*Amendments to Regulation 32 were last approved by Chair's Action on behalf of the Senate on 1 December 2022, with immediate effect.*

Regulation Governing Courses of Study Validated or Franchised by the University

(1) Validation is a process whereby the University judges a course of study offered by another teaching institution to be appropriate to lead to the award of a qualification of the University. The University shall consider proposals for the recognition of such courses in accordance with its written policy and procedures for validation.

(2) Franchising takes place when a course of study designed in the University is delivered in and taught by the staff of another institution. The University shall consider proposals from departments for the franchising of courses in accordance with its written policy and procedures for franchising.

(3) The monitoring of the academic standards and the consideration of students’ experience and performance on validated and franchised courses shall entail the establishment of a Course Management Committee appointed annually by the Senate for each validated or franchised course. The Course Management Committee shall consist of appropriate members of academic staff of the University and relevant members of academic staff of the institution which is delivering the course. The members of academic staff of the University shall be in the majority and the Chair of the Validation or Franchise Group shall be drawn from the University members.

(4) Candidates shall be admitted to a validated or franchised course in accordance with the admission criteria set out in the appropriate course regulations.

(5) Candidates registered on a validated course shall be subject to the regulations of the appropriate teaching institution at all times and subject to the University’s Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations for the purposes of assessment, examination and the award of a qualification of the University. Appeals shall be considered in accordance with paragraph (18) below.

(6) Candidates registered on a franchised course shall be fully registered students of the University and shall be subject to the University’s Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations on the same basis as other registered students.

(A) Regulations Governing the Constitution and Appointment of Boards of Examiners for Validated and Franchised Courses

(7) A Board of Examiners for a validated or franchised course shall be appointed annually by the Senate on the recommendation of the Partnerships and Distance Learning Sub-Committee of the Academic Quality and Standards Committee.

(8) Membership of the Board of Examiners shall normally comprise of the members of the Course Management Committee for the validated course and the external examiner(s) appointed by the University.

(9) The Secretary of the Board of Examiners shall be appointed annually by the Chair of the Board of Examiners from among its members.

(10) The quorum for the Board of Examiners for a validated or franchised course shall be at least two-thirds of the membership, always providing that the members of academic staff of the University shall be in the majority.

(11) Boards of Examiners for franchised courses shall take decisions in accordance with the University regulations for the qualification to be awarded and appeals considered in accordance with the corresponding University appeals regulations.

(12) The External Examiner’s report shall be forwarded to the Examinations Committee which will refer any comments to the Partnerships Committee as necessary.

(13) Boards of Examiners for validated courses shall take decisions in accordance with the regulations set out below.

(B) Regulations Governing the Award of a Validated Course

(14) Where candidates on a validated course are required to pass two or more assessed components to be permitted to proceed with the course, a meeting of the Board of Examiners shall be held at the end of each component. At such a meeting, the Board of Examiners shall consider the progress of candidates on the basis of such tests as may be approved by the Senate and shall make one of the following decisions on each candidate:

(a) that the candidate be permitted to proceed to the subsequent or final component of the course; or

(b) that the candidate be recommended to withdraw from the course but be permitted to take further tests as specified by the Board of Examiners in a final attempt; or

(c) that the candidate be permitted to take further tests as specified by the Board of Examiners as a first attempt; or

(d) that the candidate be required to withdraw from the course.

(15) The Board of Examiners shall consider the results of the further tests as required under 14(b) and 14(c) above and shall make one of the following decisions on each candidate:

(a) that the candidate be permitted to proceed to the subsequent or final component of the course; or

(b) that the candidate be permitted to take further tests to be specified by the Board of Examiners in a final attempt; or

(c) that the candidate be required to withdraw from the course.

(16) The Board of Examiners for the final or only part of a validated course shall make one of the following decisions on each candidate:

(a) that the candidate be recommended to the Senate for the award of the appropriate qualification; or

(b) that the candidate be required to take further tests to be specified by the Board of Examiners in a final attempt. Candidates who satisfy the Board of Examiners in such tests shall be recommended to the Senate for the award of the appropriate qualification; or

(c) that the candidate be not awarded any qualification.

(17) The Senate shall award the final qualifications in accordance with the decisions made by the Board of Examiners. The Senate may refer any decision of the Board of Examiners back to that Board for further consideration.

(18) Appeals against the decisions of the Board of Examiners for a validated course shall be considered either in accordance with the appeals procedure of the teaching institution or in accordance with those set out below and the procedure to be used for each validated course shall be specified in the validation agreement between the University and the teaching institution.

(19) The following regulations governing appeals against decisions taken by Boards of Examiners shall only apply to students following post-experience, sub-degree or undergraduate degree level courses.

(a) A candidate who is required by a Board of Examiners to withdraw from their course of study under paragraph (14)(d) or (15)(c) has the right to make representations, normally in writing, within ten days of the publication of the examination results, to the Chair of the Partnerships Committee. An appeal by a student against decisions taken under paragraphs (14)(d) and (15)(c) shall be referred to an Appeals Committee for consideration where both the Chair of the Partnerships Committee and the Chair of the Board of Examiners consider that the student is in possession of relevant evidence which was not available to the Board of Examiners when its decision was reached and can provide good reason for not having informed the Board of Examiners of any special circumstance affecting their performance prior to the meeting of the Board. An appeal will not be referred to an Appeals Committee when both the Chair of the Board of Examiners and the Chair of the Partnerships Committee consider that no relevant evidence has been adduced by the candidate concerned.

(b) The Appeals Committee shall consist of not fewer than three members appointed by the Chair of the Partnerships Committee from a panel appointed by the Senate on the recommendation of the Partnerships Committee. The Appeals Committee shall include one representative from the institution responsible for the validated course. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall be drawn from the University members.

(c) No teacher of any course failed by the appellant shall be a member of the Appeals Committee. The Chair of the appropriate Board of Examiners, or their authorised deputy, and the candidate’s Personal Tutor or any one other person identified by the teaching institution shall be in attendance when an appeal is being considered. A written statement shall be obtained from the Chair of the appellant’s department who shall consult the teachers on the courses which were failed. Written statements from the teachers may also be requested at the discretion of the Chair of the Appeals Committee.

The appellant may, if they choose, appear in person before the Appeals Committee and may invite any one other person to attend the hearing.

(d) The Appeals Committee may make 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; or

(ii) to uphold the appeal and recommend to the Board of Examiners that, for the reasons stated in its report, it should reconsider its decision. The Appeals Committee may advise the Board of Examiners as follows:

(A) to permit the candidate to continue with their registration for the qualification; or

(B) to permit the candidate to proceed to the second or next part of the examination; or

(C) to permit the candidate to take further tests to be specified by the Board of Examiners in a final attempt.

(e) The University will not normally seek to be represented on those bodies which hear appeals directly from the professional or practice components of a validated course where such appeals are properly the responsibility of the institution whose course is being validated and a third party, e.g. an agency to whom an appellant may be responsible as an employee. Where professional practice is integral to the assessed work for the validated course, the University may seek to be represented on any professional bodies hearing appeals which relate to this assessed practice.

(f) The decision of the Appeals Committee shall be final.

(20) Students awarded a degree validated by the University shall be eligible to attend the University’s degree congregation.