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in Student Support and Wellbeing. They will be able to see if anything can be done to make things
better for you.
If you live in University residences you will also need to advise your Residences Manager of your
intention to withdraw. Please visit your Residences Reception or telephone the number on the front
of your Residences Card. Information about leaving residences can also be found in the Policies &
Procedures section on our website:
https://intranet.cardiff.ac.uk/students/support-and-services/accommodation/university-
residences
For International Students
If you believe that withdrawing or taking an interruption of study may be the best option for you, you
are strongly advised to discuss your situation with an International Student Adviser before making
your final decision.
If your decision is to proceed with withdrawal or an interruption of studies then as you were issued
with a visa to study in the UK, UK Visas and Immigration will expect you to return to your home
country. More information on what happens if you are reported to the UKBA is also available here:
https://intranet.cardiff.ac.uk/students/your-study/changes-to-your-studies/absence-and-
interruption-of-study
If you take an interruption of study you will have to make a new visa application to return to the UK
when you choose or are able to resume your studies. You will need to make a new visa application
even if you still have time left on your old visa. This is to ensure that you do not face any problems at
immigration when you re-enter the UK, as the UKBA may have cancelled your old visa without
informing you.
Welsh Speaking Students
We are committed to equality for the English and Welsh languages and if you are a Welsh speaker
you may request to have a Welsh-speaking Personal Tutor, and undertake your assessments through
the medium of Welsh. We are developing Welsh medium provision in some disciplines and students
studying some aspect of their programme through the medium of Welsh may be eligible for
scholarships from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
https://intranet.cardiff.ac.uk/students/support-and-services/for-welsh-speakers
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4.
A
SSESSMENT AND
F
EEDBACK
The Purpose of Assessment
The purposes of assessment are to help both staff and students monitor and improve learning, to
provide a measure of achievement, and to help assure our academic quality and standards. We hope
that your learning will gain maximum benefit through effective and efficient assessment. Our
assessments are designed on the principles that they are valid, reliable and explicit.
You will undertake both formative and summative assessments during your time here. Formative
assessment is designed to help you learn more effectively through the receipt of feedback on your
performance, indicating how you can improve. It does not count towards your overall mark.
Summative assessment is used to indicate how well you have met the intended learning outcomes
of a module or programme, and does count towards your overall mark. Feedback is provided on all
assessments taken during the academic year.
Marking
Most assessment tasks require assessors to exercise their academic and/or professional judgement.
Staff will use assessment criteria and/or mark schemes to support this judgement, which will be
provided to you. Assessment criteria set out the knowledge, understanding, and skills that you will
need to demonstrate in different assessment tasks. All summative assessments are marked
anonymously, except in tasks where this is not possible, e.g. presentations. Schools also use a range
of processes to ensure marking is reliable, consistent, and accurate. Results are overseen by
examining boards, which include external examiners to help monitor and judge standards.
You must ensure that you adhere to any specified word limits and that you submit assessments in
advance of scheduled deadlines. Summative assessments that are submitted late, where there are
no accepted extenuating circumstances, will be given a mark of zero.
The School’s generic assessment criteria are shown on the School’s web site:
http://www.astro.cardiff.ac.uk/teachingandlearning/resources/assessment.pdf
Assessment Results
You will be given access to provisional marks on Learning Central and/or SIMS after an assessment
has been marked. Provisional marks are subject to confirmation by the relevant Examining Board.
Your Progress
Your general engagement with the degree programme is monitored by attendance at required
activities (such as laboratories and tutorials) and also by the volume of continual assessment
submitted across all modules. In Year 1 marked exercises are returned via the academic tutor, so
your tutor is able to monitor your engagement and your general academic progress. The School
takes note of examination results after the Autumn semester and students failing more than 20
credits at that stage are required to meet with their tutor to discuss their progress and consider an
action plan to improve academic achievement. Students who progress to the next year of study with
a Year average of 45% or less are seen by the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the start of the
new session to analyse whether they are achieving their full potential and determine whether
specific support can be provided to improve performance.