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Examinations
For some courses, in addition to assignments, you might
have a mid-semester test and an end of the semester
examination at a designated examination centre (for
example, a UWIDEC or UWI site) in your country. Some
courses may have an alternative to the final
examination, such as a major project/action research.
Distance examinations
The examinations set for distance students are not
always the same as those set for face-to-face students.
In certain cases, they may differ for logistical
reasons, but course coordinators make sure that
standards are not compromised in any way. When
writing an examination, you should ensure that the
examination paper is the one prescribed for distance
students.
Steps to take before an examination
- Collect your examination card from your centre;
it will show your full name, your ID number and the
courses for which you are registered to write
examinations. You should immediately report any
discrepancies on your examination card to your Head
of the University Centre/Site Coordinator.
- Check the examination schedule at your site or at
the Campus Registry, and enter the date(s) and
time(s) of your examination(s) on the card (A
candidate shall not write anything on the
Examination card except the examination timetable).
All written examinations are scheduled for the
morning, afternoon, or the evenings and are two or
three hours in length. In some exceptional cases,
examinations may be scheduled on public holidays.
It is your responsibility to make sure of the dates,
times and venues of the examination(s) for which you
are registered. Students are advised that in no
circumstance should reliance be placed on any oral
communication of the timetable. The timetable will
be published in an appropriate location. No member
of academic staff is authorised to communicate
timetable information to you.
- Arrive for your examination at least fifteen
minutes prior to its scheduled start (candidates
arriving late will NOT be allowed extra time) and
present your examination and identification cards to
the invigilator. Retain your examination card for
presentation at all later examinations.
Writing examinations at another site/campus
If you are unable to write examinations at your own
site, you must formally make a request to write them at
another location. To do this, write to the Assistant
Registrar of Examinations, of your campus of
registration,
through your Head of the University Centre/Site
Coordinator. This should be done at least four (4) weeks
prior
to the date of the particular examination. You will be
required to pay a fee of BDS$40.00 for this service.
Absence from examinations
When you register at the beginning of the semester for
any course in a Faculty, you are at the same time
registering to be examined for that course. If you
register for a course and do not take the examination
you will be recorded as fail/absent (FA).
Please note however, that the Examination Regulations
for First Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates state:
Any student who, having registered for a course
and examination, fails to take the examination shall
be deemed to have failed the examination unless the
relevant Academic Board shall approve otherwise on
the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Board.
Absence from examinations as a result of illness
You must request permission for absence from an
examination because of illness; however, you must
support your request with a medical certificate
submitted through the Head of the University Centre/Site
Coordinator to the Campus Registry within seven days
from the date of the examination in which your
performance is affected. The medical certificate should
give brief details of the nature of the illness without
breaching medical ethics.
The Examination Regulations for First Degrees, Diplomas
and Certificates state inter alia that:
-
If the performance of a candidate in any part of any
examination is likely to have been
affected by factors of which the examiners have no
knowledge, the candidate may report the
circumstances in writing to the Campus Registrar. If
the candidate decides to report such circumstances,
he/she must do so within seven days of that part of
the examination, which may have been affected.
-
In cases of illness the candidate shall present to
the Campus Registrar (or in the case of
candidates in the Non-Campus Countries in either
Distance mode or TLIs through the Resident Tutor
[Head of University Centre] or the DE Site
Coordinator) a medical certificate, as proof of
illness, signed by the University Health Officer or
by any other medical practitioner approved for this
purpose by the University. The candidate shall send
the medical certificate to the Campus Registrar
within seven days from the date of that part of the
examination in which the performance of the
candidate is affected. A certificate received after
this period will be considered only in exceptional
circumstances.
-
Where in the opinion of the medical adviser
concerned a student is unable to submit a medical
certificate himself/herself, the medical adviser may
do so on his/her behalf, within the prescribed time.
If you cannot report your special circumstance to the
relevant Campus Registrar /UWIDEC Registrar,
the Board of Examiners shall NOT take cognisance of, nor
give consideration to it.
Notification of examination results
Students are notified of examinations results through
the students’ online system.
Dissatisfaction with final examination results
You may appeal for a review of examination grades and/or
for re-marking of examination scripts by paying the
appropriate fee (currently BDS $125, or the EC$
equivalent to BDS$125.00, J$2,000, TT$375) and
forwarding it, as a cheque or bank draft, along with the
appropriate form, through your Head of the University
Centre/Site Coordinator to the Campus Registrar. The fee
is required, only, in the event that a re-mark is
requested. Here is an extract from the relevant
regulations governing the review of examination results:
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A student who is dissatisfied with the results of
his/her examination should report his/
her dissatisfaction in writing to the Campus Registrar.
Such a report must be made, in
the case of the first Semester, by the first Friday of the
Second Semester or within five
days of the issuing of grade slips whichever is later.
In the case of the Second Semester
such a report must be made within five weeks of the
issuing of grade slips, and in the
case of Supplemental/Summer School or Resit Examinations
within five days of the
issuing of grade slips. For Distance Education, NCC and
TLI students may communicate
their dissatisfaction in writing through the Resident
Tutor or TLI/DE Site Coordinator
by the deadline above.
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The Campus Registrar shall forward the student’s report
to the Dean of the Faculty
concerned.
-
The student may request:
- to have the relevant marksheet reviewed; and/or
- to go through his/her FAILED script with the Examiner; and/or
- to have his/her script(s) re-marked.
Note: (iii) (b) applies to FAILED courses only.
Please note that the options requested at (a) (b) and
(c) must be clearly stated. If you request a review, the
option, which will be applied, is (a). If it is a
re-mark, that is being sought, then your request must
specifically state that fact.
In the case of the re-marking of a script under
Regulations 118, the mark of the new and independent
examiner(s) shall be regarded as the final mark.
