Mark Frames

information for staff working in departments

It is vitally important that you submit the correct mark the first time.

Marks should go through a rigourous quality process before being submitted to ensure that there are no errors.


Academic departments are responsible for reviewing progression and/or award outcomes for all students on their programmes. This work is done using a Mark Frame. Departments may also make recommendations for a suspension of regulations following the submission of Exceptional Circumstances (ECs). Once the department has reviewed all ECs and progression/award outcomes they should be sent to the Student Services Centre (SSC) by the relevant deadline. The SSC will then take these students through the relevant school level board.  

The basic process is as follows:

  • Receive Mark Frame from the SSC, via Teams. 
  • Review each student, paying special attention to ECs and progression/award for each student. Then add approval or annotation on each Mark Frame.
  • Return reviewed Mark Frames to the SSC via Teams. 
  • The SSC Student Records Team confirm progression/award in SITS.
  • The SSC Teams take to School Level Boards.

The sections below explain how to receive, review and return Mark Frames. They also provide contact details if you experience any difficulties. 

The SSC Student Records Team will always try to get Mark Frames to departments as soon as possible but they cannot do this until all marks have been uploaded, award/progression calculations have been run and the Mark Frames have been generated. This may mean Mark Frames are shared close to the date of sub-boards. The timelines after sub-boards are even tighter so it is essential that Mark Frames are returned on time, the deadlines are absolute and must be met. 

Sub-Board Chairs are responsible for ensuring that sub-boards are quorate and that accurate progression and award outcomes are confirmed to the SSC by the stated deadline.

Accessing Mark Frames on Teams

Mark Frames will be uploaded to  the Undergraduate or Postgraduate Sub-Board Teams site ahead of the confirmed Sub-Board time. Departments will be notified via Teams post with tag once Mark Frames are available.

Teams sites:

  • LSE-Under-Graduate-Virtual-SubBoards (Team)
  • LSE-PostGraduate-Virtual-SubBoards (Team)

How do I get access to the Teams site?

When starting in your role, a colleague within your department should grant you access to the relevant Teams site. However, if this does not take place, access can be granted by contacting the SSC Student Records Team.

To add somebody to the Teams site:

  1. Go to the Teams site (you must already be a member)
  2. Hover over the title of the Team in the menu on the left
  3. Click the three dots
  4. Select ‘Add Member’
  5. In the pop-up enter the individual’s email address
  6. Click ‘Send request’

What channels should I be able to access?

The Sub-Board Chair and Secretary  should have access to two channels for their department. These are titled ‘DEPT-All-Members’ and ‘DEPT-Chair-and-Sec-Only’ (DEPT will be replaced by the department code e.g. AC for Accounting).

All other individuals involved in the Sub-Board should only access the ‘DEPT-All-Members’ channel.

When you are first given access to the relevant Teams site, you will have access to all departments’ ‘All-Members’ channels. You can hide any channels you do not need access to by hovering over the channel, clicking the three dots and selecting ‘Hide’.

If you cannot see a channel you require access to, this could be because either:

  • It is listed under ‘Hidden channels’ and you should expand this section and click the three dots to opt to show this channel
  • Or you do not have access and should contact the SSC Student Records Team to request access.

Content or posts in the ‘DEPT-All-Members’ channel should wherever possible be anonymous and use only candidate numbers to identify students. However, in some cases (such as when confirming prizes) it is acceptable to use student numbers. 

Who should have access to the Sub-Board Teams site?

The following individuals should be members in the relevant UG or PG Teams site:

  • Sub-Board Chair
  • Sub-Board Secretary
  • Course Leaders/Conveners
  • External Examiners

Sub-Board Chair and Secretary should have access to two channels for their department. These are titled ‘DEPT-All-Members’ and ‘DEPT-Chair-and-Sec-Only’.

Sub-Board members may need direction from their Sub-Board Secretary to ensure they are accessing the correct department ‘All-Members’ channel. You can copy a direct link to the channel by hovering over the title, clicking the three dots and selecting ‘Get link to channel’.

