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Guide to Undergraduate Condonement

‘Condonement’ helps you to progress through your programme and achieve your degree by allowing a small number of failed modules, as long as overall performance is good.

Condonement helps to reduce the amount of assessment that you have to complete and reduces your likelihood of having to do Late Summer Assessments. Condonement is a common feature of many UK university degrees, and has been used at UCL in different ways for a number of years.

What happens if I have Extenuating Circumstances?

If you can’t sit an assessment due to illness or other Extenuating Circumstances you will normally be offered a deferral (postponement) of assessment. We won’t consider the condonement criteria until you have completed the deferral. 

Does condonement apply to all assessments?

We can only apply condonement when we know all of your module results for the year. If you fail any modules before then, you will automatically be entered to resit the failed modules. 

Are any modules excluded from condonement?

Some programmes include ‘non-condonable’ components or modules which you have to pass – your Student Handbook will include details. This is most common on professionally-accredited degrees (e.g. medicine, teacher training, architecture), but non-condonable modules can be used on any programme where the module is essential to your understanding of the subject. All Undergraduate Dissertations are non-condonable. 

How many modules can be condoned?

You can be condoned in a maximum of 30 credits per year and, on programmes with more than one year of study, a maximum of 60 credits across your whole programme.

What marks are eligible for condonement?

On most modules, marks of 1.00% - 39.99% can be condoned. If you take any Masters level modules (level 7), marks of 1.00% - 49.99% can be condoned.

Are there any other criteria?

Yes, in order to be condoned you need to achieve a minimum year average of a pass. This is 40.00% at undergraduate level and 50.00% if you are taking a Masters year.

When will I find out if I have been condoned?

Programmes will formally process your marks at the end of June to work out whether you will be condoned, or whether you will need to do a resit or deferral in the Late Summer Assessment period.

What happens if I don’t meet the condonement criteria?

You have to meet every one of the condonement criteria in order to be condoned. If you don’t meet the criteria at your first attempt you will be reassessed. If you don’t meet the criteria at your second attempt you will fail your programme.

Can I be condoned in one module and resit another module?

No, if you fail in more than the permitted number of credits you must be reassessed in all the failed modules, including those modules with marks falling in the condonable range.

Can I resit instead?

No, in order to be fair to all students, if you meet the condonement criteria you will be condoned. If you Resit an assessment it is capped at the pass mark.

Why isn’t everyone in my class eligible for condonement?

Condonement is determined by your programme, not on a module-by-module basis. This is because a module might be essential to one discipline but not to another. E.g. a maths module might be essential on BSc Mathematics, but not on BA Turkish.

Will condonement show on my transcript?

Yes, all condoned and capped resit marks will show on your transcript.

Will condonement be included in my classification?

The classification for many undergraduate programmes disregards your lowest 30 credits of marks in years 1 and 2. In these cases condoned marks will not affect your classification, otherwise condoned marks or capped resits will be included in your classification calculation.

Where can I find the formal regulations on condonement?

The UCL Academic Manual includes all of UCL’s regulations. The main regulations on condonement can be found in:

The following regulations tell you how it works on your programme: