Postgraduate Taught Student Handbook 2021/22


Download and read your department specific handbook

For postgraduate students, there are two parts to the student handbook: the core handbook, which is relevant to all postgraduate students, plus a department-specific handbook.

1 Support and advice 

1.1    Student Charter

The College aims to bring all students into a close, harmonious relationship with each other and with the wider community. The Student Charter outlines how you can support the College in achieving these goals and also seeks to encourage you to act as an effective ambassador for the College, during your time as a student and later as part of the College’s alumni

This Charter is not intended to constitute a binding agreement but is offered as a framework of aspirations, designed to be of benefit primarily to you as a student and to underpin the College’s aim of ensuring that you have a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience during the course of your degree.

 

1.2    Postgraduate Taught Degree Regulations

The Postgraduate Taught Regulations set out the various standards that shape the regulatory framework of your Postgraduate Taught degree with the College. These include a variety of essential information, ranging from admissions to academic progression and examination. Some frequently used elements of the regulations are covered in this handbook.

 

1.3    Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London (SURHUL)

 Royal Holloway Students’ Union (RHSU) is a registered charity which exists for one purpose – to make student life better at Royal Holloway. Independent from the University, the Students’ Union is there to champion student interests and ensure they can get your voice heard through their various representative platforms, such as academic reps (see more info under 2.5 Student-Staff Consultative Committee), student collectives (which give underrepresented groups a platform and provide support as a network and community) and elected sabbatical officers (who sit on the highest decision making committees in the university).

Additionally the Students’ Union is also responsible for supporting over 110 student-led clubs and societies on campus, they run a pub (The Packhorse) across the road from campus, provide somewhere to eat and hang out in Tommy’s Kitchen, and run two venues (the SU Main Hall and Medicine) that host regular club nights, as well as day time events and entertainment through their Give It a Go programme.

The Students’ Union also runs an Advice Centre from the first floor of the Students’ Union building, which is a free service and independent from the university, with professional Advisors who specialise in academic and housing advice and support but who can signpost you with regards to any other matters too.

Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 24 6700

Email:                     helpdesk@su.rhul.ac.uk

Find out more about the Students’ Union

 

1.4    Staff-Student Committee (and academic representation)

We want to hear your views on the way the department operates and this is where the academic representation system comes in – which is a collaborative partnership between the Students’ Union and the University. The system relies on student volunteers from within your cohort who represent you to ensure you receive the highest quality educational experience possible.

Course reps work on ensuring your degree course is everything you expected it to be, department reps look at department-wide changes, school reps work across several departments to instigate change, while the VP Education works across the wider College.

There is a staff-student committee on which both taught students are represented. It meets at least once a term and plays an important role in the department as a forum for airing views (good and bad) and for ultimately creating change.

As a new student you can stand to become an academic rep for your chosen degree course when the annual elections open in October, giving you the chance to directly influence what happens on your course and give a voice to your peers.

Departments will provide details of forthcoming elections or the names of current representatives but you can also find out more on the Students’ Union’s website https://www.su.rhul.ac.uk/voice/academicreps/

 

1.5    Student Services Centre

The Student Services Centre provides a central point of contact for non-academic enquiries and services, including accommodation, college cards, fees, enrolment and proof of student status. For details of the services we offer and how to access these services please visit our webpage. We have a Helpdesk in the Davison Building, or you can get in touch with us via email or phone. Check our webpage for details of our opening hours.

 Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 27 6641

Email:                     studentservices@royalholloway.ac.uk           

Find out more about the Student Services Centre

 

1.6    Supporting you at Royal Holloway

Our Wellbeing teams are here to support you with your health and wellbeing and to help you have positive academic, personal and social experiences as a Royal Holloway research student.  The department is comprised of a number of specialist teams who cover a broad spectrum of wellbeing support and guidance and advice on areas which can impact on your wellbeing. There is also access to an NHS managed GP Surgery on campus

Email:                   supportingyou@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

 

1.7    Supporting you with wellbeing guidance

Our Wellbeing Support & Guidance team of wellbeing advisers provides advice and guidance to all students on personal and emotional wellbeing, to assist them in maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle and to support them throughout their studies towards submission of your research and graduation.  The advisers encourage all members of our student and staff community to alert them to concerns or signs of vulnerability to enable proactive engagement with early intervention.