To request guest access for an External Examiner, submit a Request Teams Guest User to DTS. Guidance should then be sent to the External Examiner to complete their LSE account set-up and gain access to Teams.

When do I confirm the Sub-Board date?

The SSC Student Records Team will request confirmation of Sub-Board dates via a Teams post ahead of the  period. This is usually around one month before Sub-Boards are due to start.

Departments will confirm Sub-Board dates and the name of the Chair and Secretary by entering this information into a spreadsheet. It is essential that this information is provided as soon as the SSC Student Records Team request it and is updated if any roles change.

Sub-Board dates must fall within the set timeframe laid out in the Student Services Centre Key Dates document. They are also circulated in the SSC Bulletins.

Why are there two versions of the Mark Frames?

For each year group of a programme, there will be an anonymous and named Mark Frame.

Anonymous:

  • To be shared with Sub-Board members via the ‘All-Members’ channel.
  • For use within the Sub-Board to discuss EC cases anonymously.

Named:

  • Only for use by the Chair and Secretary.
  • This version of the Mark Frame should be the one used to return your Mark Frame to the SSC with annotations.

Need help?

  • If you do not have access to Teams at all, or if you need to reset your Microsoft password please contact DTS.
  • If you can access Teams but don’t have access to the relevant Teams site, please contact the SSC Student Records Team.
  • If you need access to a specific departmental channel please contact the SSC Student Records Team.
  • If students appear to be missing from the Mark Frame please alert the SSC Student Records Team by making a post in your Sub-Board channel and tagging the whole channel.

Breakdown of the Mark Frame

Two Mark Frames are generated for each programme and each year of study. 

For example for a three-year BSc programme there will be six Mark Frames:

  1. Year One (Progression) Anonymous
  2. Year One (Progression) Named
  3. Year Two (Progression) Anonymous
  4. Year Two (Progression) Named
  5. Year Three (Finalist) Anonymous
  6. Year Three (Finalist) Named

Coversheet

A coversheet will be automatically created and included as part of the named version of the Mark Frame. The coversheet will:

  • Include a key explaining what each of the progress codes mean. 
  • Provide a specific space to complete Chair and External Examiner details.
  • Provide a specific space to note where Suspension of Regulation requests are being made.

The number of students included in the Mark Frame will be shown on the coversheet. This number can be used to quickly check that no students are missing from the Mark Frame. 

The coversheet will indicate when local rules apply for postgraduate programmes. Where local rules do apply there will also be a link to the calendar to enable easy access to the rules.

Interpreting a Mark Frame

Identifiable student information is always located in the top left corner of the Mark Frame.

Read the Undergraduate Mark Frame breakdown (PDF)

Read the Postgraduate Taught Mark Frame breakdown (PDF)

What do italics signify?

If a course has been superseded in a later academic year the old course will be shown in italics. For example, if a course was deferred out of the 2022/3 academic year, and then also out of IRDAP 2023 the 2022/23 row will be in italics to show it’s an ‘old’ attempt. The later attempt in 2023/4 will show in normal text. This allows for easier checking because marks from courses in italics will not (in most circumstances) impact final outcomes.

What about IRDAP or RDAP resit marks?

Re-assessment marks are treated differently depending on when the re-assessment takes place.

Courses with reassessments in IRDAP (Undergraduates and IRDAP enabled PG courses)

Reassessment component marks are visible in the relevant row in the IRDAP column. Each course will include the component marks from the ‘normal’ assessment and then any IRDAP assessments. After IRDAP a new overall mark for the course will be shown. So, both component marks show but there is only one overall mark and grade for the course. 

It is very important to check that IRDAP marks are present in the Mark Frame and that the overall course mark has updated.

Courses with reassessments in RDAP (Taught Postgraduate courses which are not IRDAP enabled)

Reassessments that took place in RDAP1 will appear in a new row because RDAP falls in the subsequent academic year. The ‘Acad Year’ column will show PR to indicate that the course is pending a reassessment, the RDAP1 mark will then show in the Re As column. Here the overall mark does not get updated because the reassessment is in the following year. 

