Allowances & rearranging coursework: Faculty Board guidelines
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- Rearranging coursework & allowances: general rules
- Part I allowances
- Part IIA allowances
- Part IIB allowances
- MET Part II allowances
Rearranging coursework & allowances: general rules
Introduction
Although we expect students to attend all lab sessions and respect coursework deadlines, there may be a number of reasons why such commitment may not be honoured. Students experiencing difficulties should seek appropriate support as soon as possible. Their Tutor will have to approve any allowance request and should be kept in the loop.
The Faculty Board of Engineering has issued the following guidelines about the circumstances under which coursework activities may be rearranged or allowances granted. The Head of Department delegates all the responsibilities mentioned in this document to the Director of Undergraduate Education. All forms are processed via the Teaching Office.
Points to consider
- Students should make all reasonable efforts to complete any missed exercises at a later date and so must first try and make rearrangements with the lab leader.
- Applications should be made at the time rearrangement proves not to be possible, and at latest by the end of the relevant term.
- Any application for an allowance must be made on the standard form. This form must be completed in full by both student and Tutor. The Tutor may be required to submit supporting medical evidence (e.g. if the period affected is over 7 days).
- Forms should be submitted as soon as it is clear that an allowance may be required.
- A total allowance of more than four weeks coursework will not normally be given, in any year.
Types of allowance
The granting of an allowance implies either:
- an extension of the scheduled period for completion and submission of an activity (applicable to both standard credit and positive credit activities); or
- the allocation of a number of marks for the activity missed, if it proves impossible to rearrange or catch up the activity. For standard credit activities, the mark allocated will normally be the qualifying mark for the activity. For positive credit exercises, any mark allocated will depend upon the student's performance in related assessed activities.
In all cases, the Director of Undergraduate Education will consider the allowance form submitted by the student and Tutor, and decide upon the type and extent of any allowance to be made. These are incorporated in the final coursework marks sent to the Chairmen of Examiners. The Teaching Office will notify the Tutor and the student of the outcome of any application.
Allowances for individual activities are described in more detail for each Part:
Reasons for arranging coursework
Reasons for seeking to rearrange course work fall into one of the following five categories:
Illness
Educationally it is always preferable to rearrange coursework missed through illness, and this should be attempted wherever practicable. If rearrangement is not possible, then students should apply for the appropriate allowance.
‘Illness’ is broadly defined as any illness, mental health problem, physical injury or other grave cause which, in the opinion of both the student's tutor and the Director of Undergraduate Education, prevents the student from completing their scheduled coursework activities on time, or in some cases at all.
Compassionate or religious grounds
Students will, wherever practicable, be allowed to rearrange coursework on compassionate or religious grounds (for instance, to enable them to attend a funeral, or because the coursework is scheduled on the day of a religious festival). The student concerned should try to rearrange the coursework in advance. If rearrangement proves impossible, then an application for an allowance may be made with the support of the student's tutor.
Interviews
When applying for jobs, work placements or sponsorship, students may be invited for interview on days that conflict with coursework activities. Students should in the first instance seek to rearrange the interview rather than the coursework. If this proves impossible, then the student should try to rearrange the coursework. Allowances are not normally given for coursework missed through interviews.
Sporting commitments
Coursework may not be rearranged to accommodate College sporting commitments. Students will, wherever practicable, be allowed to rearrange coursework that conflicts with University sporting competitions (i.e. representing the University of Cambridge in a competitive event) but not for training sessions.
NB. Allowances are not normally available if such rearrangement is possible.
Other reasons
If a student wishes to seek to rearrange coursework for any reason not covered by the four categories above, they should discuss the matter with the Director of Undergraduate Education.
How to rearrange coursework
Part I coursework
For Part I coursework (including sign-up sessions) students should identify an appropriate replacement slot in the timetable, in discussion with the appropriate chief technician, and then clear this with the lab leader in charge of the activity.
Contact details of lab leaders and technicians are available online: IA, IB.
Part II coursework
For Part II coursework, students should contact the staff member in charge of the coursework activity (e.g. lab/EAA leader or module leader). Wherever possible, arrangements should be made in advance – failure to do so when the need for rearrangement was foreseeable may result in the request being refused. In some cases, it may be necessary to apply for an extension to a deadline to allow coursework to be completed.
