For the latest information on online assessments, please refer to this article.

No academic disadvantage

Please do not worry. No student will be academically disadvantaged by the unprecedented circumstances brought about by the coronavirus. Your final or year-end marks will not be negatively affected by online assessments.

If you are a finalist graduating this year, your degree will be awarded either on the classification you have achieved in your work to date, or improved if you perform well in your final assessments.

If you are a first or second year progressing to the next year of study in September, we have introduced special arrangements, which will continue throughout your studies, to ensure that your overall marks will not be negatively affected by online teaching and assessment.

Some people have called this ‘no detriment’, ​others have called it 'the safety net'. We prefer to call it ‘no academic disadvantage’ - but it amounts to the same thing. Your overall grades will not go down as a consequence of online exams and other changed assessments.

Our principles

In designing online assessments for these unprecedented circumstances, the University has set out a series of key principles that all assessment must follow. These were communicated via email to all students on Friday 27 March:

• the University wants you to succeed and will prioritise your wellbeing
• students will not be tested on areas that cannot be taught under the current conditions
• the University will stagger assessment over a longer period, until Friday 12 June
• students’ assessment load will not be increased
• the University will ensure that you have every opportunity to meet the learning outcomes of your programme and the requirements of affiliated professional bodies

In summary, students will only be assessed on what they have been taught, will have more time for assessment, and workload will not be increased. No student will be academically disadvantaged, and the integrity of University of Nottingham degrees will be preserved.

Online assessment

How students are assessed at the end of the summer term will depend on their field of study, and methods of assessment vary from module to module. These could include coursework, open book exams, recorded presentations or other methods.

Schools will explain to students directly how they be individually assessed. Students should raise individual anxieties or concerns with your personal tutors in the first instance. They will support students, or put them in contact with someone who can help them further.

The University has developed its approach to assessment in discussion with other Russell Group universities to ensure that as far as possible institutions are aligned, operating fairly, and ensuring that no student is academically disadvantaged.

Professor Sarah O’Hara, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience, said:

“I recognise this is an incredibly difficult time for staff and students at the University of Nottingham and want to assure every student, particularly our finalists, that they will not be academically disadvantaged.

“The many actions we have delivered to support our student community have placed the utmost priority on their health and academic achievement.”

For further information, visit our FAQs to find out how our COVID-19 Exceptional Regulations affect students, including information on the updated extenuating circumstances policy. The full regulations are available on the University’s Quality Manual webpages.