It is very important to check that RDAP marks are present in the Mark Frame and that there is a new overall mark.

 

Need help?

  • If students appear to be missing from the Mark Frame please post a comment in relevant sub-board channel, remembering to tag the channel.
  • If a Mark Frame is missing please post a comment in relevant sub-board channel, remembering to tag the channel.

Progression and Award codes

All progression codes are listed on the named Mark Frame coversheet (page one of the named Mark Frame). 

The important distinction to understand is the differences between main sitting and resit sitting periods and progression vs award.

Undergraduate

Spring continuing student:

  • P-PASSED – passed all courses across all years.
  • P-IRDAP – passed sufficient courses to meet progression requirements, but must sit something in IRDAP.
  • R-IRDAP – does not meet progression requirements and must sit in IRDAP before they can progress.
  • P-EX – passed sufficient courses  to meet progression requirements, but exhausted attempts in courses  up to the value of one unit.
  • F-FINAL – final fail; cannot progress or be awarded.

IRDAP continuing student:

  • P-PASSED-RE - passed all courses across all years.
  • P-RESIT - passed sufficient courses to meet progression requirements, but must complete a reassessment during the next academic year.
  • R-RESIT – cannot progress to next year of study and will be URE for next academic year whilst taking reassessments.
  • P-EX - passed sufficient courses to meet progression requirements, but exhausted attempts in courses up to the value of one  unit.
  • F-FINAL - final fail; cannot progress or be awarded.

Finalist student:

  • AWARD-UG –eligible for award.
  • R-IRDAP-Y3 –not eligible for award and must complete reassessment(s).
  • F-FINAL - final fail; candidate cannot be awarded.

Postgraduate

Spring/November student:

  • PG-PASSED – progression boards only passed all courses.
  • PG-AWARD –eligible for award.
  • PG-RESIT-P – passed sufficient units to meet progression requirements, but must complete reassessments in RDAP1.
  • PG-RDAP-98 – 12 month masters student who does not meet award requirements and must complete reassessments  in RDAP1.
  • PG-RDAP – 9/10 month masters student who does not meet award requirements and must complete reassessments  in RDAP1.
  • PG-RESIT – progression boards only passed insufficient units to meet progression requirements and must complete reassessments in RDAP1.
  • PG-F-FINAL – final fail; cannot progress or be awarded.

RDAP1 (January) student:

  • PG-PASSED – progression boards only passed all courses.
  • PG-AWARD –eligible for award.
  • PG-RDAP-R – does not meet progression/award requirements and must complete reassessments in RDAP2.
  • PG-F-FINAL – final fail; cannot progress or be awarded.

RDAP2 (Spring) student:

  • PG-PASSED – progression boards only passed all courses.
  • PG-AWARD –eligible for award.
  • PG-RDAP – does not meet progression/award requirements and must sit in RDAP1 the following year.
  • PG-F-FINAL – final fail; cannot progress or be awarded.

Need help?

  • If you are unsure of any progression codes please post a comment in relevant sub-board channel, remembering to tag the channel.

Identifying Final Fail candidates

Candidates are considered final fail when they cannot progress or be awarded and have run out of attempts in relevant assessment or have never attempted a component of assessment.

Exhausted absences

If a candidate has ‘absented’ (i.e. they have a mark of 0 AB) for every attempt at a component of assessment and they have run out of attempts in that assessment, they are a final fail as they can never be eligible for an award. The component can now never be attempted and candidates have to attempt every assessment in order to be eligible for an award.

Example:

AC103 2022/23 Spring Exam (100%) – 0 AB – Attempt 1 used

AC103 2022/23 IRDAP Exam (100%) – 0 AB – Attempt 2 used

AC103 2023/24 Spring Exam (100%) – Deferred (NA) – Attempt 3 deferred

AC103 2023/24 IRDAP Exam (100%) – 0 AB – Attempt 3 used

This undergraduate is entitled to three attempts at this course as it is a first year course. All three attempts have been used up  so the candidate is a final fail because they can never attempt the course.

