Administrative Arrangements for Validated Courses
This handbook sets out the administrative arrangements for collaborative courses of study
managed by the University of Warwick. It aims to clarify procedures for University Course
Coordinators, members of Validation and Franchise Groups and other administrative and
clerical staff within the University and its partner institutions.
Any queries about these procedures should be directed to the appropriate University Course
Coordinator in the first instance. University Course Coordinators should approach the
relevant team in the Academic Office, Finance Office or Academic Registrar’s Office for
further guidance.
Table of Contents
Page
1. Admission
2
2. Enrolment
2
3. Examination Boards
3
4. Extensions, Temporary and Permanent Withdrawals
3
5. Fees
5
6. Completion and Examination
5
7. Graduation and Issue of Certificates
6
8. Course Monitoring and Review
6
9. Staff-Student Liaison Committees
8
10. Academic Complaints and Appeals
9
1.
ADMISSION
(a)
Applications
Applications for places on courses of study offered in collaboration with
the University should be made directly to the partner institutions at
which they are taught.
Partner institutions should issue their own application forms to
candidates for admissions, but should ensure that they provide the
University with copies as Warwick has a statutory duty to maintain
certain categories of data on all its students whether they are fully
registered at the University or at a partner institution. The University
Course Coordinator will advise the partner institution if further
information should be requested on the application form to provide
necessary information.
Applicants should return completed application forms to the partner
organisation rather than the University.
References and other supporting information (e.g. transcripts) are an
integral part of any application and should be retained by the partner
institution. For validated courses these are not forwarded to the
University.
(b)
Entrance Requirements and Offers
Candidates for validated courses are considered for admission by the
appropriate course selectors within the teaching institution.
Applicants are assessed for admission against agreed criteria laid
down in the original course proposal as approved by the University and
subject to any changes in the criteria approved since the course was
originally approved.
Subject to approval by the University, the partner institution may make
offers to candidates who do not meet the normal approved entry
requirements.
Partner organisations should be aware of the
University’s policy on the Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning,
which is available at www.warwick.ac.uk/go/quality/apel/
2.
ENROLMENT
Although students on validated courses are not technically fully enrolled with
the University, they are coded onto the University’s student records system to
ensure that enrolments can be monitored effectively. As soon as partner
institutions know who is enrolling for a course they should prepare a list of
names, addresses and dates of birth and submit this to the University Course
Coordinator, who has responsibility for arranging the input of new student
data to the computerised student record system (SITS). Most students will
then be asked to enrol online. The University will write to students with details
of how to do this. A small number of students (primarily where their course
starts at a non-standard time of the academic year) will need to complete
hard copy enrolment forms instead.
Please note that the University requires the full name of all students to be
enrolled. Abbreviated names are not acceptable as the name on the
enrolment form will be used to generate any certificate and transcript issued
on successful completion of the course.
The partner institution is responsible for distributing hard copy enrolment
forms or the instructions for use of the online enrolment form to students and
should ask them to either check the pre-printed details or update the online
form as appropriate. Hard copy forms must be checked, collected and
returned to the University Course Coordniator within six weeks of the
start of the course.
3.
EXAMINATION BOARDS
The University Course Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that an
Examination Board meets.
Partner organisations should also keep the University Course Coordinator
informed of any students who withdraw and/or resume study after a period of
withdrawal.
The partner organisation and the University Course Coordinator should
ensure that the Academic Office receives a pass list from Examination Boards
they administer.
4.
EXTENSIONS, TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT WITHDRAWALS
These procedures apply to all collaborative provision and should be followed
carefully:
(a)
3
Temporary Withdrawals
•
In cases of illnesses or other difficult personal circumstances, the
college Course Director may request a suspension of a student's
enrolment for a period of up to one year. Temporary withdrawals
should only be requested where it is certain that the student
will not continue working on the course during the period of
time for which the suspension is requested.
