Exams & Assessments

• You will either have to resit the exam or repeat the module in one of the next trimesters.

• Starting in the new Academic Year 2023, the fee to resit an exam has been abolished. However, the cost to repeat an entire module is still €230 per module.

• If you are unsure whether you will be resiting an exam or repeating the module please check the ‘What happens if I fail?’ section in your module descriptor on Brightspace.

• To register to any repeat or resit modules log into SISWeb, click on ‘My Registration’, and click on the ‘Repeats’ section under module registration.

For more detailed information click HERE

If you can’t attend an exam due to an unforeseen situation such as a serious illness you should apply for the extenuating circumstances procedure through Sisweb. This applies for all examinations, both in-person and online.

The UCD exam hall is located in the Simmonscourt RDS Exam Hall

• You can bring a water bottle, a clear pencil case, and a calculator if needed into the exam hall.

• To sit your exam you need to bring your UCard with you.

• The exam regulations have been updated to include the following prohibition on the use of all electronic devices during exams, including smart watches;

"The use or attempted use of any other electronic device is strictly prohibited during an examination or in the examination hall and is a serious breach of discipline.

The use or attempted use of any electronic device that holds, receives or transmits data including but not necessarily limited to mobile phones and smart watches (unless the use of this device is specifically confirmed by UCD Access and Lifelong Learning through a Needs Assessment prior to the exams, for reasons such as medical) is strictly prohibited during an examination or in the examination hall and is a serious breach of discipline.)"

Students will receive an email with a link to their own results. You will only be able to access your results via this link when you can then gain access to them by logging into your SISWeb and clicking the Examination Results tab.

If you are struggling following results and feel you need extra supports, please reach out to welfare@ucdsu.ie, graduate@ucdsu.ie, Student Advisers, Chaplains and UCD Student Health.

NiteLine and Samaritans are also available if you need help.

Contact assessment.appeals@ucd.ie for more information and help. Below we have outlined the basics of the appeals procedure, if you think your concern does not fall under this policy you can still contact your Module Coordinator or Head of School in order to seek clarity or raise a concern. You can find out more information about the Appeals Policy, a FAQ section and a guide for the timeline of an appeal HERE.

Can you appeal a grade in UCD?

If you feel you may need to appeal a decision made relating to an assessment UCD does provide an assessment appeals process. Assessment appeals in UCD are guided by the UCD Assessment Appeals Policy and the process is overseen by the Student Engagement, Conduct, Complaints and Appeals unit.

There are certain grounds under which you can apply for an appeal of the decision of an examination board, being dissatisfied or disappointed with the result of your assessment is not one of these grounds. You also cannot appeal on matters of academic judgement.

You can appeal on the following two grounds:

• Procedural irregularity – where you have evidence that procedures relating to the decision made were not followed correctly, and this irregularity may have impacted the decision; or

• Late extenuating circumstances – you had extenuating circumstances at the time of the assessment, the Programme Board was aware of this but had previously rejected them because you made the application late and the reason for these extenuating circumstances being late was not accepted as valid by the Governing Board.

There are two stages to an appeal. The first is an Early Resolution, this is done after you first receive your results, and you express your concerns to either the Module Coordinator and/or the Head of school or Subject Area. If you are unhappy with the outcome of this stage, you can then move to the second stage and submit a Formal Assessment Appeal. This must be submitted within 10 working days of your final result becoming available to you. Here you will need an Assessment Appeal Form which is then emailed to assessment.appeals@ucd.ie.

If you are considering submitting an appeal, especially a Formal Assessment Appeal you should contact one of the student support units on campus e.g., the Student Advisors.

You can also come talk to the Education Officer or the Graduate Officer in the Students’ Union.

I failed a module, what happens now?

Whether you need to resit the modules assessment or repeat the module in its entirety depends on the module itself. You can find this out via the module descriptor under the “What happens if I fail?” tab. Find the module descriptor HERE.

Starting in the new Academic Year 2023, the fee to resit an exam has been abolished however there is a fee for a repeat attempt. For both a resit/repeat attempt UCD places a grade penalty on it. The fee and grade penalty are explained here.

Repeat: €230 per module and the grade point awarded to each letter grade is reduced as seen here.