 

For undergraduate students, previous fail marks can be reinstated for the purpose of award.

Example:

AC103 2022/23 Spring Exam (100%) – 0 AB – Attempt 1 used

AC103 2022/23 IRDAP Exam (100%) – 32 F – Attempt 2 used

AC103 2023/24 Spring Exam (100%) – Deferred (NA) – Attempt 3 deferred

AC103 2023/24 IRDAP Exam (100%) – 0 AB – Attempt 3 used

Here, the same student could be eligible for award with the re-instated 32 F mark counting as an attempt made at the component of assessment.

 

For postgraduate students, the most recent attempt is counted. Therefore, if a candidate absents their final attempt at a component, they are deemed final fail as they are not eligible for award with an absence.

Unable to progress

If a candidate exhausts attempts and in unable to progress, this would also make the candidate final fail. This is because the student is not able to meet progression requirements as they have no attempts remaining.

Bad fails (postgraduate only)

Any postgraduate student who receives a Bad Fail mark must resit the component of assessment if they have attempts remaining.

When a postgraduate student receives a Bad Fail mark in their final attempt, they cannot be awarded the degree and are therefore final fail. The most recent attempt always supersedes any previous attempts or marks.

Students who have received Bad Fail marks in both attempts are also final fail as they cannot be awarded and cannot resit the component.

Need help?

  • If you are unsure whether a candidate’s progression or award is incorrect, please annotate the Mark Frame to query the outcome. You should post in the Teams channel and tag the channel to notify the records team.

Returning Mark Frames to SSC

Mark Frames are returned to the SSC via Teams. Mark Frames must be complete with a filled in coversheet and all confirmed outcomes.

After the Sub-Board, the coversheet should be completed to confirm the outcomes of the candidates included in a given set of Mark Frame. The Sub-Board Chair and External Examiners’ information and signatures must be included (digital signatures for remote Sub-Boards are acceptable).

All Suspension of Regulation (SoR) cases must also be listed on the coversheet by candidate number. Ensure the candidates are within the Mark Frame after the coversheet (i.e. correct programme and year of study).

An indication of approval or amendment must be noted for each candidate in the ‘Confirmed by Sub-Board’ box in the top right corner of each page. Examples of acceptable ‘Confirmed by Sub-Board' box entries:

  • A digital tick (added to the pdf via stamp or comments etc.)
  • A handwritten tick (printed and scanned Mark Frame)
  • Typed ‘Yes’ or ‘Approved’ or ‘Confirmed’ or equivalent
  • Typed amended progression or classification
  • Handwritten amended progression or classification

Mark Frames are confidential and you should exercise the same level of care as you would with an exam paper.

Once Mark Frames are ready to be returned, they should be uploaded to the ‘DEPT-Chair-and-Sec-Only’ channel on Teams. A post should be added to the channel tagging the channel to inform the Records Team that the mark frame has been returned.

Need help?

  • If you are unsure how to return your Mark Frame please post a comment in relevant sub-board channel, remembering to tag the channel.
  • If you are unsure how to amend or add comments digitally to a mark frame pdf please refer to the additional guidance below.

Read the Adding Comments and Stamps to Adobe Reader guidance (PDF)

Deadlines

The deadlines for Sub-Boards and submitting Mark Frames are laid out in the Student Services Centre Key Dates document. They are also circulated in the SSC Bulletins.

The deadlines for submitting Mark Frames must be considered as absolute, there is no flexibility.

If mark frames are submitted after the deadline progression and awards will not be confirmed in time for results to be released to students. You will need to inform your students that their results will be released late. This may also impact their ability to attend graduation.

Need help?

  • If you are unsure of the deadline for submitting your marksheets please contact the SSC Student Records TeamFor urgent queries please post a comment in relevant sub-board channel, remembering to tag the channel.