Assignment priority

How Fuxam resolves which academic ruleset applies to each student — user, cohort, and study program assignments, fallbacks, and what the effective ruleset controls.

When multiple ruleset assignments could apply to a student, Fuxam uses a fixed assignment priority order to pick one effective ruleset. That ruleset’s version settings — attempt limits, grading schema, weights, credit points, deadlines — govern the student’s exams and study plan.

Priority is the institutional answer to a classic regulations problem: general program rules, cohort-specific intakes, and individual exceptions cannot all win at once. A transparent hierarchy keeps examiners, program staff, and students looking at the same policy bundle.

How that effective ruleset shapes resits and permanent failure is covered in How exam attempts work and Configure attempt limits.

Why it matters

Without a documented resolution order, universities invent local workarounds — sticky notes, parallel spreadsheets, or conflicting “special cases” that never reach the Exam Center. Assignment priority makes exceptions first-class:

• Study program assignments encode the default Prüfungsordnung for everyone on that program
• Cohort assignments override for a specific intake (for example, a transitional regulation year)
• User assignments encode board decisions, disability compensation, hardship, or documented individual study agreements

Getting priority wrong is one of the most common causes of “why does this student have different attempt tabs?” tickets.

How it fits

Assignments are created on a ruleset version’s Connections (or via OrgHub → Programs → Users). Resolution runs whenever Fuxam needs the student’s effective policy for attempts, schemas, weights, and related deadlines — including when building attempt eligibility in My Exams.

Priority order

Fuxam resolves the effective ruleset in this order (first match wins):

A direct user assignment always overrides cohort and study program assignments. A cohort assignment overrides study program only.

Key concepts

Worked examples

Example 1 — Program default, cohort override

Students in cohort 2023 see max failed = 2. Students in other cohorts on the same program see max failed = 3.

Example 2 — Individual board exception

Same program as above (max failed 3). One student receives a documented decision allowing an additional failure. Staff assign a user-level ruleset version with Maximum failed attempts = 4.

That student resolves to the user ruleset regardless of cohort or program. When the exception ends, remove the user assignment so the confirmation dialog’s fallback (cohort or program) takes over.

Example 3 — Forgotten user assignment

Symptom: One student always shows different attempt usage (for example, “1/4” while peers show “1/3”). Check OrgHub → Programs → Users → Academic ruleset column. An obsolete user assignment is the usual cause.

Example 4 — Disability compensation with higher failed ceiling

A board grants one extra failed attempt under Nachteilsausgleich-related hardship. Create or reuse a narrowly scoped ruleset version with a higher Maximum failed attempts, assign it at user priority, and keep the program ruleset unchanged for peers. See Disability compensation and hardship.

Where to assign rulesets

Ruleset version connections

On a ruleset version page (Settings → OrgHub → Academic Rulesets → [ruleset] → [version]), use the connections section to link the version to:

• Study programs
• Cohorts
• Individual users

Replacing an existing assignment on an entity overwrites the previous ruleset link for that entity.

Study program users table

In OrgHub → Programs → Users, the Academic ruleset column shows each student’s effective ruleset. Click the cell to assign a ruleset directly to a user — this creates a priority-1 user assignment.

Bulk assign and bulk remove actions are available from the toolbar when managing many students.

What assignment priority controls

The effective ruleset determines:

• Module attempt limits — max passed and failed attempts (Configure attempt limits; lifecycle in How exam attempts work)
• Grading schema — which rating scale applies to graded exams
• Grade weights — module vs. final grade weighting (Grade weighting)
• Credit-point requirements and exam-related deadlines (Credit-point requirements; Appointment and withdrawal deadlines)
• Custom policy fields defined on the ruleset version

It does not replace LMS course grading inside a learning journey; it governs formal CMS academic policy for the student’s exams and related study-plan settings.

Removing a user assignment

When you remove a direct user assignment, the student falls back to the cohort ruleset (if any), then the study program ruleset, then defaults. The confirmation dialog shows which ruleset will become effective after removal.

How to assign a ruleset with correct priority

Best practices

• Default at program level — one ruleset version per regulation generation for the study program.
• Cohort only when the intake truly differs — transitional years, pilot rules, or continuing-education intakes.
• User assignments need a paper trail — treat them like individual regulatory decisions, and remove them when the exception ends so fallback restores the cohort or program rule.
• Verify with samples after every bulk change — one student per assignment level is enough to catch inverted expectations.
• Do not confuse with examiner assignment — exam-type examinee modes are a different concept from ruleset priority.
• Check attempt tabs after reassignment — effective limits change what My Exams shows for eligibility and usage.

Common pitfalls

FAQ

Related pages

• How exam attempts work — how the effective ruleset shapes the attempt lifecycle
• Create a ruleset — create a ruleset before assigning it
• Configure attempt limits — how resolved rulesets cap module attempts
• Disability compensation and hardship — typical uses of user-level assignments
• Academic rulesets — overview of ruleset concepts
• Edit a ruleset — connections and grading configuration on a version