No Detriment Policy FAQs

In recognition of the current exceptional circumstances facing our students, we have put in place a no detriment policy to support all our students through the 2019-20 academic year. We are also supporting our PGR students' needs on a case by case basis.

The no detriment policy is made up of several elements. The following applies to foundation year students through to our postgraduate taught students.

• We moved teaching online as soon as was practicable in order to enable students to complete their modules for this academic year.
• We agreed to give students a two-week extension to the submission deadline for assessments due to be submitted between 18 March and 22 May 2020
• We have replaced traditional time constrained on campus examinations and assessments with a range of carefully designed and approved alternative assessments which will enable students to meet the learning outcomes and to progress or graduate.
• We have made significant revisions to our Extenuating Circumstances policy to enable students to self-certify for Covid 19 related issues and to remove the need for evidence in several cases. Students are also able to apply for extenuating circumstances without evidence if they have any domestic IT related issues
• We are involving the President and the Vice President (Education and Welfare) from the Students' Union in key discussions to ensure that student views are represented.
• We have set up coronavirus FAQs for students and a helpline (the Live Chat function on the website) which can answer questions about a range of issues including about teaching, learning and assessment.
• We are reviewing the timing of our award and progression boards to ensure that we can give students their results as soon as possible. Further details will be added to the student FAQs when confirmed.
• We have approved a set of Emergency Regulations for Taught Programmes for 2019-20. These can be accessed on the intranet. These emergency regulations explain in detail how no detriment works for students who are at different points in their studies and on different types of programme. Students on programmes that have professional body (PSRB) or equivalent accreditation or recognition might not be able to benefit from all features in the emergency regulations and should contact their Programme Leader to confirm.
• The following are new features of the Emergency Regulations. Full details about each of these features can be found in the Emergency Regulations:
  • the creation of a benchmark which forms a safety net for all students to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by marks obtained in semester 2 assessments from the 2019-20 academic year should these have a negative impact on degree classification or progression
  • an increase to the amount of compensation available to students which, this academic year, should normally be applied at the first attempt.
  • an interim progression category for students who have completed the written elements of a module but have been prevented from completing the required practical elements during the Covid 19 pandemic. This only applies to undergraduate students studying on a professional ‘qualifying’ programme such as Nursing, Social Work, Physiotherapy or Teaching.
  • Forward tracking which will enable students to take a module from the next level whilst they are still studying at the lower level, where this is possible within the delivery structure of the programme and the need for 'forward tracking' has been identified by the programme. This is necessary in Education, for example, as students cannot go on placements in schools at the current time. Forward tracking cannot be requested by individual students.

The Emergency Regulations that have been approved are for the 2019-20 academic year only. We cannot know what the coming months will hold and are putting in place plans in preparation for a number of possible scenarios for the 2020-21 academic year. Continuing students who won’t complete their studies until some future date will have ‘no detriment’ applied to their degree calculation at the point at which they complete their studies. This is explained in more detail in the Emergency Regulations.

Yes. Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved).

They can be accessed on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations). There are different Emergency Regulations for PGCE students and these will be added via a separate link very soon. The Emergency Regulations do not apply to students in ELTSU.

In some circumstances programmes subject to professional body (PSRB) or equivalent requirements may not be permitted to apply the Emergency Regulations. You should speak to your Programme Leader to obtain clarification.

For the 2019-20 academic year, in accordance with the University's no detriment policy, there will be two calculations for Honours classification for a three or four-year Bachelor programme. These are the normal degree calculation and a benchmark calculation. Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved).

Students will receive the honours classification that equates to the higher of the two marks.

If you are a full-time student, you should read sections E1 or E2 of the Emergency Regulations. E1 is for students who have completed a Bachelor programme which includes an Extended Independent Study module. E2 is for students who have completed a Bachelor programme without an Extended Independent Study Module. If you are a part-time student, you should read section M1 of the Emergency Regulations. You can access the Emergency Regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations)

It will depend. We will calculate your degree classification as normal and this calculation will still include your Extended Independent Study Module mark. We will also calculate the benchmark which will not include the modules that you completed in semester 2 of this academic year (and therefore will not include your Extended Independent Study Module). Your degree classification will be based on the higher of the two marks

For the 2019-20 academic year, in accordance with the University's no detriment policy, there will be two calculations for Honours classification for an integrated master's programme. These are the normal degree calculation and a benchmark calculation. Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved). Students will receive the honours classification that equates to the higher of the two marks. If you are a full-time integrated master’s student, you should read section E3 in the Emergency Regulations. You can access the Emergency Regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations).

