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Faculty of Education

Faculty regulations and information

The regulations and rules for the degrees published here are subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. 

The General Academic Regulations and General Student Rules apply to all faculties and registered students of the University, as well as all prospective students who have accepted an offer of a place at the University of Pretoria. On registering for a programme, the student bears the responsibility of ensuring that they familiarise themselves with the General Academic Regulations applicable to their registration, as well as the relevant faculty-specific and programme-specific regulations and information as stipulated in the relevant yearbook. Ignorance concerning these regulations will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression, or basis for an exception to any of the aforementioned regulations.

1. Selection
A selection procedure takes place prior to admission to:

•  selected undergraduate programmes;
•  all postgraduate certificate programmes (PGCE); and
•  all BEd honours, master’s and doctoral programmes.

2.  Leave of Absence
Students who are unable to participate in teaching and learning activities due to compelling reasons such as medical or extensive participation in national sport or students who do not meet scheduled assessment requirements in modules will be advised to apply for a leave of absence for at least one semester, if it proves to be impossible to accommodate the student with reasonable alternative participation and assessment opportunities.

3. Examinations

3.1 Examination admission and pass requirements
A subminimum of 40% is required for the year and/or semester mark for admission to the examination in each module. A student who obtains a final mark of 40 – 49% in a module qualifies for a supplementary examination. If a pass mark has been obtained in a module, but the required sub-minimum of 40% has not been obtained in the examination, the student will have to write a supplementary examination. A final mark of at least 50% is required to pass a module.

3.2 Examination periods
The examinations for first semester modules take place in May/June, while all other examinations (second semester and year modules) take place in October/November.

3.3 Examinations
After completion of an examination and before the examination results are published, the examiners may summon a student for an ancillary examination on particular aspects of the work of that module.

3.4 Examinations
Students, who do not write their examinations on the scheduled day, may apply for a special examination at the Student Administration Offices. Lecturers are not allowed to grant any permission for this category of examination. It is the responsibility of the student to ascertain whether their request has been successful. If permission has been granted, the student must write the special examination during the supplementary examination. Such a student will not qualify for a further supplementary examination.
Application for the above examination must be handed in at the Student Administration Offices together with a valid medical certificate not later than three working days after the module should have been written.
A student who has been granted permission to write a special examination and who then fails to write the examination will not qualify to submit any such application at a later stage.
Only a valid medical certificate issued in terms of Section 23 of the Basic conditions of Employment Act will be accepted. The medical certificate is considered valid when it contains the information required as described in Rule 15(1) of the Ethical and Professional Rules of the Medical and Dental Board of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. 
In cases where a reason other than sickness is provided, the student must submit an affidavit that reflects the reason for their absence from the examination. Further evidentiary documents or supporting affidavits from persons who may be able to give evidence regarding the situation must also be submitted. In the event of a funeral, a copy of the death certificate of the deceased or other substantiating evidence is required together with an explanation of the relationship between the student and the deceased.

3.5 Perusal and remarking of examination papers
After an examination, departments provide an opportunity for students to peruse their examination script to obtain feedback about the assessment framework that was used by the examiners during the examination. The way in which feedback is given is determined by the departmental heads. A student may, after having perused their examination paper, apply for re-marking of the examination paper within 14 calendar days after commencement of lectures in the next semester. The prescribed fee has to be paid and the paper will then be re-marked by an external examiner appointed by the relevant head of department. In the case of online assessments, students must be given access to the online assessment for purposes of perusal. Perusal and re-marking of scripts is only available in the case of a traditional sit-down examination or a final assessment opportunity.

3.6 Supplementary examinations

1. Supplementary examinations in first semester modules take place after the May/June examinations, while those in second semester and year modules take place after the October/November examinations.
2. Subject to other faculty regulations, a student may be admitted to a supplementary examination in a module, in cases where:

• a final mark between 40% and 49% has been obtained; or
• a pass mark has been obtained, but the required subminimum in the examination section of the module or divisions thereof has not been obtained.

