Changes to Assessment Regulations 2026

Earlier referrals

What's changing (based on student feedback) :

We know that waiting to retake an assessment you have failed (known as a referral) until the summer period can be a long wait, potentially causing bunching of summer referrals and added stress.  To ease the pressure for you over the summer, from September 2026, we will be supporting you to take your referral opportunity at the next available window through the year rather than only in summer. This is just one of the benefits we have been able to introduce through our new curriculum and new academic year structure, as a result of student feedback. We hope this helps support your progress and reduce end of year pressure. 

When will it take effect?  

From 1 September 2026.  

What this means for you 

Your Module Leader will specify when the referral opportunities are through the year, and they will let you know in good time so you can plan ahead.   You can also check when the referral weeks are through the year on our Key dates | University of Portsmouth page.   Early referrals may not suit all types of assessments, but wherever possible we will aim to offer a timely reassessment.    

Repeat Year Arrangements for 120-Credit Modules  

What's changing:  

From September 2026 some of our courses will operate a 120-credit module through the whole year.  In the rare event that you are not successful in passing the year and you need to repeat the 120 credits your course fee will be based on how many assessments you have passed previously, not on the amount of credit.  If you have passed fewer than 50% of your assessments, the repeat year fee will be your full annual course fee.  If you have passed 50% or more of your assessments the repeat year fee will be charged at half of your annual course fee. Just as a reminder, this fee adjustment only applies when you are repeating the year on a 120-credit module.

When will it take effect?  

For courses with 120-credit module, this will be from September 2026 onwards. 

What this means for you:  

This applies only to students on courses that use a single 120-credit module from September 2026 onwards, and only if you haven’t passed the year after taking your referral attempts. 

If this happens, you’ll need to repeat the year with attendance. With attendance means that you have to attend all classes and participate in full in the module.  However, your fee will be adjusted to reflect the progress you’ve already made: if you passed more than half of the assessments, your fee will be reduced to 50% of the annual amount. If you passed less than half, the full annual fee will apply. Your course team will guide you through the process and make sure you understand what this means for you. 

Transitional Arrangements During Course Restructuring 

What's changing  

If you are a continuing student with us, you will have heard from your course that from September 2026, we are introducing new credit structures at undergraduate level, typically starting at Level 4 (first year undergraduate).  We are moving from a 20-credit module structure to a 30-credit module structure, and multiples thereof i.e. 60-credits, 90-credits, 120-credits. We will be rolling this out to levels 5 and 6 in the following year from September 2027.  

When will it take effect?  

This will be at Level 4 (first year undergraduate) from September 2026 onwards.  However, there are some courses which will be moving all levels from September 2026. 

What this means for you 

When you repeat a year, your course fee is based on the amount of credit you are repeating.  As we have changed the credit sizes of modules, we do not want this to negatively affect how much you pay if you need to repeat.   

This means that if you need to repeat a module from the previous module structure, you will only pay for the original credit amount of that module if it is different to the current module credit amount.    
Lets say your old module was worth 20 credits and you now need to repeat it, but it has now been revised to be a 30-credit module.  You will pay a pro-rata fee equivalent to the old 20-credit module rather than new 30-credit module – which means a lower fee.  Your course team will explain how this works for your specific course and make sure you have all the information you need.

How we calculate your degree classification   

What's changing  

From September 2026, our undergraduate modules will begin to move to new credit sizes based on multiples of 30 credits. We’ve reviewed the regulation that allows us to remove your lowest 20 credit marks from the calculation we use to calculate your final degree classification. To keep things fair and avoid artificially increasing degree results, we will continue to remove the equivalent of 20 credits under the new structure, rather than 30 credits. This means there is no change to the rule for continuing students and new students who join us in September 2026.  

When will it take effect?  

September 2026. 

Impact on current courses: 

If you are a continuing student in September 2026, or you join the University in the 2026/27 academic year, you will continue under the Regulation to discount the lowest 20 ‑credits at level 5 and 6 when your final degree classification is calculated.