the mark for the specific Assessment component down to,

and including, the mark of zero with or without the possibility of a reassessment. If

reassessment is allowed, students shall be eligible to not more than a mark of 45% in

that component;

(d) reduction of the overall mark for the Study-Unit down to and including

the mark of zero with or without the possibility of a reassessment. If reassessment is

allowed, students shall be eligible to not more than a mark of 45%;

(e) cancellation of all, or of a number of successfully completed Study-Units

taken during the same semester, with the cancelled Study-Units to be assessed as a

first sit at the next available opportunity when any mark not higher than the original

can be obtained;

(f) failure in the year as a whole with the possibility to repeat the year only

if eligible in terms of the regulations or bye-laws governing the Course;

(g) reduction in the classification of the degree;

(h) suspension of studies of up to one academic year; during the period of

suspension the student’s right to enter or remain on any property or premises of the

University may be limited or totally withheld;

(i) expulsion from the University; a student who has been expelled

may only be allowed readmission with the permission of Senate that can only be

granted after the lapse of three years from the date of the expulsion; and

(j) any one or more of the penalties listed above suspended for the

duration of the student’s studies at the University and conditional to the student not

being found guilty of a breach of these regulations a subsequent time.

(4) A record of any offence and the penalty imposed shall be kept by the

University but, except when the penalty is expulsion from the University, or forced

withdrawal from a course, or withholding of a University award, or suspension from

the University for three years or more, shall not be included in the student’s

transcript of academic record or divulged to a third party without the express

permission of the student.

Students accused of a breach of the provisions of these regulations have

the right to be heard and to bring any witnesses in their defence,

provided that students who fail to appear before the Assessment Disciplinary Board

without justification shall be deemed to have renounced the right to be heard.

Decisions taken by the Assessment Disciplinary Board shall have

immediate effect but all decisions taken are to be communicated to Senate at its first

meeting following the taking of any decision.

Senate may, in special circumstances, recommend that the Assessment

Disciplinary Board reviews decisions taken.

Revision of Assessment Results

(1) Subject to the provisions of any relevant regulations or to any

procedural guidelines, including the payment of fees, made by the appropriate

University authority, a student may, not later than two weeks from the publication of

the result of the Assessment, request that an examination paper or any other work

submitted for Assessment be reviewed for the purpose of ascertaining that no error

was made in the award of marks. Students may additionally request that the

decision of the revision be elaborated in a detailed report.

(2) The academic judgement of the original examiner/s is not

reviewable by the academic conducting the revision and a recommendation to alter

the result can only be made if the change can be justified by objective criteria.

The revision shall be undertaken in the first instance by an examiner

appointed by Senate and who had not participated in the marking of the original

paper.

If the examiner conducting the revision is in agreement with the

published result, the examiner shall draw up a report and submit it to the Registrar,

through the Dean of the Faculty responsible for the Unit, for onward transmission to

the student, if the student has requested a written report in addition to a decision.

If the examiner conducting the revision is of the opinion that there are

objective grounds for changing the result either upwards or downwards, the

examiner shall communicate the findings to the chairman of the Board of

Examiners, who shall convene a meeting of the Board of Examiners, including the

examiner who conducted the revision, to discuss the relevant part of the paper. The

Board of Examiners shall follow mutatis mutandis the procedures outlined in

regulations 24 and 25.

When a written report is requested by the student, the report of the

examiner conducting the revision shall inform the student about the quality of his

performance in each item from the set comprising the Assessment.

If after revision, a change in the result, whether upwards or downwards,

is found to be necessary, all records, including the final classification, shall be

amended accordingly. Any fee paid in connection with the request for revision shall

be refunded if the change in the marks changes the grade from a fail to a pass.

Nothing in these regulations prevents students from discussing

Assessment questions, including the type of answers expected, with the lecturer

and/or the Head of Department concerned. Such consultation is not a prerequisite,

nor can it be used to extend the time limit provided for in regulation 48 (1).

An appeal which questions the academic or professional judgement of

those charged by Senate with the responsibility for assessing students’ academic

performance or professional competence shall not be permitted.

Provisions for Students with a Disability

Assessment arrangements may be made for students with a disability to

enable them to perform to the best of their ability and to be assessed,

provided that such students do not gain undue advantage from such assistance, and

provided that the integrity and academic standards of the Assessments are not

thereby jeopardised. Such arrangements will be made in line with the guidelines for

access arrangements that may be approved by Senate from time to time.

Students with a disability should make their needs known to the

University at the earliest opportunity, normally at the beginning of their course or of

each academic year as appropriate, to allow adequate time for consideration of their

needs and eventually for appropriate arrangements to be made. Prospective

University applicants should make their needs known to the University six months

prior to their submitting their application.

The request for access Examination arrangements, or access

arrangements for other Assessments, shall be made in writing to the Registrar,

through the Registrar’s representative in the Faculty, and shall include the necessary

supporting evidence provided by a specialist in the relative field.

Upon receiving a request for access Examination arrangements, the

Registrar shall refer the request for the advice of the University’s disability support

committee that shall examine the request and shall make its recommendations to the

Registrar, if need be after having interviewed the student and requested any further

information or evidence as the committee may require.

It shall be legitimate for the University’s disability support committee to

request an assessment of the student making the request by a specialist nominated by

the committee.

The recommendations of the University’s disability support committee,

together with the supporting evidence, shall be sent to the Registrar who shall

normally proceed to ensure that the recommended access arrangements are made.

If, for any reason, the Registrar is not able to act upon a recommendation, the matter

shall be referred to Senate for a final decision.

Senate may review a

recommendation by the University’s disability support committee if it is referred to

it by the Registrar, or by the Board of Examiners concerned.

When Senate considers it appropriate, the access arrangements shall be

subject to the students’ transcript of their academic record being endorsed as

follows

“Access arrangements were made to enable the student to be

assessed. Details may be obtained from the Registrar.”

In cases of temporary disability, the Registrar may proceed to grant a

request for access arrangements if he is satisfied that the case so merits, and after

seeking advice as may be deemed necessary.

Requests by students for access arrangements due to a temporary

disability, when the possibility exists of postponing the Assessment to the next

session, shall be treated sympathetically but the granting of the request, even when

the request is justified, shall not be considered a right of the student. In such cases,

if access arrangements are granted, the expenses associated with such access

arrangements shall be borne by the student.

Repeal

The University Examinations Regulations, 1997, published as Legal

Notice 181 of 1997, and amended by Legal Notices 30 of 1998 and 201 of 2002

shall be deemed to cease to be in force as from the 30 September 2009,

Provided that assessments pertaining to the academic year 2008/2009 shall be

regulated by these regulations, and provided that any reference to the University

Examinations Regulations in any statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the

University shall be taken to refer to these new regulations

€1.86