Supporting Information: Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures

This is version 1.0 of the Supporting Information for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, which applies from the 2026/27 academic year onwards. This supporting information is owned by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures.  Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] for any matters related to this supporting information.

Contents

1. Purpose and Scope
2. Supplementary Information - Academic Regulations for Taught Programmes
3. Supplementary Information - Assessment Policy and Procedures
4. Other Supplementary Information
5. Students awarded according to the Rules for Award

3. Supplementary Information – Assessment Policy & Procedures

This section contains information supplementary to the Assessment Policy & Procedures (AP&P) where Schools are required to develop and define their approach.

3.1 Setting and Approval of Assessment Methods (AP&P section 4)

3.1.1 Examination Papers and Online Time Limited Assessments with a duration of 48 hours or less

These are prepared by module leaders (in consultation with the teaching team, if applicable) and submitted to the School assessment team, by an agreed deadline, for approval by the relevant sub-committee within the School. All such materials are also made available to the relevant External Examiner. Records of this process are retained within each school.

3.1.2 Coursework Questions and Presentations

The specification of coursework and any form of presentation will relate clearly to the module learning outcomes and is the responsibility of the module leader, in consultation with the teaching team. Coursework and presentation requirements will be indicated in the relevant Minerva area from the start of the module, in compliance with the approved module design. This information will be communicated via assessment briefs which will undergo internal checking prior to release to students. If particular assignments are designed for later release, this timing will be explained in the Minerva area. External Examiners may be consulted about the development of coursework questions, will have access to coursework as part of their annual review, and may incorporate comments on the appropriateness of assessments and questions within their report. Records of this process are retained within each school.

• In the School of Design these are reviewed in stages involving the student education team and programme and module leaders.
• In the School of English these are reviewed by the DSE and Assessment Lead.
• In the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies these are reviewed by check markers responsible for the relevant assessments.
• In the School of History these are reviewed by a sub-group comprising of the DSE, DDSE, Assessment Lead and programme leads
• In the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies these are reviewed by a different academic colleague to the author(s), who can be, but is ideally not, part of the module marking team. In most cases, this will be the module check marker.
• In the School of Media and Communication these are reviewed by the relevant programme leaders, Assessment Lead, DDSE and DSE.
• In the School of Music these are reviewed by an academic colleague nominated by the author(s), usually someone in the same subject area and receive final approval from the Assessment Lead.
• In the School of Performance and Cultural Industries these are reviewed by the module teaching team and receive final approval from the Assessment Lead.
• In the School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science these are reviewed by programme leaders, with briefs for modules being run by programme leaders being checked by the DSE or DDSE as necessary.
• In the Language Centre these are reviewed by the DSE, DDSE, and programme leaders.

3.1.3 Projects/Dissertations

Expectations regarding development and definition of topics and titles will be set out in the relevant Minerva area. External Examiners will have access to project and dissertation outcomes and may focus particularly on students' final year work.

3.1.4 Re-sit Assessments

Re-sit examination papers, online time limited assessments with a duration of 48 hours duration or less, coursework assignments, presentations and assessment briefs are prepared in line with the processes set out above and, in all cases must be agreed in advance of release to students.

3.2 Registration for Assessments (AP&P section 5)

The School will provide information on the resit opportunities available to students when they publish the final module marks.

In some cases, where a student has a large number of resits e.g. 60 or more credits, a discussion will be had with the student about academic study planning, including the timing of these resits and whether it may be appropriate to sit these as August resits or as internal or external resits in the next academic session. Any decisions made will be approved by the School Special Circumstances Committee and/or the Progression and Awards Board. Final year students who take a resit will have a delayed graduation as a result.

Language Centre Pre-Sessional Programmes:

Pre-sessional programmes do not follow the University’s timeline therefore for pre-sessional students, resits will usually take place during the week after the module has ended. Where the end of the course is very close to the next academic year, resits may be offered in the final week of the course to enable visa and programme registration processes. In these cases, the progression outcome will be approved via Chair’s Action and ratified by the External Examiner. Resit information for pre-sessional programmes will be shared in induction and module handbooks available in Minerva

3.3 Submission of Coursework (AP&P section 6)

School assessment teams will have the final oversight and responsibility for approving all coursework deadlines and working to reduce the clustering of deadlines, as far as is possible.

