Understanding your marksheet

2. Summative mark

Assessors will award a number for each of the assessment criteria, which will then be added together and averaged to establish an overall summative assessment mark for the unit.

This mark at Stages One (HE4) and Two (HE5) will help to give an indication of the progress a student is making and indicate the potential they have for their final degree classification.

Only the summative marks awarded at Stage Three (HE6) will affect the final degree classification, and the mark for each unit has equal weighting.

Moving to The Open University, the way in which degree classifications work is changing.

The Open University uses a different system of classification to UCA, with Stage 2 (HE5) results counting towards overall degree classifications as well as Stage 3 (HE6) results. This is at a 1:2 ratio, so in other words, results at Stage 3 are worth twice as much towards your overall mark as Stage 2 results.

This is a change for some students, and the organisations have worked together to ensure that the impact is minimised. The calculation which is used to determine your qualification is dependent upon where you are in your studies:

If you enrolled to OCA for the first time on an undergraduate degree after 01 August 2022, your qualification will be determined using The Open University classifications set out in the Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University.

If your next unit on an undergraduate degree that you enrol[led] to after 01 August 2022, is a Stage 1 (HE4) unit your qualification will be determined using The Open University classifications set out in the Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University.
If your next unit on an undergraduate degree that you enrol[led] to after 01 August 2022, is at Stage 2 (HE5) or Stage 3 (HE6) then your final results will be calculated using both the current OCA algorithm and The Open University algorithm, and awarded whichever is higher.
If you are enrolled on a Postgraduate qualification after 01 August 2022, your qualification will be determined using The Open University classifications set out in the Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University.
If you enrolled on a Postgraduate qualification before 01 August 2022, then your final results will be calculated using both the current UCA algorithm and The Open University algorithm, and awarded whichever is higher.