The Student Futures Manifesto

Our six commitments to you  

The University and Students’ Union have been working together to co-create a 'Student Futures Manifesto' which will guide and support you to:  

1. Get ready for student life  
2. Join the University community  
3. Find support for your mental health and wellbeing
4. Get the most from your learning
5. Get involved
6. Set up for life after your Degree 

To read the full document, visit the student information hub. It's full of links to tell you what you need to know to help you make the best start to the academic year. 

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 University. 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.

Royal Holloway Students’ Union (RHSU)

The Students’ Union (SU) is a registered charity which exists for one purpose – to make student life better at Royal Holloway. Independent from the University, the SU is here to champion student interests and ensure you can get your voice heard through their various representative platforms, such as Academic Reps (see more info under 2.5 Staff-Student Action Meeting), Student Communities (which give underrepresented groups a platform and provide support as a network) 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 140 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 Union Venue and Medicine) that host regular club nights, as well as daytime 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. They can also signpost you to support for other issues, including wellbeing and financial.

• Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 24 6700
• Email:                     helpdesk@su.rhul.ac.uk

Find out more on the Students Union website.

Staff-Student Action Meeting (and academic representation)

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

For Postgraduate Taught (PGT) students, Course Reps work on ensuring your degree course is everything you expected it to be, Senior Course Reps are responsible for providing feedback to staff, School Reps work across several departments to instigate change, while the VP Education works across the wider University. Postgraduate Research (PGR) Reps work closely with the Doctoral School.

There is a Staff-Student Action Meeting which takes place at both Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research levels of study. These meetings take place at least once a term and aim to facilitate effective communication between students and staff, closing the feedback loop, and ultimately securing positive change.

As a PGT student you can volunteer as either a Course Rep or Senior Course Rep to represent students on your chosen degree programme when the recruitment window opens in September. PGR students can volunteer to be a Course Rep, but the Senior Course Rep role does not exist at this level of study. Volunteering as a rep gives 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 website. 

Student Services Centre

The Student Services Centre provides a central point of contact for non-academic enquiries and services such as enrolment, replacement Student ID cards, travel concessions including the 18+ Student Oyster Photocard and proof of student status.

Most services are available on the website so you can access or request them wherever you are. You can also get advice by phoning, emailing, or visiting the walk-in centre using the details below.

• Email:                    studentservices@royalholloway.ac.uk           
• Visit:                        Emily Wilding Davison Building (ground floor, opposite the library)

• Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 27 6641

 Find out more on the Student Services Centre webpages.

Student Life: Supporting your wellbeing & experience Royal Holloway

Our Student Life Directorate (Wellbeing & Experience) 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 directorate has a broad spectrum of  specialist teams who  provide  support, guidance, and advice on areas which can impact on your mental health and wellbeing. We encourage students to contact our teams at the earliest opportunity and to signpost friends to our services if you feel they are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.

If you have a concern about yourself or a friend, please do let us know so we can support you.

There is also access to an NHS managed GP Surgery on campus

• Email:                  wellbeing@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Help & Support  webpages or by following on social media @RH_Wellbeing.

Supporting you with wellbeing guidance

Our Wellbeing Support and 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 mental health and wellbeing concerns or signs of vulnerability – in themselves or others - to enable proactive engagement with early intervention. We also have Harassment and Wellbeing Advisers who are here to offer support with concerns about the conduct of others and our RH Be Heard platform. 

• Email:                      wellbeing@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Wellbeing webpages.

Disability & Neurodiversity Supporting you with your disability

Our Wellbeing Disability and 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.

• Email:                   disability@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Wellbeing Disability and Neurodiversity webpages.  

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 including with their Home away from Home programme of events.  

• Email:                 internationaladvice@royalholloway.ac.uk  

Find out more on the International Student Support webpages.  

Supporting you with your finances

Our Wellbeing Financial Advice team will assist with financial difficulties you may experience including support with financial difficulty (Study Support Grant), short term loans, referrals to local Foodbanks, budgeting & financial capability 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 on the Financial Wellbeing webpages.

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 can put you in contact with them and many other local faith communities. 

• Email:                    chaplaincy@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Chaplaincy webpages.

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 who broadly base counselling on the one at a time model with solution focussed sessions. 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 before you book an appointment.

• Email:                     counselling@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Wellbeing Counselling webpages.

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 NHS or mental health services.  The Practitioners  can help  students with emerging mental health concerns and those who are exploring options for mental health support.

• Email:                     mentalhealth@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Wellbeing Mental Health webpages.  

Supporting you living in halls of residence

For students who are living in university halls of residence the Hall Life team work to promote and lead a happy experience for you whilst you are living on campus. The team help you feel part of the Royal Holloway community through events, campaigns, and services to foster student engagement and positive experiences.

• Email: hall.life@royalholloway.ac.uk
• Find out more about living in halls of residence

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 Wellbeing Community:                     community@royalholloway.ac.uk

Find out more on the Wellbeing Community webpages.  

• Email the SU Advice Centre team advice@su.rhul.ac.uk  
  • Email the Student Wellbeing (Community): community@royalholloway.ac.uk
  • Email the Advice Centre, Royal Holloway Students' Union: advice@su.rhul.ac.uk 

Find out more on the Students Union Advice Centre webpages.

Supporting you with an active lifestyle

Studies have shown that students who work-out work better and being physically active can help with your mental wellbeing too. Physical activity is for everyone, and experience is not a requirement. Whether you're looking to pick up a new sporting hobby, or you're always in the gym, there's something for everyone of all abilities and our teams will be happy to help you.

• Email: sportscentre@royalholloway.ac.uk
• Find out more about active lifestyle and sport opportunities

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.

• Email: cedas@rhul.ac.uk
• Visit: CeDAS Reception at Founders West 139 during office hours
• Online: 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.  

Library Information Consultants

Library Information Consultants are here to help you develop your research, critical evaluation and referencing skills throughout your studies at Royal Holloway. You may meet your Information Consultant through a lecture or workshop during your studies, and you can book a one-to-one appointment with your Information Consultant via the Library’s webpages. There is also a Moodle page for the Library that walks you through and teaches you research skills you need to succeed at university.

Email: library@rhul.ac.uk

Online Chat: librarysearch.royalholloway.ac.uk (click on the “Can we help?” box found on the right-hand side of the webpage to access our live chat.)

IT Services Desk

The IT Service Desk is here to support you with issues such as email access, connecting to CampusNetWi-Fi, and making use of University printing facilities. The IT Service Desk are also available to provide advice and guidance on a range of more specific IT issues, should you experience any problems. They also offer access to free software, including Microsoft Office 365, NVivo and SPSS. 

• Online chat:          rhul.ac.uk/it 
• Phone:                   +44 (0)1784 414321 
• Email:                     itservicedesk@royalholloway.ac.uk 

Find out more on the IT Services webpages.

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 an activity, or you wish to arrange a meeting with your Personal Tutor so it is important that we keep in touch

Email        

The University provides an email address for all students and stores the address in a University email directory known as the Global Address List.  Your email account is easily accessed on and off campus using this link: mail.live.rhul.ac.uk/

We will routinely email you at your University address and you should therefore check your University email at least daily). We will not email you at a private or commercial address.  Please do not ignore emails from the University. 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 to 4 working days of its receipt.  Please remember that there are times when members of staff are away from University at conferences or undertaking research.

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. Visit our webpages for further information about maintaining your contact information.

You can find out about how the University 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.

Dates of Terms

Information on term dates can be found on our website. 

Academic Timetable

Your individual student academic teaching timetable will be available on the ‘your timetable’ page on the student intranet. You will need to log in with your university username and password and view your timetable using the site or by downloading it to a personal calendar. You will not see a complete timetable until you are registered on all your modules and have been allocated to the teaching activities Timetables are subject to change during 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. Your School will endeavour to notify you by email to your Royal Holloway email account for significant late changes to your timetable that will affect teaching in the next working day, 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 course will be provided by your lecturers in Moodle.

For information on study weeks, please check your Department Student Handbook.

The University 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.

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 using Moodle and library resources, and through meetings with Personal Tutors. Wider engagement with the University is demonstrated through interactions with other services and activities such as those run by Careers, Volunteering, Student Life, CeDAS, and Wellbeing.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your attendance has been recorded.  You can find out more about this on the engagement webpages.  It is 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 your attendance and engagement fall below your School requirements.

While you are expected to attend all the classes and engage with your studies we understand 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 University using the notification of absence process as early as possible. 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 University’s Student Life ( Wellbeing & Experience) teams. The Students’ Union also operate an Advice and Support Centre.

You can find out more about the engagement policy and the notification of absence process on our webpages.

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 University Regulations stipulate that the amount of paid work undertaken by a student enrolled with the University 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 at the University. International students must ensure that any working restrictions, as stated on their visa, are also adhered to.

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 University. 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 University Regulations.

In situations where you are experiencing documented severe difficulties the Department and University will make every effort to support you and counsel you as to the best course of action.   We strongly encourage students in these circumstances to seek support from our wellbeing teams and guidance is provided on to access their services.  However, there may be cases where, although absence and non-engagement is explained by an acceptable reason, your level of attendance and engagement 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.

Cancellation of student visa

If you have a Royal Holloway student visa should your registration at the University be discontinued for non-attendance, non-engagement with your studies or any other disciplinary matter, you will be reported to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and your Student Visa will be cancelled.  Alternatively, in line with the University’s legal obligations to UKVI, if you fail to meet the requirement of your student visa including attendance and completion of assessments, the University 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 University’s obligations to the UKVI. Please see our University Regulations. If you need immigration or visa advice please email our International Advice Team.

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: Email the Student Services Centre You must notify the Student Services Centre by email on the day of the exam. The email should include your name, student ID and confirmation of the exam that you are unable to attend. You should also include a brief explanation within the email to explain 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: Extenuating Circumstances 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. The Assessments section below provides further details about Extenuating Circumstances.

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.

Module registrations

You can only register for 180 credits’ worth of modules in each academic year (this excludes modules which are being re-sat). You will have the option of changing modules up to the end of the second week after the start of teaching (excluding Welcome week). Any modules that you wish to take on an extracurricular basis (that is, not counting towards your degree) must be identified at the start of the academic year.

Change of degree course

You may transfer to another programme 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 under the Immigration Rules.

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

Further information about changing programmes 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 degree course, please check your department Student Handbook. 

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.

Please click here to complete an Interruption form.

If you are leaving your room in Halls because you are interrupting your studies, you must also complete the  Notice to Leave Accommodation 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 is not usually possible for you to interrupt your studies after the end of term two, as you are considered to have attended all 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 are unable to attend any examinations or complete assessments in term three, please contact your department for advice. For more information about the exams and assessments period visit our  assessments and results webpages.

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

Withdraw from your studies

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

Please click here to complete a withdrawal form.

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

Facilities and resources within your department

For department specific information about photocopying, printing and computing, please check your department Student Handbook.     

You can access your course reading lists using Moodle and the Library has a range of departmental subject guides detailing the variety of online resources available to you.

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, scores and films , which are housed in the Emily Wilding Davison Building. 

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

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. There is also a Library code of conduct which outlines how we can all enjoy the Library space.

There are a variety of study spaces, many of which have PCs and there are also laptops available for you to borrow.

There is an Information Consultant, or subject librarian, for each School who is here to support you in your studies at Royal Holloway. You can contact them directly or book a one-to-one appointment through the Library’s webpages.

Printing, Scanning and Photocopying

The departmental printers and photocopiers are reserved for staff use. Copier-printers (MFDs) for students are located in the Library. These MFDs will allow you to make copies in either black and white or colour. Further information is available on the IT services webpages.

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. 

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 University card. 

How to find an available PC

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

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.

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. 

Progression and award requirements

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

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.

Penalties for late submission of work

Work submitted after the published deadline will be penalised in line with Section 13, paragraph (5) of the University’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.

What to do if things go wrong – Extensions to deadlines

Visit our assessments and results webpages for more information.

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

Visit our assessments and results webpages for more information.

Support and exam access arrangements for students requiring support

Visit our assessments and results webpages for more information.

What to do if you have difficulty writing legibly

Visit our assessments and results webpages for more information.

Academic Misconduct

The University takes allegations of academic misconduct very seriously. The University 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;
• Commissioning;
• Collusion
• Duplication of work (also known as ‘self-plagiarism’)
• Falsification;
• Impersonation;
• Deception;
• Failure to comply with the rules governing assessment, including those set out in the ‘Assessments Guidance for Students’

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 will be expected to undertake the ‘Academic Integrity: Avoiding Plagiarism & Using Turnitin’ 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.

Use of Artificial Intelligence tools

Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Google Bard are widely available.  However, they should be used with caution and only in accordance with any instructions your department have given.  It is not acceptable to reproduce text generated by one of these tools without attribution and significant modification, and to do so could be considered a serious academic offence.  Further information can be found on the Generative Artificial Intelligence at Royal Holloway page on the student intranet.

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 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.

Visit our Careers Service for more information.

If you have a complaint relating to any aspect of your academic study you should first discuss it informally with your Personal Tutor or with another member of staff in the Department.  If your complaint relates to a University service or a directorate, please raise it first with the area concerned. We would hope that most issues can be resolved by informal discussion.  There are, however, procedures that can be invoked in serious cases.  These are set out in the Student Complaints Procedure, which explains how to submit a formal complaint.  Please bear in mind that a complaint will not be accepted for formal investigation until you have first tried to resolve it with the area of the University concerned.  You should raise your complaint as soon as possible. 

If your complaint relates to an academic decision, the academic appeals process is likely to be the appropriate avenue for resolution.  Please note that an academic appeal against a decision of the Board of Examiners can only be submitted once you have received your results via the University portal, and there is a deadline for submission of an appeal. Details of the appeals procedure, deadline and permitted grounds for appeal can be found on the Academic Appeals Webpages.

Equal Opportunities Statement

The main aim of our Royal Holloway Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Framework 2023-2028 is to establish a diverse institution where everyone succeeds, is included and feels that they belong. The University 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 University to be a supportive and nurturing environment, free from bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation, and we will support this to be the case through our proactive equality and diversity work.

The University 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 University 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.

For department specific codes of practice, please check your Department Student Handbook.

 We also ask that all students read and understand our Dignity and Respect Policy