Students should be assessed fairly and the assessment should be related to the teaching objectives of the course. The University also believes that the student assessment procedures should be well-documented, known and presented to the student well in advance, and applied in a timely and fair manner.
Since student performance is closely linked to the teaching methods adopted, these methods are also assessed. As a result, the University ensures that student performance is maximized, and that students receive the fullest benefit from their educational experiences. Peer review and evaluation are significant components of the assessment of teaching methods. In this regard, the University encourages, and in practice enforces, a policy of peer evaluation where peers act in good faith and with the welfare of the student and their colleague in mind. The peer review of teaching staff is undertaken once every semester. Each member of the teaching staff is assessed by their peers in class with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching methods used and to recommending improvements where necessary.
Students are also encouraged to play a key role in the assessment of the teaching methodology employed because as pivotal figures of the University they should carry out this role. Thus, at least once a year, students are asked to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of their lecturers in class with the aim of providing feedback and helping the lecturer improve their performance.
Examinations are normally held at the University and are invigilated by members of Academic Staff. Guidelines for invigilators are issued periodically.
Academic Staff are provided with assistance from the secretarial staff and by the Faculty Office which provides the stationery and other examination requisites. The faculty operates a policy of anonymous marking of examination scripts. Students are thus required to enter their University number and not their names on exam scripts. They are also required to complete an attendance register, so as to be informed about any missing students, and to have information in the event of the loss of scripts or fraud.
Assessment
Each subject has a minimum of 70% attributable to the end of semester examinations. A maximum of 30% is attributable to continuous assessment of coursework during the semester based primarily on class participation, tests and quizzes, assignments and attendance, oral presentation and workshops. Depending on the nature of the course, the lecturer may choose, at their discretion and on the approval of their Departmental Head, assessment methods which they judge to be the most appropriate for the course.
Each Department is responsible for notifying students of the assessment requirements for each course offered. This, however, does not absolve the student from the responsibility of acquainting himself/herself with the assessment requirements by referring to the relevant publications.
Students who fail to submit coursework by the due date, and who do not have an extension or certified mitigating circumstances, fail in that piece of work. Departments normally permit a student to resubmit one piece of coursework per subject. Coursework may also take the form of tests which are held under examination conditions. Coursework is normally marked and returned to students within one week.
- The assigning of grades is the exclusive right of the lecturer. Change of a grade by the lecturer is possible only in exceptional cases and only with the written approval of the Chair of the Department and the Dean of the Faculty.
- The grading system is numerical and ranges from 0 to 100. The minimum passing grade is fifty (50).
Philips University employs the grading system as shown in the table below:
| Grade |
Description |
Quality Points |
| Α 85-100% |
Pass |
4.00 |
| B+ 80-84% |
Pass |
3.60 |
| Β 75–79% |
Pass |
3.30 |
| Β- 70-74% |
Pass |
3.00 |
| C+ 65–69% |
Pass |
2.60 |
| C 60–64% |
Pass |
2.50 |
| C- 55–59% |
Pass |
2.00 |
| D 50–54% |
Pass |
1.00 |
| F Below 50% |
Fail |
None |
| INC Incomplete |
NC |
None |
| Auditor (Listener) |
NC |
None |
| Withdrawal |
NC |
None |
Note: The Grade Point Average (GPA) is determined by dividing the total Grade Points by the total number of credits.
MARKING SCHEME AND ASSESSMENT POLICY
The work of each student for each course is graded according to the following grading scale: A, B+, B-, C+, C, C-, D or F.
- The lowest grade that is a pass is D (50%).
- The symbol F (Fail) means that the student is not entitled to any credits.
- Students who for any reason have not completed the requirements for a particular course do not receive credits for the course. The symbol (NC) does not affect the GPA.
- The designation INC (incomplete) indicates that an examination was not taken or that part of classwork was not completed. Students receive this grade only when a small part of the work of the semester has not been completed and the student has presented convincing reasons to the lecturer as to why they have not been able to complete the course requirements during the specified timeframe. The pending work should be completed within the following semester. The lecturer and the students should mutually agree on a work schedule so that the course does not remain incomplete.
- The designation ‘AU’ denotes that the student attends the course as an auditor. Students who wish to attend a course regularly but do not wish to receive a grade or credit may audit the course provided that there is sufficient space and consent from the Department.
- Grades awarded at the end of the semester are final grades and cannot be changed even if additional work is submitted.
- Students wishing to improve their grades must repeat the course/courses before graduation.
- Students wishing to withdraw from the Philips University should consult the Chair of the Department. The official letter given to the student will indicate the date of departure from the University and the designation NC (No credit) will appear alongside each course.
- The exam results at the end of the semester contribute to 70% of the grade. 30% of the grade is based on course participation (continuous assessment).
- In order to successfully pass a course, the student should achieve the minimum grade of 50%.
- If assessment of a course is based solely on the completion of assignments, students must achieve the minimum pass grade, 50%, in order to pass the course. The provisions of the Internal Regulations are applied for all other cases.