Submission areas and/or module Minerva areas will indicate whether coursework must be submitted in both electronic and hard copy, or in electronic copy or hard copy only. Where both are required, electronic and hard copy versions must be identical, otherwise the matter may be referred to the Student Cases Team as potential academic misconduct.

For coursework submitted electronically, the assessment brief will specify how to submit the work – this will typically be via the Turnitin or Blackboard Assignment function in Minerva unless the assessment type requires otherwise. Each module will have a dedicated assignment submission area within the relevant module area. Students must ensure they download their receipt as evidence of submission.

Details about submission of coursework required in the form of physical artefacts will be shared by students’ module leaders and detailed in Minerva areas and the assessment brief.

Care is needed to ensure the correct version of an assignment is submitted and that it is submitted to the correct submission point; claims that the wrong version or a draft was submitted in error, or that work was submitted to the wrong submission point, will not justify a replaced submission. Email submissions will not be accepted, and staff will not submit on behalf of students.

Technical reasons are not grounds for late submissions without penalties, unless there is evidence that there was a University systems issue.

Students taking modules from outside of their parent School (whether as part of a joint-honours programme or as a discovery module) should ensure that they are aware of the submission requirements of that teaching school, which may be different.

The exception to the 14.00 coursework deadline is the summer pre-sessional programmes in the Language Centre (online and on campus) where the deadline will either be 12.00 or 9.00 (UK time), to support different time zones and where teaching is scheduled over the normal 14:00 deadline. The deadline will be specified in the module assessment brief.

The deadline for August coursework resits in AHC are the Monday before the August exam period.

For certain types of assessments e.g. presentations/group work extensions may not be available. When an extension is not available, this will be made clear in the relevant module Minerva area or the assessment brief, these will also explain alternative opportunities to take the assessment and the format of this.

In the Summer period, the Language Centre’s pre-sessional programme boards take place shortly after the final day of the course. Therefore, extensions offered in assessments in the Centre may be shorter than at other times in the year.

3.4 Late Submission of Coursework (AP&P section 6.4)

In some situations, e.g. presentations/group work, late submissions may not be accepted. Where this is the case, it will be identified in the relevant module Minerva area or the assessment brief, which will also explain alternative opportunities to take the assessment and the format of this.

Language Centre Pre-Sessional Programmes:

Given different programmes will have different entry requirements (see section 2.1.1 above), late penalties will only be applied until the threshold of the individual students’ progression requirements. If an assessment component receives a mark below this threshold before the application of penalties, penalties for late submission will not be applied. Penalties for late submission will be applied after other penalties are applied to the mark e.g. penalties for not meeting the assessment requirements.

3.5 Resubmission of Own Work (AP&P section 6.5)

In AHC, for coursework resits, students will be allowed to resubmit a version of their previous work having revised this in light of feedback received on their first submission. In instances when it is pedagogically or practically not possible/appropriate to do so (notably in the case of group assessments or as an outcome of some forms of academic misconduct investigations) a different assessment question will be used for the resit. Students will be informed whether they are allowed to resubmit a version of their previous work or are required to submit a new piece of work in the relevant module Minerva area or assessment brief for the original assignment.

If a different assessment format is required for the resit, this will be explained in the module specification in the online module catalogue, and associated assessment briefs and/or module Minerva areas.

3.6 Use of Systems to Identify Academic Integrity (AP&P section 7.2)

Schools will provide students with an introduction to Turnitin during their first semester of study as part of a core module on their programme to support their understanding of academic integrity

3.7 Referencing (AP&P section 7.4)

The expected referencing style for assignments will be stated in the relevant module Minerva area or the assessment brief.

Guidance on how to source citations within the text and how to reference different types of material is available on the referencing pages of the Library website. Marking of all submitted coursework will be informed by this guidance and will correspond to the style outlined on the library’s referencing website pages.

3.8 Assessment Marking and Marks (AP&P section 8.1.3)

A Feedback Consideration Cover Sheet is sent by the School Disability Contact to students registered with Disability Services and who have a Specific Learning Difficulty (e.g. dyslexia), or it can be downloaded from module assessment folders on Minerva. Registered students must submit the cover sheet with each assessment submission. This cover sheet identifies to the marker students who require specific feedback and support. Students should contact the school’s Disability Contact if they feel this applies to them and they have not received the cover sheet.

Some assessments will include technical accuracy in written expression as a marking criterion. The assessment brief will make it clear if this applies and it is recognised that some students may require additional support for these assessments.

3.9 Moderation: Check Marking and Double Marking (AP&P section 8.2)

In AHC a combination of check marking and double marking is used. Staff should refer to the faculty Guidance for Check Marking for further information.

The majority of assessed work is check marked. The check marking sample typically incorporates 10% of the assessments (usually a minimum of 5 and maximum of 20), including all qualitative fails, the highest mark awarded, and a proportion of work representative of the range of marks awarded and the markers assessing the work.

Dissertations, final year projects, and other high credit final year assessments, in addition to modules with large marking teams, undergo enhanced check marking whereby a larger amount of work than usual is audited as part of the check marking sample. In some instances, double or panel-based marking is used where this is a disciplinary norm (e.g. for studio based creative arts assessments) or a PSRB requirement.

3.10 Marks Return (AP&P section 8.3)

Occasionally, an exception to the return of marks/grades timeline might need to be made. If this happens, student(s) will be told why the date has been changed and the School will provide a new date by which marks/grades and usually feedback can be expected.

While schools within AHC aim to return marks/grades according to the standard timeline (15 working days after submission), for final year projects this may be extended due to the typically larger credit value, length and complexity of the work). In these cases, students will be told when marks/grades, as well as feedback, can be expected in the assessment brief or module Minerva area.

At the end of Semester 2, a significant amount of administrative work is undertaken which involves confirming, checking and processing marks to ensure Progression and Awards Boards can take place. If students submit assessments for any undergraduate modules at this time, the School will aim to provide marks and feedback in the normal timeframe, but delays are sometimes possible. Final module results will not be released until the University’s official publication date.

3.11 Penalties for Not Meeting Assessment Requirements (AP&P section 8.4)

Assessment briefs will normally include certain requirements for that particular piece of work, and therefore students should pay careful attention to the instructions they are given in every assessment brief e.g. the assignment length. If the marker determines that the task has not been completed in accordance with these instructions, this will be reflected in the mark awarded and the feedback given. Students must declare the length of their assignment on their submitted work.

3.12 Feedback to Students (AP&P section 9)

Feedback will usually be returned along with assessment marks/grades. Students will be notified when they receive marks and feedback in the assessment brief and this will be in line with the University policy of returning marks within 15 working days. Feedback for final year/major project (capstone) modules may be received later than this and students will be advised of this timeline via relevant assessment briefs and/or module Minerva areas.

The University has a number of principles relating to academic feedback with the aim that students are provided with feedback that is:

• personal to them and their work;
• constructive and helps them understand how it relates to assessment criteria; and
• specific and designed to help them see what they have done well and how they can improve.

Feedback can take a variety of formats. The feedback students receive will be in a form that is appropriate to the nature of the assessment. For example, this might be:

• individual/personal or generic/group feedback;
• verbal or written comments;
• worked solutions;
• a marks breakdown.

Engaging with the feedback students receive is an important part of the learning experience. Students are expected to be active in obtaining, reflecting on and acting on the feedback given to them. Students should take up the opportunities for formative assessment and should ask for support if needed.

To help students get the most from the feedback they receive, they will be provided with opportunities to discuss feedback and academic progress with staff. Individual staff members will explain how they prefer to be contacted. Students are encouraged to make use of the academic personal tutoring system to discuss feedback across the range of modules studied.

Students may contact the module leader to request a meeting to discuss feedback for exams and to view their marked examination script. Students should note that, where marked exam scripts exist as a hardcopy, these will be retained at all times by the University. Students cannot take completed scripts away with them.

3.13 Timings of Assessment Committees (AP&P section 11.4)

3.13.1 Language Centre Pre-Sessional Programmes:

In the Summer period, the Language Centre’s pre-sessional programme boards take place shortly after the final day of the course. All other assessment committees in the Language Centre and the Faculty of AHC operate to the normal timelines.

3.14 Publication of Module Marks and Classifications (AP&P section 12)

Module marks for the Semester 1 assessment period are released in February. However, these marks must be considered provisional until ratified by the Progression and Awards Board.

4. Other Supplementary Information

4.1 Group Work

Where a group assignment is assessed, details of how any material should be submitted and how the marking will be undertaken are given in the relevant module Minerva area or the assessment brief.

This will include what to do if students feel a member of their group is not contributing to the assignment and how to resolve this before submission of the work. Assessments in the School that typically involve an element of group collaboration – such as performances and presentations – may involve specific criteria that apply to the group as a whole and other criteria that apply to individual students. If this is the case, these marking criteria will always be explained in advance in the relevant module documentation.

For modules with group work, some programmes may set minimum levels of attendance, which would normally be specified in the relevant module Minerva area or the assessment brief, to ensure parity of assessment for other students in the group.

If students are working in a group but are expected to submit an individual piece of work, then the coursework they submit must be their own work, even if the group shares the data or ideas obtained as part of a team. Copying or paraphrasing another student’s work constitutes plagiarism.

4.2 Requesting consideration due to Mitigating Circumstances

The AHC Faculty deadline for students applying for additional consideration (when circumstances cannot be mitigated through an extension to a coursework deadline) is 5pm on the Monday after each exam/assessment period. For 2026/27 these dates will be as follows:

• Monday 25 January 2027
• Monday 7 June 2027
• Monday 23 August 2027
• Monday 27 September 2027

In cases where the student does not submit evidence by the 14-day deadline, they will need to supply evidence for why they missed the deadline as well as for their circumstances. In this case, the range of mitigation available will be limited.

4.3 School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (LCS): Distinction in spoken language

In a competitive job market, the School of LCS recognises that their graduates benefit from formal recognition of excellent performances in spoken language assessment.

The School therefore formally awards final year students who achieve excellent performances in spoken language assessments with ‘Distinction in Spoken Language’, which is recorded on their official transcript of results. This provides evidence of excellent performances in spoken language that students can present to prospective employers as a formal demonstration of their achievements.

‘Distinction in Spoken Language’ will be awarded to students who achieve a final mark of 70 or above on an oral exam or equivalent oral assessment component on a core level 3 (final year) language module. All students enrolled on the module will be eligible for this award (e.g. including Discovery students and Incoming Study Abroad students, where applicable). Awards will be confirmed by the LCS Semester 2 Assessment Board for each module based on confirmed component marks. Please note this has no bearing on a student’s overall degree classification.

5. Students awarded according to the Rules for Award

The Academic Regulations for Taught Programmes superseded the Rules for Award following the 2023/24 academic year. Awards for students who commenced their current programme at Leeds before the 2022/23 academic year or commenced their final year of study before 2024/25 academic year will be determined using the degree classification algorithm from the Rules for Award (iteration A), which includes provision for academic discretion.

Academic discretion, as described in the Rules for Award, applies to students being awarded under these circumstances:

Any student with a Classification Average falling within the discretionary band should be selected for consideration. The discretionary band is 0.05 below a classification threshold for Bachelor’s Degrees with Classified Honours and 0.10 below a classification threshold for Foundation Degrees, Undergraduate Diplomas, Graduate Diplomas and Certificates, and Taught Postgraduate Awards

In the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, the following criteria for academic discretion apply:

School	Level	Criteria for Higher Classification
School of Design	UG	At least half of final-year credits must be in the higher classification band.
School of Design	TP	At least half of programme credits in the higher classification band.
School of English	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of English	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in the higher mark band (60+ or 70+) plus dissertation/research project module in the higher band if applicable.
School of Fine Art, History of Art, and Cultural Studies	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band, including ARTF3060, ARTF3170 or ARTF3205.
School of Fine Art, History of Art, and Cultural Studies	TP	At least 90 M-level credits in the higher mark band including dissertation/research project module if applicable.
School of History	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of History	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in the higher mark band including the research project module if applicable.
School of Languages, Cultures and Scieties	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies	TP	At least half of programme credits in the higher classification band.
School of Media and Communications	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of Media and Communications	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in higher the mark band.
School of Music	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of Music	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in the higher mark band including the research project module if applicable.
School of Performance and Cultural Industries	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of Performance and Cultural Industries	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in the higher mark band including the research project module if applicable.
School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science	UG	At least 50% of classification credits in the higher mark band.
School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science	TP	At least 50% of M-level credits in the higher mark band including the research project module if applicable.