In light of the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University has decided to re-instate the No Detriment Policy to ensure that students on non-professional courses* are not adversely affected by the move to online teaching.

Simply put...

- An mean average grade will be calculated and used as a benchmark for assessments this year. 
- The grades used for the calculation will be average for the assessment from a whole cohort from the three academic years before the pandemic: 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. 
- If the average grade pre Covid is higher than the average grade this year, then this year’s grade will be elevated to match it.

For example...

Average mark students got for a particular assessment:
In 2016/17: 60%
In 2017/18: 62%
In 2018/19: 61%
AVERAGE = 61%

Average mark this year for the assessment: 55%

Difference with mean average: 61% - 55% = 6%

Every student’s mark will be increased by six percentage points to 61%.

A key part of the policy is that no marks can reduce.

If a student has an individual mark that is higher than the average mean mark, it will stay the same, e.g. an individual mark of 65% for the above assessment would stay at 65%.

There will be occasions where it is not possible to compare assessment results to previous years.

This is either because the assessment on the module has changed or because the module is new.

Where the module assessment has changed such that no equivalent assessment can be identified for previous years, the mean mark for the module this year should be compared with the mark mean from previous years at the Subject Assessment Panel. Where there is reason to believe that the mean mark this year has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, the marks of the cohort will be scaled for each component of assessment.

Where the module is new, the marks of the cohort will be reviewed by the Subject Assessment Panel, for example, by considering against the mean for other modules at that level on the programme. Adjustments should be made if this is deemed appropriate as part of the normal Subject Assessment Panel procedure.

For more information, please visit the University website:

- A new No Detriment policy article (opens in new window)
- No Detriment policy document (opens in new window)

If you need any further advice on the No Detriment Policy, please first contact your Programme Leader.

You can also contact the GSU Advice Team by filling in the online contact form Enquiry Form at greenwichsu.co.uk/advice.

*The No Detriment Policy cannot be used to calculate marks for students on Professional programmes (PSRB) such as Nursing and Teaching as these are accredited by outside professional bodies. These students will need to contact their Programme Leaders for further guidance on this issue.