Part I allowances
For lab experiments and projects, drawing and computing, students should make every attempt to complete the missed activity at a later date. Allowances of marks will not normally be granted for the Engineer in Society report or the Product Design project (in IA), or the Sustainable Engineering poster (in IB), unless illness is continuous from the date the task is set to the date on which submission is due. The credit available for IA activities can be found here and for IB activities here.
Part IA summary
Application deadlines: One week after the end of Michaelmas and Lent Full Terms for activities missed in those terms. All other applications must be received by one week after the last Part IA lecture in Easter Term.
Activity |
Deadline extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Dimensional analysis Microprocessors |
Not applicable |
Yes, if lab cannot be rearranged |
Drawing and computing |
Yes |
Not normally, and only if activity cannot be rearranged |
Statics experiment, exposition |
Yes |
Yes, if activity cannot be rearranged |
Lab experiments |
Short labs - N/A |
Yes, if lab cannot be rearranged |
Structural design project |
Yes |
Yes, but not if the student can join another project group |
Engineer in society report |
Yes |
Yes, but only if illness is continuous from date when task was set to handing in date |
Part IB summary
Application deadlines: One week after the end of Michaelmas and Lent Full Terms for activities missed in those terms. All other applications must be received by one week after the last Part IB lecture in Easter Term.
Activity |
Deadline Extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Lab experiments |
Short labs - N/A |
Yes, if lab cannot be rearranged |
Computing |
Yes |
Not normally, and only if activity cannot be rearranged |
Integrated design project |
Yes |
Yes, but not if the student can join another project group |
Sustainable engineering poster |
Yes |
Yes, but only if illness is continuous from date when task was set to handing in date |
Part IIA allowances
Part IIA Coursework Overview
During the Michaelmas and Lent terms, Part IIA undergraduates submit a minimum of 8 reports/essays associated with modules, and 2 full technical reports (FTR), and complete an Extension Activity (ExA). During the Easter term, students undertake 2 projects. Students are expected to make all reasonable efforts to complete missed experiments, FTRs and ExAs at a later date, and should contact the member of staff in charge of the activity concerned as soon as possible.
An allowance of marks will not normally be made for more than the coursework for 4 modules and an ExA. Applications should be made at the time rearrangement proves not to be possible, and at the latest by the end of the relevant term. Allowance forms can be downloaded here.
Part IIA projects
Students are expected to complete as much as possible of the work associated with their two projects, but the four week timetable imposes tight constraints.
Minor disruption
Mark penalties are applied for missing compulsory sessions or late report submission. If (due to illness or other grave cause) you are absent from a compulsory session, miss (or expect to miss) a report deadline, then you should notify your project leader(s) and Tutor. Allowance claims to recover penalty marks should be submitted as soon as possible, and preferably within three working days of the date missed, using the standard Allowance form.
Significant disruption
If disruption to your project work is sufficient that there is a significant risk that you may not be able to catch up all of the work and complete the project, you must notify your Tutor, project leader(s) and the Director of Undergraduate Education by email immediately. Regular consultations will be required until the project is back on track. This is in order to determine reasonable extensions to deadlines, or to agree a reduced or alternative submission of project work, as appropriate. A standard Allowance form should be completed and submitted to the Teaching Office, documenting any removal of penalties / agreed extensions / modified work programme (use the back of the form if required).
In these circumstances, an allowance of marks (as opposed to removal of a lateness penalty) may be made only if a substantial part of the project work has been submitted, in which case the total mark may be extrapolated in suitable proportion. Note that allowances are considered separately for each project, i.e. marks awarded for one project will not be used as a basis for awarding marks on the other project. Failure to submit any reports on a project will be treated in the same way as a missed examination: zero marks will be awarded, and the case referred to the University's Applications Committee.
NB. Extensions for final reports are limited to a maximum of four days, and only in exceptional circumstances, since the Examiners must publish the final class lists two weeks after the submission date. The final deadline for receipt of all allowance forms is 4pm on Wednesday of week 7 Easter term.
Summary
Application deadline: Applications for coursework in Michaelmas and Lent Terms must be made on an Allowance form and received by one week after the end of the relevant Full Term. All other applications must be received by 4pm on the Wednesday of the week 7 of Easter Full Term.