•
To request a temporary withdrawal, the Academic Office requires a
written case for the temporary withdrawal from the College Course
Coordinator, supporting documents from the student, and medical
notes where appropriate. The Academic Office will forward these
documents to the University Course Coordinator for approval. The
Academic Office will communicate the outcome to partner
organisations. Temporary withdrawals of more than a year's
duration will not normally be considered and requests for an
additional suspension if a student's problems persist will be
considered only in very exceptional circumstances.
•
Requests should normally be submitted to the University before a
student actually suspends his or her studies. If requests are
submitted retrospectively, they will only be considered where there
is a clear account of the length of time a student has actually spent
working on the course. The University must ensure that students
complete their studies within the length of time set down in the
Course Regulations.
•
(b)
(c)
Extensions
•
Extensions are only used once a student has completed his or her
period of fee-paying enrolment. They enable the student to request
additional time for a dissertation or coursework to be completed.
•
Requests for extensions to the length of a course require the
College Course Coordinator to provide a written case, with
supporting documents from the student and medical notes where
appropriate; the written case to include the reason(s) for the
extension, its proposed start and end dates and the amount of
work already completed.
•
Requests should be made as soon as it is clear that a student will
not be able to complete on time. Extensions run from the date a
course is due to end and will not normally be granted for more than
six months. It is not necessary to wait for an Examination Board
before submitting extension requests.
•
Requests will be considered by the University Course Coordinator
and decisions communicated to partner organisations by the
Academic Office.
•
In the case of the Certificate in Education programmes, extensions
(deferrals) will normally be recommended by the Course Tutor for
two weeks in the first instance. Tutors should obtain a written case
for the deferral with appropriate supporting documents. His or her
recommendation should then be put to the University Course
Coordinator for approval. Deferrals of over two weeks will be
granted only in exceptional circumstances and must be approved
by the Franchise Group in addition to the University Course
Coordinator.
Withdrawals
•
4
Where the period of temporary withdrawal is granted on medical
grounds, the Academic Office will request medical certification of
the student’s fitness to return to the course six weeks prior to their
expected return date, and forwarded confidentially for approval of
the certification will be considered by the University’s Occupational
Health Physician.
If a student decides to withdraw permanently from a course of
study the home institution should inform the University Course
Coordinator immediately, who then informs the Academic Office
immediately.
•
A reason for the withdrawal should be provided and the date when
the student left the course.
•
This information is important because it enables the invoice to be
prepared for the correct number of students. It is also vital in cases
where students may, exceptionally, wish to resume their studies at
a later date.
Individual students or members of staff at partner institutions are invited to
contact the Student Records team in the University’s Academic Office directly
(undergraduate enquiries: ugoffice@warwick.ac.uk, tel: 024 7652 4335;
postgraduate enquiries pgoffice@warwick.ac.uk, tel: 024 7652 2755) for
further information on temporary withdrawals, extensions or permanent
withdrawals.
5.
FEES
Fees for validated courses are agreed between the providing institution and
the home University department, as set out in the appropriate collaborative
agreement/contract. The University will notify institutions of the fee for the
following year at least three months in advance.
The home University department will not normally issue an invoice until 3
months after the course has started, to allow numbers to stabilise.
Any enquiries about the fee structure or invoicing arrangements should be
made to the University Course Coordinator in the first instance.
6.
COMPLETION AND EXAMINATION
•
The University Course Coordinator should ensure that pass lists from
Examination Boards, and the minutes of Examination Boards are sent to
the Examinations Section of the Academic Office as soon as possible.
•
External Examiners' reports will be sent to the Vice-Chancellor’s Office in
the first instance and will be forwarded to Chairs of Validation
Groups/Heads of Department. University Course Coordinators are
reminded that it is their responsibility to:
(a)
(b)
(c)
5
Circulate the reports to partner institutions
Ensure their discussion at an early Validation Group meeting
See that any action points are followed through.
•
External Examiners’ reports will be considered by the University’s
Collaborative, Flexible and Distributed Learning Sub-Committee, which
will liaise as necessary with University departments and partner
institutions over matters arising.
