Ok, so it is a little early to be thinking about degree classification before I’ve even received my first set of course materials, but it’s pouring it down with rain (as expected for a British Bank Holiday Monday) and I have little better to do this morning.
Obviously, if I am going to be paying best part of £16,000 for the entire course I want to end up with nothing less than a First, but what do I need to do to achieve that? Looking on the OU website, there is a guide on how to work out how they score your modules to work out your classification. You can find that here. Unfortunately, it isn’t the easiest of documents to understand, and you could be forgiven for coming away after reading it more confused than when you started.
It took me a while to work through it, but I have come up with a simpler way of explaining it…
Your degree classification is based on your Level 2 and Level 3 modules adding up to 240 points. Typically this will be two 60 point modules at level 2 and two at level 3. If for some reason you have done more than 2 modules at a given level, only your top scoring modules at that level (up to 120 points) will count.
Level 3 modules are scored at double. So that’s 120 points for each Level 3 module and 60 points for each Level 2. Assuming you did two level 2’s and two Level 3’s, you now have a base score of 360 points.
Are you still with me so far?
Now, for each module, multiply the number of points by your Pass Grade (1, 2, 3 or 4). Add them all together and you’ll end up with a score of between 360 and 1440. Now see where that score falls in the following ranges:
First class 630 or less
Upper second class 631 to 900
Lower second class 901 to 1170
Third class 1171 to 1440
Not so fast though!
This score then needs to be qualified against your best Level 3 module (60 points). Your best score in this module has to be equal to or better than the class suggested by your score. So basically you need to get a Distinction in at least one Level 3 module to get a First. If your best Level 3 was a Pass 2, you can’t get more than a 2:1 even if your score is less than 630.
Hopefully, that explains it all a little better than they have managed to do, but if not then don’t panic. Someone even cleverer than me has done an online calculator.
OU Student Life 