Activity |
Deadline extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Lab experiments and management exercises |
Yes |
Yes, but not if it is possible to reschedule. Allowance will not normally be made for more than four experiments/exercises |
Full technical reports |
Yes |
Not normally |
Extension Activity |
Yes |
Yes, but not if student can join another group |
Easter term project reports:
|
Interim - Yes |
Not normally, and only if a substantial part of the project work is submitted
|
Part IIB allowances
Module coursework
Coursework extensions
Students are expected to make all reasonable efforts to complete any missed coursework, normally during the term in which the module is taught or the following vacation.
Extensions to deadlines are expected to cater for most circumstances in Part IIB. Students should notify the relevant group administrator if they need to submit work late, because of illness, but the extension must be authorised by the Director of Undergraduate Education using the allowances form: extensions cannot be negotiated ad-hoc with the group administrator or module leader. Module leaders will apply lateness penalties, which will be removed if the extension is approved.
Treatment of missing coursework
An allowance of marks may be made for missing coursework, provided that both the following conditions are satisfied:
- the Director of Undergraduate Education agrees that there is good reason for non-submission (e.g. illness);
- it is possible to base a fair mark on a partial submission by extrapolating marks in suitable proportion from exams (for 25% coursework modules), or from other coursework activities on the same module, or via an alternative exercise arranged with the module leader.
In all other cases zero marks will be awarded for missing coursework components. If there are mitigating circumstances Tutors may refer the case to the University Applications Committee.
Projects
Also see the information on Part IIB project deadline problems.
Extensions to deadlines are expected to cater for most circumstances. Students unable to give their presentations at the scheduled times should notify their project supervisor as soon as possible. Students will be asked to join another group, or a one-off presentation may be arranged. Similarly, progress reviews may be rearranged due to illness. In either case, an extension must be applied for through the Teaching Office. If rescheduling proves impossible, an application may be made for an allowance of marks.
Extensions to deadlines will be permitted for good cause for the technical milestone report and the final report (limited to five days inclusive of weekends for the final report). Allowances of marks will not normally be awarded, and only for cases in which a substantial partial submission has been made. Failure to submit any project reports for assessment will be treated in the same way as a missed examination: zero marks awarded and referral by Tutors to the University Applications Committee.
Given the overall importance of project work in part IIB, students are encouraged to ask their tutors to document any significant disruption due to illness during the year as soon as it occurs, without specific claim for an extension. For these purposes, notification may be by email to the project supervisor, director of studies and Director of Undergraduate Education.
Summary
Application deadline: Applications for coursework in Michaelmas and Lent Terms must be received by one week after the end of the relevant Full Term. All other applications must be received by the Wednesday of the last week of Easter Full Term.
Activity |
Deadline extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Coursework associated with modules |
Yes |
25% coursework modules: yes if exam also taken 100% coursework modules: no |
Project reports |
Yes. For the final report it is limited to five days (inclusive of weekends). |
Not normally, and only if substantial part of the project work is submitted |
Project presentations/progress reviews |
Yes. Consult supervisor to rearrange. |
Yes, but only if rearrangement proves impossible |
MET Part II allowances
Part IIA
In MET Part IIA, the major project is a group activity which runs throughout the year. A candidate may receive an allowance for absences totalling over two weeks, but an allowance will not normally be made for more than four weeks absence or where more than one submission is involved. For other coursework assignments, which may include reports, essays and exercises, an extension of up to two weeks may be allowed.
Applications for credit for missed industrial visits or debrief sessions must be made using the MET Application form.
Application deadline: Applications for other coursework in Michaelmas and Lent Terms must be received by one week after the end of the relevant Full Term. All other applications must be received by the Wednesday of the last week of Easter Full Term.
Activity |
Report deadline extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Michaelmas and Easter term project |
Yes |
Yes, for absences totalling over two weeks but not for more than four weeks absence or more than one submission |
Other coursework assignments |
Yes, up to 2 weeks |
Not normally |
Part IIB
MET Part IIB is organised on a modular basis and thus even a comparatively short absence through illness or injury may make it unreasonable to expect a candidate to complete a particular module assessment exercise or industrial assignment. Hence allowances may be made.
Application deadline: Applications for coursework in Michaelmas and Lent Terms must be received by one week after the end of the relevant Full Term. All other applications must be received by the Wednesday of the last week of Easter Full Term.
Activity |
Deadline extension |
Marks |
|---|---|---|
Module assessment exercises and industrial assignments. |
Yes |
Yes, for absences which make it unreasonable to expect candidates to complete a particular exercise or assignment |
Last updated on 31/08/2018 09:38