The elements of the no detriment policy such as the two-week extension, increased compensation and amendments to the Extenuating Circumstances policy will apply to you (see question 1 above for more details). Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved). We will run a series of calculations to make sure that your overall outcome is not negatively affected by the taught modules that you take in Semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year. We provide more details in the next FAQ.

If the current restrictions (due to Covid-19) mean that you are unable to carry out or complete the research for your dissertation (called the Independent Study module in the university’s regulations) please discuss this with your supervisor or your Programme Leader. There may be different options that can be considered such as a new hand in date (approved through Extenuating Circumstances) or an amendment to your planned research.

For the 2019-20 academic year, in accordance with the University's no detriment policy, there will be two calculations for masters’ programmes. These are the normal degree calculation and a benchmark calculation. Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved). Students will receive the higher of the two marks.

If you are a full-time student, you should read section E5 in the Emergency Regulations alongside sections F6 and G6. If you are a part-time student, you should read section M2 alongside sections F6 and G6. You can access the Emergency Regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations).

If you will be graduating this year with a Postgraduate Diploma, you should read sections F5 and G5 in the emergency regulations.

If you will be graduating this year with a Postgraduate Certificate, you should read sections F4 and G4 in the emergency regulations.

Not all provisions in the emergency regulations are applicable so we will publish
emergency regulations specific to your programme to avoid any unnecessary confusion as
soon as possible.

If the current restrictions (due to Covid-19) mean that you are unable to carry out or
complete the research for your dissertation (called the Independent Study module in the
university’s regulations) please discuss this with your supervisor or your Programme
Leader. There might be different options that can be considered such as a new hand in
date (approved through Extenuating Circumstances) or an amendment to your planned
research.

For how the Independent Study Module contributes towards your degree calculation you
should read sections E5, F6 and G6 in the emergency regulations if you are a full-time
student. If you are a part-time student you should read section M2 in the emergency
regulations first, followed by sections F6 and G6. You can access the emergency
regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations).

The elements of the no detriment policy such as the two-week extension, increased
compensation and amendments to the Extenuating Circumstances policy will apply to you
in the 2019-20 academic year (see question 1 above for more details). Students will still
need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic
year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit
includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an
aggregate pass is permitted and achieved).

The no detriment policy will be applied to your results when you graduate. This means that
the benchmark (or safety net) will be applied whenever you graduate even if this is next
year or in two years' time.

When you graduate the University will run the normal degree calculation and will also run a
second calculation which applies no detriment to the second semester of 2019-20. Your
final degree classification will reflect the higher of the two marks.

The elements of the no detriment policy such as the two-week extension, increased
compensation and amendments to the Extenuating Circumstances policy will apply to you
in the 2019-20 academic year (see question 1 above for more details). Students will still
need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic
year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit
includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an
aggregate pass is permitted and achieved).

The no detriment policy will be applied to your results when you graduate. This means that
the benchmark (or safety net) will be applied whenever you graduate even if this is next
year or in two years' time.

When you graduate the University will run the normal degree calculation and will also run a
second calculation which applies no detriment to the second semester of 2019-20. Your
final degree classification will reflect the higher of the two marks.

The elements of the no detriment policy such as the two-week extension, increased compensation and amendments to the Extenuating Circumstances policy will apply to you during the 2019-20 academic year (see question 1 above for more details). Students will still need to complete and hand in all assessments due in semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year and achieve academic credit in all 2019-20 semester 2 modules (academic credit includes compensated modules and failed assessments within a module where an aggregate pass is permitted and achieved).

As you are in your first year your marks do not count towards your overall degree
classification. When you graduate, we will ensure that the marks you achieve in semester 2
of the 2019-20 academic year will not negatively affect your Grade Point Average (GPA)
score. GPA scores do include level 4 (I.e. first year of undergraduate study).

