38.12 Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych)

(1) General

(a) The degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology is awarded jointly by Coventry University and the University of Warwick. The programme is managed by a Programme Director and a Programme Board which shall include representatives from both Universities.

(b) During their period of study candidates shall be registered students of both Universities. They shall have the same rights and responsibilities as other students of each University except where special provision is made within these regulations.

(c) A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology shall be required to follow the approved programme of study for a period of three years full-time. The programme is not available by part-time study.

(d) It shall be a condition of registration on the degree that candidates have an approved contract of employment with an appropriate National Health Service Trust. Candidates whose contract of employment is terminated prior to completion of their degree shall be required to withdraw from the programme.

(e) Should there be any doubt concerning the regulations which apply in particular circumstances, the Programme Director, in consultation with the Academic Registrars of both Universities, shall decide which regulations should apply.

(2) Progression and Award of the Degree

(a) The Programme Assessment Board for the degree shall be appointed by Coventry University in accordance with Coventry University Academic Regulations 6 and 8 and by the University of Warwick in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (6) of Regulation 14.3. The Board shall include representatives from both Universities.

(b) At the end of the first and second years, the Programme Assessment Board shall consider the progress of candidates on the basis of performance in written coursework assignments and reports from professional placement supervisors, and candidates shall either:

(i) be permitted to proceed to the next year of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology programme; or

(ii) be permitted to resubmit within a prescribed period a limited number of coursework assignments and one placement report in accordance with the Programme Regulations for the degree; or

(iii) be awarded the degree of MSc in Abnormal Psychology by Coventry University for satisfactory completion of all components of the first two years of the programme; or

(iv) be required to withdraw from the Doctor of Clinical Psychology programme.

Where a candidate has been permitted to resubmit work in accordance with paragraph (ii) above, the Programme Assessment Board shall consider the resubmitted work presented by the candidate and shall make a decision on the candidate's progress in accordance with either paragraph (i), (iii) or (iv) above. Resubmission of work will be permitted on one occasion only.

(c) In accordance with the Programme Regulations for the degree, in addition to a placement report and professional portfolio, students will be required to submit a research thesis during the third year. The report shall not exceed 20,000 words in length exclusive of appendices, footnotes, tables and bibliography. Extensions to the submission deadline for the thesis shall only be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

(d) In order for the candidate to be eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, the research thesis must constitute an original contribution to knowledge which is, in principle, worthy of publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

(e) The appointment and duties of the examiners for the research thesis shall be in accordance with the provisions of University of Warwick Regulation 38.6 Governing the Appointment of Examiners for Research Degrees.

(f) Candidates shall be required to undergo an oral examination concerning the research thesis.

(g) The joint report of the examiners of the research thesis shall conclude with one of the following recommendations:

(i) That the thesis be approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology.

(ii) That the thesis submitted be approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, subject to minor amendments or corrections specified by the examiners. The minor amendments or corrections to be made will be indicated fully to the candidate by the examiners. The internal examiner shall ensure that the Library copies are corrected or amended. The minor amendments or corrections must be completed by the candidate to the satisfaction of the internal examiner within three months of the candidate receiving notification of the work required.

(iii) That the thesis be not approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology in its present form, but that the candidate be permitted to submit a revised thesis within a prescribed period.

(iv) That the work be not approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Clinical Psychology.

The referral of a thesis in accordance with recommendation (iii) above shall be permitted on one occasion only and the period prescribed for resubmission shall not normally exceed twelve months from the date on which the candidate is notified by the University of the decision of the examiners.

(h) The final recommendation of the examiners of the research thesis shall be considered by the Programme Assessment Board for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology together with the performance of the candidate in the other components of the third year of study and the Programme Assessment Board shall recommend either:

(i) That the candidate be awarded the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology; or

(ii) That the candidate be awarded the degree of MSc in Abnormal Psychology by Coventry University where the examiners of the research thesis have concluded that the thesis does not meet the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology.

