The 20-point Scale All degree programs at SAE Institute are graded using the standard university-based 20-point

scale. The charts below provide a basic outline and description of each of the classifications. 20-point Grades 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 X Q First Class (1) First Class (1) - Borderline Upper Second Class (2.1) Upper Second Class (2.1) - Borderline Lower Second Class (2.2) Lower Second Class (2.2) - Borderline Third Third - Marginal Pass Marginal Fail - Condoned Fail - Condoned Fail - Not condoned Fail - Not condoned Administration Codes Incomplete without good reason (may not be assessed but may be retaken with permission). This grade is applied to students who fail to meet the attendance requirements for that unit. Fail. Incomplete without good reason but has completed the attendance requirements (may be assessed at the next opportunity with penalty). This grade applies to students who attended the unit but did not complete all the assessment requirements, e.g. missing a piece of course work etc. The minimum pass grade (normally 16) is all that can be gained if the unit is subsequently passed. Incomplete with good reason (may be assessed without penalty at the next available opportunity). This grade is for students who have had some or all of their assessment deferred due to illness or other circumstances outside their control. Academic misconduct allegation being investigated. Academic misconduct proven (may be assessed on conditions laid down by the assessment board with penalty). Not to be used without full authorization (usually from Middlesex University). Un-graded pass (no numerical value for classification of awards). Used for assignments, which can be graded on a pass/fail basis. Y indicates a pass, 'Q' would normally be used to indicate a fail (unless there are other circumstances such as illness or failure to meet attendance requirements). Un-condoned failure of a module due to failure of an essential component (may be assessed at the next available opportunity with penalty). The minimum pass grade (normally 16) is all that may be gained if the unit is subsequently passed.

U P Y

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First Class (1) The award of a first, that is any grade between 1 and 3 on the 20-point scale should be accompanied by the following criteria. Note that some criteria may not apply to all assignments and that the relative importance of the criteria changes depending on the level of study. Critical Thinking / Cognitive Abilities Assessment Items 1. Research beyond the course content: The student demonstrates excellent knowledge and thorough understanding of the subject matter, and uses an extensive range of relevant and related facts to convey information. Case studies and examples are detailed and relevant, and provide detailed and fully developed explanations. 2. Critical insight including independence of thought and critical judgment: The student shows an excellent command of English and the terms and concepts relevant to the subject. The student uses these terms in a precise manner to demonstrate a thorough understanding of processes, issues, events and relationships. The student should make excellent use of received opinion and make clear the distinction between opinion, substantiated opinion and fact. The student will also show a developed ability to formulate valid and fully supported conclusions, judgments or decisions. At higher levels of study (levels 2 and 3), the student will increasingly become aware of his/her own opinion, its relevance to the subject and how to express this in an academic paper. There should also be evidence of originality of thought and method. 3. Adherence to all academic procedures and requirements (referencing, bibliography etc.) is exemplary. Professional, Practical and Operational Skills Assessment Items 1. Creative use of technology: Through an advanced understanding of the technology, the student will be able to control and apply the technology to the creative realization of an assignment. This includes creatively justified decisions and must involve a high level of thought, insight and planning. 2. Demonstration of practical skills: The student will use the required facilities in a correct and technically advanced manner. There should be no evidence of over- or under-use of the equipment but rather a confident and skillful demonstration of advanced practical abilities. 4. Adherence to brief: The student will have achieved all of the stated objectives of the assignment to an exceptionally high level and will have closely followed the guidelines of the assignment brief. There will be no omissions or unjustified additions but the student may have applied some originally or creativity to the interpretation of the brief. 5. Operational and operational health and safety practices: For the duration of the assignment, the student will have displayed a thorough understanding of all operational aspects relating to the use of the practical facility and conducted him/herself in the correct manner. In addition, the student will have shown an in-depth knowledge of, and adherence to, correct operational health and safety procedures and will have shown advanced abilities in implementing these in a professional environment. Knowledge Recall Assessment Items A first class grade will be associated with extensive knowledge and accurate recall of all aspects relating to the subject. This will usually be the equivalent of 90% or above for knowledge recall assignments. Note that this percentage will change according to local marking systems but that on average 15% or less of students will be awarded a first for this type of assignment.

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Upper Second Class (2-1) The award of an Upper Second-Class, often referred to as a 2-1 ("two-one"), that is any grade between 5 and 7 on the 20-point scale should be accompanied by the following criteria. Note that some criteria may not apply to all assignments and that the relative importance of the criteria changes depending on the level of study. Critical Thinking / Cognitive Abilities Assessment Items 1. Research beyond the course content: The student demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, and uses relevant and related facts to convey information. Case studies and examples are detailed and relevant, and provide clear and well-developed explanations. 2. Critical insight including independence of thought and critical judgment: The student shows a good command of English and the use of subject-specific terms, and uses them efficiently to demonstrate a thorough understanding of processes, issues, events and relationships. The student should make good use of received opinion and make clear the distinction between opinion, substantiated opinion and fact. The student will also show an ability to formulate valid and fully supported conclusions, judgments or decisions. At higher levels of study (levels 2 and 3), the student will increasingly become aware of his/her own opinion, its relevance to the subject and how to express this in an academic paper. This may be accompanied by some originality of thought and method. 3. Adherence to all academic procedures and requirements (referencing, bibliography etc.) is good. Professional, Practical and Operational Skills Assessment Items 1. Creative use of technology: Through a thorough understanding of the technology, the student will be able to control and apply the technology to the creative realization of an assignment. This will include strong evidence of creatively justified decisions and involve a reasonably high level of thought, insight and planning. 2. Demonstration of practical skills: The student will use the required facilities in a correct and technically competent manner. There should be no evidence of over- or under-use of the equipment but rather a reasonably confident and skillful demonstration of strong practical abilities. 4. Adherence to brief: The student will have achieved all of the stated objectives of the assignment to a high level and closely followed the guidelines of the assignment brief. There will be no omissions or unjustified additions. 5. Operational and operational health and safety practices: For the duration of the assignment, the student will have displayed a thorough understanding of all operational aspects relating to the use of the practical facility and conducted him/herself in the correct manner. In addition, the student will have shown an in-depth knowledge of, and adherence to, correct operational health and safety procedures and be able to competently implement these in a professional environment. Knowledge Recall Assessment Items An upper second-class grade will be associated with thorough knowledge and accurate recall of all aspects relating to the subject. This will usually be the equivalent of 80% or above for knowledge recall assignments. Note that this percentage will change according to local marking systems but that on average 40% of students will be awarded a 2-1 for this type of assignment.

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Lower Second Class (2-2) The award of a Lower Second-Class, often referred to as a 2-2 ("two-two"), that is any grade between 9 and 11 on the 20-point scale should be accompanied by the following criteria. Note that some criteria may not apply to all assignments and that the relative importance of the criteria changes depending on the level of study. Critical Thinking / Cognitive Abilities Assessment Items 1. Research beyond the course content: The student demonstrates a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, and uses relevant and related facts to convey information. Case studies and examples may be lacking in detail but are relevant, and explanations that are adequate but not well developed. 2. Critical insight including independence of thought and critical judgment: The student shows a satisfactory command of English, has a good grasp of related terminology and provides clear evidence of an understanding of the processes, issues, events and relationships. The student should make competent use of received opinion but occasionally misrepresent opinion, substantiated opinion and fact. The student will also show a basic ability to formulate valid and supported conclusions, judgments or decisions. At higher levels of study (levels 2 and 3), the student will increasingly become aware of his/her own opinion but be unable to express this properly using the expected academic formats. Originality of thought and method are not accompanied by strong and clear justification. 3. Adherence to all academic procedures and requirements (referencing, bibliography etc.) is satisfactory. Professional, Practical and Operational Skills Assessment Items 1. Creative use of technology: Through a satisfactory understanding of the technology, the student will be able to control and apply the technology to the creative realization of an assignment. This will include some evidence of creatively justified decisions, thought, insight and planning. 2. Demonstration of practical skills: The student will use the required facilities in a correct and technically competent manner. There should be little evidence of over- or under-use of the equipment but rather a satisfactory demonstration of competent practical abilities. 4. Adherence to brief: The student will have achieved all of the stated objectives of the assignment and followed the guidelines of the assignment brief. There may be occasional omissions or unjustified additions. 5. Operational and operational health and safety practices: For the duration of the assignment, the student will have displayed a good understanding of all operational aspects relating to the use of the practical facility and conducted him/herself in the correct manner. In addition, the student will have adhered to correct operational health and safety procedures and be able to competently implement these in a professional environment. Knowledge Recall Assessment Items A lower second-class grade will be associated with good knowledge and moderately accurate recall of all aspects relating to the subject. This will usually be the equivalent of 70% or above for knowledge recall assignments. Note that this percentage will change according to local marking systems but that on average 35% of students will be awarded a 2-2 for this type of assignment.

