Re-entry

taking resits and deferred assessments

When you take deferred assessments and re-take failed assessments depends on a number of factors.

You will be automatically re-entered for any assessments which have been deferred or were you did not submit / were absent, providing you have attempts remaining in that assessment. 

For assessments which were failed (but not due to an absence) you will be automatically re-entered where you have not passed the course overall, providing you have attempts remaining and have not been awarded your degree.

Assessment will always be based on the syllabus for which you last received teaching. It is not possible to be assessed on a course or syllabus for which you have not received teaching.

As term names have changed, please be aware that corresponding exams and assessments for these periods have also been adjusted accordingly. However, for students who have deferred or are in need of resits, the assessment names will remain unchanged.

How and when you will be re-entered and your status will vary on what type of student you are. Expand the relevant section below for more information.

If you still have queries after reading this guidance, please submit an enquiry.

When will I take resit or deferred assessments? 

Postgraduate students

Most postgraduate students take resit or deferred assessments during the Re-sit and Deferred Assessment Periods (RDAP). These happen twice a year: first there is RDAP1, which normally coincides with the January exam period.  Students who do not complete resit or deferred assessments in RDAP1, but still have attempts remaining, will be entered for RDAP2, which normally coincides with the May/June exam period.

Undergraduate students

Undergraduate students normally take resit or deferral assessments during the in-year re-sit and deferred assessment period (IRDAP), which takes place in August each year.  If they do not pass during IRDAP, and have attempts remaining, they will be re-entered for the following academic year depending on the normal schedule for that assessment.  

Exact dates and deadlines

You can find the dates of all upcoming exam periods, and some information about assessment format, on the Exam Timetable webpage.

For non-centrally scheduled assessments (such as essays, coursework, dissertations etc.) students should check with the Department responsible for the assessment for details of new submission dates.

Deferred assessments

Undergraduate students

  • Assessments deferred during the academic year (i.e. from the January Exam Period, from the May/June Exam Period, or coursework due during term time) will take place in the In-Year Resit and Deferred Assessment Period (IRDAP) in August.
  • Any exam deferred from IRDAP will take place in the January or May/June Exam Periods the following academic year depending on the normal schedule for that assessment.
  • Any non-exam assessment deferred from IRDAP will take place in the academic year, according to the normal schedule.

Postgraduate Students

    • Any assessment deferred during the academic year (i.e. from the January Exam Period, from the May/June Exam Period, coursework due during term time or your dissertation) will take place in RDAP1 in January the following year.
    • Any assessment deferred or failed from RDAP1 will take place in RDAP2, the Summer (May/June) Exam Period later that year.

Undergraduate Students

Progression to the next year of study

If you have failed or deferred one full unit or less: you will automatically progress into the next year of study. You will be entered to attempt your resit or deferred assessment during IRDAP in August.

If you have failed or deferred more than one full unit: you cannot normally automatically progress into your next year of study.  You will be entered to attempt your resit or deferred assessment during IRDAP. IRDAP allows you to attempt to meet the progression requirements in time for the start of the next academic year. 

You will be re-entered provided that you have attempts remaining. All undergraduate students have a maximum of three attempts to pass a first year course unit and two attempts to pass second and third year course units.

LLB

Students on the LLB programme will be re-entered into IRDAP if they are required to resit their courses. Please see the LLB classification scheme for more information on resits.

Coursework re-entry

Coursework deadlines are set by departments. You should contact your department directly with any questions and to find out what you are required to re-submit.

Will my marks from the IRDAP be capped?

If you have deferred your assessment and are sitting/submitting it for the first time your mark will not be capped. If you have failed and are re-sitting/re-submitting an assessment: the overall grade for that course will be capped at a Pass for classification purposes.

How does capping work?

If you fail a course overall (by failing or being absent from one or more components) you must resit any failed components of that course during the IRDAP.

The only difference between your first attempt (or absence) and the resit is that your overall mark for the course that the failed assessment belongs to will be capped at a Pass grade.

For example:

  • Student A gets 30% in her/his January exam (a fail mark) but gets 80% in her/his May/June exam (a Pass); they achieve an overall mark of 55% (a 2B) in this course which is an overall pass mark and do not need to resit the January exam component. 
  • Student B gets 36% in her/his January exam (a fail mark) and gets 40% in her/his May/June exam (a pass mark); they achieve an overall mark of 38% in the course which is an overall fail mark. Therefore, Student B needs to resit her/his January exam. S/he cannot resit the May/June exam as s/he passed this component. S/he sits the January exam in the UG RDAP and gets 80%. Her/his grade for the overall course will be capped at a Pass. 

Award and Graduation

Following IRDAP) if you are eligible for the award of a degree you will be issued with your degree certificate and official transcripts within approximately 3 weeks following the publication of ratified results. 

You will then be invited to attend graduation the following July. It is not possible for undergraduates to graduate in December. 

 

Full-time Postgraduate Students (one year programmes)

After results have been released, Student Services will notify you if you are not eligible for the award of a degree or for progression to the next year of study.

The School will always award the degree as soon as a student becomes eligible according to the relevant classification scheme. This may mean even though you have failed a course at the first attempt, you may not be eligible to re-sit. as you have achieved enough marks to achieve a Pass degree or to compensate a good fail.

Cancelling re-entry

If you do not wish to take all/any resits, then you must contact the Student Records Team via the enquiry form so that these resits can be removed from your record. If you choose to cancel resits you will not normally be provided with an opportunity to resit them again. You will not be permitted to cancel a resit as a result of a bad fail mark or an absence.