3. Subject to other faculty regulations, a student must obtain a final mark of at least 50% in order to pass a supplementary examination. The semester or year mark is not taken into account and the supplementary mark is the final mark.
4. The highest final mark that may be awarded to a student in a supplementary examination is 50%.
5. Special supplementary examinations are not arranged for students who are unable to write the examination at the times scheduled for supplementary examinations.
6. Supplementary examinations are not awarded in the case of modules where continuous assessment is used and where there is no final summative examination, provided that the continuous assessment consists of at least four formative assessment opportunities for modules that are more than 6 credit points and three for modules that are 6 credit points and less.

4. Requirements for Promotion to the next year of study

1. Re-registration is permitted only:

• in the case of full-time students, if the student has passed at least the equivalent of 66% of the total credits required for the programme up to the year level for which the student is registered., with the proviso that faculty boards may stipulate other requirements for progress that students must comply with in order to be readmitted. 
• in the case of full-time students, if the student completes the degree for which he or she is still registered within the prescribed minimum period plus two years: with the proviso that faculty boards may stipulate other requirements for progress that students must comply with in order to be readmitted.
• Students can be promoted to the fourth year of study only (i) if they have a maximum of three modules outstanding of the first three years of study , and (ii) the outstanding modules do not clash with their WIL placements.

2. A student who does not comply with the requirements in (i) and who seeks readmission to the faculty may submit a written request to the Dean that his or her application for readmission to the faculty be (ii)considered in terms of the Faculty Appeals process.
3. These requirements are mutatis mutandis applicable to students from other tertiary institutions who register at the University.
4. Module-specific Promotion requirements
   1. Students who have reached the required standard in a module may be promoted in selected year- or semester modules where promotion is applicable, subject to other Faculty regulations, to a next level or semester in a module without writing the prescribed examination in that module.
   2. Students have reached the required standard in selected modules if they have attained a year or semester mark of at least 70% in the particular module.

Responsible and ethical research
All research projects in the Faculty of Education are subject to prior approval and clearance from the Research Ethics Committee which implements the University of Pretoria’s regulations for responsible and ethical research. All researchers (staff and students) of the University of Pretoria have to familiarise themselves with the Ethics Committee’s guidelines which are available at the following link:  https://www.up.ac.za/faculty-of-education/article/30611/research-ethics 

Regulations and information for Distance Education programmes

1. Registration for a particular year of study
On successful application a student will be registered for the complete programme.

2. Registration for examination
A student registers for a programme before 1 September to write examinations in April of the following year, or before 1 March to write examinations in October of the same year. Distance education students are required to pass a minimum of the equivalent of two semester modules to qualify for re-registration in the subsequent year.

3. Examination admission and pass requirements

3.1 Final mark composition
A final mark of at least 50% is required to pass a module.  The final mark is calculated by using the following three marks: assignment 1 = 10%; assignment 2 = 20% and the examination/project = 70%.

3.2 Examinations
Examinations take place twice a year, (during April and October), at examination centres countrywide (if circumstances allow), or online. Students must register for examinations as stipulated in paragraph 2 above.

3.3 Remarking of examination papers (also consult General Academic Regulation G14.2)
After an examination, students may request written feedback about the framework that was used by the examiners during the examination. The departmental heads determine the way in which feedback is given. A student may apply for re-marking of the examination paper within 3 weeks of the date on which final marks were released. The prescribed fee has to be paid. An examiner, appointed by the relevant head of department, will re-mark the paper.

4. Re-registration for a module
If a student failed the final examination in a module twice, the student will have to re-register for the module. A student who re-registers for a module has to pay the fees for that module again, and will have to resubmit both assignments 1 and 2. Assignment marks obtained previously will not be carried over.

5. Termination of studies
A student, who decides to terminate his or her studies during the course of the academic year, must notify the Unit for Distance Education in writing.