Remark of mid-semester examinations/coursework results
The Examination Regulations for First Degrees, Diplomas
and Certificates state that:
Re-marking shall not apply to coursework which counts
for 60% or less of the total assessment of the course
and when such coursework consists of more than one
piece, none of which individually exceeds 40% of the
total assessment provided that where a single piece of
coursework counts for more than 40%, re-marking shall be
allowed for that piece.
Examinations only
Students may seek permission from the Dean of the
relevant Faculty* to register to write “Examinations
ONLY” in course(s) without attending classes, in the
following circumstances:-
-
He/she has failed one or two of the final courses
needed to complete the degree/certificate/diploma
requirements and obtained a mark as prescribed by
the respective faculty regulations.
-
He/she has obtained a medical excuse, certified by
the UWI Medical Officer, for not having attempted an
exam;
-
In exceptional circumstances, the Dean may grant a
student deferral for special assignments overseas
for an employer (part-time students only) or by
virtue of being selected to represent the country on
a national team. In both instances, formal
representation will have to be made by the
employer/national association.
NOTE: Examinations only is marked out of 100%
* With respect to (a) above students in the Faculty
of Social Sciences should have gained a mark of 35%
or
above in the failed course to be considered for
examinations only.
If you meet (a) and (b) then you can apply for a
re-sit of ‘examinations only’ by writing to the Dean
of the
relevant Faculty. Send your letter through your Head
of the University Centre/Site Coordinator to the
Examinations
Registrar/UWIDEC Registrar at Cave Hill, the
Distance Education and Outreach Officer, St.
Augustine,
or to the Assistant Registrar, Examinations, at the
Mona Campus.
If permission is granted, you will be advised in
writing and will need to pay the requisite fee,
which is ¼ of the
regular course fee, i.e. BDS$90.00, or its
equivalent in the currency of your country.
Withholding of results
You should note that even if permission is granted
to sit an examination where fees are outstanding,
results will
be suppressed until the outstanding balance is
cleared. Graduation certificates shall also be
withheld under the
same circumstances.
AWARD OF DEGREES
Award of Honours in the B.Ed. Degree
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(i) In order to be eligible for Honours, a candidate
must normally pass all courses under the appropriate
Scheme of Examinations for that degree at the first
sitting, except as provided under (ii) below.
(ii) A candidate who fails not more than two such
courses at the first sitting and passes at the second
sitting may still be awarded Honours. However, a
candidate failing three or more of these courses may not
be awarded.
-
(i) Honours shall be awarded on the basis of performance
in Faculty and Cross Faculty courses, provided that:
(a) no zero level or Level 1 courses are included;
(b) 24 credits derive from the specialization.
(ii) To obtain First Class Honours, the candidate
must achieve an average of not less than 11 points.
(iii) To obtain Upper Second Class Honours, the
candidate must achieve an average of not less than 7
points.
(iv) To obtain Lower Second Class Honours, the
candidate must achieve an average of not less than 4
points.
-
Notwithstanding 2 (ii), (iii), and (iv) above, any
candidate with results on the borderline between
classesshall be the subject of special discussion by the
Board of Examiners.
Award of Honours for the BSc. Degree
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(i) The class of degree to be awarded shall be
determined on the basis of performance at Levels 2
and 3 only.
(ii) The minimum standard required for each class of
Honours shall be the following:
- First Class Honours – either thirteen
(13) 3-credit courses with a grade of A or twelve
(12) 3-credit courses with a grade of A with good
supporting B+ grades.
- Upper Second Class Honours – either
thirteen (13) 3-credit courses with the grade of at
least B+ or twelve (12) 3-credit courses with a
grade of B+ or above with good supporting B grades.
- Lower Second Class Honours - either thirteen
(13) 3-credit courses with the grade of at least B or
twelve (12) 3-credit courses with a grade of B or above
with good supporting C grades.
N.B.: The above will be pro-rated to take into account
courses other than credit courses.
(iii) With regards to the determination of the class
of degree, attention is drawn to the modified
penalty principle, which stipulates that where a
student has failed a Level 2 or 3 examination
and subsequently re-sits that examination, or takes
a substitute examination, a penalty will be applied
to the examination result. The actual grade received
in the subsequent examination will however appear on
the grade slip.
(iv) A course designated at registration as not for
credit (NFC) shall not count for the purpose of
assessing Honours.
(v) Core courses satisfying the requirements of
specialization, majors and minors must be takeninto
account in the determining of the class of degree.
Grade Point Average
System and Marking Scheme
- The class of degree to be awarded shall be
determined on the basis of a weighted Grade Point
Average (GPA).
- In the calculation of the weighted GPA, a
weight of zero shall be attached to all Level I
courses.
- Level II and III courses shall have equal
weight in the determination of the weighted GPA.
- Core courses satisfying the requirements of
specialization, majors and minors must be taken into
account in the determining of the class of degree.
- A course designated at registration as not for
credit (NFC) shall not count in the determination of
the weighted GPA.
- The class of degree shall be determined as
indicated in the table over page:
Transcripts
How to request a transcript
The Examinations Section, upon the written request of a
student, prepares official transcripts. This official
transcript reflects all the academic work completed by
the student. You should complete the appropriate
Transcript Request Form, available from your university
site, and submit it with the required fee, through the
Head of the University Centre/Site Coordinator to the
Assistant Registrar (Examinations).
Degree/Certificate request
How do I obtain my degree/certificate after having
completed my programme?
Regulation 3. states that: After the Board for
Undergraduate Studies has on behalf of the Senate of the
University approved the Pass List, a Certificate for
each Degree, Diploma or Certificate under the Seal of
the University shall be delivered at a graduation
ceremony or forwarded to each successful candidate on
written request to the relevant Campus Registrar. |
