Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER III
pp. 244–246
EXAMINATIONS

In this section

ALLOWANCES TO CANDIDATES FOR EXAMINATIONS

Amended by Grace 3 of 27 June 2018

1. The General Board shall have power:

  1. Candidature despite Ordinance.
    (a)to admit to candidature for an examination or for a University Studentship, Scholarship, Exhibition, Prize, or Medal, a person who is not qualified by Ordinance to be a candidate, and
  1. Leave to intermit.
    (b)to determine that for the purposes of candidature for an examination or competition one or more terms may be disregarded in reckoning the standing of a particular candidate,
  1. Fitness to study.
    (c)to refer for consideration under the Procedure to Determine Fitness to Study3 any person in respect of whom an application is made under these regulations; and
  1. Conditions for return to study.
    (d)to set conditions for a student to resume keeping terms by residence following an authorized period of intermission.
Anomalous candidature.

2. No person who is not qualified by Ordinance, or under the foregoing regulation, or by special Grace, shall be admitted to an examination leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate, except with the approval of the General Board who shall have power to determine the conditions of such admission and the fee, if any, to be paid for such admission. The name of a candidate admitted under this regulation to an Honours Examination shall, if he or she satisfies the Examiners, be published in a separate list under the heading:

The following, who are not candidates for honours, have satisfied the Examiners.

Powers of the General Board.

3. The General Board, on satisfactory evidence supplied by a candidate’s Tutor that the candidate has been hindered by illness or other grave cause in preparing for or taking any University examination, except one for which candidates are required to be Graduate Students or one leading to the M.B., B.Chir. Degrees, or the Vet.M.B. Degree, shall have power, when they think fit to:

  1. (a)allow the candidate to progress to the next academical year, where the candidate would otherwise not be of standing;
  1. (b)where the candidate is a candidate for the B.A. Degree, and if the candidate has kept the requisite number of terms to qualify for the degree:
  1. (i)declare the candidate to have attained the honours standard; or
  1. (ii)declare the candidate to have deserved the Ordinary B.A. Degree;
  1. (c)where the candidate is a candidate for a degree other than the B.A. Degree:
  1. (i)declare the candidate to have attained the honours standard; or
  1. (ii)approve the candidate to receive the degree or such other award as may be allowed under the regulations for the degree;
  1. (d)to require the Chair of Examiners, or a deputy appointed by the Chair from among the Examiners, to move the candidate’s name to a higher class, provided that such an amendment shall not be made unless the Chair of Examiners or deputy, after consulting at least two other Examiners, is satisfied that the candidate has performed at the standard of the higher class in all but a relatively small part of the examination.

4. The General Board shall consider the cases of candidates who for sufficient reasons apply to be examined under other than the ordinary conditions, or at other times than those previously advertised, and shall give or withhold permission for them to be examined otherwise. It shall also determine the conditions under which such permission may be given.

Honours by allowance.

5. When the General Board allows a candidate an examination which is an Honours Examination, such a candidate shall thereby have obtained honours therein.

6. The General Board shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, normally make an allowance to a candidate for the B.A. Degree of an examination under Regulation 3 on more than one occasion, save that, for the purpose of this regulation, an allowance under Regulation 3(d) shall not be regarded as such an allowance.

Publication of allowances.

7. The names of students to whom the General Board make allowances under Regulation 3 shall not be appended to the lists of successful candidates for the examinations for which they were severally entered, but shall be published by the Registrary in accordance with the regulations for the publication of lists of successful candidates in examinations.

Deferment of essays, etc.

8. Where the regulations for an examination provide for a candidate to submit by a specified date a dissertation, thesis, essay, or other coursework in addition to the written papers or in substitution for one or more of them, the General Board may, with the concurrence of the Chair of Examiners or the Senior Examiner, grant a brief extension to a specified date by which the work shall be submitted. A dissertation, thesis, essay, or other coursework submitted later than the date specified by the General Board, or in the regulation concerned if no extension has been granted, shall not be accepted.

9. In the case of a candidate who has been declared to have deserved honours under Regulation 3(b), the following statement shall be appended to any certificate issued by the Registrary relating to that examination:

This candidate, who was absent from part of the examination for good cause, performed with credit in a substantial part of it. In accordance with the University’s regulations the authorities concerned are of the opinion that it would be unfair to classify the candidate on the basis of the incomplete performance since they believe that this would not adequately represent the candidate’s attainment. They have accordingly agreed to declare the candidate to have deserved honours in this examination.

Request for review.

10. A student may request a review of a decision made under these regulations. A request for review shall be made under the Procedure for the Review of Decisions of University Bodies established by the General Board.2

Leave for Allowances to Candidates for Examinations: Notice1

The General Board has approved the following procedure for dealing with applications under these regulations through its Examination Access and Mitigation Committee (the Committee):

  1. (i)No application is considered unless it is submitted by the candidate’s Tutor.
  1. (ii)An application must state under which regulation or regulations it is made.
  1. (iii)An allowance made under Regulation 1(b) is normally granted in respect of up to three terms of an academical year. Exceptionally it may be granted in respect of the terms of more than one academical year.
  1. (iv)Where a student has been out of residence for more than a term, the Committee shall make such recommendations to the student’s College as the Committee thinks fit and shall have the power to set conditions for return, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following:
  1. (a)satisfactory evidence of fitness to study, as determined by the Committee;
  1. (b)in the case of a disabled student, ensuring reasonable adjustments, as appropriate, to support the student in her or his study and examination are in place;
  1. (c)in the case of a medical or veterinary student, confirmation from the relevant Fitness to Practise Committee that the student is currently fit to continue on the course of study.
  1. (v)An application made on medical grounds must be supported by medical evidence. The Committee may determine which type of evidence it requires in relation to applications under particular regulations.
  1. (vi)An application must include a detailed statement of reasons and be accompanied by copies of all supervision reports.
  1. (vii)An application for exemption from an academic condition for taking a particular examination is not normally approved unless the Faculty Board or similar body concerned have given their concurrence, and that concurrence is indispensable in the case of examinations forming part of the requirements for a professional qualification.
  1. (viii)The Committee is empowered to give permission for a candidate to offer a non-standard combination of papers, whether within one examination or from more than one examination, which is not provided for by Ordinance or by regulations made under Ordinance. Such permission will not be granted unless the Faculty Board or other authority concerned are in agreement.
  1. (ix)The Committee shall issue notes on procedures adopted in its consideration, on behalf of the General Board, of applications for allowances under these regulations.
  1. (x)The Committee is authorized to agree a procedure for referral of cases to the Fitness to Study Panel.

Footnotes

  1. 1. Reporter, 6509, 2017–18, p. 677 (Grace 3 of 27 June 2018).a
  2. 2. See p. 216.a
  3. 3. See p. 240.a