If you do not opt-out of a re-sit, you will be entered and are expected to take it. If you do not sit or defer, you will receive a 0-Absent mark for that assessment which will affect your chances of being awarded the degree.   

Coursework re-entry

Coursework deadlines are set by departments. You should contact the department responsible for the course directly with any questions and to find out what you are required to re-submit. 

Part-time/Full-time multi-year Postgraduate Students

You may not be automatically re-entered to resit a failed assessment in a failed course until you have completed your programme. For example, if you receive a good fail mark and the course in which the fail occurs is not crucial to achieving an overall award. You will only be automatically re-entered for deferred assessments, or to resit assessments where you have received a bad fail course mark or an absence mark.

Where you are required to resit a failed assessment or attempt a deferred assessment this will normally take place during the next available RDAP.

Coursework re-entry

Coursework deadlines are set by departments. You should contact your department directly with any questions and to find out what you are required to re-submit.  

Cancelling re-entry

If you do not wish to take all/any resits from your first year, then you must contact the Student Records Team via the enquiry form so that these resits can be removed from your record. If you choose to cancel resits after you have completed your first year you would be provided with an opportunity to resit them again, if required, after you have completed your second year of study.

If you do not opt-out of a re-sit, you will be entered and are expected to take it. If you do not sit or defer, you will receive a 0-Absent mark for that assessment which will affect your chances of being awarded the degree.   

Postgraduate Students Submitting Dissertations

Resit or deferred attempts at dissertations will normally be due for submission during the next available postgraduate resit and deferred assessment period (RDAP), i.e. RDAP 1 which is during the January exam period, or RDAP 2 which is in the May/June exam period.  Please contact your Department to confirm the exact date and resubmission requirements.

General Course Students

General Course students are allowed to re-sit assessments in the UG IRDAP as long as you have failed or been absent from the assessment with good reason.

You will be automatically entered for any deferred or failed assessments during the UG IRDAP, but may opt out of taking these resit assessments if you wish, please contact the General Course Dean if you have any questions.

Intercollegiate Students

  • Postgraduate intercollegiate students who need to re-sit their assessments are required to make their own arrangements for re-entry. Students should contact the Student Services Centre for an 'Admission as an Intercollegiate Student' form.
  • Undergraduate intercollegiate students required to re-sit their examinations will be automatically re-entered for the examination by the School in the UG IRDAP

There are no re-entry fees for intercollegiate students.

The process  of re-entry and some frequently asked questions are laid out below, please expand the relevant section for more information. 

Confirmation of Re-entry

An email will be sent to you a few weeks before the assessment period, providing a list of resit or deferred assessments that you are expected to take. If you do not receive this email (often known as an "entry" or "re-entry" email), please contact contact the Student Records Team via the enquiry form and we can confirm what you are expected to sit. 

It  is your responsibility to ensure that you are re-entered for all required course(s); and you are strongly advised to check your re-entry requirements with your department, including with regard to the appropriate exam, dissertation and course work elements.

If you do not sit or defer assessments which you have been entered for, you will be marked as 0-Absent which may affect your eligibility for a degree. 

Non-enrolled Student Status

If you are a non-enrolled student (i.e. you were not able to progress or were a finalist) you will not receive tuition and will take the re-entered assessment as a private candidate. 

If you feel you would benefit from Repeat Teaching this option may be available in certain circumstances.

International students are also strongly urged to refer to the visa and immigration advice section below. 

As a non-enrolled student, you will have access to the following:

  • A student ID card
  • The Library and other buildings on campus
  • IT facilities (including your email account)

Although non-enrolled students can continue to log in to Moodle, the Moodle courses that you were previously enrolled in will roll over for a new academic year during the summer, and it is likely that you will no longer have access to see materials. You may want to download any relevant information before this change happens. Academic departments may grant access to the Moodle materials on a case by case basis. Contact the relevant department directly to request access. Be sure to confirm that the information is relevant to the syllabus for the year in which you received teaching, as course materials can change from year to year.

Non-enrolled students are not

  • eligible to live in halls
  • able to apply for a student Oyster card or discounted rail card
  • eligible to claim council tax exemption. 

Re-entry Fees and Payment

A fee of £60 is payable for each full unit course and £35 for each half unit course to be re-taken. This fee is only payable by those re-sitting assessments as a second or third attempt. 

It does not apply to those paying full tuition or repeat tuition fees to the School; to courses where permission has been given to defer an assessment; or to those given permission to re-enter an assessment as a first attempt.

Please note the following:

  • If you are a postgraduate student and you do not intend to resit all of your failed assessments this academic session, you must contact the Student Records Team  via the enquiry form prior to making your fee payment.
  • If at a later date you decide to not re-sit, defer or do not attempt your assessment, your payment is non-refundable.

Make a re-entry payment

LSE Cards

If, following re-entry, you have an LSE card that is due to expire before the revised end date of your programme you will need to request a replacement for an expired card free of charge. A new LSE card will not be produced for you automatically, you must request a new card.  

You can find information about how to replace lost, stolen and damaged cards at LSE Cards.

Debtors

Although no official results will be released to debtors, automatic re-entry will still apply.

Contact Credit Control with any queries regarding a debt to the school

Guidance For Non UK/EEA/EU Students

All exams will take place at the School’s London campus. Please note that if you are a non-EEA national, to return to take your exams you will need immigration permission that allows you to study in the UK.   For further information regarding your visa options, please check the Immigration Advice webpages.

If you need further advice please contact the Student Advice and Engagement Team.

For more information about the regulations specific to your programme, please check the LSE Calendar.