Oxford Brookes degree -Grading & Graduation Questions

Thank you for your answer :)

Can anyone explain the obu grade cap to "c" after first failed attempt.Many thanks

@bbbdung02 - To get a grade above a C you must pass the Report at the first attempt and (of course the marker thinks it was worthy of a B or A grade). If you fail then subsequently you can only get a C for it however good your resubmission was. The only situation a resubmission can get a B or A was if the report passed at the first attempt but the SLS/Presentation was failed. In this case as the report itself passed the grade is carried forward and upon being successful with their failed SLS/Presentation the original A or B (or C) will be awarded

So I got my result with an overall grade B. But it does not say specifically that how my RAP was marked between the report and SLS/presentation part. Secondly, I was curious to know that when does OBU invites us for a formal Graduation ceremony and what are possible locations for such an event... (last time I heard that it could be any place from UK, Malaysia or Singapore). P.s - I am not a resident of any of the places mentioned above. @trephena your response is always appreciated.

@Soban - The grade relates to the report. The SLS is marked as pass or fail. OBU graduation ceremonies are principally held in the places you mention + Dubai. This is both for logistical and security purposes

@Andrew - as you will see if you read the answers above the final degree grade is worked out on your average pass marks - any fails are disregarded. Please read the posts above (and also the Information Pack) as they explain a little more how the final class of honours awarded for the BSc is calculated. (Please can I suggest that everyone use the search facility or look first at the last 3 or 4 pages of our topics when posting a query as many similar topics/ related questions have been asked before?)

Hi I am currently in the process of transferring to ACCA membership and was wondering if their was any point in doing the OBU. I am a mature student and have numerous years of experience across the Finance Department. What are the benefits of completing the OBU?

@elsie2009 - you are unlikely ever to have an easier or 'cheaper' route to acquiring an Honours degree from a UK University than the ACCA OBU BSc in Applied Accounting. I would have thought it would be a wise move to invest 3 months part-time in doing the RAP and pay the submission fee to obtain the additional qualification. Although you may not need it now, few can predict where they are going to end up - if you ever wanted a career change some opportunities e.g. teaching would probably be closed to you without a degree. It is going to strengthen your CV and if you wanted to broaden your horizons by adding post ACCA synergistic qualifications the field would be wider e.g. some universities offer distance learning Masters degrees in fraud, financial criminology and forensic accounting - all of which require you to hold a 2.1 Hons. degree for entry on the course. At the end of the day it is a personal decision but I suggest you take a look at our homepage www.opentuition.com/obu and see what is involved and then make your decision. (You have 10 years from your date of registration on the ACCA programme to successfully submit a RAP before the option expires so you do not usually have to make an immediate decision however after 10 years that is that - the opportunity WILL NOT BE EXTENDED)

hy if i submit my rap in november, will i get my degree in early january?

@Hassan - No. The results are not released until the last week of March for November submissions

ACCA/ brookes has sent all certificate before the graduation ceremony. at the date of ceremony are they provide anything more? and what are the function there. thanks in advance

@hasib - I think you will find that very few (if any at all) universities actually hand out degree certificates at the graduation ceremony (administratively it would be too difficult as during the graduation ceremony period - up to 2 weeks at some universities - there could be thousands of students graduating so mix-ups and errors would be inevitable). Graduation Day is about celebrating your success and achievements with friends and family. It is one of those memorable occasions with a party-like atmosphere. Most students choose to wear 'Academic dress' (cap & gown), their name is announced and they are formally presented to senior staff of the University (chancellor/ vice chancellor or pro vice chancellor) amid cheering and applause. Afterwards the students often celebrate and go with their guests in local restaurants etc. No-one is forced to attend their ceremony but most students do. And no in direct answer to your question - nothing further is given to them although at some universities a scroll of blank paper is symbolically handed to the student as they are presented

thanks trephena, got it.

is OBU RAP difficult to pass? i have completed 9 exams and my av. marks is 54. i will get a lower 2nd class degree rrgardless the rap grade. i just need to pass

@hassan - it is hard to say as student ability varies. The overall pass rate tends to be about 57 - 60% (including resubmissions). If a student ensures they do proper analysis and learns how to reference effectively and thoroughly then their chances of success increase as these are the two most common causes of failure. Pass rates also vary by topic. Those requiring primary data usually have lower rates as most students do not produce reliable surveys and questionnaire questions that are credible and deal with the issues they should be investigating. It is a case of reading up on what is required and delivering it. Our OBU forum has lots of valuable information on it and I have written some articles to try to help and the Information Pack contains some articles by senior moderators, which all students should read. Yes you are right - with your average grade of 54 whatever grade you get you will get a 2.2. honours classification. Note: I am planning an article on Referencing: "The OT Ultimate Guide to Referencing your OBU RAP". I hope it will be ready at the end of August and will consist of both an article and FAQs on Referencing. I hope to cover most of the really important points. The plan is to update the FAQs from time to time to cover any issues that are flagged up by students as causing any particular problems.

