Obtaining a degree means taking written and oral exams on the content
of the courses (UE) making up each cycle. The methods of measuring
acquired knowledge and skills are defined in compliance with the
measures set forth in the 1984 law by the president of the university
or the head of the establishment, after consulting with the Council of
studies and university life (CEVU). All students have the right to
participate in two exam sessions, set at least two months apart,
usually in June and September.
Knowledge testing procedures for
master’s degrees are defined autonomously by the institutions. They
must appear in the accreditation application. This degree reflects the
successful completion of knowledge and skills tests, based on the
education provided, the research thesis or other individual study
projects, thereby initiating the work required of doctoral students,
and one or several work placements, if required by the course. Finally,
the master’s degree can only be awarded once a foreign language has
been mastered.
In non-university institutions, a system of
regular tests and annual exams is used to evaluate student progress
from the first year through the year the final degree is obtained.
Usually the programme includes a practical internship for which the
student must submit a report or present a technical project, which is
taken into consideration for the delivery of the degree.
The following is the most common performance evaluation model:
In
each course (teaching unit or UE), acquired skills and knowledge are
measured through regular testing procedures or a final exam.
Regular
testing is the typical method used in study programmes. It is the most
appropriate framework for in-depth and gradual knowledge acquisition.
The tests administered take into account a series of coursework:
untimed individual assignments, timed written exams, presentations,
etc. and end-of-semester exams. Evaluation methods are specified
according to the discipline. End-of-semester exams are written tests
taken under the teacher’s surveillance.
The marks obtained are
recorded, taking into account the coefficient assigned to them. The
regular testing system implies good attendance on the part of the
students.
Failure to take a test, turn in an assignment, or
participate in an end-of-semester exam automatically results in a mark
of 0/20 for that exercise. On examination of a student’s personal
situation, the teacher can offer a make-up test or assignment, or the
student can ask for a derogation with a view to taking the final exam.
In the first year of a DEUG programme,
only those students who present a valid explanation (to their student
department at registration) can obtain a derogation in order to
register for the final examination. Students cannot be exempt from the
regular testing procedure during the course of the semester unless
given prior approval by the head of department.
Failure to take a final exam automatically results in a mark of 0/20.
All students have the right to participate in two exam sessions per year. The following conditions apply to exam sessions:
- Exam procedures guarantee the anonymity of written exams,
- The exam layout and organisation are specified in a memo posted to students at the registrar’s office of each department,
- The
system for measuring acquired knowledge and skills is set forth by the
president of the university, after consulting with the CEVU (Conseil
des études et de la vie universitaire), and has to be communicated to
students no later than one month after the start of the school year.
In
addition, semester validation (stages in the European credit system)
results in the associated number of European credits (ECTS):
- A stage (semester) can be obtained:
- either by validating each of the UEs constituting this stage (grade higher than or equal to 10 in each UE)
- or
by averaging these UEs (weighted average of the UEs higher than or
equal to 10), the process being automatic only if the student has
obtained a grade higher than or equal to 7 in the different UEs.
- The
grade of the stage (semester) is equal to the weighted average of the
grades of the UEs that constitute this stage. The respective weights of
the UE grades are proportional to the number of credits of these UEs.
- UEs
validated individually are definitively acquired. Conversely, the
student is entitled to refuse the validation of a stage obtained by
averaging UEs if they think they can improve on the results of the UEs
not yet obtained (grade lower than 10) the following year.
Finally,
"stage" and "qualification" juries are empowered to allocate "jury
points". The qualification jury, which decides on the award of the
qualification based on the decisions made by the different stage
juries, can, by the end of the curriculum and beyond the validation
schemes provided, reconsider the entire progression of the student
throughout the stages (semesters) and decide to award the
qualification, therefore allocating the necessary number of credits,
even if all stages have not been obtained.
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