Module Grade

A+ (R)

Grade Point

3.6

Module Grade

A (R)

Grade Point

3.4

Module Grade

A- (R)

Grade Point

3.2

Module Grade

B+ (R)

Grade Point

3.0

Module Grade

B (R)

Grade Point

2.8

Module Grade

B- (R)

Grade Point

2.6

Module Grade

C+ (R)

Grade Point

2.4

Module Grade

C (R)

Grade Point

2.2

Module Grade

C- (R)

Grade Point

2.0

Module Grade

D+ (R)

Grade Point

2.0

Module Grade

D (R)

Grade Point

2.0

Module Grade

D- (R)

Grade Point

2.0

Module Grade

FM + (R)

Grade Point

0.0

Module Grade

FM (R)

Grade Point

0.0

Module Grade

FM- (R)

Grade Point

0.0

Module Grade

NM (R)

Grade Point

0.0

Module Grade

ABS (R)

Grade Point

0.0

Resit: No Fee but your grade is capped at a pass [P (R)] with a grade point of 2.0.

I don’t want to redo my failed module; do I have another option?

​If you failed your elective, you could take a different module as long as it fulfils the requirements of your programme. If you have any questions around this, you should contact your school or programme office. You can also substitute a module as long as it is not a core module. This does incur a charge which is roughly €500. If you think you’d like to substitute a failed module, please contact your Student Adviser.

What do my grades mean and how was it calculated?

Remember your module coordinator can use four different mark to grade conversion scales. These are:

• Standard Conversion Grade Scale 40% Pass

• Alternative Linear Conversion Grade Scale 40% Pass

• Alternative Non-Linear Conversion Grade Scale 50% Pass

• Alternative Linear Conversion Grade Scale 60% Pass

If you aren’t sure which one was used in your module, check out the module descriptor. You can find these HERE.

The University uses three scales to determine a module’s grade:

• Letter grade scale

• Pass/Fail grade scale

• Distinction/ Pass/ Fail grade scale

The following scale is the Letter Grade Scale and is used to determine module grades:

MODULE GRADE

A+

GRADE POINT

4.2

DESCRIPTION

Excellent

Module Grade

A

Grade Point

4.0

Description

Excellent

Module Grade

A-

Grade Point

3.8

Description

Excellent

Module Grade

B+

Grade Point

3.6

Description

Very Good

Module Grade

B

Grade Point

3.4

Description

Very Good

​Module Grade

B-

Grade Point

3.2

Description

Very Good

​

Module Grade

C+

Grade Point

3.0

Description

Good

Module Grade

C

Grade Point

2.8

Description

Good

Module Grade

C-

Grade Point

2.6

Description

Good

Module Grade

D+

Grade Point

2.4

Description

Acceptable

​Module Grade

D

Grade Point

2.2

Description

Acceptable

Module Grade

D-

Grade Point

2.0

Description

Acceptable

Module Grade

FM+

Grade Point

0.0

Description

Fail

Module Grade

FM

Grade Point

0.0

Description

Fail

Module Grade

FM-

Grade Point

0.0

Description

Fail

Module Grade

NM

Grade Point

0.0

Description

No grade – work submitted did not merit a grade

Module Grade

ABS

Grade Point

0.0

Description

No work was submitted by the student or the student was absent from assessment

Where module outcomes cannot be assessed to any level of detail, the results may be returned as pass/fail, or distinction/pass/fail, and the following scale is used.

Module Grade

DS

Grade Point

Neutral

Description

Passed with distinction

Module Grade

P

Grade Point

Neutral

Description

Pass​

Module Grade

F

Grade Point

0.0

Description

Fail

Module Grade

NM

Grade Point

0.0

Description

No grade – work submitted did not merit a grade

Module Grade

ABS

Grade Point

0.0

Description

No work was submitted by the student or the student was absent from assessment

I have a different grade, what does it mean?

UCD also has what are known as Other Grades. These are used to reflect outcomes of exams outside of pass/fail.

Grade

AU

Explanation

Audit: returned where a student audits the module, and, by prior agreement with the Module Coordinator, does not complete some or all of the assessments and does not wish to be graded. No credit is awarded.

Grade

WN

Explanation

Withdrawn: returned where a student withdraws before the end of week 12 of a trimester, or before the last day of teaching in a trimester, whichever comes sooner. No credit is awarded, and a subsequent attempt at that module is treated as a first attempt.

If you withdrew from a module last trimester, make sure to reregister. If you are having any issues with your withdrawn modules, please contact your School Office.

