How to…Administering a Change of Decision
There are now two types of Chairs Action (CA), admin and a true Chairs Action (CA) which result in a change of decision.
Has a change been received which means amendments to the student record? If so, a Chairs approval will be needed UNLESS the change results in an embedded award. This will be a true Chairs Action, and the embedded award an admin Chairs Action.
Note: All Chairs Actions are to be completed electronically.
- Types of Chairs Action form
There are now three forms:
- Students studying under USW Regulations in Current Year 2016-17 must be completed on the USW 2016-17 form
- Students studying under UWN Regulations in Current Year 2016-17 must be completed on the UWN 2016-17 form
- A student who studied prior to the current Academic Year must be completed on the Prior Academic Year form.
Where a large class or cohort has been affected by a change, only one CA form needs to be complete. The relevant paperwork needs to be attached as an appendix eg. One assessment received late for a module affecting 20 students – you would complete the form, but attach the post-entry mark sheet as the appendix. If it affected the progression, you would attach a TP28.
General rule: one module = one form, one course = one form.
- Is the Award embedded?
Embedded Awards – (USW 2016/17) A.1.2.2 Embedded awards are those which are integral to a higher award and whose completion allows progression to the next stage of the award hierarchy
Eg. If a student is studying a BA (Hons) Undergraduate degree, but leaves after 1 year of study gaining 120 credits, they could exit with a Certificate of Higher Education. The CERT HE is the ‘embedded award’.
Please note: There may be derogations for some courses, so please ensure you have checked the most recent information on the Regulations
- If a student is exiting with an embedded award – you DO NOT need approval from the Chair of the progression / award board. You will complete the Chairs Action form as normal, but without the ‘signature’.
- If the embedded award is for UWN regulations OR prior to the current Academic Year, please ensure you have checked the correct Regulations.
If the Award is embedded, please proceed to step 4.
- Chair(s) approval
All Chairs Action approvals are to be completed electronically.
Before completing any Chairs Actions on Quercus, please complete the form and email it to the Chair of the Board for approval.
- Deadlines: During board periods, please request a response within 24 hours and outside board periods, within 5 working days.
- Once the response has been received, copy or drag the Chair’s email from your outlook into the ‘Chairs Action confirmation’ Section on the form. No further ‘signature’ is required. This step is not necessary if the Award is embedded.
Note: If the Chair no longer works at the institution, please contact a current Associate Head/Head of School/Deputy Dean/Dean of Faculty (as applicable).
- Completing the Form
Once the email confirmation has been received from the Chair (if applicable) – proceed to amend Quercus and complete the relevant form.
The ‘Field Descriptions’ (below), provides guidance on the content for each of the fields.
Field Descriptions
Field / Title of Field / Action to be Taken for 2016/17 Chairs Action Form / Further points regarding the Chairs Action form prior to current Academic Year/ Faculty / From the Dropdown, select the Faculty that applies to the student
/ Campus / From the Dropdown, select the Campus that completes the Admin for that course
/ Location / Type in the Location, eg. USW Treforest, Blackburn College etc
/ Course Code / Type in the Course code as it appears on Quercus
/ Course Title / Type in the Course title as it appears on Quercus
/ Course Instance / Type in the Course instance as it appears on Quercus
/ Student ID Number / Type on the Student ID Number as it appears on Quercus
/ First / Type in the Student's First name (include middle names if necessary) as it appears on Quercus
/ Surname / Type in the Student's Surname as it appears on Quercus
/ Regulations / n/a / From the dropdown, select whether the USW, UWN (Former Newport courses) or UOG (Former University of Glamorgan) regulations apply
/ Awarding Body / n/a / From the dropdown, select whether the Awarding body is USW, UOW (Former Newport courses) or UOG (Former University of Glamorgan)
/ Academic Year / n/a / Type in the Academic Year that the Subject or Award board was originally held
/ Reason for Change / Describe why the Chairs Action has taken place - if both marks and overall progression have changed, explain all reasons eg. Change of mark due to ECs - mark received for Assessment 1 - Module ABC123 from Tutor Bob 15/2/16. Assessment, module and progression marks updated.
/ Has there been a change of mark/status? / From the dropdown, select Yes (if an assessment mark/grade/status or an overall mark/grade/status has changed) or No (if an assessment mark/grade/status or module mark/grade/status has NOT changed). If the Answer is No - move onto the Change of Progression (field 31) If this section is not necessary, select ‘NOT APPLICABLE’
/ Subject Board Code / Type in the Subject Board code as it appears on Quercus
/ Assessment Sitting / From the dropdown, select the required sitting that the CHANGE is taking place in
/ Module Code / Type in the Module Code as it appears on Quercus
/ Module Title / Type in the Module Title as it appears on Quercus
/ Assessment Title / Type in the Assessment Title as it appears on Quercus
/ Old Assmt Mark / Type in the Assessment mark as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received
/ Old Assessment Results Status / From the dropdown, select the relevant Status as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received / TYPE in the results status
/ Old Module Mark / Type in the Overall Module mark as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received
/ Old Module Grade / From the dropdown, select the relevant Grade as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received / TYPE in the results grade
/ Old Module Results Status / From the dropdown, select the relevant Status as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received / TYPE in the results status
/ New Assessment Mark / Type in the Assessment mark as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made
/ New Assessment Status / From the dropdown, select the relevant Status as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made / TYPE in the results status
/ New Module Mark / Type in the Overall Module mark as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made
/ New Module Grade / From the dropdown, select the relevant Grade as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made / TYPE in the results grade
/ New Module Results Status / From the dropdown, select the relevant Status as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made / TYPE in the results status
/ Does the change require a resit? / From the dropdown, select Yes, No or Not Applicable
/ Month of Resit / From the dropdown, select the Month that the Resit should take place eg. If an Undergraduate student has failed a module at the June board and is entitled to a resit, you would choose ‘August’
/ Has there been a change of progression? / From the dropdown, select Yes (if the student's progression status or classification has changed) or No (if the student's progression status or classification has NOT changed). If the Answer is No - please move onto field 40. If this section is not necessary, select ‘NOT APPLICABLE’
/ First/Second/Third Sitting / From the dropdowns, select the relevant Sitting - First, Second, Third - please select every sitting that is relevant and highlight every change on there eg. A change in the first sitting may result in amending the second sitting, but also the Award sitting etc. / TYPE in the relevant information
/ Old Overall Grade / From the dropdown, select the relevant Grade as it appears on Quercus BEFORE the change was received / TYPE in the results grade
/ New Overall Grade / From the dropdown, select the relevant Grade as it appears on Quercus AFTER the change has been made / TYPE in the results grade
/ Assessment Board Code / Type in the Award Board code as is appears on Quercus
/ Assessment Board Date / From the dropdown, select the relevant date. This date MUST be original date that the student was processed through the Board
/ Award (Classification) / From the dropdown, select the relevant Classification being Awarded or Not Applicable (if not being awarded0
/ If the student is being Awarded, what level is the Award? / From the dropdown, select the relevant Award as per Quercus eg. If being awarded a Batchelor of Arts (with Honours) - BAH
/ If the Intermediate Award is different from the course title, please type the Inter title: / Type in the Intermediate Award title if different from the course title eg. Bachelor of Nursing (adult) - Exits with CertHE, but INTER is actually - Certificate of Higher Education in Care Studies
/ Has the Award been attached to the Student Record? / From the dropdown, select Yes (If the Award indicator appears on Quercus) or No (if attaching the award is not relevant)
/ Should the student be invited to Graduation? / From the dropdown, select Yes/No/Not Applicable. The Graduation team will then invite the student to the next available Graduation ceremony
/ Is the Award an embedded Award? / From the dropdown, select Yes/No/Not Applicable.
/ Chair of Board / Following the Guidance, please copy/drag a confirmation email from the relevant Chairs (s) into this box. (This is not necessary for embedded Awards.)
/ Campus Form completed by / Type in your full name
/ Telephone Extension / Type in your telephone extension number
/ Chairs Action note added to Quercus / From the dropdown, select Yes/No as applicable.
/ Date All Campus Action completed / From the dropdown, select the relevant date that the Chairs Action has been completed on.
For AAU Only
/ Student awarded / Handwrite YES / NO as appropriate
/ Ceremony Number / Handwrite the ceremony number that the student has been invited to
/ Student invited to graduation (Date & who) / Handwrite the date student invited to graduation and by whom
/ Certificate / Transcript Printed (Date & who) / Handwrite the date the documents are printed and by whom
- Quercus Note
When updating Quercus, ensure a ‘Chairs Action Note’ is saved on the Subject or Progression/Award Board as appropriate. Ensure that the description of the whole change has been noted. The ‘Reason for Change’ section on the form should be used as an indication of what needs noting.
- Save and upload the form
Ensure that all information is captured on one page ONLY.
Save the form to the SharePoint site relevant to your Campus. If you save it locally first, once uploaded on the SharePoint site, please ensure you delete from the local drive to avoid duplicating information.
Note: All chairs actions should be saved and uploaded to the SharePoint site – even if it does not affect an award/classification.
- Errors on the form
If the form has any missing data or has been completed incorrectly, AAU will return the form to the designated campus contact. This will begin to identify any training needs moving forward and will ensure all data has been accurately recorded.
If you need any further guidance, please feel free to contact or call 01443 668745.
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Date Release: 22 February 2017 Version: 3 Page 1 of 4