Thank you for your sincere and quick response.

Dear trephena could you please verify the following information for me.I heard the other day that if some one fails in OBU in first attempt and than passes OBU than he or she will achieve third class in BSC HONOURS however good their report on second time is.but is not it suppose to be that if our average mark between 60to65 and if we pass OBU within 3 attempts we get upper second class.Thanks in advance.

To be more precise if somones average mark is 62 and he /she fails in first RAP report and than passes the OBU RAP.what he /she will get.

@dewan - a response first to the 'rumour' that unless you pass the RAP at the first attempt you will only get a 3rd class honours degree. No this is not true -possibly where this info has come from is that if you fail a normal UK universit#y degree course, yes the university will often only subsequently award a 3rd class degree and no higher. However this does not apply to the OBU BSc degree. However the actual grade for the RAP is capped for resubmissions to a C unless the report itself was passed in its entirety at the first attempt. What this means is that if your mark sheet shows passes for sections 1 to 7 but a fail in any part of the SLS then whatever grade you got on the report section will be carried forward and will be awarded once the SLS is passed. If you failed any part of the Report (sections 1 to 7) but passed the SLS then you have to successfully pass the Report to get the degree but can only ever get a C grade pass. Now to your later question. If you failed the report as opposed to just the SLS then you can only now get a C grade for your RAP. Look at the table in the Information Pack and it will show you the class of honours for a C grade pass + average mark of 62 (I don't have the Info Pack to hand right now but my guess would be at least a 2.1 - which is sometimes referred to as an Upper Second - quite a decent grade :-D )

Trephena you are a star.Thanks alot u saved me.it was killing me from inside as i really wanted bsc degree but not third class.THANK YOU again and i would definitely ask you in future regarding any OBU queries.cheers.

The questions in the subject. To be specific could I apply for the Big 4 with a 2.1 or above in this degree for their graduate programmes?

@Harry - normally as you probably know a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree is demanded by the Big 4. If you also have your ACCA qualification as well as the OBU 2.1 degree (or above) then I would expect them to be sufficiently interested in you to interview you. However each firm sets out its own 'essentials and undesirables' when recruiting suitable candidates based on supply, demand and specific needs so this can only be a general guide. Good luck!

Its quite interesting as I just landed on this qn while scrolling through the forum. anyway, its absolutely possible, well atleast in my country. lol I am a period 29 graduate and am waiting for june results to hopefully become an affiliate. luckily, around the time of the obu results release in march this year, the big 4 recruitments started n just as inquisitive as u are right now, I decided to apply to 3 of the 4. deloitte turned me down (no idea why), ey called me for the aptitudes and I hv been fortunate enaf to reach pwc's partner interviews (fingers crossed for that final call). so its deftly possible. p.s I had a 2.1 long story I know but I thk it answers your qn. I would encourage you to apply and try yo luck too

Mandita, what country do you live in?

I live in Uganda,n thats in Eastern Africa. N a little update is that i actually got the pwc job offer like 2 days ago...very excited! So ya its deftly possible

@Tommy -as you have worked out a score of at least 63 for F9 would be required to give you a 2.1 if your RAP gets a C. You haven't mentioned whether you have already submitted but if you haven't then it is still possible for you to achieve a 2.1 with a score of 57 IF you managed to get a grade B. A grade A would mean an even lower mark for F9. To work out what you need take the average mark in the table on p.17 of the latest Info Pack against the relevant RAP grade, multiply it by 6. This will give you the total marks required, take away your total to date and the remainder is your target Mark.

@tommy -Look at the grid table for a B grade RAP - you have to have an average of 59 for a 2.1 (I think I worked out that your current average is slightly higher than this and you have total marks currently of 297 - please check this is the case) An average of 59 means total marks of 354. So to achieve this target would mean that you would need 57 marks PROVIDED you got at least a B grade for your RAP. And yes an A Grade would mean a lower score as the average mark falls to 58 so you would need a total of 348 marks overall (58*6) so only 51 for your remaining paper. Although I have to add only about 5% of RAPS realistically get an A grade but a B is achievable if you have the right approach and reference well. This is where having an experienced mentor might be to your advantage. Good luck!

Hi, I need to complete my optional papers (P6 and P7) along with OBU thesis. Do you think whether it is possible for an average student to pass in all of that? Please help me. @ trephena what do you think?

@darkangle5 - it's pretty hard for me to comment objectively as I have no idea of your abilities, what support you have or what your other commitments are outside of studying. However I know from my own experience if you start right now and are really committed and set your mind to it, it probably is achievable. What I have found is that it is essentiall to draw up a study timetable and stick to it. Alternate between time for P6, P7 and the RAP. Strange as it may sound that is a very effective and efficient way of studying - it's like the brain tires of one subject and a very brief break followed by a different subject or task means you can get more in and learn better - or at least that has worked for me. Good luck! :-)

Thank you ... that was helpful :)