Guidance on Attendance, Assessments etc.

Attendance

Students who are registered for research training modules are required to attend all the sessions for those modules. Registers will be taken at each session and attendance is monitored by the Office of Postgraduate Studies. Absence without good reason (such as illness) will be pursued by the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies and will be reported to the student’s department. Repeated absence without good reason will be taken into account during research monitoring and may result in failure to progress to Part 2 or to the next year of study, or in exclusion from the university.

Assessment

Each module is formally assessed. Any element of a module which is compulsory is formally assessed. In order to pass a research training module it is compulsory for work to be submitted for each coursework assignment that makes up the overall module assessment. Failure to pass a module may result in failure to progress to Part 2 (the dissertation) of a Research Training Master’s degree or to the next year of study of a research degree.

Submission of Assessments 

A submission date for each module is noted on the timetable of modules provided at the end of this booklet. You must submit one copy of your work in person to the Dean’s Office by the dates specified, accompanied by the cover sheet and receipt provided by the Dean’s Office, which must be signed and dated by the staff. Late submission will be recorded, and will be penalised. For late submission you will lose 5 marks per working day from the mark you are given, i.e; if an assessment is handed in 5 working days late you will lose 25 marks. If work is submitted more than 10 working days late, a mark of zero will be recorded.

Extensions

Students who are unable to submit their work on time should seek an extension from the Postgraduate Studies Office in advance of the deadline for that piece of work. Applications for extensions of time must be made using the official Application for Extension to coursework deadline form, available from the Dean’s Office or on the Graduate School web pages. The administrator is authorised to give a one week (5 working days) extension beyond the original deadline on the condition that the student provide a written reason and appropriate supporting evidence (such as a doctor’s note or note from a counsellor) by 30th March 2012. If the written statement/evidence is not submitted by that date, then the extension will be revoked and marks will be deducted for late submission. If a student is unable to submit work on time due to a more serious problem which will not be resolved within one week, then the student should contact the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, who can grant longer extensions, although these are also subject to the receipt of a written statement and appropriate supporting evidence by 30th March 2012.

Format of Assessments

Essays should be word-processed in 12-point font, and double spaced, and one copy should be submitted on the due date by 12 noon in the Dean’s Office, Cledwyn Building. Cover sheets to attach to submitted assignments are available from the Dean’s Office, who will sign and date receipts for all work submitted. These must be stapled/pinned to the assignment. You will be given a signed and dated acknowledgement of receipt upon submission. Assignments will be anonymously marked, whenever possible. However it is your responsibility to follow the guidelines on the cover sheet to ensure this is possible. Please ensure your supervisor’s name and contact details (Department, email etc) are clearly marked on the Cover sheet when handing in the assignment.

Word Count

Students must ensure that they adhere to the word limit (including references and any appendices, but excluding bibliography) set for any assessed work. Work exceeding the word limit will be penalised by deduction of 5 marks for every  10%  over the word limit (i.e. for a 2500 word limit, 1-250 words over the limit will be penalised by deduction of 5 marks, 251-500 words over the limit will be penalised by deduction of 10 marks, etc.). A word count MUST be included for each assignment.

Return of Provisional Marks and Comments on Written Work

Within three weeks of submitting work for a PGM module, students will receive the first marker’s comments on their work and an indication of the category of the mark (eg, distinction, clear pass, pass, fail or clear fail). After a further three weeks, students will receive the mark which has been agreed by the first and second markers. All marks are provisional until they are confirmed by the Faculty Examination Boards (in the case of taught Master’s students) or the Research Degrees Board (in the case of research students).

Marks, Passing and Failing

Marks will be allocated to assessed work. In the centrally-provided Research Training modules, 50% constitutes a pass and 70% constitutes a distinction.

All ESRC-remit Research Training Master’s and full-time PhD students (who have not already taken these modules as part of a AU RT Master’s or been granted an exemption) must pass the required Research Training modules (usually PGM0210 and either PGM1010 & PGM1120 or PGM0910 & PGM1120) before progression to Part 2 or to the second year of the PhD programme is permitted. For ESRC research students, any specified and/or agreed additional or advanced modularized components of the Research Training and Development Programme must be passed for progression to the next year of study. A student whose progress is unsatisfactory may be prevented from progressing to the next year of study, required to undertake remedial action before their thesis is examined, or required to withdraw for a period or permanently. All research students registered on a module must pass that module in order to progress to the next year of study. If a module is failed, re-submission will be required, and a new deadline for submission set. Further failure will result in failure to progress to Part 2 (Master’s) or to the next year of study (PhD), or in exclusion from the university.

All AHRC-remit research students (PhD or MPhil) must pass the elements of the research training programme specified in their CPD Portfolio (typically PGM0120 (usually in the first year), and either PGM0210, PGM0410, PGM1210 or PGM1420 (usually in the second year)). They will be assessed by their Department and the Faculty Monitoring Committee at the end of each year of the PhD programme, before progress is allowed to the next year of study. If a module is failed, re-submission will be required, and a new deadline for submission set. Further failure will result in a recommendation being made by the Research Training Board of Studies to the Faculty Monitoring Committee and will result in failure to progress to the next year of study, or in exclusion from the university.

All Science Research Council remit research students (PhD) must pass the elements of the research training programme specified in their CPD Portfolio (typically PGM0120). They will be assessed by their Department and the Faculty Monitoring Committee at the end of each year of the PhD programme, before progress is allowed to the next year of study. If a module is failed, re-submission will be required, and a new deadline for submission set. Further failure will result in a recommendation being made by the Research Training Board of Studies to the Faculty Monitoring Committee and will result in failure to progress to the next year of study, or in exclusion from the university.

All other research students who are required by their departments to take certain modules must pass these modules. If a module is failed, re-submission will be required, and a new deadline for submission set. Further failure will result in a recommendation being made by the Research Training Board of Studies to the Faculty Monitoring Committee and may result in failure to progress to the next year of study, or in exclusion from the university.

All other taught Master’s students who take modules from the programme will simply have the numerical score for these modules included in their aggregate mark for their Master’s degree (unless the Research Training modules are core components of the degree).

Certification

Transcripts specifying modules undertaken and marks obtained are available on request at the end of the summer term. Requests for such certification should be made to the Academic Office.

Exemptions

If you as a research postgraduate student (PhD or MPhil) have taken the equivalent research training at postgraduate level at another University or Institute of Higher Education, or in certain cases, if you are a mature student for whom elements of the Research Training and Personal Development Programme may be inappropriate, you may be able to request exemption from elements of research training that AU would normally require you to undertake. Research Training and Taught (including Research Preparation) Master’s students cannot apply for exemptions. Applications for exemption must be made in all cases to the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, in the Office of Postgraduate Studies, who has responsibility for all decisions on exemption from Research Training. You must use the Exemption Form (which is available on the Graduate School web pages) to explain why you consider that you should be exempt from certain modules. This form must be signed by your supervisor and the postgraduate studies co-ordinator in your department, and then sent to the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies for approval. Requests for exemption must be made as soon as possible after the start of the Research Training and Development Programme, and not later than two weeks after the beginning of the module concerned.

Opting In

If you want to opt in to modules voluntarily, please use the Opting In form (which is available  on the Graduate School web pages). Please send the form in as soon as possible, so that numbers for modules can be calculated well in advance of the modules starting. If, after opting in, you decide not to attend the module concerned, you should inform the Postgraduate Studies Administrator.

Evaluation

Each module will be evaluated by the students who take it. We need to know what you think, so that we can improve the courses offered to students in future years. Evaluation questionnaires will usually be distributed in the last session of each module for completion at that point. If you want to comment more informally on the course, please contact the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, or the Postgraduate Studies Administrator.

Office Hours

The Office of Postgraduate Studies is staffed full time. Office hours are generally 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. There may however be times when all staff members are at meetings, and when this is the case, you can visit the Deans' Office in the Cledwyn Building, as this is also staffed full-time, and there will be someone there who can deal with your query. At any other times, should anything urgent arise, please email postgraduate.office@aber.ac.uk, or phone the office (62 2219). You are also welcome to email postgraduate.office@aber.ac.uk to make an appointment with any of the staff.