Candidates who are not eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology may be considered by the Programme Assessment Board for the award of the degree of MSc in Abnormal Psychology by Coventry University where the candidate has completed in full the requirements of the first two years of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology programme, whether or not the candidate has submitted a research thesis.

(i) The recommendations of the Programme Assessment Board for the award of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology shall be subject to the approval of the Academic Board of Coventry University and of the Senate of the University of Warwick in accordance with the standard procedures of the two Universities for the award of research degrees.

(3) Appeals

(a) A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology shall have the right of appeal against the decision of the Programme Assessment Board that he/she be required to withdraw from the programme under paragraph 2(b)(iv) above or that the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology not be awarded under paragraph 2(h)(ii) above. There shall be no right of appeal against the requirement to resubmit work relating to any component of the programme with the exception of a requirement to repeat a period of clinical placement.

(b) Appeals against the decisions of the Programme Assessment Board as defined in (3)(a) above will be considered where:

(i) a student is in possession of evidence which was not available to the examiners when their decision was reached and can provide good reasons for not having made the examiners aware of the circumstances affecting his/her performance prior to the meeting of the Programme Assessment Board; or

(ii) there appear to have been procedural irregularities in the conduct of the examination; or

(iii) there appears to be evidence of prejudice or of bias or of inadequate assessment on the part of one or more of the examiners.

An appeal on the grounds of inadequate supervisory or other arrangements during the period of study may also be considered where the candidate can provide good reasons for not having made known his/her complaint at an earlier stage.

(c) Notification of the intention to appeal must be lodged by the candidate with the Academic Registrar of Coventry University within 10 working days of receiving notification of the decision of the Programme Assessment Board.

(d) An Appeals Committee shall be constituted for the programme and shall include two representatives from Coventry University and two from the University of Warwick. The Coventry University representatives shall be appointed by the Academic Board of the University and shall normally include the Chair of the Examinations Appeals Committee. The representatives from the University of Warwick shall be appointed by the Senate of the University and shall normally include the Chair of the University's Graduate Appeals Committee and one other member of that Committee. The Committee shall be chaired alternately by a representative of each University for each case to be considered. The membership of the Appeals Committee will be selected to ensure that no member of the Committee is involved in the case in another capacity.

(e) The Chairs of the respective appeals committees of each University shall consider the candidate's case and decide whether there appears, prima facie, to be a case for consideration by a full hearing of the Appeals Committee. An appeal shall not be considered where both the Chairs consider that the evidence provided by the candidate concerned does not constitute grounds for an appeal, and the candidate will be notified of the reasons for the decision. Where one or both of the Chairs consider(s) that the evidence provided by the candidate constitutes grounds for an appeal a meeting of the Appeals Committee shall be convened.

(f) The appellant shall receive, so far as reasonably practicable, notice of at least 21 days of the date set for the meeting of the Appeals Committee. The appellant may, if he/she chooses, appear in person before the Committee and may invite any one person to attend the hearing. The name and status of the person accompanying the appellant must be notified to the Chair of the Appeals Committee in advance of the hearing. The Appeals Committee shall take evidence from such persons as it deems appropriate. The Programme Director, or his/her authorised deputy, must be available when the appeal is being considered to advise the Committee on departmental procedures and other relevant matters arising in the course of the hearing. He/she shall be in attendance only at the meeting and shall take no part in the deliberations of the Appeals Committee.

(g) Notwithstanding their confidential nature, the reports of the examiners shall be made available to the Appeals Committee and also to the appellant. Where any written evidence is subsequently submitted by the examiners to the Committee, this shall also be made available to the appellant.

(h) The Appeals Committee may take one of the following decisions:

(i) To reject the appeal, in which case the appellant shall be notified of the Committee’s reasons for rejecting the appeal.

(ii) Where the grounds for the appeal were that there appeared to have been procedural irregularities in the conduct of the examination or that there existed circumstances of which the examiners were not aware when their decision was taken, to recommend to the examiners that, for reasons stated, they should reconsider their decision.

(iii) To permit the student to submit a revised and final version of the work for examination within a specified period of time.

(iv) To determine that the work should be re-examined.

