Examination Regulations

Modes of Examination

a) Postgraduate Diploma

i) written examinations on all course works. Practical examination for laboratory practicals, Report for teaching practice where applicable;

ii) oral defence of project report before a panel of internal examiners;

To succeed a student should pass all the prescribed courses including the project.

b) Master’s Degree

i) written examinations on all course works;

ii) oral defence of project thesis/dissertation before a panel of internal and external examiners.

To succeed the student must effect all the changes and corrections that will be suggested to him during the oral defence of his thesis/dissertation.

c) Ph.D Degree

i) written examination on course work where prescribed;

ii) satisfactory presentation of minimum of two Seminars on thesis works as prescribed, before thesis will be sent to external examiners. The first of these must be in the form of Ph.D proposal defence. The second seminar must be presented after the candidate has completed the work and is ready to be examined (see iii below).

iii) the oral examination of the Ph.D thesis by a panel of internal and external examiners.

To succeed a student must satisfy the panel of examiners as in (b) above.

Course work and examination

a) The Postgraduate School Board shall, on the recommendation of the appropriate Department and School Postgraduate , approve a course of study and/or research for each student.

b) Course work written examinations shall be conducted within the last two weeks of the semester in which the courses are taught except as otherwise approved by the Postgraduate School Board.

c) A Department shall draw up the examination time-table at least four weeks prior to the commencement of the examinations. A copy of this time-table shall be submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies. The Department shall be responsible for the conduct of the examinations within the framework of the general University regulations on examinations and subject to any other specific regulations that may be prescribed from time to time by Senate, acting on the advice of the Postgraduate School Board.

d) In order to qualify to sit for a course work examination a student shall satisfy a minimum of 75% attendance of all scheduled lectures in the course.

e) Continuous assessment shall also be used and the continuous assessment marks shall account for 30-40% of the aggregate marks in a course.

f) Question papers and answer scripts for all Postgraduate course work examinations shall be moderated by duly appointed external examiners.
They shall be invited at appropriate times, preferably after the second semester examinations, to moderate both the first and second semester answer scripts as well as any project reports.

g) Not later than fourteen days after course work examinations have been concluded the Department shall send to the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, for verification and record purposes, the original copies of the question papers as moderated by the External Examiner(s) and counter-signed by the Head of Department. In addition three (3) copies of each question paper should also be sent.

h) The grading of results in course work examinations shall be as follows:

Marks Letter Grade Grade Points
³ 70 A 5
60-69 B 4
50-59 C 3
£ 49 F 0

i) A candidate who fails more than twelve (12) units of courses registered within one academic session shall be required to withdraw from the University.

j) A candidate who fails less than twelve (12) units of the courses registered within one academic session shall be required to repeat the particular course(s) failed.

k) A candidate who fails in any course that he is repeating shall be required to withdraw from the Postgraduate programme for which he is registered.

l) There shall be no supplementary examinations for Postgraduate students.

i) If a student fails to take a scheduled examination without a valid reason a penalty grade of FA (Fail absent) shall be returned for him and shall be used for any computation of the student’s final result. He may be allowed to repeat the course at the next available opportunity but subject to sections 18.2 (x) - (xii) below.

ii) Any student who fails to take a scheduled examination on account of illness as duly certified by a recognised medical doctor or on account of other cogent reasons acceptable to the Postgraduate School Board shall be allowed to take the examination at the next available opportunity without the penalty grade being imposed.

m) A candidate who has passed a Postgraduate course shall not repeat such a course for the purpose of obtaining a higher score/grade.

n) No Postgraduate Diploma or Master’s degree student shall proceed to the project report stage of the programme without having completed a substantial part of the course work requirements.

Transfer of Credit Units
The transfer of credit units for course work done at other Universities shall be allowed only with the prior approval of the Department Postgraduate Committee, School Postgraduate Studies Committee, the Postgraduate School Board and Senate, in all such cases the appropriate School Postgraduate Studies Committee shall determine whether or not a transferring candidate shall sit for and pass any special written examinations.

The transfer of credit units shall be considered only for course work.

Classification of Pass for Postgraduate Diploma Programme
The quality of pass for the Postgraduate Diploma Programme shall be specified according to the Grade Point Average (GPA) as follows:

GPA Range Type of Pass
4.50-5.00 Pass with Distinction
4.00-4.49 Pass with Credit
3.50-3.99 Pass with Merit
3.00-3.49 Pass
The above information must be included in the Diploma Certificate.

Defence of Ph.D/Master’s Thesis Proposal
Masters and Ph.D students must defend their thesis proposals within 12 months for Masters and 2 years for Ph.D after registration.