 

Email:                      wellbeing@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

 

1.8    Disability & Dyslexia Services (D&DS) Supporting you with your disability

Our Wellbeing Disability & Neurodiversity team are here to support all students who have disclosed a disability, long standing medical condition, specific learning difficulty or mental health condition.  The disability and academic advisers will help co-ordinate the right support for you including liaising with your academic department, external providers or specialist support services. To access our support you need to declare your disability and register with the team who will then work with you to implement appropriate support as soon as possible.

Your first point of contact for advice and guidance is the Disability Network Member in your department.  To find our who this is and what their contact details are please check your Department Student Handbook here

Email:                   disability-dyslexia@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more about here

   

1.9    Supporting you as an international student

Our Wellbeing International Advice team are the first point of contact for international students about a range of support and wellbeing issues – including visa and immigration advice - and will ensure you are able to access the most appropriate services as required.  They also support and proactively work to foster and inclusive and welcoming community on campus for all.  

Email:                 internationaladvice@royalholloway.ac.uk  

Find out more about the International Student Support team

 

1.10   Supporting you with your finances

Our Wellbeing Financial team will assist with financial difficulties you may experience including support with financial assistance, short term loans, referrals to local Foodbanks, budgeting advice and a wide range of other financial enquiries.  They aim to ensure your time at university is as financially stress-free as possible. 

Email:                 moneymatters@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

 

1.11    Supporting you with your faith & spirituality

The Wellbeing Multifaith Chaplaincy team aim to support students and staff in building supportive communities of faith, where fundamental questions can be explored and a deep personal search for meaning is encouraged. We have an Anglican Chaplain, Catholic Chaplain and Muslim Chaplain. They are here to offer support to the whole university community. Whatever you believe, whatever your background, whoever you love, whatever your struggles or doubts, and wherever in the world you are, the Chaplains want to hear from you. The team also work closely with the SU Faith Societies and are able to put you in contact with them and many other local faith communities. 

Email:                    chaplaincy@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

1.12      Supporting you through counselling

The Wellbeing Counselling team are here to support you with your personal emotional and mental wellbeing.  Emotional problems can get in the way of your studies and life in general. If you find yourself having difficulties you may find it helpful to speak to one of our professionally trained counsellors. They work to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and are a BACP accredited service. To see a counsellor you will need to register with the service and can then book an appointment.

Email:                     counselling@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

1.13      Supporting you with your mental health

Our Wellbeing Mental Health team provide mental healthcare to students who require support in primary care. The team form a common point of entry for triage, assessment and referral (where needed) onto specialist mental health services and can help in particular students with emerging mental health concerns.

Email:                     mentalhealth@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

 

1.14    Supporting you living in the local community

For students who have chosen to live in the local area of Egham or Englefield Green the Wellbeing Community work to support students so that we are all working together to maintain a harmonious, happy community.   In addition the SU Advice Centre team can provide you with guidance around private housing landlord and contract matters.

Email:                     community@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more here

To contact the SU Advice Centre team please email advice@su.rhul.ac.uk or find out more here

 

1.14      Academic Skills Support 

The Centre for the Development of Academic Skills, CeDAS, offers a variety of courses, workshops, 1:1 tutorials and online resources that aim to ensure all students at Royal Holloway reach their full academic potential in a range of areas, including academic writing, oral communication skills and maths and statistics.

Whatever your needs, CeDAS is there to ensure that you can perform to the best of your ability, whether it be through a workshop that introduces you to a crucial academic skill, a session within your department that focuses on writing in the discipline, a course that develops your confidence and competence in academic English language, or a 1:1 tutorial with a specialist to help you master a maths technique or sharpen your essay skills.

