Organization of the License

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)


1. How is the license organized?

2. How is a semester organized?

3. Where can I find precise information on the organization of a semester?

4. How do I validate a semester?

5. In the same year, can I continue in the 2nd semester (S2, S4, S6) if I have not passed the 1st semester (S1, S3, S5)?

6. How do you progress to the next grade?

7. What is the difference between a "compensated" result and an "admitted" result?

8. Can compensation be waived?

9. What are the consequences of missing an exam?

10. Which tests must be retaken in the make-up session if the initial session resulted in an "adjourned" or "failing" semester result?

11. How is the semester average calculated after the make-up session?

12. How is the license validated?

13. Is it possible to have an endorsement on a bachelor's degree?

14. What is the role of the jury?

15. Is it possible to repeat an acquired test, UE or semester at the make-up session or the following year?

16. Can I progress to the next year if I have passed a semester but there is no compensation between the two semesters of the year?

17. If I have to repeat a year, which subjects must I retake?

18. If I have to repeat a year, am I allowed to take the courses and exams for the year above?

19. Can I consult my exam papers?

20. What documents must I present at exams?

21. Are we allowed to have documents (lessons, calculator, etc.) during the tests?

22. What if I come from a different stream or university?

23. And the DEUG?

24. How do I get my paper diploma (parchment)?

 

ORGANIZATION OF THE LICENSE

1. How is the license organized?

The Bachelor's degree is organized into 6 consecutive semesters (S1 to S6), i.e. 3 years, since each year is divided into 2 semesters. It leads to the award of the national bachelor's degree, which confers 180 European credits (ECTS) and gives access to the first year of the master's program. There are two examination sessions per semester: the initial session and the make-up session.

2. How is a semester organized?

An academic year is made up of 2 semesters. Each semester corresponds to 30 ECTS credits.

A semester is made up of teaching units (UE), which can be compulsory, optional or elective. The units are assigned ECTS credits and coefficients. If you have obtained an average equal to or greater than 10 out of 20 in a UE, it is definitively acquired and can be capitalized on without the possibility of renunciation; you have acquired the UE and the corresponding ECTS, and cannot retake the corresponding exams.

A UE can be subdivided into Eléments Constitutifs (EC) corresponding to distinct courses that also carry ECTS credits. As soon as you have obtained an average equal to or higher than 10 out of 20 in an EC, it is definitively acquired and can be capitalized on. The grade for a UE composed of ECs corresponds to the average of the grades obtained in the ECs, weighted by their coefficient (correlated to the ECTS of the EC). The acquisition of a UE (minimum average of 10 out of 20) leads to the acquisition by compensation of a EC for which you would not have had the minimum mark of 10 out of 20. You may not retake the tests for the "compensated" CE.

3. Where can I find precise information on the organization of a semester?

All information concerning assessment is given in the "Modalités de Contrôle des Connaissances" (MCC). These tables summarize, by degree and by semester, the tests you will be required to take, their nature (written, oral, portfolio, etc.), their duration, their coefficient, and the breakdown between continuous assessment and final assessment. At the beginning of the year, your year manager will tell you where to consult the MCC.

4. How do I validate a semester?

The average grade for the semester corresponds to the overall average of the grades obtained in the UEs, weighted by their coefficients (correlated with ECTS credits). There are no eliminatory marks.

If you obtain a semester average equal to or higher than 10 out of 20, you have definitively acquired and capitalized on this semester, which entails the acquisition of the corresponding 30 ECTS. Acquisition of a semester (average equal to or higher than 10 out of 20) results in the acquisition by compensation of a UE for which you would not have had the minimum average of 10 out of 20, and you may not retake the tests for the compensated UE.

If you did not acquire the semester at the initial session, you must take the tests at the make-up session.

The initial session for the1st semester of the year (S1, S3, S5) is held in December or January, depending on the department. The 1stsemester make-up session may be held earlier (February or March) or at the end of the year (June), depending on the license. The minimum time between publication of the results of the initial session and the start of the make-up session is 15 days.

The initial session for the2nd semester of the year (S2, S4, S6) takes place in May, and the make-up session at the end of the year (June) for all bachelor's degrees.

At the beginning of the year, the head of academics will send you the academic year's timetable and exam periods.

See examples: example 1 and example 2.

5. In the same year, can I continue in the 2nd semester (S2, S4, S6) if I have not passed the 1st semester (S1, S3, S5)?

Students who have completed the odd-numbered semester (S1, S3, S5) are entitled to continue their studies in the even-numbered semester (S2, S4, S6), regardless of their results in the odd-numbered semester.

6. How do you progress to the next grade?

To progress to the next year, you have two options:

  • By acquiring the 2 semesters of the year:

You have passed each of the 2 semesters of the year, in the initial session or in the make-up session.

  • By compensation between the 2 semesters of the year:

You have obtained a mark equal to or greater than 10 out of 20 on the average of the two semesters of the year (between semesters 1 and 2, between semesters 3 and 4, between semesters 5 and 6). Offsetting applies from the initial session of the even-numbered semester, and can be carried out between the results of the two semesters, regardless of the examination session. At the end of the make-up session for the even-numbered semester, annual compensation is calculated by taking into account the best average between the initial session and the make-up session for each of the two semesters.