Project Reports, Dissertations and Theses
a) General Guidelines
Any project report, dissertation or thesis submitted in fulfillment of a diploma or degree shall satisfy the following guidelines:

i) It must be written in English (unless as otherwise approved by the Postgraduate School Board and Senate) and in a satisfactory literary style. It must also comply with the approved guidelines for the preparation of project reports, dissertations or theses. (see appendix)

ii) Masters thesis must contain an abstract, suitably concise, stating what was done, any new procedures adopted, major findings and conclusions. In the case of a Ph.D thesis it should be in the form of a synopsis.

iii) It shall consist essentially of the student’s own original work and formulations.

iv) It shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the subject matter and display an acceptably high level of critical discussion.

v) The greater portion of the work reported shall have been done during the approved period of study for the diploma or degree in view.

vi) References to published and/or unpublished works should be made and appropriately acknowledged at the relevant places within the body of the project report, dissertation or thesis. The references shall also be comprehensively listed at the end of the report in alphabetical order.

vii) It shall not contain any relevant materials that have been presented to any Institution in fulfillment of the requirements of a degree or professional qualification unless it is duly acknowledged that the materials have been so presented.

viii) For a dissertation, and particularly a thesis, to be approved for the award of a degree it shall embody an original research, display the exercise of a high level of independent critical analytic power and contain materials that are publishable as distinct contributions to knowledge.

ix) A student may submit, in addition to his dissertation or thesis, any relevant materials published independently or jointly. For any joint publication submitted the student should attach a written statement of his contribution (to the published work) which should be countersigned by his co-authors.

b) Assessment of a Postgraduate Diploma Project Report
i) A project report for a Postgraduate Diploma shall not be orally defended before an external examiner but it shall be assessed as follows:
Supervisor(s): 30%
Internal Examination: 30%
External Examiner: 40%
ii) The Department shall determine the best way of carrying out the internal examination and inform the School of Postgraduate Studies accordingly.

iii) The External Examiner may moderate the marks awarded by the Supervisor(s) and the internal examiners.

iv) The candidate may be required to
- make minor corrections which the Head of Department should oversee;
- make major corrections requiring the attention of the External Examiner;
- completely rewrite the project report and re-submit himself to further examination.

c) Assessment of Master’sDissertation/Ph.D Thesis
The assessment of a Master’s/Ph.D degree thesis shall include oral examination of the student by an External Examiner and shall be scored as follows:
Supervisor 25%
Internal Examiner 25%
External Examiner 50%

i) Before an oral examination is conducted the title of the dissertation/thesis shall have been approved by Senate on the recommendations of the Department Postgraduate Committee, the School Postgraduate Studies Committee and the Postgraduate School Board. The format for the approval of the title of a dissertation or thesis is available in the Postgraduate School (see appendix). The title of the thesis must be approved by Senate at least six months for Masters degree student and one year for Ph.D degree prior to submission of the thesis for examination.

The number of words in the title of a dissertation or thesis shall not exceed twenty-five (25).

ii) After the approval of the title and at least eight (8) weeks before the expected date of an oral examination a student shall write an application to the Dean of his School, through the Chairman or his Supervisory Committee and Head of Department, indicating his readiness to submit himself for the oral examination. This readiness should be clearly seen by the Supervisory Committee members, HOD and the Dean in an internal seminar presentation by the candidate of his/her thesis work.

iii) For Masters degree at least six (6) weeks and for Ph.D degree at least eight (8) weeks to the oral examination a student must present five (5) loose-bound copies of his draft dissertation/thesis to the Department for the onward transmission to internal and external examiners. However, these copies must not be forwarded to the examiners until both the Head of Department and the Dean of his School have certified in writing to the Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies that the dissertation/thesis conforms with all approved guidelines stipulated for the preparation of these materials and is ready for examination.

iv) At the end of an oral examination the examiners shall jointly and clearly recommend whether or not, in their opinion, the work is of sufficient merit to justify the award of relevant higher degree or whether the candidate shall be required to re-submit all or part of his work for re-examination.

In the case of a dissertation the examiners should return a score and grade while in the case of a thesis the recommendation shall be on a pass or fail basis.

v) the examiners’ report shall be on a format available in the School of Postgraduate Studies. (see Appendix)

vi) If the consensus opinion of both internal and external examiners is that a dissertation or thesis is not of an acceptable standard then an oral examination may be unnecessary. Such an opinion, however, must be conveyed in writing, clearly specifying cogent reasons, to the Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies.

vii) The examination panel should consist of at least the following members:
1. the external examiner
2. the internal examiner
3. HOD or Departmental Committee Chairman
4. major supervisor
5. SPGS representative. The HOD and SPGS representative may also assess the candidate but should not score.

e) Re-submission of Project Reports/Dissertation/Thesis

i) A student who is required to re-submit a project report/dissertation/thesis shall present himself for re-examination as determined by the examiners within a period not exceeding twelve (12) calendar months from the date of the previous examination. The exact duration shall depend on the nature of the corrections.

