Academic misconduct
When students try to gain an unfair assessment advantage over other students in the University, this is referred to as academic misconduct. Academic misconduct is treated very seriously by Manchester Met, and students found to have carried out offences relating to academic misconduct are subject to relevant penalties. Academic misconduct exists in numerous forms, including (but not limited to) collusion, contract cheating, cheating, exam disruption, falsification of data, plagiarism and self-plagiarism. These terms are explained under their entries within this glossary.
Aegrotat Degree
An award is given to a student who is sadly unable to complete their degree, for example, due to severe illness.
Aggregate
A whole formed from separate parts. For example, in our Assessment Regulations, an aggregate average is another way of referring to an average calculated from unit marks (see Weighted Average).
Appeal
You can submit an Academic Appeal if you believe there has been an error in the way an assessment has been carried out, or if you want to appeal an evidenced extension decision. You cannot submit an appeal just because you are not happy with your result, or think you deserved a higher mark. You can also appeal against academic misconduct decisions and withdrawal decisions.
Assessment Board
A formal meeting chaired by a senior academic and attended by other academics and support staff. The purpose of the Assessment Board is to confirm students’ unit marks and overall assessment decisions. Your marks can change until they have been to an Assessment Board. The Board’s decision is usually final but can be overturned in a limited number of circumstances, including an upheld appeal or a late finding of academic misconduct.
Assessment Regulations
The rules applied to all assessed work. The Assessment Regulations ensure students are assessed fairly and objectively.
Cheating
Cheating is a form of Academic Misconduct (see earlier glossary term) which usually takes place in an exam context, for example, copying from another candidate in an exam, bringing unsanctioned materials or devices into the exam room or gaining access to unauthorised materials before an exam.
Classification
Your overall degree result, following the completion of your final year of study.
For undergraduate study, the classifications available are:
- First Class (1st)
- Upper Second Class (2.1)
- Lower Second Class (2.2)
- Third Class (3rd)
At postgraduate level, the classifications are:
Cognate programme
A closely related programme, for example, BSc Computer Science and BSc Computing could be described as a cognate programme.
Collusion
Collusion is a form of academic misconduct. Here, two or more students collude (work together) to gain an unfair advantage over their peers. Collusion can take many forms and it is often paired with plagiarism. An example is when Student A gives their work to Student B to read, and Student B then copies sections of Student A’s work. Even though Student A might have no knowledge of Student B copying their work, they have facilitated academic collusion. Student A would then receive a penalty for collusion and Student B would receive a penalty for collusion and plagiarism. To avoid the risk of being penalised for collusion, never share your finished work with another student.
Compensation/compensated pass
A compensated pass is a pass given for a unit mark that falls just short of the usual pass criteria. A compensated pass is given based on overall sound performance at a particular level of study.
At levels 3-6 (undergraduate study) you can be awarded a compensated pass for unit marks of 30-39 if your overall weighted level average (see weighted average) is 40 or higher. At postgraduate level, the compensation window is 40-49 and students need a weighted average of 50 across the taught units to be eligible.
Contract Cheating
Commissioning a third party to do some (or all) of a piece of work. (This does not apply to third parties such as Studiosity that have been sanctioned by the University to provide reviewing and feedback to students in specific assessment situations.) Contract cheating is a severe form of academic misconduct and will normally result in exclusion from the university.
Credits
Our academic structure is made up of credits. One year of full-time study is 120 credits. A unit worth 30 credits counts for twice as much as a unit worth 15 credits in final classification calculations (see Weighted Average). All credits are assigned a level of study.
Curriculum Framework
A formal university document outlining the structure of Manchester Met programmes of study.
Deferral
A deferral is the postponement of a student’s formal assessment for a specified period, as approved by the Assessment Board, students can submit a request to apply for an extension for their assessment. Where there is not enough time before an Assessment Board to give a student an extension, however, they will be ‘Deferred’. In practice, the Board’s decision is usually to allow a reassessment to take place at the next opportunity (usually over the summer). ‘Deferral’ also applies to time-constrained assessments, such as exams, that cannot be handled via an extension.
End Point Assessment/EPA
Only found on apprenticeship programmes, the End Point Assessment tests the knowledge, skills, and behaviours an apprentice has gained during their training.
ENR
This is the acronym for “Enrolled”.
Exam disruption
Exam disruption is a form of academic misconduct (see earlier glossary term).
External Examiner
External Examiners are academics from other universities who are appointed for a fixed period to a programme to ensure assessments are of an appropriate standard and marking and feedback are fair. Some External Examiners also attend Assessment Boards to ensure that they are conducted in line with Manchester Met’s policies.
Exit or Fallback Award
An award other than that for which a student was enrolled. For example, a student can be given a Certificate of Higher Education after passing level 4 (the first year) of an undergraduate degree.
A student may be given a fallback award if they have passed sufficient credits but have not met certain professional requirements. An exit or fallback award can be given when a student fails or when a student leaves the University voluntarily.
Fail no further opportunity/FNOP
When students fail their programme of study and are not entitled to any reassessment. A student in this situation cannot continue studying on their programme or be readmitted to the same programme in the future. If they have sufficient credits, they might be given an exit or fallback award.
Falsification of data
Falsification of data is a form of Academic Misconduct (see earlier glossary term). Falsification includes the presentation of false (made-up) or misleading data. Falsification of data includes making up results for laboratory experiments, surveys/questionnaires, or even fabricating case studies. Similarly, citing references that do not exist is a form of falsification.
Formative assessment
An assessment that does not count toward your final unit mark but is instead used to provide you with feedback and assess your progress on the unit.
Late submissions
If you miss your submission deadline, you can submit your work within seven days of the original date (before 9:00pm) and receive a maximum-capped pass mark of 40% (Level 3-6) or 50% (Level 7). This applies to first attempts only, including reassessments as if for the first time.
Any assessments submitted after the seven-day late submission period will be automatically capped at 0%.
Level 3
Foundation Year study.
Level 4
The first year of a full-time undergraduate degree.
Level 5
The second year of a full-time undergraduate degree counts towards students’ final classification under one of the University’s two degree classification methods. A sandwich or study abroad year is also classed as level 5 but doesn’t count towards the final classification.
Level 6
The third and final year of a full-time undergraduate degree.
Level 7
Taught postgraduate study, such as a Master’s.
The final year of an Integrated Master’s programme (year 4) is also level 7, even though it’s technically considered an undergraduate qualification.
Level 8
Doctoral research students are Level 8 students.
Mitigation
You might sometimes hear evidenced extensions referred to as mitigation or mitigating factors. These are short-term, unexpected events that have a serious impact on your ability to carry out assessments. If you are accused of carrying out academic misconduct, mitigation will not be considered as part of the investigation but may be taken into account at the appeal stage.
Moderation
Moderation is the process through which the University ensures that the marking of students’ assessments has been carried out fairly and properly. A sample of students’ work is reviewed by both an internal moderator—an academic from Manchester Met who did not teach on the unit—and an external moderator, who is a member of staff from another University.
MyMMU
The home of Moodle and other online tools provided by the University.
Pass degree/Degree without honours
This is given when a student has passed at least 60 credits (half) of the final year of an undergraduate degree. A Pass Degree is awarded at pass level, instead of being assigned a Classification. Students who are entitled to a Pass Degree can attend Graduation, even if they still have resits to do.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct. It is using another person’s work as your own within your assessments without giving the proper acknowledgement (referencing). Plagiarism covers work published in print and online, other students’ papers, and other forms of recorded media such as video and audio. To ensure that you do not get accused of plagiarism, you must always reference when you quote works by other authors.
Programme Leader
The academic who manages your Programme of study.
Programme of study
The degree course on which you are enrolled at Manchester Met.
Progression/Continuation
Being allowed to move up from one level of study to the next.
Refer to tutor
This is where an evidenced extension request is accepted, and the tutor is asked to decide on the resubmission date.
Repeating Without Attendance/REPWOA
A student who has failed the year and is repeating one or more units the following academic year. They are not required to attend classes but do have to submit work when it becomes due.
Sandwich degree
A degree course that includes an additional placement year.
Self-plagiarism
Submitting all or part of a piece of work for which you have already received credit. Self-plagiarism also covers using works which you have published (e.g., journal articles/book chapters) but which you have not properly referenced in-text or in a List of References. Self-plagiarism also includes submitting other forms of your work, such as creative practice-based outputs (videos/podcasts/music) which have either been previously published or used for credit-based assessment at MMU or another institution.
Step or Stepped Marking
This means using a restricted number of marks within the range of 0-100%. At Man Met, we use marks ending in 2, 5 and 8 to represent the upper, middle, and lower ranges of the standard classification bands. The intention is to simplify the marking process for staff and make it clearer to students why they’ve been given a particular mark.
SU
This is the acronym used for either “Suspended” (see Suspension of Study) or Students’ Union.
Summative assessment
A formal assessment where the mark counts towards your final unit mark.
Suspension of study
Where a student agrees or is required to take time out from their studies to return to the same programme, usually returning either at the same point or at the start of the following academic year.
Weighted average
Your units are made up of assessments, such as exams, tests, and essays. Each assessment has a specific weighting within the unit, for example, a report might be worth 30% of the overall unit grade and an exam worth 70%. The weighted average refers to the average of the marks awarded for the individual assessments, taking into consideration their percentage weightings.
For example, if the report is worth 30% of the unit and a student gets a mark of 58 and the exam is worth 70% of the unit and a student gets a mark of 70, the weighted average for the unit will be 66.4: (58 x 3) + (70 x 7) ÷ 10 = 66.4
Level average (used to determine if you are eligible for compensation) and final classification are also calculated using a weighted average, this time based on unit credit weightings. In this case, the mark for a 30-credit unit is worth twice as much as the mark for a 15-credit unit in the calculations. If you are unsure how to calculate a weighted average, you can search the Internet for a weighted average calculator.
WD
This is an acronym for “Withdrawn”. A student who has withdrawn has left the programme (whether voluntarily or because of actions taken by the University) with no intention of returning. (See also Withdrawal).
Withdrawal
If your attendance and engagement with your course fall below a certain level, you can be withdrawn from your course. You can also decide to withdraw from the University at your own request. (See also WD).