If a student fails the first-sitting of a Core or Tailored Core course only, they will receive an F* grade and will be offered the opportunity to retrieve a pass.  This retrieval assessment:

• replaces all previous assessment scores
• tests all the course’s learning outcomes
• is graded on a pass/fail basis.

If the retrieval assessment is passed, the F* grade will be replace with a C* on the student's transcript to denote a pass at second sitting.  If the retrieval assessment is failed the student will receive an F grade for the course.  They may be given an opportunity to retake the course in its entirety to attempt to achieve a pass (see below).

For elective courses, there is no opportunity to retrieve a fail grade for the specific course.  Students may carry one elective fail on their transcript and are permitted to take another elective depending on the programme.

The Academic Policy Committee states that a minimum period of two calendar weeks must be allowed between the release of first-sitting grades and the retrieval assessment.  This ensures students have sufficient opportunity to view their feedback and revise for the retrieval assessment (note: students are allowed to view their exam script with the relevant Programme Office or Subject Area, but are not allowed to take it away - see Section 2.9 Giving Feedback to Students).

The retrieval assessment will normally be completed within eight weeks of the grade release, on/by a date determined by the School.

The retrieval assessment and marking guidelines are subject to the same checks and external examining process as the first sitting assessment.

If a student fails a core course after failing their retrieval they will be offered the opportunity to retake the Core Course in its entirety within the next year (i.e. to join the class and complete all the assessments the next time the course runs) .  However, they will only be offered this opportunity for a maximum of two failed courses (they will fail their programme if they fail more than two).  The student's programme office will arrange their enrolment onto the retake course.

If a student passes their retake course their overall grade will be capped at C*.  If a student fails they will be given the standard retrieval opportunity for the course, which will also be capped at C*.  If they fail the retrieval they will be automatically awarded a fail grade for the course (and will therefore fail their programme).