•
Information for External Examiners is available from the University’s
Intranet site at www2.Warwick.ac.uk/services/cap/skills/examiners.
•
Summaries of External Examiners’ reports, prepared by the External
Examiners as part of their normal duties on a standard template, are
published by the University’s Teaching Quality team on the TQI website
(www.tqi.ac.uk). Where collaborating institutions have their own
presence on the TQI site, the decision on who should publish the report
should be taken by the Validation Group. The normal expectation is that it
will be published by the University, as it covers a University award, but it
may be appropriate for (an identical copy of) the report to be published
also by the collaborating institution.
7.
8.
GRADUATION AND ISSUE OF CERTIFICATES
•
Where a course leads to the award of a University of Warwick degree, the
Academic Office will ensure that all students in their final year are invited
to the relevant Degree Congregation. Degree Congregations take place at
the end of January and in mid-July each year. Degree certificates are
normally issued during degree ceremonies. Any candidate who wishes to
graduate in absentia will be sent their degree certificate within four weeks
of the relevant ceremony taking place.
•
Staff from partner institutions who wish to attend Degree Congregation are
welcome to do so. Invitations are issued from the Degree Congregation
team within the Academic Office and enquiries specifically related to
degree ceremonies should be made to that team (tel: 024 7652 3648).
•
There is no award ceremony at the University for Diploma or Certificate
courses. Partner institutions and academic departments are at liberty to
arrange their own certificate presentation ceremonies. The Degree
Congregation team arranges the production of award certificates. The
partner institution should let the Degree Congregation team know whether
certificates should be issued directly to students or sent to the partner
institution for issue. If a presentation ceremony is to take place at the
partner institution, the Degree Congregation team should be advised of
the date of this ceremony at least two months in advance.
•
The University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning also has an annual awards
ceremony; the Centre contacts eligible students directly with information
about this.
COURSE MONITORING AND REVIEW
For all validated courses, the key role of University staff is to ensure that the
academic standards of the courses are, and continue to be, of the highest
possible level, and that they justify the award of the University of Warwick
qualification.
Since the publication of the updated version of Section 2 of the Quality
Assurance Agency’s Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality
and standards in higher education, ‘Collaborative provision and flexible and
distributed learning (including e-learning)’ (September 2004), the University
has reviewed its guidance notes on course monitoring and review. These
documents are available from the Teaching Quality team. They are also
available
on
the
University’s
Teaching
Quality
website
at
www.warwick.ac.uk/go/quality.
All courses are normally reviewed by the University on a five-year cycle to
ensure and enhance quality. Partner institutions are nevertheless expected to
6
pursue robust quality assurance procedures of their own, which are expected
to include an Annual Course Review, for which the University requires the
submission of a formal Annual Course Review report in the format set out in
the University template, also sent to University Course Coordinators and
appropriate partner institution staff annually and available on the Teaching
Quality website.
The University has developed a ‘statement of expectation’ concerning the
operation of Annual Course Review in partner institutions, which is as follows:
•
The course team convenes to consider qualitative and quantitative data
underpinning Annual Review e.g. SSLC feedback; module review;
admissions and progression statistics, (see the Information Pack on the
Review of Courses of Study, section 7 of the Quality Handbook, October
2003, online at
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/info/quality/courseapproval/).
•
A representative of the course team completes the Annual Course Review
report form for consideration by the rest of the course team and signs off
the final draft.
•
The Annual Course Review report is submitted by the course team to the
management of the partner institution (copied to the University Course
Convenor).
•
The partner institution management considers the Annual Course Review
report and either approves it and forwards it to the University for
consideration by the Collaborative, Flexible and Distributed Learning SubCommittee or pursues issues arising from the report with the course team.
If queries are pursued, these should be set out in formal correspondence,
and a formal response from the course team should be provided.
