What Happens If You Fail a CIPD Assignment? Referral and Resubmission Guide

Seeing Refer on your CIPD result can be a horrible feeling. You may start wondering if you have failed the whole unit or even your qualification.

Before you panic, look at the feedback.

A referral does not always mean your whole assignment was wrong. You may have missed one or two assessment criteria, or your answer may not have done exactly what the criteria asked for. Your assessor’s comments should show you where you went wrong.

The next step is not to rewrite everything. It is to understand the feedback first, then work out what actually needs changing.

What Does a CIPD Referral Actually Mean?

CIPD assignments are assessed against specific assessment criteria (ACs). Your result and feedback should show which criteria you have not met.

So, don't look at the word “Refer” and assume you need to throw away the whole assignment.

You might have met most of the criteria and missed one or two. This can happen on a CIPD Level 3 assignment, just as it can on a CIPD Level 5 assignment.

Your first job is simple: find the exact ACs that were referred and read the feedback attached to them.

That tells you what needs attention.

What Should You Do After a CIPD Referral?

The first thing many students do is open the assignment and start changing sentences. That is usually not the best place to start.

Go back to your feedback.

If your assessor has written “more analysis needed”, ask yourself what that means in your particular answer. Maybe you explained a concept but did not discuss its impact. Maybe you gave a workplace example but did not explain what it shows.

If the feedback says your evidence is limited, look at the sources you used. If the question was not fully answered, compare your response with the wording of the AC again.

It helps to make a small list:

This gives you something much more useful than simply knowing that you failed a section.

Also check your resubmission date. Your study centre will tell you when the revised work needs to be submitted. Don't rely on a deadline mentioned by another student because their course or centre may have different arrangements.

How Do You Fix a Referred Assessment Criterion?

This is the bit that can be really confusing. You get your assignment back and the assessor has written “more analysis needed”. You read it a few times and still think, “What do I actually add?”

Go back to the AC first. Say it asks you to assess the impact of flexible working, but you have spent most of your answer explaining what flexible working is. Adding more information about flexible working will not suddenly make the answer better.

You need to talk about the impact. Look at what the evidence says, the good and bad sides, and what those points mean for the organisation. That is the part your original answer may have missed.

So don't just add words because you have been referred. Look at the feedback and work out what your assessor felt was missing. This is particularly important in a CIPD Level 5 assignment, where your answer needs more than description.

Do You Need to Rewrite Your Whole CIPD Assignment After a Referral?

Not usually.

If your feedback only refers to two assessment criteria, those are the areas you should look at first. There is little point in rewriting sections that have already met the required standard.

You should still read the assignment as a whole after making your changes. One section can affect another. You may change an example, conclusion or argument and then notice that another part no longer fits.

Your centre's resubmission instructions also matter here. Follow those rather than advice from a friend who completed a different CIPD unit.

Can You Go Over the Word Count in a CIPD Resubmission?

You still have to follow the word count when you resubmit. A referral does not change that.

Check your assessment brief before you make any changes. The requirements for a CIPD Level 3 assignment may not be the same as Level 5 or Level 7.

If you need to add something, take out anything you have repeated or do not need. That gives you room to deal with the point your assessor picked up.

For example, don't explain the same theory three times just to make room for more analysis. Remove the repeated material and use those words where they actually help answer the AC.

Is a CIPD Resubmission Capped at a Low Pass?

This is often the next question students ask.

The answer is not the same for every CIPD assessment. The grading rules depend on the qualification and assessment route you are taking.

Some CIPD assessment arrangements have a cap on the result that can be achieved after a resit or resubmission. Other rules may apply to different assessment routes.

So don't rely on a general statement such as “all CIPD referrals are capped at a Low Pass”.

Check your assessment brief, result information and study-centre guidance. That will tell you what applies to your particular assignment.

The main thing is to focus on getting the referred criteria to the required standard rather than trying to guess the final mark.

What If You Fail the CIPD Resubmission Too?

It is understandable to worry about this before you even submit the first revision.

If the resubmission is unsuccessful, don't simply make the same changes again. Look at the new feedback and find out exactly what is still missing.

Then speak to your tutor or study centre about your next option.

The number of attempts and the reassessment process can depend on the qualification and assessment. This is another reason not to rely on what happened to another student.

If you have been given another opportunity, use the latest feedback as your starting point. It may point to a problem that you did not spot in the first revision.

Before You Resubmit, Check These Things

You don't need a complicated checklist. Just go through the basics one last time.

• Have I answered the whole assessment criterion?
• Have I followed the command word, such as analyse, assess or evaluate?
• Have I dealt with every point in my feedback?
• Have I added evidence where it was missing?
• Have I used the evidence to support my own discussion?
• Have I applied the answer to the relevant workplace or situation?
• Am I within the required word count?
• Have I checked the latest assessment brief?
• Are my references and citations in order?

Read the revised sections once as if you were the assessor. Ask yourself whether the change actually fixes the problem that was pointed out.

That final check can be more useful than simply reading the assignment again from the first page.

Need Help With a CIPD Resubmission?

Sometimes the difficult part is not writing more. It is understanding what the assessor meant by the feedback.

Stuck on a CIPD referral? CIPD Assessment can help you work through the feedback and improve the parts that need attention. We cover CIPD Levels 3, 5 and 7, with help for assignments, resubmissions, proofreading, referencing and more.

You may only need help with one referred AC, or you may want someone to check your work before you submit it again. Our team can help with the part you are struggling with, based on your assignment and requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions