Exams and Assessments

Assessment Regulations

We recommend that you take some time to familiarise yourself with the University’s Regulations governing undergraduate degree programmes. View the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study for 2024-25

Assessment Deadlines

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of the assessment methods and published assessment deadlines for your courses, including examination times and locations. Assessment deadlines are published in course handbooks and information about submission methods for coursework are published on the course Learn site. It is important that you familiarise yourself with the requirements for each course early in the semester, and if you have any questions please ask the Course Organiser or Course Administrator (contact details available on Learn) at the earliest opportunity.

The Examination Timetable is published via the Exams Office Website, and it is essential that you check the timetable for the location and timing of examinations. The publication dates for the timetables are still to be confirmed. Visit the Exams Website.

If you find a clash in your Examination Timetable, you must contact the Examinations Office via the Undergraduate Office (law.ugo@ed.ac.uk) as soon as possible so that we can investigate alternative arrangements.

Availability for Assessment During Semester

As examinations may be scheduled at any time during the semester, it is your responsibility to be available throughout the semester, including the whole of the revision period, examination diet and the resit diet. Examinations will not be scheduled during winter or spring vacations.

Find the date, time and location of published exams

Late Submission

In most undergraduate courses, if assessed coursework is submitted late without an agreed extension to the deadline, it will be recorded as late and a penalty will be exacted. The penalty for work submitted late will be five marks per calendar day, up to a maximum of seven calendar days after which a mark of zero will be given. Further information about the penalties for late submission is included in each Course Guide.

There are some courses for which late submission is not permitted because the assessment is of a nature that makes it impractical or unfair to others to accept late submission. This is indicated in the course guide for the relevant courses.

Extensions and Special Circumstances

At the University of Edinburgh we are committed to supporting you during your studies and want to make sure there’s nothing preventing you from succeeding in your assessments. We know that sometimes things can happen in your life, which are beyond your control, but that you feel may have an adverse impact on your academic performance.

Extensions and Learning Adjustments 

Where there were circumstances that affected your ability of completing your coursework on time, and where late submissions are allowed, the Extensions and Special Circumstances (ESC) team will consider an extension for coursework submission for up to a maximum of four calendar days.

You can submit an online form to the ESC team if you wish to apply for an extension or if you have a Learning Adjustment.

  • Click here to submit an extension request;
  • Click here to submit a Learning Adjustment request;

Applications for Extensions should be made through the Assessment Support system – you will be able to apply via MyEd. Learning Adjustments applications should be made via the Extra Time Adjustment Tool.

If you require an extension of more than four calendar days, you must contact your Student Advisor as this will be dealt with under the Special Circumstances Procedure. If you wish to submit after seven calendar days past the deadline, you must submit your work via email to the Undergraduate Office (observing the Law School conventions for retaining anonymity of work).

If you have any questions regarding extensions or learning adjustments please contact the Undergraduate Office at law.ugo@ed.ac.uk

Special Circumstances

Where there is evidence to show that there are circumstances that had a significant adverse impact on your performance in an assessment, or resulted in non-attendance or a non-submission for a scheduled assessment, you can submit an application to have these circumstances considered.

Applications for special circumstances should be made through the Assessment Support system. The system will allow you to select a single coursework, or to select several assignments across different courses, all in one application.

You should ensure that you have completed all four steps of the Special Circumstances application process.

Help With Your Application

The Extensions and Special Circumstances team are here to help, and you can contact them directly with any questions about your application: escteam@ed.ac.uk. The team aim to respond to your extension requests within 2 working days and completed special circumstances applications within 5 working days.

To view the status of your application, you should login and view the Assessment Support System.

The Student Support Office team (SSE) in your School will still remain your first point of contact should you wish to discuss your circumstances with them, access wider support from the University, and if you need help submitting your application.

Deadlines

You should submit your application as soon as you become aware of circumstances affecting your studies.

  • You will be able to submit an extension request 2 weeks before your assignment deadline. Applications submitted after your assignment deadlines will not be considered;

You will be able to submit a special circumstances application up to 1 week after your last assignment in any given semester.

Outcomes

The ESC service aims to respond to your application for an extension within 2 working days. You will be able to view this on the Assessment Support page.

The ESC service aims to respond to your initial application for Special Circumstances within 2 working days, to let you know if you are eligible to apply, and within 5 working days after your application is complete (this includes selecting affected assignments, providing evidence, etc.). If your application is accepted, it will be considered at the relevant Board of Examiners, and you will be notified of the outcome afterwards via MyEd.

The Board of Examiners usually meet 4-6 weeks after the end of the semester, but can also be much later. It is not possible to confirm in advance what the outcome of your Special Circumstances application will be.