To access CeDAS support, log into Moodle, go to My Courses and click CeDAS Academic Skills. Then follow the instructions to enrol to the CeDAS page for your school. For general enquiries, email cedas@rhul.ac.uk or visit CeDAS Reception at Founders West 141 during office hours.

Library Information Consultants are here to help you develop your research and referencing skills throughout your studies here at Royal Holloway. You can find your Information Consultant’s contact details here. Please choose the relevant subject.

 

1.15      IT Services Desk

The College’s IT Service Desk offers a range of support and are there to help you with issues such as email access, connecting to CampusNet (the College’s wireless network), and making use of College printing facilities. The IT Service Desk will also be able to provide advice and guidance on a range of more specific IT issues, should you experience any problems. They also offer a range of free software, including Microsoft Office 365, NVivo and SPSS.

Online:                   royalholloway.ac.uk/it

Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 41 4321

Email:                     itservicedesk@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more about IT Services

2 Communication

It is vitally important that you keep in touch with us and we keep in touch with you.  Members of staff will often need to contact you to inform you of changes to teaching arrangements, special preparations you may have to make for a class, or meetings you might be required to attend. You will need to contact members of the Department if, for example, you are unable to attend a class, or you wish to arrange a meeting with your Personal Tutor.

 

2.1    Email        

The College provides an email address for all students free of charge and stores the address in a College email directory (the global address list).  Your account is easily accessed on and off campus via mail.live.rhul.ac.uk.

We will routinely email you at your College address and you should therefore check your College email regularly (at least daily). We will not email you at a private or commercial address.  Do not ignore emails from us. We will assume you have received an email within 48 hours, excluding Saturdays and Sundays.  

If you send an email to a member of staff in the department during term time you should normally receive a reply within 3-4 working days of its receipt.  Please remember that there are times when members of staff are away from College at conferences or undertaking research.

 

2.2    Your Contact Information          

There can be occasions when the School/Department needs to contact you urgently by telephone or send you a letter by post. It is your responsibility to ensure that your telephone number (mobile and landline) and postal address (term-time and forwarding) are kept up to date. Further information about maintaining your contact information is available here.

You can find out about how the College processes your personal data by reading the Student Data Collection notice.                           

For more information on how your department specifically may communicate with you, please check your department student handbook.

3 Teaching 

3.1    Dates of Terms

For information on term dates, please see the Term dates webpage.

 

3.2   Academic Timetable

Your individual student timetable will be available via the your timetable page on the student intranet. Log in with your College username and password and view your timetable via the system or download to a personal calendar. Timetables are subject to change during the course of the academic year, so you should check yours regularly, (as a minimum every two days) to ensure you are using the most up to date timetable. The college will endeavour to notify you via an e-mail to your Royal Holloway email account for late changes to your timetable that will affect teaching within the next two working days, so please also check your emails regularly. Please be present at the start time. Teaching will finish ten minutes before the end time to allow you to move between classes. The academic timetable will show your on-campus and online timetabled activities. Any other learning activities associated with your programme of study will be provided by your lecturers in Moodle.

For information on study weeks, please check your department Student Handbook

4 Attending classes and engaging with your studies

The College has a responsibility to ensure that all students are attending classes (online or in person and engaging with their studies. We also have legal obligations placed on us under the Equality Act (2010), UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) and Student Finance to ensure we monitor your attendance and engagement with studies.

Your regular attendance in class and consistent engagement with your studies are essential to your learning experience with the College. If you encounter difficulties with this, please tell your tutor or another member of staff as soon as you can.  They will put you in contact with Disability and Dyslexia Services (D&DS) who will tell you what support can be offered.   Failure to attend and/or persistent absence can result in serious consequences and may lead to disciplinary action, including the discontinuation of your registration. 

 

4.1    Attendance and engagement requirements

Your classes are the learning activities deemed essential to your programme of study. These include but are not limited to, lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, field trips, orals, laboratory session, PC Labs and practicals. Engagement is also demonstrated through the submission of coursework and sitting of assessments. Engagement with studying is also undertaken through the use of Moodle and library resources, and through meetings with personal tutors. Wider engagement with the College is demonstrated through interactions with other services and activities such as those run by Careers, Volunteering, Student Life, CeDAS, and Student Advisory and Well-being.

While you are expected to attend all the classes and engage with your studies the College recognises that, occasionally, students may be unable to meet the minimum engagement requirements due to unforeseen circumstances. If you are unable to attend, you must notify the College via the notification of absence process as early as possible, giving the reasons for your absence. If you are experiencing such difficulties on an ongoing basis, please contact your Personal Tutor. An extensive range of additional support, guidance and advice is available from the College’s Student Advisory & Wellbeing teams. As explained in section 1 above, the Students’ Union also operate an Advice and Support Centre.

You can find out more about the attendance and engagement policy and the notification of absence process here.

It is vital that you manage your time effectively, so that any paid employment, voluntary work, extracurricular activities or social commitments do not interfere with periods where you are required to attend classes.  The College Regulations stipulate that the amount of paid work undertaken by a student enrolled with the College on a full-time basis must not exceed 20 hours per week during term time. You may not undertake paid work which may conflict with your responsibilities as a student of the College. International students must ensure that any working restrictions, as stated on their visa, are also adhered to.

 

4.2    Monitoring attendance

It is your responsibility to make sure that your attendance has been recorded. It is also essential that you arrive at your classes in good time, as you will be marked absent if you turn up late without good reason.

You will be contacted in the event that:

         i.            you have not engaged with the College in person or remotely for five consecutive days or more

        ii.            you display a pattern of absence affecting your academic progression or is likely to, or is causing concern over your wellbeing or which may point to an undisclosed disability

 

4.3    Formal Warnings

In cases of persistent absence and non-engagement, you may be issued with a formal warning which could escalate to the discontinuation of your registration at the College. You are strongly advised to read the guidance on the formal warning process and the consequences of receiving such a warning in section 24 of the College Regulations.

In situations where you are experiencing documented severe difficulties the Department and College will make every effort to support you and counsel you as to the best course of action.   However, there may be cases where, although absence and non-engagement is explained by an acceptable reason, your level of attendance falls to a level which compromises educational standards and/or your ability to reach the learning outcomes of the course.In such cases it will be necessary to implement disciplinary procedures as detailed above.

 

4.4    Withdrawal of visa

If you are sponsored by Royal Holloway for your Student Visa (previously Tier 4) Visa, should your registration at the College be discontinued for non-attendance, non-engagement with your studies or any other disciplinary matter, you will be reported to UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) and your Student Route (previously Tier 4) will be withdrawn. Alternatively, in line with the College’s legal obligations to UKVI, if you fail to meet the requirement of your Student Route (previously Tier 4) , including attendance and completion of assessments, the College may discontinue your student registration without following the disciplinary procedures outlined in the Academic Regulations. This decision would not be open to appeal as it is part of the College’s obligations to the UKVI. Please see our College Regulations.  Visa advice can be provided by our International Student Support Team (internationaladvice@royalholloway.ac.uk).

 

4.5    Missing an examination

If you are unable to attend an exam (e.g. through reasons of sudden illness) then there are two steps to follow.

Step 1

You must notify the Student Services Centre at the earliest possibility. Wherever possible, please e-mail them at studentservices@royalholloway.ac.uk before the scheduled start of the exam with your name, student ID and confirmation of the exam that you are unable to attend. Please include a brief explanation within the email why you cannot attend the exam.  The Student Services Centre will then forward this information to your department so that we are aware of your non-attendance.

Step 2

Read the Extenuating Circumstances Guidance and, if your circumstances meet the criteria outlined in the guidance, complete and submit the Extenuating Circumstances application form with your supporting evidence. Section 7 below provides further details about Extenuating Circumstances.

5 Degree structure 

Full details about your course, including, amongst others, the aims, learning outcomes to be achieved on completion, modules which make up the course and any course-specific regulations are set out in the course specification available through the Degree Course Library.

For department specific information about degree structure, please check your department Student Handbook.

                                                               

5.1    Module registrations

Available soon

 

5.2    Change of degree course

Where provision is made for this in the programme specification, you may transfer to another degree course, subject to the following conditions being met before the point of transfer:

(a) you must satisfy the normal conditions for admission to the new degree course;

(b) you must satisfy the requirements in respect of mandatory modules and progression specified for each stage of the new degree course up to the proposed point of entry;

(c) the transfer must be approved by both the department(s) responsible for teaching the new degree course and that for which you are currently registered.

(d) if you are sponsored for your Student Visa (previously Tier 4) a transfer may not be permitted by under the Immigration Rules.

(e) you may not attend a new degree course until their transfer request has been approved.

Further information about changing degree courses is available in Section 8 of the Postgraduate Taught Regulations. If you are sponsored for your Student Visa (previously Tier 4), there may be further restrictions in line with UKVI regulations.

For department specific information about change of course, please check your department  Student Handbook.

For information on interrupting or withdrawing from your studies, please visit Update my Postgraduate study details.

 

5.3 Interrupt your studies

An interruption allows you to pause your studies for a maximum of two years. This option is suitable if you want to stop studying temporarily and come back later. Further information about this process and the implications of interrupting your studies can be found on the form. The form will only be made available during the periods in which interruptions are permitted.

If you are leaving your room in Halls because you are interrupting your studies, you must also complete this online form to let us know on when you plan to vacate your room so that you understand important information around your financial liability.

Interruptions of study in Term Three

It’s not usually possible for you to interrupt your studies after the end of Term Two, as you’re considered to have attended all of the learning and teaching and the only requirement left is for you to complete your exams and assessments (which you cannot withdraw from at this stage). 

If you’re unable to attend any examinations or complete assessments in Term Three, please contact your department for advice. Click here for more information about the exams and assessments period.

If you have any further queries, please contact the Student Services Centre.

 

5.4 Withdraw from your studies

A withdrawal from study will permanently end your registration with the College. It's important you are aware of the implications and consider all of the options available to you before making this decision. Further information about this process and the implications of withdrawing can be found on the form below.

If you are leaving your room in Halls because you are withdrawing from your studies, you must also complete this online form to let us know on when you plan to vacate your room so that you understand important information around your financial liability.

6 Facilities 

6.1    Facilities and resources within your department 

For department specific information about facilities and resources, please check your department Student Handbook here.

You can access your course reading lists using Moodle and the Library has a subject guide detailing the variety of online resources available to you. Please choose the relevant subject guide from this list.

 

6.2    The Library 

The Library provides access to a wide range of digital resources for your courses, most of which can be viewed both on and off campus, alongside an extensive collection of printed books and journals, which is housed in the Emily Wilding Davison Building. 

Information on how to access the full range of online resources available can be found here.

Library opening times, our LiveChat service, and other service information can be found online from the Library home page. On this page, you will also find links to LibrarySearch, the Library catalogue of online and print resources, and our subject guides full of information specific to your studies.

Printed resources can be found in the Library. There are a variety of study spaces, many of which have PCs.

The contact details for your Library Information Consultant can be found here. Please choose the relevant subject.

 

6.3    Photocopying and Printing 

The departmental printers and photocopier are reserved for staff use. Copier-printers (MFDs) for students are located in the Library, which will allow you to make copies in either black and white or colour.

Further information is available here

If you require copying to be done for a seminar presentation, you need to give these materials to your tutor to copy on your behalf. Please make sure that you plan ahead and give the materials to your tutor in plenty of time. 

 

6.4    Computing 

There are several open access PC Labs available on campus which you can use, and computers throughout the Library in the Emily Wilding Davison Building. For security reasons access to these PC Labs is restricted at night and at weekends by a door entry system operated via your College card. 

How to find an available PC

7 Assessment information

For Information on anonymous marking and cover sheets and submission of work, please check your department Student Handbook.

 

7.1    Stepped Marking

Work submitted for assessment will be graded by using a set of marks with the pattern X2, X5 or X8. This means that a piece of work awarded Merit would be awarded 62%, 65% or 68%.  This approach, which is called stepped marking,  has been found to help in better aligning grades with marking criteria and for providing greater clarity to students about the standard of their work and how close they are to lower and upper grade boundaries. For example, a 62% represents a low Merit, while a 68% indicates a high Merit. 

Assessed work which is quantitative (e.g. numerical or multiple-choice tests), where there are ‘right or wrong’ answers, e.g. language tests/ exercises and/ or where there is a detailed mark scheme under which each question is allocated a specific number of marks will be exempt from stepped marking.

 

7.2    Policy on the return of marked student work and feedback

The full policy on the return of marked student work and feedback is available here.

Return of marked student work and feedback

All assessed work (other than formal examinations) should be returned with feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline, except in cases where it is not appropriate to do so for exceptional and/ or pedagogic reasons. These may include the assessment of dissertations, final year projects, taped case studies, audio visual submissions, where the marking has been delayed due to staff illness and/ or where an extension to the submission deadline has been granted.   The deadline for the return of the marked work with feedback will be made clear to students when they receive their assignments. In the event that the intended deadline cannot be met for reasons such as those listed, the revised deadline will be communicated to students as soon as possible. 

 

7.3    Progression and award requirements

The Regulations governing progression and award requirements are set out in your Course Specification held in the Degree Course Library.

7.4    Examination results

Please see the Results and Progression website for details of how you will be issued with your results.

The Completing your Assessments website is the place where you can access the "Assessments Guidance for Students" and details of the examinations appeals procedures.

 

7.5    Penalties for late submission of work

Work submitted after the published deadline will be penalised in line with Section 13, paragraph (5) of the College’s Postgraduate Taught Regulations.  

Section 13 (5)

‘In the absence of acceptable extenuating cause, late submission of work will be penalised as follows:

  • for work submitted up to 24 hours late, the mark will be reduced by ten percentage marks;*
  • for work submitted more than 24 hours late, the mark will be zero.’

*eg. an awarded mark of 65% would be reduced to 55% and a mark of 42% would be reduced to 32%.

If you believe that you will be unable to submit coursework on time because of illness or other acceptable causes then you should apply for an extension to allow you to submit the work late without suffering a penalty. If you did not request an extension but then miss a deadline due to factors which have affected your ability to submit work on time, then you may submit a request for extenuating circumstances to be considered. Please note however that if you do so, you will have to provide convincing reasons why you had been unable to request an extension.

 

7.6     What to do if things go wrong – Extensions to deadlines

Available soon

 

7.7     What to do if things go wrong – the “Extenuating Circumstances” process.

‘Available soon

 

7.8     Support and exam access arrangements for students requiring support

Available soon

 

7.9      What to do if you have difficulty writing legibly

Available soon

 

7.10     Academic Misconduct

The College takes allegations of academic misconduct very seriously. The College Regulations on Academic Misconduct (also known as assessment offences) can be found on the Attendance and Academic Regulations page of the student intranet.

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism (see below)
  • Commissioning (see below);
  • Collusion (see below),
  • Duplication of work, (submitting work which you have already submitted for assessment for the same or another course);
  • Falsification;
  • Impersonation;
  • Deception;
  • Failure to comply with the rules governing assessment, including those set out in the ‘Assessments Guidance for Students’ (see below) 

The Regulations provide definitions of the types of academic misconduct, the procedure for investigation of allegations and penalties which may be imposed. 

