7 Dealing with grading issues & student queries

Dealing with suspected plagiarism

If you suspect a case of plagiarism please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, and report it immediately to the Programme Coordinator.

Students requesting an assignment extension

Occasionally, students will be unable to submit an assignment on time, due to work, personal or family reasons. Tutors are encouraged to be diligent in these situations, to accommodate students where possible but to be fair to other students. Deadline extensions should only be given in extenuating circumstances. It is essential that students understand that they must inform you beforehand if an assignment will be late, as you will apply penalties if assignments are not submitted on time.  Contact the Programme Coordinator if you are unsure of a students circumstance before giving an extension as it is possible there may be a pattern across modules.

It is vitally important that you outline your expectations regarding late submission of assignments in your Tutor Expectations document. At the very least, you should explain to students that penalties will apply for late submission of assignments unless they communicate with you beforehand to make arrangements for a late submission. In these cases, students should be encouraged to submit the assignment as soon as possible after the due date, so as not to fall too far behind in the module. Assignments are penalised by 1% of the MODULE for each day late up to a maximum of 7 days. Assessments submitted after 7 days are not accepted. Students need to contact tutors in advance of the deadline in order to request an extension. Extensions must be granted only on legitimate grounds (poor time management is not accepted). One week may be granted with a maximum of two weeks in exceptional circumstances.

Students re-checking or appealing a grade

Occasionally, students may request that a grade for an assignment, or a module grade, be re-checked. If they are still unhappy with the grade, they can elect to appeal the grade. Students will have the right to appeal or recheck the results of any module assessment. A special form is available from Examinations Office, National University of Ireland, Galway, and must be completed and returned to the Examinations Office within two weeks of receiving results. More information is available on the Examinations Office website or by phoning 091 492316.

Diploma Award

The Diploma in Science and Technology Studies will be awarded on the basis of successful completion of 120 E.C.T.S. credits (20 modules). The award is at level 7 of the National Framework of Qualifications.  The Diploma will be awarded on merit, at the following levels:

To be awarded the Diploma students will first have to pass the required number of modules to a total of 120 credits. Only modules where a credit (i.e. pass) has been obtained will go forward to the Diploma result. Once they have passed all 20 modules, the Diploma grade is decided on the basis of a score average of these module results.  Where exemptions have been awarded they will not contribute the overall Diploma grade, which will be calculated as the average of the completed modules only.

Degree Award

Once the student has attained the Diploma in Science and Technology, they may pursue a Bachelor of Science award. The B.Sc. in Science & Technology Studies at level 8 will be awarded on successful completion of a further 20 modules (120 ECTS). The same grading bands used in the Diploma will apply (please see below).

To be awarded the Degree students will first have to pass the required number of modules to a total of 240 credits over the cycle of the diploma and degree.  Once they have passed all modules, the Degree grade is decided on the basis of an aggregate score average of the Degree cycle module results.  Only modules where a credit (i.e. pass) has been obtained will go forward to the final award.