Hi all,

I was wondering whether anyone can shed any light on this situation. I handed my dissertation in the beginning of May to a Liverpool university. I bumped into my supervisor who said that according to her I had passed but it still needed to be second marked. I received an email today saying that my provisional mark is that i have failed but this decision will not be confirmed until tomorrow, when it goes to the exam board.

Can anyone tell me what the next steps would be? This is the first time I have submitted my work.

Thanks

Hi,

Usually the external examiner would be asked to look at it, and if he / she confirms the fail then the exam board will decide what to do. If you have a look in the exam regulations for Liverpool you can probably find out for sure but I'd suspect that you will be given two choices a) if you passed all the other modules you could walk away with a postgrad diploma or b) you could revise and resubmit the dissertation but the mark will probably be capped. If there are extenuating circumstances of any sort and you can prove them, then I'd suggest letting your course leader know about them asap.

I mark MA dissertations. The way it goes is that most are marked twice. However, of one marker has passed it, and another marker has failed it, the dissertation goes to a third marker, and that's what they'll be waiting on. Usually, if it fails, you're given time to resubmit, unless the failure is for plagiarism, and then it's a whole different ball-game! So don't panic. It'll either be a pass (third marker agrees with first marker) or a resubmit (third marker agrees with second marker).

Hi Sunshine901,

There is another option that has not been mentioned yet. If you can prove that the level of supervision you received was not adequate you might have a case against your supervisor by way of a formal complaint. This may lead to you being appointed a different supervisor and you being given the chance to improve your mark without it being capped. This is perhaps the most likely steps you should/could take since your supervisor lead you to believe that you passed and then the second marker decided it is a failure. Even if you pass via the third marker you may still have a case against the supervisor for inadequate supervision and therefore still have a chance to improve your mark if you wish to. The supervisor (assuming you have been working with him/her through to completion) should ensure the work you submit is of the required standard to pass - it is their responsibility.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

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