It is important that all students take steps to ensure that they do not commit academic misconduct, unintentionally or otherwise. You are strongly encouraged to undertake the ‘Avoiding Plagiarism’ course on Moodle and to familiarise yourself with the principles of academic integrity and good scholarly practice.  Please speak with your Personal Tutor or other members of staff in your department if you have any queries about what constitutes academic misconduct.

Summary of some of the more common allegations of academic misconduct::

 What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's work, in any quantity, without adequately identifying it and citing its source. It is possible to commit plagiarism without any intention to do so by failing properly to reference a piece of work.  You should ensure that you are familiar with your Department’s specific referencing requirements. In addition to your Department, further advice can be obtained from CeDAS and the Library.

What is ‘Collusion’?

Collusion is acting together with another person in order to obtain an advantage for yourself and/or the other person.  While collaboration is often encouraged, the work you submit for assessment must be yours, and yours alone (unless it is specifically described as a ‘Group’ project or assignment).

What is ‘Commissioning’?

Commissioning, (also known as ‘contract cheating’) is engaging another person or organisation to undertake work submitted for assessment (whether paid or not).  This includes using all or part of an essay taken from an essay bank or ‘essay mill’.  Submitting work written, or improved, by a friend, member of your family or another student can also constitute commissioning.

The rules governing assessment

You should familiarise yourself with the ‘Assessments Guidance for Students’ which contains information about conduct during examinations (both online and in person). Please take particular notice of the rules around communication with other students during online examinations. 

For department specific guidance on academic misconduct, please check your department Student Handbook.

8 Careers information 

Available soon

9 Complaints and academic appeals procedure

If you have a complaint relating to any aspect of the Department or its staff or to any academic or College matter, you should first discuss it informally with your Personal Tutor or with another member of staff in the Department.  We would hope that the majority of issues of this kind can be resolved by informal discussion.  There are, however, procedures that can be invoked in serious cases.  These are set out in the College Complaints Procedures for students. You should raise your complaint as soon as possible. 

If the complaint concerns an academic decision, there is an academic appeals process.  Please note that an academic appeal can only be submitted once you have received your results via the College portal and there is a deadline for submission of appeals. Details of the appeals procedure, deadline and permitted grounds for appeal can be found on the Academic Appeals webpage.

10 Equal oppertunities statement and College codes of practice 

10.1           Equal Opportunities Statement

The College has made a commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion for all, and strives to go beyond the public sector duty placed upon us by the Equality Act 2010. We believe that all staff, students and visitors should find the College to be a supportive and nurturing environment, free from bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation, and we hope that we can support this to be the case through our proactive equality and diversity work. One of our main priorities has been to ensure all our policies, existing and new, are inclusive to all employees.

The College is committed to ensure that:

  • It creates a positive, inclusive environment, free from prejudice, bullying, harassment and unlawful discrimination. We will take action to challenge inappropriate behaviour and discriminatory practice;
  • Staff, students, applicants for employment or study, visitors and other persons in contact with the College are treated fairly, with dignity and respect;
  • People and diverse groups with multiple identities and individual differences are recognised and valued;
  • We will provide our staff and associates with the knowledge and skills they need to understand and meet their equality and diversity responsibilities.

Additional School Specific codes of practice can be found here.

Departmental Handbooks

In addition to the above information, your departmental handbook will contain programme specific information as well as contact information for the key contacts within your department. 

All departmental handbooks will be made available to students before the start of term on the 20 September. If your department handbook is not yet available, please check back later.   

Biological Sciences - Available soon

Blue-grey

Classics

Dark Red

Computer Science - Available soon

Purple

Drama and Theatre

Green

Earth Sciences

Orange

Economics - Available soon

Lavender

Electronic Engineering

Light Turquoise

English

Light Yellow

Geography

Lime

History

Orange

Information Security

Purple

Law

Red

Management

Rose

Mathematics

Turquoise

Media Arts

Yellow

Music

Blue-grey

Physics - Available soon

Brown

Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

Gold

Psychology

Red

Social Work - Available soon

Green

 

Questions?

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