Undergraduate regulations - Joint Institute students
See the regulations linked below as well as additional information relevant to your studies.
Undergraduate regulations
Contact the Joint Institute Curriculum and Assessment Officer Patrick Meredith: pm477@sussex.ac.uk. for questions about the regulations.
Note below other aspects that will be important during your studies.
Threshold marking
For all modules at levels 4-6: a threshold mark of 35% must be achieved on all module assessment modes weighted 30% or more. The threshold mark requirement will be applied to the conflated coursework mark which may include multiple assignments.
In practice, this rule applies to all taught modules which are assessed by a combination of exam and coursework, but where one of these components is weighted less than 30%, the threshold requirement only applies to the larger component.
Examples:
- module A: this module is assessed with 80% exam and 20% coursework. Here, a minimum mark of 35% is required on the exam component only.
- module B: assessment is split evenly between 50% exam and 50% coursework. For both components, a minimum mark of 35% is necessary.
- module C: this module is entirely assessed by coursework (100%). In such cases, the threshold requirement doesn't apply, as a minimum mark of 40% is needed to pass the module
You can find out how each of your modules is assessed, including the main component weightings, by clicking on the module details in Sussex Direct.
A resit will be required of any component where the threshold has not been met, or where the overall pass mark cannot be achieved. For modules with an exam weighted 75% or more, the resit mode will be 100% exam.
Trailed credit
You may be able to progress to the next stage of your course with a trailed resit to get credit for a failed module.
The exam board has discretion to give a trailed resit where:
- you have achieved an uncapped stage mean of 40% at the pass threshold, and
- you have achieved 90 credits from your other modules in the stage.
Important: Trailed resits will be scheduled in the resit assessment period for the module.
Repeating the year instead of taking resits or sits
A repeat year means you do the teaching, learning and assessments again to get the credits you need to progress on your course or earn a degree. We won’t use any marks or credits from the original year – you’ll only be considered on what you achieve in your repeat year.
The exam board held in the summer may offer you a repeat year, known as a stage. If a repeat stage is not offered by the summer exam board, this may be offered by the resit exam board in September.
If you have not been offered a repeat by the summer exam board, you can apply in the summer to repeat a failed stage of study in the next academic year instead of taking resits or sits. Contact ZJSU-JI@sussex.ac.uk to discuss this option.
First year students who haven’t progressed will be automatically offered a repeat stage by the resit board in September.
Condoned credit
Award of a non-accredited degree - outcome of being awarded condoned credit
Candidates will not normally be offered a further attempt once a final re-sit or trailed resit is failed. The only option then available to the exam board is to award condoned credit for a non-recoverable fail. Condoned credit is not permitted by the IED (the Joint Institute is in the process of having the undergraduate courses accredited).
How this affects undergraduate awards: Where BEng finalists are awarded a University of Sussex Honours degree as a result of being given condoned credits, the exit award will be named BSc (Hons) Engineering. This award will not be accredited by the PSBs.
Any student affected by this regulation will be notified after the classification exam board, or after the equivalent resit exam board in September.