If a "postponed" semester becomes "compensated" after compensation has been calculated, you will receive a new semester transcript with the "compensated" result.

 

7. What is the difference between a "compensated" result and an "admitted" result?

When a semester is "compensated", you can progress to the year above, but you have not acquired the 30 ECTS for the semester. These will be awarded to you at the end of the 3-year Bachelor's degree if you have validated or compensated for all 6 semesters.

8. Can compensation be waived?

Once semesters have been compensated, it is not possible to waive this compensation in order to improve results in the make-up session.

9. What are the consequences of missing an exam?

If you are absent from an examination, you will not be able to validate either the EC or the UE to which the EC belongs, and consequently neither the semester. You will receive a "failing" grade for the semester in the session concerned by your absence, even if your average grade is 10 or above. The "failing" result does not allow validation or compensation of the semester at the corresponding session.

If you have a particular reason for absence, duly justified, you must notify the school's pedagogical department or the person in charge of the course and year as soon as possible. If the rules of studies so provide, they may apply specific provisions.

If you have been awarded a grant based on social criteria, you are required to attend classes, tutorials, practical work, internships and exams. If you fail to meet all these obligations, CROUS will ask you to repay the sums you have received.

10. Which test(s) must be retaken at the make-up session in the event of an "adjourned" or "failing" result for the semester at the initial session?

If you have been "adjourned" or "failed" for the semester in the initial session, you must re-sit all the CEs not acquired in the UEs not acquired in the make-up session.

See an example.

11. How is the semester average calculated at the make-up session?

The marks obtained in the make-up session replace the marks obtained in the initial session. The semester average is calculated with the marks obtained in the initial session tests that you did not have to retake in the make-up session and with the marks obtained in the make-up session.

Since marks from the make-up session necessarily replace the corresponding marks from the initial session, the semester average obtained in the make-up session may well be lower than the semester average in the initial session. In this case, the semester average obtained in the initial session is taken into account when calculating the annual compensation for further study.

See an example.

12. How is the license validated?

You've earned your bachelor's degree as soon as you've validated all 6 semesters individually, or as soon as they've been compensated. You will then automatically be awarded the 180 credits required for your degree. Holders of a bachelor's degree in the same field at academics are entitled to continue into the 1st year of a master's program.

See examples: example 1 and example 2.

13. Is it possible to have an endorsement on a bachelor's degree?

Some bachelor's degrees are awarded with an honors based on the3rd year grade point average (average of semesters 5 and 6). For more information, contact your year or degree coordinator.

14. What is the role of the jury?

The jury, made up of the teachers and lecturers involved in the bachelor's program, meets at the end of each semester and at the end of the year to decide on progression to the next year or on the award of the diploma at the end of the3rd year of the bachelor's program.

The jury is sovereign in its decisions. It validates grades and may, in very exceptional cases, add jury points to validate a semester or to enable annual compensation, the awarding of a diploma or the achievement of a distinction.

15. Is it possible to repeat an acquired test, UE or semester at the make-up session or the following year?

Once a semester, UE or EC has been passed, it is definitive. You cannot retake them in a make-up session or the following year. They are capitalized.

16. Can I progress to the next year if I have passed a semester but there is no compensation between the two semesters of the year?

In the case of special circumstances of limited duration, and for a number of missing credits less than or equal to 6 ECTS in the uncompensated semester of the previous year, the Vice President academics may, in exceptional circumstances and on the recommendation of the jury, authorize you to progress to the year above. In this case, the corresponding tests must be retaken the following year, and the missing credits obtained or compensated for, to enable you to continue your studies or receive your diploma.

17. If I have to repeat a year, which subjects must I retake?

If you repeat a semester, you must repeat the following year all the EC not acquired or compensated for in the UE not acquired or compensated for.

See an example.

18. If I have to repeat a year, can I take the courses and exams for the next year?

You must make a request to the teaching staff, who may offer you the opportunity to take part in one or both semesters of the advanced year, without having to register administratively for the advanced year, within the very precise limits indicated in § C5 of the general provisions.

19. Can I consult my exam papers?

You can consult your exam papers after the jury has deliberated and once the results have been announced. The year manager or teachers will inform you of the consultation dates.

You are also entitled to an individual interview with the teaching staff. This appointment is to be requested from the year manager.

20. What documents must I present at exams?

During exams, you must have your student card for the current year. It will be checked by the invigilator when the attendance list is signed.

21. Are we allowed to have documents (lessons, calculator, etc.) during the tests?

No documents or materials are permitted, with the exception of those supplied with the subject, or indicated on the subject, or specially mentioned in the invitation to the examination.

22. What if I come from a different stream or university?

Students from other courses or institutions may also be admitted. The jury validates credits corresponding to a CE, UE or semester, and may assign a mark to them, which must be equal to or higher than 10 out of 20.

23. And the DEUG?

The intermediate DEUG diploma is acquired as soon as the corresponding 4 semesters have been validated or compensated.

The awarding of an honors degree follows the same rules as for the bachelor's degree. It is calculated on the basis of the overall average of the2nd year(average of semesters 3 and 4).

24. How do I get my licence diploma (parchment)?

See our diploma withdrawal procedure.