(i) Where the decision of the Appeals Committee is that the work should be re-examined (3(h)(iv) above), new examiners shall be appointed to conduct the re-examination, in number no fewer than the original examiners and including at least one external examiner. The new examiners shall be appointed by the Appeals Committee on the advice of members of the Programme Assessment Board who have not, as far as possible, had any involvement in the appeal. The reports of both the original and the new examiners shall be considered according to the procedure laid down in paragraph 2(i) above; where the recommendations of the two groups of examiners do not agree, the recommendation of the new examiners shall normally be expected to prevail.

(j) The decision of the Appeals Committee is final.

(4) Termination of Registration

(a) The Programme Director may recommend that a candidate registered on the programme be required to withdraw. The recommendation shall be considered by the Dean of the School of Health and Social Sciences at Coventry University and the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty of Science at Warwick who may make further enquiries before deciding to require the student to withdraw. Should the Dean and Chair be unable to agree, the view of one of the external examiners for the programme shall be sought and his/her view shall normally be expected to prevail.

(b) A candidate may appeal against the decision requiring him/her to withdraw. Such an appeal must be lodged by the candidate with the Academic Registrar of Coventry University within 10 days of the decision having been communicated to the candidate in writing by the Dean and Chair. The appeal will be considered by the Appeals Committee for the degree and the membership of the Committee will be as prescribed under paragraph 3(d) above.

(c) The appellant shall normally receive at least 10 days notice of the date set for the meeting of the Appeals Committee. The appellant may, if he/she chooses, appear in person before the Appeals Committee and may be accompanied by any one other person. The name and status of this person must be notified to the Chair of the Appeals Committee in advance of the hearing. The Appeals Committee will take evidence from the Programme Director and such other persons as it deems appropriate.

(d) The Appeals Committee may either:

(i) reject the appeal and confirm the decision requiring the student to withdraw; or

(ii) uphold the appeal and permit the student to continue with his/her registration on the degree.

(e) The decision of the Appeals Committee is final.

(5) Disciplinary Matters

(a) Disciplinary matters will be considered under the relevant regulations and procedures of either Coventry University or the University of Warwick by mutual agreement between the two institutions depending on the location and parties involved in the issue concerned; students shall not have a choice of which procedures shall be adopted. Where the Universities consider it appropriate, the procedure may involve consideration of the case by staff from both institutions.

(b) This paragraph shall apply to matters such car parking, damage to property, library regulations, regulations governing the use of computing facilities, safety regulations, use or sale of drugs, assault or serious threatening behaviour, abusive or unreasonable behaviour, freedom of speech, breaches of codes of practice relevant to the programme. This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

(6) Cheating and Plagiarism

(a) Cases of suspected cheating or plagiarism by candidates in the first two years of the programme shall normally be investigated in accordance with Appendix 1 to the General Regulations of Coventry University, relating to the examinations responsibilities of students.

(b) Cases of suspected cheating or plagiarism by candidates in the third year of the programme will normally be investigated in accordance with University of Warwick Regulation 11 governing the procedure to be adopted in the event of suspected cheating in a University Test.

(c) Where two or more candidates are suspected of cheating or plagiarism and the candidates involved include at least one from the third year and one from the first or second years of the degree, the Programme Director shall decide which University’s procedures should be used to investigate the case.

(d) In all cases where an Investigating Panel or Committee is convened, the Panel or Committee shall include at least one representative from each University.

(7) Complaints

(a) Candidates who wish to lodge a formal complaint regarding any aspect of the programme may do so in accordance with the procedures laid down for complaints in Appendix 13 of the General Regulations of Coventry University. The complainant may lodge their complaint with the Programme Director, the Dean of the School of Health and Social Sciences at Coventry University, the Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick or with the Vice-Chancellor of either University.

(b) The investigation of the complaint will be conducted in accordance with the general procedures set down in Appendix 13 of the General Regulations of Coventry University but the personnel to be involved in the investigation will be determined on a case by case basis by agreement between the two Universities depending on the nature of the complaint and the parties involved. The candidate shall be informed of the names and posts of the individuals involved in the investigation.