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QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education)

Gradebook Built for UK Honours and Exam Board Processes

UK universities classify degrees into First, 2:1, 2:2, and Third based on Credit Weighted Average. Resit grades are capped at the pass mark. Exam boards exercise discretion through compensation and condonement. OpenEduCat handles all of this with pre-configured scales, automated CWA computation, and wizards that mirror how UK exam boards actually work.

Grading Scales

Pre-configured grade bands shipped with the United Kingdom module. No manual setup required.

GradePoints / RangeDescription
First Class70% and aboveThe highest honours classification. A student averaging 73% across all weighted modules earns a First. Roughly 30% of UK graduates achieve this.
Upper Second (2:1)60 to 69%The most common target for graduate employment and postgraduate entry. A student at 64% is solidly in 2:1 territory.
Lower Second (2:2)50 to 59%A respectable pass. Some graduate schemes require a minimum of 2:1, but many employers accept 2:2 holders.
Third Class40 to 49%Minimum pass for undergraduate degrees. A student at 42% passes but earns the lowest honours classification.
FailBelow 40%No degree awarded at this level. The student must resit failed modules. Postgraduate programs typically set the pass mark at 50%.

What the United Kingdom Module Does

Country-specific features that go beyond the core gradebook engine.

1

Credit Weighted Average (CWA)

UK degrees use CWA rather than GPA. Each module's percentage mark is weighted by its credit value. A 30-credit module at 68% contributes more to the final average than a 15-credit module at 72%. The system computes CWA automatically from published gradebooks and displays it in the format "65.4% (2:1)".

2

Capped Resit Policy

Failed modules can be resat, but the resit grade is capped at the pass mark, 40% for undergraduate, 50% for postgraduate. A student who scores 67% on a resit is recorded as 40%. The original failed grade is annotated with "R" (Referred) on the transcript. This is enforced automatically by the re-attempt policy.

3

Compensation Wizard

UK exam boards can compensate marginal failures. If a student scores 35-39% on a module but their module group average is 40% or above, the board can choose to compensate the failure. The compensation wizard presents eligible cases to the board and applies the decision. Compensated modules are marked on the transcript and do not block graduation.

4

Condonement

Similar to compensation but for borderline cases that do not meet the compensation criteria. The exam board can condone a failure at their discretion. Condoned modules have a distinct status and the student progresses without repeating the module. Both condoned and compensated modules are excluded from blocking backlog counts.

5

Module Assessment Report

Per-module breakdown showing each student's coursework marks, exam marks, and the overall module grade. Resit grades are shown separately with the cap applied. This report is the standard artefact UK exam boards review during progression and award meetings.

6

Honours Classification at Award

At graduation, the system computes the final CWA and maps it to the honours classification: First (70%+), 2:1 (60-69%), 2:2 (50-59%), Third (40-49%). Borderline cases (within 2% of a boundary) are flagged for exam board discretion.

Re-Attempt Policy

Capped Resit (Pass Mark Ceiling)

When a UK student fails a module, they sit a resit examination. The resit grade is capped at the pass mark, 40% for undergraduate programs and 50% for postgraduate. The system uses the most recent attempt for GPA/CWA calculation. The original attempt is annotated with "R" (Referred) and the capped resit is marked with an asterisk (*). The compensation wizard and condonement option are available to the exam board for marginal failures that meet the institutional criteria.

How re-attempts affect the transcript

  • The active grade (counted in GPA) is marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Superseded or excluded grades are annotated with their status code
  • All attempts appear on the transcript for full academic transparency
  • Cleared, condoned, compensated, and exempted backlogs do not block graduation

Transcript Formats

Official academic record formats generated by the United Kingdom module.

UK Module Assessment Report: Per-module breakdown with coursework

exam, and capped resit grades for each student

QR Verification Available

Install the secure bridge module to add QR codes with SHA-256 integrity hashes to every transcript. Employers and other institutions scan the code to verify the transcript is authentic and unmodified.

Honours & Classification

How graduates are classified under the United Kingdom system.

ClassificationThreshold
First Class Honours70% CWA and above
Upper Second Class (2:1)60 to 69% CWA
Lower Second Class (2:2)50 to 59% CWA
Third Class Honours40 to 49% CWA
Fail (No Award)Below 40% CWA

Regulatory Alignment

QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education)

The United Kingdom gradebook module pre-configures grading scales, assessment templates, re-attempt policies, and transcript formats to align with the requirements set by QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education). The data structures, computation rules, and report formats follow the standards your accreditation body expects to see during institutional audits.