Such a student shall be required to pay a re-examination fee as specified by the University.

ii) If the student fails the re-examination he would be required to withdraw from the postgraduate programme.

f) Nullification of an Oral Examination
The Board of the School of Postgraduate Studies shall declare an oral examination null and void for any or more of the following reasons:

i) that the examination panel was not properly constituted (see section 16.6 below);

ii) that due notice was not given to the candidate;

iii) that the internal and external examiners were not duly appointed by Senate or by the Vice-Chancellor acting on behalf of the Senate;

iv) that the title of the dissertation/thesis was not approved by Senate or by the Vice-Chancellor acting on behalf of the Senate;

v) that either the Chairman for the Supervisory Committee or any of the co-supervisors did not participate in the examination without valid reasons.

When the Postgraduate School Board decides to nullify an examination the decision shall be communicated to the Department, School and the student as necessary.

g) Deposition of Completed Project Reports/Dissertation/Thesis
For each successful completed project report/dissertation/thesis five (5) signed copies shall be deposited with the School of Postgraduate Studies.

The Dean of the School of Postgraduate shall append his signature to these five copies as soon as Senate approves the result of the examination. Subsequently the copies should be distributed to the
- University Library
- School of Postgraduate Studies
- Departmental Library
- Chairman, Supervisory Committee
- Student

Examiners

a) Panel of Internal Examiners

i) All academic staff with a Ph.D degree may be appointed Internal Examiners as appropriate.

ii) The Department will nominate a qualified internal examiner with a Ph.D degree from any Department in the University, provided the examiner’s field of specialisation closely matches the subject area to be examined. He will critically review the thesis which should be sent to him at the same time as the thesis copy would be sent to the external examiner. He will orally examine the candidate and give the overall score and when satisfied sign Form B for award of the degree.

b) External Examiners

i) Any external examiner (i.e. external to the Federal University of Technology, Yola) to be appointed for Postgraduate examinations shall be competent in the area of course/research to be examined. He shall not be below the rank of a Senior Lecturer with Ph.D degree from a recognised University, in the major area of examination.

ii) In the case of a Ph.D degree the external examiner with a Ph.D degree must be an Associate Professor/Professor in a recognised University. External Examiner should be selected on the basis of thesis topics and the examiner’s experience. The appointment is valid only for one year.

iii) It is incumbent on a Department to give proper guidance to the School of Postgraduate Studies Committee, the Postgraduate School Board and Senate to ensure that the External Examiners appointed are sufficiently knowledgeable in the students’ areas of specialisation.

iv) The External Examiner shall
- moderate and countersign all postgraduate diploma and master’s degree course work examination questions, and

- read the course work answer scripts and moderate the grades awarded by the internal examiners.

v) An External Examiner for Masters degree only shall be appointed to serve continuously for three academic sessions; thereafter he shall not be re-appointed until three more years have elapsed.

vi) Where a student takes courses outside his parent Department the External Examiner for that Department should moderate and examine the student in that particular course. The result should thereafter be submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies and copied to the student’s parent Department.

vii) No former staff of Federal University of Technology, Yola shall be appointed an External Examiner in his former Department until a period of at least three years have elapsed.

viii) The external examiner when satisfied with candidate’s overall performance in course work and oral examination will write a report in the format A (see appendix), and sign for award of the degree.

ix) An External Examiner shall be paid transport allowance and honorarium at rates approved by the University from time to time.

c) Appointment of Examiners

i) Both Internal and External Examiners shall be appointed by Senate on the recommendations of the Postgraduate School Board, the School Postgraduate Studies Committee and the Departmental Postgraduate Committee.

ii) There shall be no change of External Examiner(s) by a Department without due authorization by Senate acting on the recommendation of the Postgraduate School Board and the School Postgraduate Studies Committee.

d) Panel of Examiners
A panel of examiners shall be constituted to assess dissertations or theses as follows:

i) Assessment Panel for Master’s Degree Dissertation

(1) Head of Department - Chief Examiner
(2) External Examiner
(3) Major Supervisor
(4) Internal Examiner
(5) Dean (SPGS) or his representative

Any four members including the Head of Department, the External Examiner and a member of the Supervisory Committee shall constitute a quorum. However, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt that all members of the examination panel were given due and sufficient notice.

ii) Assessment Panel for Ph.D Theses
(1) Head of Department - Chief Examiner
(2) The External Examiner
(3) Major Supervisor
(4) Internal Examiner
(5) A member of the School nominated by the Dean from another Department, who is familiar with the research area.
(6) Dean of the Postgraduate School or his representative.