This answer only applies to undergraduate students if you are studying on a professional
‘qualifying’ programme such as Nursing, Social Work, Physiotherapy or Teaching.
Within the Emergency Regulations we have introduced a new exceptional progression
category called ‘interim progression’. This means that you will be able to complete as much
of the assessment in your required practical/placement module as possible and will be
allowed to progress to the next year of study. Because you have not been able to complete
the practical elements of the module you will not be given a module mark this year.

Your practical assessment will be carried out in the next academic year and your module mark will then be added to your student record. If you do not successfully pass your practical assessment at the first attempt, you will be allowed a re-assessment.

We are supporting our postgraduate research students on a case by case basis. Postgraduate research students should speak to the PGR team in the RKE Centre.

Yes. Your GPA for 2019-20 will be calculated twice. The first calculation will be the normal one, the second will be a benchmark calculation. You will be given the higher of the two GPAs. Please see Section D of the emergency regulations for how this will work for finalists who are graduating this year. You can access the emergency regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations).

The normal calculation for the GPA is shown in Appendix 2 of the Assessment Regulations.

Yes. All modules taken are listed on the transcript/Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR) with their level, credit value, mark and grade regardless of whether they counted in the award calculation.

Please contact your Programme Team.

Yes. We are going to introduce an exceptional addition to the Academic Appeal Regulations to allow you to do so. We will publish information about how to do this before the first set of results are released. 

If your overall results mean that your final degree classification is worked out from the normal calculation the borderline regulation will be applied as long as your marks meet the criteria shown in the substantive Academic Regulations. If your overall results mean that your final degree classification is worked out from your benchmark the borderline regulation will not apply. This is because you have already benefitted from the higher benchmark classification.

Benchmark
For the purposes of no detriment the Benchmark is used as a measurable reference point to ensure that students end of year outcomes in 2019-20 are not negatively affected by the Covid-19 disruption. Details of how the benchmark will operate for each type of programme and level are show in the Emergency Regulations on the intranet (search Emergency Regulations).

Conferred
To confer an award i.e. when you are given your degree.

Finalists
Finalists means students who are in their final year of study on an undergraduate programme.

Grade Point Average (GPA)
This is a cumulative, weighted average of a student’s module marks. Students are given their GPA at the end of each academic year and their final GPA will be an average of their module marks across all levels of their programme. The overall percentage is converted into a Grade Point Score and these are shown in the Assessment Regulations (Appendix 2). There is an FAQ above that explains how no detriment will work for GPA.

Levels
All University programmes are structured according to the Level of study. These refer to a national qualification framework. For University qualifications these are also known as FHEQ (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications). The FHEQ describes the academic standards that students need to achieve at each level of study. The levels for each programme are:
Level 4 – Year one undergraduate
Level 5 – Year two undergraduate
Level 6 – Year three undergraduate
Level 7 – Masters and Year four of an Integrated Masters

PSRB

This stands for Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies – these are the organisations that accredit or approve some of our programmes e.g. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the Nursing programmes, British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) for the undergraduate sports programmes. The University currently has accreditation from 20 PSRBs and the register can be found on the website.

The marks for study abroad students who were studying at the University during semester 1 of the 2019-20 academic year will be unchanged as this was before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The marks for study abroad students who have been studying at the University of Winchester for the whole of the academic year will be reported to the partner university as follows:

• the marks for any modules taken in semester 1 will be unchanged as this was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
• the marks for semester 2 will also be unchanged but the transcript of marks achieved will also include information about all of the elements making up individual module grades, i.e. the component marks if there was more than one, together with the dates when the different elements were completed. The transcript will be accompanied by a letter of explanation about how the University and students were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and about the measures that were put in place including alternative assessments. As is usual, it will be for partner institutions to decide on how they import marks in line with their own regulations and policies for dealing with Covid-19.

The marks for study abroad students who were studying at the University during semester 2 of the 2019-20 academic year will be unchanged but the transcript of marks achieved will also include information about all of the elements making up individual module grades, i.e. the component marks if there was more than one, together with the dates when the different elements were completed. The transcript will be accompanied by a letter of explanation about how the University and students were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and about the measures that were put in place including alternative assessments.  As is usual, it will be for partner institutions to decide on how they import marks in line with their own regulations and policies for dealing with Covid-19.