Student Charter

Your Academic Studies

Registration

At the start of each academic year you will be required to register for your modules for each semester.

If you wish to change any of your modules you may do so within four weeks (first year students) and three weeks (other students) subject to the approval of your degree scheme co-ordinator. Changes after four weeks require the Dean’s approval.

All undergraduates can access their own student record over the Web. Students can view their record at any time following registration and should do so regularly. All examination results will be notified to all students via the Web within two days of the relevant Faculty Examination Board.

It is your responsibility to check  your student record on the Web regularly and inform us of any errors in our records and of any changes to your module registration.

Academic Regulations

During registration you will be referred to the Rules, Regulations and Information for Students www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/contents/progress/

The Rules and Regulations section covers areas such as student discipline, data protection, halls of residence, use of sports and computing facilities and payment of tuition and other fees.

The information section covers areas such as academic progress, withdrawal from University, examinations and student services.

The document also includes the Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech and Guidelines on Sexual and Racial Harassment.

There is a separate section dealing with The Academic Regulation on Academic Progress, which is available on the web at www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/contents/progress and from the Academic Office.

As a student you are entitled to study at Aberystwyth as long as you satisfy the conditions in the Academic Regulation on Academic Progress, and you abide by the Rules and Regulations.

It is your responsibility to attend your classes and complete practical work, to submit your essays and assignments by the given deadlines, and to pass the relevant examinations.

You will receive regular feedback on your work and progress according to the arrangements in your home department.

It is your responsibility to conform with your department’s requirements and to keep your appointments with lecturers and tutors where these are arranged.

Examinations and Assessment

The Examinations Handbook  (www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/ug-issues/exam-assess/handbook/) is available with your Student Record on the Web. It provides useful guidance on examinations and assessment, and contains information on Unfair Practice procedures, absence from examinations and appeals.

The Module Database (www.aber.ac.uk/modules)  gives details of how each module will be assessed. Some will be by examination only, some by continuous assessment, and others by a combination of the two.

Except where it is impractical to do so, assessments are held under anonymous marking procedures and all marking is carried out by reference to your ID number.

It is your responsibility to keep us informed of any special circumstances which may have a serious effect on your studies. In the case of illness that lasts for more than 7 days, medical certificates must be submitted to cover the period in question. If any illness, regardless of length, affects your examination performance, you must ensure that the Examination Board has all the relevant information, including medical certificates, in order to consider your case.

You can normally expect assessed coursework to be returned to you within three weeks, where feedback would materially affect your student progress.  Where this target cannot be achieved (e.g. because of late submission, size of project or pressure on staff) you can expect to be informed accordingly and given an amended timescale for the return of the assesment concerned.

The University has approved the following Principles of Effective Feedback to students:

 

1. Feedback should be transparent, enabling students to understand it and relate it to assessment criteria;
2. Feedback should help students identify areas of strength and where they need to improve;
3. Feedback should be proportionate and appropriate to the type of assessment, its timing, and the size of class;
4. Students should have clear and accessible information on the types of assessment and the nature and timing of the feedback they will receive associated with each type of assessment;
5. Students have the right to seek clarification of marks, to help them understand what they did well and less well and how they might improve.

 

We aim to notify you of your module results within two working days of their confirmation by the relevant Examining Board. All results will appear on your Student Record page on the Web. 

It is your responsibility to inform the Academic Office of any change in your home or term time address.

Handing in your assignments

You will be informed by the departments of the deadlines for submission of assessed work and it is important that you comply with them.

Assessed work which is handed in late, or not submitted at all, will be subject to the penalties outlined to you by the relevant departments. Make sure you know in advance what these penalties are, and remember that they may vary from department to department.

Disabled Students and Those with Specific Learning Difficulties

We aim to provide all students with an experience of the highest quality, and to make our academic facilities available to all who meet our entrance requirements.  We recognise a range of learning styles and support you by providing; study needs assessments, individualised support, mentors, note-takers, individual examination arrangements and assistive technology.  We can also assist you with your application for the Disabled Students’ Allowance and other sources of funding.

Information about examination procedures for students with special needs is available on the Web at www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/ug-issues/exam-assess/exam/  and from the Academic Office.

It is your responsibility to inform us of any disabilities or specific learning difficulties  which affect your ability to sit examinations under the normal procedures.

Honesty and fair practice

Examination scripts and course assignments are assessed on the basis that they are your own work.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the work you present for assessment, and your conduct in examinations, are consistent with our principles and requirements in terms of honesty and fair practice.

You will be informed by your departments of the precise conditions governing the formal examination, eg what materials you will be permitted to take with you into the examination. You must ensure that you comply with these conditions.

Full details of our procedures on unfair practice are given in the Examination Handbook. (www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/ug-issues/exam-assess/handbook/