•
The Annual Course Review report (together with associated
correspondence where appropriate) is forwarded to the Secretary to the
Collaborative, Flexible and Distributed Learning Sub-Committee and
copied to the University Course Convenor for information.
•
The Secretary to the Collaborative, Flexible and Distributed Learning SubCommittee circulates the Annual Course Review report to CFDLSC
members for its next meeting (the usual deadline for submission of
undergraduate reports is 1 December and early January for postgraduate
reports).
•
Reports are considered by the CFDLSC and either approved or queried
with the University Course Convenor and/or the partner institution
management as appropriate. Liaison between the University and partner
institutions will be conducted through formal correspondence.
•
The Secretariat to the CFDLSC drafts a composite Annual Course Review
report covering all collaborative provision following consideration of
individual reports by the CFDLSC, for scrutiny by the Academic Quality
and Standards Committee.
Deadlines for the submission of Annual Course Review reports:
7
Undergraduate Annual Course Review reports: 1 December
Postgraduate Annual Course Review reports: first working day in January
9.
STAFF-STUDENT LIAISON COMMITTEES
All partner institutions are expected to establish a Staff-Student Liaison
Committee (SSLC) or equivalent as well as other appropriate mechanisms for
student feedback. The Course Coordinators (or the nominated Academic
Convenor of the SSLC) are required to complete an Annual Report, which
should be approved by the SSLC or student Chair, and submitted to the
University’s Teaching Quality team in the Academic Registrar’s Office.
Matters of concern will then be passed on to the relevant University
Committee(s); examples of good practice will be highlighted.
Principles underpinning SSLC arrangements in partner institutions
•
Staff-Student Liaison Committees constitute an important formal channel
through which the views of students on academic matters may be
communicated. Discussion should focus on teaching, learning and student
support issues. An SSLC should be informed of any major changes to the
curriculum and syllabus. The Staff-Student Liaison Committee shall not
consider matters relating to individual named member of staff or a
student’s personal grievances.
•
The Chair of the SSLC should be a student representative; the Chair in
collaboration with the Academic Convenor is responsible for establishing
an agenda for meetings.
•
SSLCs should meet regularly; ideally no less than four times a year.
Divergence from this practice should only occur when justification in terms
of the structure and delivery of the course may be provided and alternate
arrangements for on-going feedback from students are demonstrably in
place.
•
Departments should report back to SSLCs on action being taken as a
result of feedback. This includes disseminating information obtained from
student feedback, discussing issues raised by the feedback and
publicising the action resulting from student feedback. It is important that a
positive culture exists in which the department makes explicit its
commitment to listening to and responding to students’ views. Students in
turn have a responsibility to treat the process seriously and thoughtfully.
•
The SSLC system constitutes the mechanism for evaluating student
feedback and for identifying trends across courses offered or validated by
the University. Progress on issues identified throughout the year and in
previous years should be summarised in an Annual Report and
considered by the appropriate Board/Committee and the University’s
SSLC Coordinators.
Deadlines for SSLC Annual Reports
Undergraduate or below graduate level: 12 May 2006
Postgraduate courses: 14 July 2006
8
Forms on which to complete SSLC Annual Reports are available from the
SSLC web page at www.warwick.ac.uk/go/ sslc.
10.
ACADEMIC COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS
Students on validated courses who wish to make an academic complaint or
academic appeal should be advised to follow the relevant procedure of the
validation institution. These procedures form part of the validation agreement
between the validated institution and the University.
If a student wishes to raise a complaint about academic provision, teaching or
learning issues, this should be via the University’s Academic Complaints
Procedure (www2.warwick.ac.uk/academicoffice/feedback/complain/). The
complaint should initially be considered by the Course Coordinator in the
teaching institution, to be referred to the University via the University Course
Coordinator if the complaint cannot be resolved at this stage.
If the complaint still remains unresolved, the student may be able to take it
further through the independent student complaints scheme run by the Office
of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). Further
information is available from the OIA website at www.oiahe.org.uk
9