Grade

IM

Explanation

Incomplete Must Pass (temporary): returned when the following criteria are met:

• the module is a clinical teaching module, a field-based module, or a work placement

• the component is specified in the module descriptor as a “must pass component”

• the activities required to satisfactorily complete the module, and the time available to do this are clearly communicated in writing to the student by the School or Board of Studies responsible for the module; and

• where a student has passed overall the assessments associated with a module but has not satisfactorily completed a “must pass” component of assessment where an in-module repeat for that component was not available.

This temporary grade is resolved when:

• The student satisfactorily completes the outstanding activities, or their equivalent, within the prescribed time. The credit, final grade and the full grade point associated with that grade are awarded; or

• The student does not complete some or all of the required assessments within the prescribed time. The component is graded as a fail (F), and the module grade of FM is recorded.

Grade

IA

Explanation

Incomplete Assessment (temporary): returned when the following criteria are met:

• the module is a clinical teaching module, a field-based module, or a work placement; and

• where a student has been unable to complete a component due to lack of availability of clinical samples, required facilities, professional staff involved in supervision, or the field-based nature of the component of assessment.

This temporary grade is resolved when:

• The student satisfactorily completes the outstanding activities, or their equivalent, within the prescribed time. The credit, final grade and the full grade point associated with that grade are awarded;

• The student does not complete some or all of the required assessments within the prescribed time. The component is graded as a fail (F), and the resulting module grade is recorded; or

• The student may choose to accept an ABS grade for the assessment component, and the resulting grade is recorded.

Grade

IX

Explanation

Incomplete due extenuating circumstances:

• This is a grade that may be given to a student if they are unable to complete part of their module assessment due to extenuating circumstances such as a short illness. Documentation is required, e.g. medical certificate, stating why they were unable to complete the module.

Things to note:

• The Programme Exam Board decides if the IX grade will be awarded

• An IX is grade point neutral; it does not count towards the GPA

• Outstanding work (or some equivalent assessment) must be completed within two trimesters of the initial attempt

• Credit is only awarded on completion of outstanding work – the IX grade can then be changed to the new grade

• If the student does not complete the work, then the IX grade will be changed back to the grade they would have received

If you are invited to a meeting by your Schools Plagiarism committee, please contact education@ucdsu.ie (undergraduate), graduate@ucdsu.ie (post grads) or your Student Adviser.

As Student Support Officers within the University, we can meet with you to explain the process to you and how a plagiarism hearing is conducted. We can also accompany you to your meeting and can offer you advice and guidance following the result of the hearing.

Student Advisers

Student Advisers meet with students in times of need to offer academic and personal support throughout your degree, including during the exam season. Each College has either one or two Student Advisers who will be able to give you programme specific advice and guide you through University procedures and policies.

Find your Student Advisor HERE

UCDSU Education, Welfare and Graduate Officers

The Students’ Union is here for you throughout the exam period from peer to peer support to organising the exam buses. The Education Officer (education@ucdsu.ie) offers advice and support on issues surrounding academics and finances, the Welfare Officer (welfare@ucdsu.ie) offers peer to peer support on a range of issues from mental health to housing, and the Graduate Officer (graduate@ucdsu.ie) acts as both an Education and Welfare Officer for Graduate students.

Access and Lifelong Learning

The ALL centre is located on the first floor of the James Joyce Library and offers a wide range of supports. Students can apply for a needs assessment through ALL in order to receive exam support which can include extra time in exams and the option to sit exams in the alternative exam centre in Newman.

Maths & Writing Support Centre

Both support centres are located in the James Joyce library to either side of the main reception desk. UCD’s Library has a dedicated Maths Support Centre, which can provide help for a huge number of level 0, 1, or 2 modules. UCD Library also has a Writing Centre which provides tuition on all aspects of writing, whether creative, research based or as part of a formal presentation.

Student Desk

The Student Desk is located in the Tierney building and the support team can provide a range of advice on administrative issues. The team offers advice on the majority of issues which arise surrounding exams and assessment. The student desk operates a walk-in service alongside a 24/7 chatbot service.

College Office

The College Office should be your go to for finding out info about the nuts and bolts of your degree, including issues around timetabling issues, extenuating circumstances applications and other general queries. Each College within UCD has a College Office and some of the larger Schools have their own specialised office.