Over the last decade, UK universities have had to move towards a more cost- effective and client-conscious model, which provides excellence in both teaching and research (Pretorius, 2000). One factor that has a significant impact on this is examination failure by students. However, examination failure is an important issue not only for students, but also for educators and educational institutions. Students failing exams will face emotional upset, extra work, or even expulsion from an institution. On an institutional level, funding is often reliant on students progressing from one stage (whether year or semester) to the next; financial penalties may be imposed on an institution if a significant proportion of students fail. In the UK, failure rates also impact upon Quality Assessment Ratings of institutions, which may in turn have an effect on recruitment. Teaching staff may be placed under scrutiny if large number of students studying on their programmes fail. One step