Answered By: Robert Farmer Last Updated: Oct 15, 2024 Views: 60607
This guidance covers both letter grading using the old regulations and percentage grading using the new regulations. For more information about which regulations apply to the module(s) you are grading, please see: Academic Registry Staff Update August 2024
• Guidance for staff marking using percentages (new regulations)
• Guidance for staff marking using letters (old regulations)
Marking using percentages (new regulations)
The following two tables explain how percentages used in the new academic regulations relate to letter grades awarded in the old regulations, and how these relate to overall degree classifications. The information in these tables has been compiled from the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Mark Criteria (September 2024 onwards) and appendix 2 of the Academic Regulations for continuing students 2024-2025.
Undergraduate Programmes
| Degree Classification |
Percentage Grade |
Letter Grade Equivalent |
Mark Criteria |
| Distinction First) |
80 to 100 | A+ | Work which fulfils all the criteria of the grade below, but at an exceptionally distinguished standard. |
| 75 to 79 | A | Work that is distinguished is of very high quality, demonstrating evidence which is strong, robust and consistent, appropriate to the task or activity. Authoritative command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 70 to 74 | A- | Work of threshold distinguished quality displays most but not all of the criteria for the grade above in relation to the learning outcomes. | |
| Merit Upper Second) |
67 to 69 | B+ | Work that is worthy of a strong merit clearly fulfils the criteria for the grade below, but shows a greater degree of capability in relation to the relevant learning outcomes. |
| 63 to 66 | B | Work which is a merit is of high quality, demonstrating evidence which is rigorous and convincing, appropriate to the task or activity. Rigorous command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 60 to 62 | B- | Work that is worthy of a threshold merit contains most, but not all, of the characteristics of the grade above in relation to the learning outcomes. | |
| Commended Lower Second) |
57 to 59 | C+ | Work which is highly commended clearly fulfils all the criteria of the grade below, but shows a greater degree of capability in relevant intellectual / subject / transferable skills. |
| 53 to 56 | C | Work that is commended is of sound quality, demonstrating evidence which is sufficient and appropriate to the task or activity. Sound command of academic / professional conventions sufficient and appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 50 to 52 | C- | Work of threshold commended quality contains some of the characteristics of the grade above in relation to the relevant learning outcomes. | |
| Pass (Third) |
47 to 49 | D+ | Work of highly satisfactory quality demonstrates evidence of reliably achieving the requirements of the learning outcomes. Highly satisfactory command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
| 43 to 46 | D | Work of satisfactory quality demonstrates evidence of achieving the requirements of the learning outcomes. Satisfactory command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 40 to 42 | D- | Work of a threshold (bare) pass standard demonstrates evidence of achieving the requirements of the learning outcomes, but only to a threshold level. Threshold command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline, but only to a threshold level. |
|
| A Marginal Fail | 35 to 39 | F+ | Work which indicates some evidence of addressing the learning outcomes but which contains some significant omission or misunderstanding, or otherwise just fails to meet threshold standards. |
| A Fail | 20 to 34 | F | Evidence included or provided but missing in some very important aspects. Poor command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
| A Comprehensive Fail | 5 to 19 | F- | Negligible or inappropriate evidence. Unsatisfactory command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
Postgraduate Programmes
| Degree Classification |
Percentage Grade |
Letter Grade Equivalent |
Mark Criteria |
| Distinction | 80 to 100 | A+ | Work which fulfils all the criteria of the grade below, but at an exceptionally distinguished standard. |
| 75 to 79 | A | Work that is distinguished is of very high quality, demonstrating evidence which is strong, robust and consistent, appropriate to the task or activity. Authoritative command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 70 to 74 | A- | Work of threshold distinguished quality displays most but not all of the criteria for the grade above in relation to the learning outcomes. | |
| Merit | 67 to 69 | B+ | Work that is worthy of a strong merit clearly fulfils the criteria for the grade below, but shows a greater degree of capability in relation to the relevant learning outcomes. |
| 63 to 66 | B | Work which is a merit is of high quality, demonstrating evidence which is rigorous and convincing, appropriate to the task or activity. Rigorous command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 60 to 62 | B- | Work that is worthy of a threshold merit contains most, but not all, of the characteristics of the grade above in relation to the learning outcomes. | |
| Pass | 57 to 59 | C+ | Work that is worthy of a strong pass clearly fulfils the criteria for the grade below that also shows significant capability in relation to the learning outcomes. |
| 53 to 56 | C | Work that is worthy of a pass clearly demonstrates evidence of achieving the requirements of the learning outcomes. Sound command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
|
| 50 to 52 | C- | Work of a threshold (bare) pass standard demonstrates evidence of achieving the requirements of the learning outcomes, but only to a threshold level. Threshold command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline, but only to a threshold level. |
|
| A Marginal Fail | 45 to 49 | F+ | Work which indicates some evidence of addressing the learning outcomes but which contains some significant omission or misunderstanding, or otherwise just fails to meet threshold standards. |
| A Fail | 28 to 44 | F | Evidence included or provided but missing in some very important aspects. Poor command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
| A Comprehensive Fail | 5 to 27 | F- | Negligible or inappropriate evidence. Unsatisfactory command of academic / professional conventions appropriate to the discipline. |
Non-submissions and delays to grading
When recording non-submissions and delays to grading, please enter the exact percentage values. Where assessments are not marked out of 100 points, staff will need to work out the correct value to enter in order to generate the relevant percentage. For example, if the assessment is worth 35 points, it will be necessary to enter a value of 0.35 in order to record a mark of 1%, or 0.7 to record a mark of 2%. If the assessment is worth 150 points, it will be necessary to enter a value of 1.5 to record a mark of 1%, or 3 to record a mark of 2%.