Grade distributions, pass rates, GPA trends, and classification statistics can all be exported to Excel for submission during accreditation reviews. The structured data makes it straightforward to pull the specific metrics your accreditation criteria require.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the United Kingdom gradebook module.

CWA (Credit Weighted Average) uses percentage marks rather than grade points. Each module's percentage is multiplied by its credit value, summed, then divided by total credits. A 30-credit module at 65% and a 15-credit module at 70% gives CWA = (65x30 + 70x15) / 45 = 66.7%. There is no 4.0 conversion: UK universities work entirely in percentages.

Other Country Modules

The same gradebook engine powers all seven country modules. Explore the others.

IN

India & Bangladesh

UGC (University Grants Commission), NAAC

KE

Kenya

CUE (Commission for University Education)

GCC

Gulf / GCC

NCAAA (National Center for Academic Accreditation and Assessment)

ID

Indonesia

BAN-PT (Badan Akreditasi Nasional Perguruan Tinggi)

US

United States

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), Regional Accreditors (HLC, SACSCOC, MSCHE, NEASC, NWCCU, WASC)

EU

Bologna / European

Bologna Process, ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education)

EU

Brazil

BNCC (Base Nacional Comum Curricular, 2017/2018), LDB (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases, Lei 9.394/96), MEC (Ministério da Educação)

EU

Germany

Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK), Landesrecht Notenordnungen in all 16 Bundesländer, standard Zeugnisformular conventions

EU

France

Ministère de l'Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse, Baccalauréat général et technologique (réforme 2021), DNB assessment rules

EU

Japan

MEXT (文部科学省), National Curriculum Standards (学習指導要領) revised 2020, 道徳 qualitative evaluation guidelines, SHS minimum graduation requirements (74 単位)

EU

South Korea

Ministry of Education Korea (교육부), National Education Information System (NEIS), Student Record Management Guidelines, 2028 수능 reform framework

EU

Malaysia

Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (Malaysian Examinations Syndicate), Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), IPTA university admission requirements

EU

Nordic Countries

Sweden: Skolverket | Denmark: Undervisningsministeriet (BEK nr 114) | Norway: Utdanningsdirektoratet (LK20) | Finland: Opetushallitus (Lukiolaki)

EU

Netherlands

Rijksoverheid, Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO), Het College voor Toetsen en Examens (CvTE), Eindexamenbesluit VO

EU

East Africa

Tanzania: NECTA (National Examinations Council of Tanzania) | Uganda: UNEB (Uganda National Examinations Board) | Rwanda: REB (Rwanda Education Board)

EU

West Africa

West African Examinations Council (WAEC), WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination) standards, WAEC member states: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia

EU

Switzerland

Schweizerische Maturitätskommission (SMK) / Commission suisse de maturité (CSM) — Federal Matura Regulation (MAR/ORM) | EDK/CDIP Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education

EU

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) — HKDSE Assessment Framework | JUPAS (Joint University Programmes Admissions System)

EU

New Zealand

New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) — NCEA Assessment Framework | Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) Literacy and Numeracy requirements

EU

South Africa

Department of Basic Education (DBE) South Africa — National Senior Certificate Policy | UMALUSI — Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training

EU

Mexico

Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) — Dirección General de Acreditación, Incorporación y Revalidación (DGAIR) | COMIPEMS (metropolitan area) for Secundaria placement

EU

Colombia & Latin America

Ministerio de Educación Nacional (MEN) Colombia — Decreto 1290 de 2009 | ICFES (Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación) for standardised assessments

EU

Turkey

Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB) — Ministry of National Education, Turkey | Ortaöğretim Yönetmeliği (Secondary Education Regulation) | ÖSYM for YKS

EU

Israel

Israel Ministry of Education (Misrad HaChinuch) — Bagrut Examination Division | National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAMA)

EU

Nepal

National Examination Board (NEB) Nepal — SEE and Grade 12 Examination Regulations | Office of the Controller of Examinations (OCE)

EU

Ethiopia

Ethiopian Ministry of Education — National Framework for Education | National Educational Assessment and Examinations Agency (NEAEA) | Ethiopian Education and Research Advanced Education Authority (EQAE)

EU

Southeast Asia

Vietnam: Bộ Giáo Dục và Đào Tạo (BGDĐT) — Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) | Thailand: Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Ministry of Education

EU

Arab World

Saudi Arabia: وزارة التعليم (Ministry of Education) | Egypt: وزارة التربية والتعليم (MoE Egypt) | UAE: ADEK / KHDA / MoE UAE | Jordan: وزارة التربية والتعليم (MoE Jordan) | Kuwait: وزارة التربية (MoE Kuwait)

EU

Philippines

Commission on Higher Education (CHED), CHED Memorandum Orders (CMO), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for vocational

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