***Please note Regulation 39 has recently been amended. The previous version detailed below only applies to all decisions taken by Boards of Examiners prior to the 2 October 2017. To view the current version, please click here.***

Regulation Governing Undergraduate Non-Degree Courses

Notes

1. Where a University officer or Head of Department is named in the Regulation, this refers to the member of staff concerned or his/her authorised nominee.

2. Points in italics are included for information.

 

This Regulation applies to undergraduate courses offered by the University that are not covered by the Regulations for First Degrees or the Regulations Governing Open Studies Certificates and Diplomas. These courses fall within levels 4 to 6 of the Quality Assurance Agency’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications. This Regulation sets out a list of qualifications awarded and general requirements.

 

Detailed information on individual courses, including course length and assessment methods, is listed in the Course Regulations.

 

39.1 Qualifications covered by this Regulation

 

Certificate

Certificate of Higher Education

Diploma

Diploma of Higher Education

Advanced Diploma

Post experience Certificate

Post experience Diploma

 

39.2 Courses of study and examination procedures

1. Students may register for approved courses of study. In order to achieve a qualification a student must meet the requirements set out in the relevant Course Regulations.

 

2. Examination conventions must be in place for each course of study and are subject to approval as part of procedures for course approval and amendment. Examination conventions must set out the constitution and remit of the Board of Examiners for each course.

 

3. The membership of Boards of Examiners is appointed annually by the Steering Committee on behalf of the Senate on the recommendation of the Head of the Department concerned. The process for seeking approval for the membership of Boards of Examiners is set out by the Academic Office.

 

4. The quorum of the Board of Examiners shall be two-thirds of the full membership. An external examiner must be present at a meeting of the Board of Examiners, unless prior approval has been obtained from the Vice-Chancellor, acting on behalf of the Senate.

 

5. Boards of Examiners are expected to abide by the requirements of the Senate Examination and Degree Conventions published by the Academic Office.

 

 

39.3 Procedure for appealing against the decision of a Board of Examiners

1. If a Board of Examiners reaches one of the decisions set out below, a student has the right of appeal within 15 working days of notification.

(a) If no qualification is awarded

(b) If a lower qualification than that for which the student is registered is awarded

(c) If the student is required to withdraw

Grounds for appeal

2. Appeals may be made on the following grounds:

(a) There is evidence of exceptional circumstances that affected the student’s performance. The student is required to provide an explanation why the evidence was not made available for the meeting of the Board of Examiners.

(b) If there is evidence of procedural irregularity of unfair discrimination in the conduct of the Board of Examiners.

(c) If there is evidence of inadequacy of supervisory or other arrangements during the student’s enrolment at the University. In this instance, the student is required to explain why they did not make a complaint at an earlier stage.

 

Appeals process

3. All appeals will first be considered by a Preliminary Review panel which decides whether the evidence presented constitutes grounds for an appeal.

 

4. All written evidence should be made available to both the appellant and the department.

 

5. At any point during the appeals process, the student and department are permitted to agree a resolution that meets the student’s concerns, provided the terms of any agreement are acceptable under the University’s regulations.

 

6. The constitution of a Preliminary Review Panel and Appeals Committee are set out below.

Preliminary Review Panel

(a) the Chair (or Deputy Chair) of the Board of Undergraduate Studies;

(b) the Chair (or Deputy Chair) of a Faculty Undergraduate Studies Committee or Faculty Board other than that in which the candidate is based.

 

Appeals Committee

The Appeals Committee shall be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor with the following membership:

(a) Chair: the Chair (or Deputy Chair) of a Faculty Board other than that of the appellant's Faculty, the Chair (or Deputy Chair) of the Board of Undergraduate Studies or a Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

(b) No fewer than two members drawn from a panel of up to 20 members appointed by the Senate on the recommendation of the Faculty Boards.

An Appeals Committee shall not include any member of staff from the student’s department, or any member of staff who has taught on modules taken by the student or is involved in the appeal in another capacity. The membership of the Appeals Committee will include at least one person from the Preliminary Review Panel.

Preliminary Review Panel stage

7. The Preliminary Review Panel must decide whether the evidence presented constitutes grounds for an appeal as set out in 3.2 above. The Preliminary Review Panel must not otherwise seek to determine the merits of the appeal.

 

8. The Preliminary Review Panel must reject an appeal if it decides that:

 

(a) The student has not put forward any grounds for appeal, as allowed in Section 3.2.

(b) For appeals on the basis of exceptional circumstances affecting the student’s performance or a complaint about the course, the student has not put forward an explanation for the failure to make the evidence available before the meeting of the Board of Examiners.

 

9. Where the Preliminary Review Panel considers that the evidence provided constitutes grounds for an appeal, it must make one of the following decisions:

 

(a) to refer the appeal to an Appeals Committee appointed in line with the constitution set out above.

(b) to recommend to the Board of Examiners that the Board reconsider its decision. This decision will only be made where the Head of Department has already acknowledged that the appellant has established a satisfactory case for appeal and he/she is willing to ask the Board to reconsider its decision.

 

10. The student and department will be notified of the reasons for the Preliminary Review Panel’s decision.

 

 

Appeals Committee stage

11. The student will be given at least 10 working days notice of the date of the Appeals Committee.

 

12. The Appeals Committee may take evidence from the Chair of the Board of Examiners and other departmental representatives, as it deems appropriate. The Head of Department, or his/her authorised deputy, must be available when the appeal is being considered to advise the Committee on departmental procedures

 

13. The Appeals Committee may make one of the following decisions:

 

(a) to reject the appeal

(b) to recommend to the Board of Examiners that, for the reasons stated, the Board should reconsider its decision. The Appeals Committee may advise the Board of Examiners as follows:

 

(i) to permit the student to proceed to the next part of the course;

(ii) to permit the student to be re-examined or to resubmit specified assessed work within a reasonable period;

(iii) to permit the student to submit revised work within a reasonable period;

(iv) to take into account any advice relevant to the student’s circumstances.

 

14. The student will be notified of the reasons for the Preliminary Review Panel’s decision.

 

15. If the Appeals Committee recommends that the Board of Examiners reconsider its decision, the Board of Examiners should do so within three months of the meeting of the Appeals Committee.

 

16. After considering the decision of the Appeals Committee, the decision of the Board of Examiners shall be final.