When marking both undergraduate and postgraduate work using percentages, non-submissions and delays to grading should be recorded as follows:
| Percentage Grade Awarded |
Grade in SITS |
Grade Descriptor |
| A grade given of: | Will be recorded as: | Which means: |
| % | ||
| 0 | NS | No/late/irrelevant submission |
| 1 | ZM | Academic misconduct referral |
| 2 | ZP | Delayed placement |
| 3 | n/a | n/a (not currently in use) |
| 4 | n/a | n/a (not currently in use) |
Display of grades in NILE and rounding of grades in SITS
Percentage grades in NILE will be displayed up to a maximum of two decimal places. Where a percentage grade in NILE is not a whole number it will be rounded in SITS using standard rounding rules, therefore non-whole number grades in NILE will be different from those in SITS. In all cases, the assessment grade displayed in SITS is the definitive grade and will be the one used to calculate students' overall module marks and degree award classifications.
Marking using letters (old regulations)
The following table explains which numeric score generates which letter grade when using the UnderGrad and PostGrad Letter mark schemas in NILE.
Please note that for this to work correctly, your assignment must be out of 100 points.
| Undergraduate Numeric Score |
Letter Grade |
Postgraduate Numeric Score |
| 90 | A+ | 90 |
| 78 | A | 77 |
| 73 | A- | 72 |
| 68 | B+ | 68 |
| 65 | B | 65 |
| 61 | B- | 61 |
| 58 | C+ | 58 |
| 55 | C | 55 |
| 51 | C- | 51 |
| 48 | D+ | n/a |
| 45 | D | n/a |
| 41 | D- | n/a |
| 38 | F+ | 47 |
| 27 | F | 36 |
| 13 | F- | 14 |
| 4 | ZZ | 4 |
| 3 | LG | 3 |
| 2 | NG | 2 |
| 1 | AG | 1 |
| 0 | G | 0 |
The meaning of the ZZ and the G grade variants is as follows:
ZZ: Grade currently suspended pending an academic misconduct investigation.
LG: Work submitted more than one week late, therefore outside of the one week timeframe allowed where late submissions are capped at a D-.
NG: A submission was made, but it contained nothing of merit.
AG: The work submitted was awarded a G grade following the outcome of the academic misconduct panel.
G: Nothing submitted.
When using a rubric to calculate a score in NILE, or when students are taking a computer marked test, letter grades will be calculated as follows from their rubric or test scores.
Please note that while rubrics should normally be set with a maximum score of 100, in the case of rubrics and computer marked tests the translation from a numeric score to a letter grade will work correctly regardless of the maximum number of points your rubric or test is out of. This is because the translation from numeric score to letter grade is based on percentages. So, for example, a student who scores 10 out of 20 will be awarded a C-, just as a student who scores 75 out of 150 will also be awarded a C-, as both students have scored 50%.
| Undergraduate Numeric Score Boundaries |
Letter Grade | Postgraduate Numeric Score Boundaries |
| Marks scored between: | Will equal: | Marks scored between: |
| % | % | |
| 80 and 100 | A+ | 80 and 100 |
| 75 and less than 80 | A | 75 and less than 80 |
| 70 and less than 75 | A- | 70 and less than 75 |
| 67 and less than 70 | B+ | 67 and less than 70 |
| 63 and less than 67 | B | 63 and less than 67 |
| 60 and less than 63 | B- | 60 and less than 63 |
| 57 and less than 60 | C+ | 57 and less than 60 |
| 53 and less than 57 | C | 53 and less than 57 |
| 50 and less than 53 | C- | 50 and less than 53 |
| 47 and less than 50 | D+ | n/a |
| 43 and less than 47 | D | n/a |
| 40 and less than 43 | D- | n/a |
| 35 and less than 40 | F+ | 45 and less than 50 |
| 20 and less than 35 | F | 28 and less than 45 |
| 5 and less than 20 | F- | 5 and less than 28 |
| 4 and less than 5 | ZZ | 4 and less than 5 |
| 3 and less than 4 | LG | 3 and less than 4 |
| 2 and less than 3 | NG | 2 and less than 3 |
| 1 and less than 2 | AG | 1 and less than 2 |
| 0 and less than 1 | G | 0 and less than 1 |
More information
For more information about grading, rubrics, and about setting up and marking assessments in NILE, please see the links below.
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