Compensation
(a) A student who scores below 50%, but not below 40%, in one subject in any semester, may nevertheless pass the subject by compensation provided that their overall performance merits the pass.
(b) The project in Years III and IV must be passed independently of the other subjects and may not be used as compensation for a subject failed.
(c) The compensation mechanism does not operate where a student is required to resit one or more papers. Compensation may not be carried forward to resit examinations.
(d) A candidate who scores less than 50% in the project and does not benefit from a discretionary recommendation issued by the examiners may submit a new project no later than two years after the submission date of the original project.
(e) In the case of a revised project being presented for consideration in the Autumn Examination in the same year, the examiners may, at their discretion, decide not to call the candidate for a viva-voce examination.
Resits
| |
Where a student does not pass by compensation, the student will be allowed to resit the subjects failed on one or more examination occasions. |
| |
An average mark of 50% must be attained in all resit subjects. |
| |
A student who successfully passes a failed subject is credited with the mark earned in the resit examination. |
| |
A student who fails to achieve a minimum of 50% in a subject assessed solely by coursework will be referred in the subject. The Head of Department will offer the student the opportunity of completing the subject by examination, or through additional coursework. |
Project
- In Year IV, when a candidate has satisfied the examiners in all subjects, but has not yet met the stipulated criteria in relation to a compulsory project, the Examiners shall deem the student’s results deferred pending satisfactory completion of the project.
- The project must be passed on the second attempt.
Upon completion and graduation from their field of study, students should:
- Have successfully completed at least 240 European Credit Transfer units (ECTS) for their undergraduate studies or 90 credits for postgraduate studies;
- Have completed the exam material;
- Have obtained the necessary ECTS from the core and elective courses;
- Have obtained a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.00 during the last four years.
Undergraduate Degrees are classified as follows:
|
3.60 to 4.00
|
First Class
|
|
3.20 to 3.59
|
Second Class, 1st Division
|
|
2.80 to 3.19
|
Second Class, 2nd Division
|
|
2.40 to 2.79
|
Third Class
|
|
2.00 to 2.39
|
Ordinary Degree
|
- Only courses that have been graded with 50 and above are taken into account for the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA), because only those courses can be awarded with credits. The courses which are calculated collectively cover the required credits. This includes all the courses that the student has successfully passed, even if they have successfully completed more courses than their program of studies requires.
- Students wishing to improve their grades in a course which has been graded above 50 have to resit the exam. Resits are allowed only once.
- If a student has repeated a course because they have to, or in order to improve their grades, and the number of credits has changed, the new number of credits will be recorded.
- An Incomplete grade is given only in exceptional substantiated circumstances (certified medical or personal reasons). The procedure for grading an incomplete course is the following:
- A form is completed by the lecturer and the student is directed to the Council of the Department and the Student and Welfare Services of the University. The form contains the approval of the Chair of the Department.
- There must be provisions for completing the mark before the end of the following semester.
- If the mark is not completed within the agreed deadline then the incomplete mark is automatically changed to zero (0).
- The marking and assessment of a thesis that is carried out for two or more semesters, is conducted in the following way:
- At the end of each semester, before the final semester of completion of the thesis, the supervisor submits written assessment of the student’s progress to the Department.
- The assessment is communicated to the student. The designation of either Satisfactory (S) and Unsatisfactory (US) is given in the assessment.
- The carrying out of the thesis and the assessment are subject to the regulations recommended by the Council of the Department and approved by the Council of the Faculty.
- The final mark of the thesis is submitted within the deadline specified for all subjects.
- The analytic grading in all subjects, as well as all possible failures, withdrawals, or exemptions from subjects, are registered in the final report of the analytic grading. The weighting of each subject grade in European Credit Units (ECTS) is registered in the Department Study Guide and the Analytic Grade report. Additionally, each graduate is provided with a Diploma Supplement in English, free of charge.
- In the case of failure in a core subject, the student is obliged to repeat the course. In the case of failure in an elective subject, the student is obliged to repeat the same subject once. Failure in any subject is reported in the reports issued both after the end of each semester as well as in the final year reports, but not on the Diploma Supplement. It rests on the discretion of the lecturer to let the student who failed to participate in the subject (which is obligatory), but the student is not credited with the ECTS of the particular subject.
- At the end of each semester, all Departments presents the grades in all subjects, without name identification on scoreboards.
- Use of deceit during examinations, or in the composition of a paper, which is taken into account in the evaluation of a subject, leads to the automatic/immediate referral of the student to the Disciplinary Committee of the University.
- Seven days following the completion of an examination, the final grading is submitted to the Director of Student Affairs and Student Welfare. In the case of subjects attended by more than 50 students, the final grades could be submitted 10 days after the completion of the examination. In the case of Departments being involved in the process of grade approval by the Department Council, any changes to grades should be submitted to the Student and Welfare Services of the University within a timeframe of 10 days.
- The Senate approves student grades and the conferring of awards.