The powers of the Special Circumstances Committee and Board of Examiners are limited. Grades and marks cannot be changed as a result of Special Circumstances. The Board may:

  • Take no action
  • Take no action at course level, but flag the circumstances for consideration in relation to progression or an award decision
  • Disregard penalties for the late submission of coursework
  • Disregard missing or unreliable component(s) of work and derive the overall mark from completed work if to the student’s benefit
  • Allow further reassessment in line with the Taught Assessment Regulations
  • Record the course as a ‘null sit’, with the option of requiring the student to be examined at the next available diet
  • In exceptional cases, permit the student to take specially prepared alternative assessments
  • If the course is borderline (within 2 percentage points of the pass mark), award a pass

Release of Examination Results

All results will be communicated to you via EUCLID student view. For information on Examinations, including Diets & Timetables, Deadlines, FAQ’s and more, please see the Examinations web-page here.

Number of Permitted Attempts

Ordinary level students are generally permitted a maximum of four attempts at the assessment for a course (not including expunged sits as a result of special circumstances). This normally means an initial attempt and three resits. An absence from an examination without satisfactory explanation will be counted as an attempt.

Students studying in the UK with a Student (previously Tier 4) visa may only be allowed to undertake three sits at the assessment for a course depending on the conditions of their visa. If you have failed a course three times and are studying with a Student visa you are advised to consult Student Recruitment and Admissions for advice about your options.

If you have failed an ordinary level course which is compulsory for the degree the maximum number of permitted times, you will be referred to the School Progression Committee and will normally be asked to leave the University. If the course is not a compulsory course you may be able to substitute another course, depending on the circumstances.

At Honours Level, no reassessment is permitted for failed courses. It is therefore important that you complete all of the elements of assessment for the Honours course, as further resits will not be permitted except in exceptional special circumstances.

In line with Taught Assessment Regulation 52, the Board of Examiners may award Credit on Aggregate for a failed course if a student has passed at least 80 credits in the year of honours study, and has an overall average of 40% or more for the 120 credits of study taken in the relevant honours year, and has satisfied any other specific requirements for the degree programme (e.g. completion of compulsory courses).

What to do if you have a query about your results

When your results are released we strongly encourage you to you take some time to consider your result, and wait until you have received all of your course results before taking action. The School has a rigorous procedure for the confirmation of course grades, which includes internal and external moderation as well as the review and confirmation of grades by the School of Law Board of Examiners. This all takes place before grades are released, however we have outlined some additional steps which may help you to better understand the result you have received. If you have a query about your course results, we encourage you to take each of the following steps in the order that they appear:

  1. Review your exam script or assessment submission on Learn: You can access your exam script or assessment submission by logging in to the course Learn site. This is the online equivalent of a script viewing. If you are not sure how to access your exam script or assessment submission, you should review the How to access your Exam Script & Assessment Submission instructions on Law UG Community. You will have access to your exam script on the same date that grades are released on MyEd. In most cases, you will have access to your assessment submission 15 working days after the submission deadline. If you have questions about the marks you receive, then it is vital that you review your exam script or assessment submission on Learn and review any feedback you may have received. Please be aware that for exam scripts, not all courses will provide individual exam feedback. If you do not have any individual feedback, then you should proceed to Step 2 and review the generic feedback when it is available.
  2. Review the generic feedback & course statistics on Learn: Each Ordinary course will produce generic feedback for exams. This will be posted on the relevant course Learn site as soon as possible and within fifteen working days of the release of grades. An announcement will be posted to notify students when the generic feedback and statistics have been made available on Learn.
    If you are required to take a resit examination, then you are strongly encouraged to carefully review your exam script and the generic feedback, this will help you to identify areas for improvement, which will assist you in preparing for the resit.
  1. Request a meeting with the Course Organiser: If you have undertaken step one and reviewed your exam script or assessment submission, and completed step two by reviewing any individual or generic feedback and course statistics, then you may contact the Course Organiser to seek further feedback. They may be able to discuss your results and identify areas for improvement.

If you have a question about the impact of your course results on your progression, or concerns about your progress in general then we encourage you to contact the Student Support Office.

Appeals

The University has in place a process for Academic Appeal, following the release of results. An Appeal is a request for a decision made by a Board of Examiners relating to marks, progression, degree classification and/or degree award to be reconsidered.

It is important to note that the appeal process cannot be used to challenge academic judgement. That is, you cannot submit an appeal simply because you believe that you deserve a better mark. There are specific grounds under which an Academic Appeal may be submitted. These are set out in the Academic Appeal Regulations.

View the Academic Appeal Regulations

If you are considering submitting an appeal, it is important that you act promptly. The School strongly recommends that you should study the guidance on the Appeals webpages, then contact the EUSA Advice Place, where trained advisers can offer guidance and support about the appeal process and your case.

Visit the EUSA Advice Place Appeals Website

Please note that it is not possible to get a paper re-marked if you disagree with the mark that has been awarded. The School operates strict internal marking procedures and results are reviewed by the External Examiner before ratification at the Board of Examiners. As per the appeal guidelines, you cannot submit an appeal simply because you believe that you deserve a better mark.