Members of the panel from other Departments or Schools must have relevant fields of specialisation and must not be below the rank of a Senior Lecturer.

The quorum of the panel shall be any five members including the Head of Department, the External Examiner, Supervisor and the internal examiner. Again all panel members must be given verifiable due and sufficient notice.

iii) Submission of Results
For results to be considered by the School Board of Postgraduate Studies the Dean of respective Schools shall submit to the School of Postgraduate Studies the following items after due consideration by the Departmental and School Postgraduate .

a) Course work results, where applicable
b) External Examiner’s report
c) Recommendations of the Board of Internal Examiners
d) A sample copy of the thesis duly signed.
17. Effective Date of Award
The effective date of award of a diploma or degree to a successful student shall be the date the result is approved by Senate.

Notification of Final Result
No candidate shall be notified of his final result unless the School of Postgraduate Studies, on the advice of the Bursar and the Head of Department, certifies that the student’s fees and any other indebtedness to the University have been fully discharged.

Eligibility Guidelines and Procedures for Departmental Postgraduate Programmes
Department wishing to begin Postgraduate programmes must evaluate their state of preparedness and eligibility using the following broad guidelines.

a) Availability of Staff
The Department must have sufficient staff for adequate teaching and supervision, taking cognisance of the maximum number of students that one staff member can supervise.
The Staff/student ratio for postgraduate diploma programmes shall not be less than 1:15.
In exceptional circumstances part-time staff and external supervisors (in both cases of high academic repute) may be considered by the Postgraduate School Board and Senate. In such cases adequate honoraria, transport and other claims as approved by the University shall be paid.

b) Adequacy of Facilities
i) availability of adequate postgraduate classrooms;
ii) well equipped Laboratories;
iii) sufficient Library books and journals.

c) Submission of Postgraduate Programme
In preparing postgraduate programmes for approval by the Postgraduate School Board and Senate, a Department should include the following items:
i) Philosophy and Objectives
ii) Scope of Programmes
iii) Entry requirements for each programme
iv) Area of Specialisation
v) Job and Career prospects of graduands
vi) Duration, mode of study
vii) Course codes, titles, course contents and credit units.

d) Assessment of Postgraduate Programmes
A postgraduate programme must be such that it is sustainable. The University Senate, through the Postgraduate School Board, shall send a visitation team to fully assess the facilities of any Department applying to mount a Postgraduate programme.

e) Application to start Postgraduate Programmes

i) Applications to begin such programmes should be made in sufficient time through the School Postgraduate Studies Committee and the Postgraduate School Board to Senate.

ii) Sufficient copies of the Postgraduate programme should be sent to the Postgraduate School Board after the Programme has been discussed fully by the Departmental Postgraduate Committee and the School Postgraduate Studies Committee.

iii) After consideration by the Postgraduate School Board the Department shall produce sufficient copies for the Academic Planning Committee and Senate incorporating any amendments made by the Board.

Regulations for Higher Doctorates
The only relevant higher doctorate and the highest degree that can be awarded in cursu by the Federal University of Technology, Yola is the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Such a higher doctorate may be awarded to a person who has distinguished himself by substantial scholarly and original contributions to the advancement of learning in his field.

a) Eligibility
Any person who has held, for at least four (4) years, the Ph.D degree of the Federal University of Technology, Yola awarded in cursu or of any other recognised University.

b) Method of Application
An eligible candidate shall send to the Dean of a School of choice the following documents:

- four (4) copies of each published work in its original form;
- four (4) copies of any relevant unpublished work;
- four (4) typescripts of a brief statement justifying his application for the degree.

The application shall be accompanied by the payment of an appropriate fee as determined by the University from time to time.

c) Mode of Examination
The candidate’s thesis shall be examined by a highly distinguished panel of three expert Professors to be appointed by Senate after considering the recommendation from the School Postgraduate Committee and the Postgraduate School Board. The three expert Professors must be in the candidate’s field and must have been at the professorial rank for at least 10 years. Two members of the panel of examiners shall be external to this University. At least one of the panel members must be from a recognised University abroad. Before the degree can be awarded, positive recommendations from all the three experts must be received by the School of Postgraduate Studies. There will be no oral examination of the candidate. The candidate will not be eligible for award if one negative recommendation is received. The candidate however, can resubmit after a period of two (2) years.

d) Deposition of Materials
For a successful candidate the three sets of materials submitted shall be distributed as follows:
- One set to the University Library
- One set to the School of Postgraduate Studies
- One set to the appropriate Departmental Library.