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Third Class (3) The award of a Third Class, that is any grade between 13 and 15 on the 20-point scale should be accompanied by the following criteria. Note that some criteria may not apply to all assignments and that the relative importance of the criteria changes depending on the level of study. Critical Thinking / Cognitive Abilities Assessment Items 1. Research beyond the course content: The student demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, and uses mostly relevant and/or related facts to convey information. Case studies and examples may be lacking in detail but are relevant, and explanations are simple and often incomplete. 2. Critical insight including independence of thought and critical judgment: The student shows a satisfactory command of English and related terminology and provides some evidence of an understanding of the processes, issues, events and relationships. The student misrepresents opinion, substantiated opinion and fact and makes use of received opinion in an unsatisfactory manner. The student will also show a basic ability to formulate conclusions, judgments or decisions. At higher levels of study (levels 2 and 3), the student will increasingly become aware of his/her own opinion but be unable to express this properly using the expected academic formats. Originality of thought and method are lacking or poorly justified. 3. Adherence to all academic procedures and requirements (referencing, bibliography etc.) is basic and accompanied by a lack of attention to detail. Professional, Practical and Operational Skills Assessment Items 1. Creative use of technology: The student's incomplete technological knowledge will have resulted in limitations on his/her creative expression. There may be evidence to support the claim that more thought, insight and planning should have been applied to the project. 2. Demonstration of practical skills: The student will occasionally use the required facilities in a correct and technically competent manner but will also make mistakes resulting from insufficient practice or understanding. There will be evidence that the student has not mastered the equipment to a high level of competency. 4. Adherence to brief: The student will have achieved most of the stated objectives of the assignment and followed the guidelines of the assignment brief. There may be occasional omissions or unjustified additions. 5. Operational and operational health and safety practices: For the duration of the assignment, the student will have displayed an understanding of the operational aspects relating to the use of the practical facility and conducted him/herself in the correct manner. In addition, the student will have adhered to correct operational procedures and demonstrate an understanding of the importance of these procedures in a professional environment. Knowledge Recall Assessment Items A third class grade will be associated with satisfactory knowledge and moderately accurate recall of all aspects relating to the subject. This will usually be the equivalent of 60% or above for knowledge recall assignments. Note that this percentage will change according to local marking systems but that on average 10% of students will be awarded a 3 for this type of assignment.

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Marginal Pass The award of a grade 16, marginal pass, is most frequently awarded as a penalty grade (for example for a retake assignment etc.). However, in some circumstances, a grade 16 will be awarded to a student for a first submission of an assignment. This grade indicates that the student has achieved the minimum required knowledge / understanding / insight / practical abilities in order to pass the assignment. This will change on a case-by-case basis but as a general guideline, a grade 16 may be awarded to a student who's work: is below 3rd class standard but does not deserve to fail. is generally of 3rd class standard but has one or more additional minor transgressions (e.g. incorrect submission formats, flawed argumentation, misrepresentation of received opinion, not adhering to operational health and safety procedures etc.). is of a higher standard but has one or more serious transgressions (not meeting all the requirements of the assignment, transgression of operational health and safety procedures etc.)

Fail The award of any grade between 17 and 20 on the 20-point scale is considered a Fail. Grades 17 and 18 are 'condonable failures'. This means that, if the assignment is not deemed to be crucial to the achievement of the learning outcomes of the module, the student may be allowed to continue their studies without retaking the assignment. Grades 19 and 20 are 'not condonable failures'. This means that the student will have to retake/resubmit the assignment before he/she can continue their studies. As this affects a student's study path, there is some room for local interpretation of this rule. For example a student may be allowed to continue attending lectures but be made to resubmit before the next assignment is due. A fail is generally accompanied by the following criteria. Note that some criteria may not apply to all assignments and that the relative importance of the criteria changes depending on the level of study. Critical Thinking / Cognitive Abilities Assessment Items 1. Research beyond the course content: The student demonstrates very little knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, and uses unrelated, irrelevant or unsupported facts. Case studies and examples are lacking in detail or irrelevant, and explanations are superficial, incomplete or absent. 2. Critical insight including independence of thought and critical judgment: The student shows an un-satisfactory command of English and the use of terminology is inconsistent or incorrect. There is little evidence of an understanding of the processes, issues, events and relationships. The student misrepresents opinion, substantiated opinion and fact and makes use of received opinion in an unsatisfactory manner. The student will also show a little ability to formulate conclusions, judgments or decisions. 3. Adherence to all academic procedures and requirements (referencing, bibliography etc.) is lacking and often incomplete or incorrect. Professional, Practical and Operational Skills Assessment Items 1. Creative use of technology: The student's incomplete technological knowledge will have resulted in severe limitations on his/her creative expression. More thought, insight and planning should have been applied to all stages of the project. 2. Demonstration of practical skills: The student's work will evince insufficient practice time has been spent on the equipment, that the student has not acquired sufficient practical skills and that he/she has a lack of understanding relating to the use of the equipment.

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4. Adherence to brief: The student will not have achieved the stated objectives of the assignment nor followed the guidelines of the assignment brief. 5. Operational and operational health and safety practices: The student will have displayed a lack of understanding of the operational aspects relating to the use of the practical facility and may not have conducted him/herself in the correct manner. In addition, the student's understanding of the importance of these procedures in a professional environment may be lacking. Knowledge Recall Assessment Items A fail grade will be associated with unsatisfactory knowledge and inaccurate recall. This will usually be the equivalent of 59% or below for knowledge recall assignments. Note that this percentage will change according to local marking systems. It is unusual for more than 0% to 15% of students to fail this type of assignment.

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