MBChB Course
Student Selected Components (SSCs)
Guide to year 4
SSC Organization
The teaching and learning processes utilized in SSCs are extremely heterogeneous, ranging from
"conventional" taught courses involving lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical classes to fully
autonomous learning activities using a very wide variety of resources with little direct teaching input
from the Supervisor. The method of organization of an SSC can be described as falling within one of
three broad categories: project-based, course-based or a combination of these. Course-based
modules are usually highly structured and the student’s activities are all pre-determined. Projectbased modules are more flexible where there might be an area to be investigated by the student
(e.g. library-based project) and staff input might be limited to regular meetings to discuss progress.
Clinical modules often involve combinations of a project with clinical activities such as interviewing
and examining patients, attending theatre, outpatients or ward rounds.
Attendance
Students are expected to participate in all their SSC blocks. If there is any medical or other problem
that will interfere with attendance, the SSC Supervisor must be informed immediately, along with
the SSC Office. If absent for less than 5 term days, the student should self-certificate; if more, a
relevant medical certificate should be provided. Poor attendance without good cause will be
considered to be unprofessional behaviour and dealt with accordingly.
Submission of SSCs
SSCs can be proposed by staff or students. In either instance staff act as Supervisors whose
responsibility is to monitor student progress during the module and ensure that the assessment
process is fair and of an acceptable academic standard.
Menu-based SSCs
SSCs in year 4 are selected from a website booking page. Supervisors of SSC blocks for Year 4
students are asked to provide a module outline, similar to the one page outlines used in SSC blocks
in years 2 and 3. In addition to the module outline there may be pre-requisites for the module and
these are outlined on the web page. Supervisors are notified of the student's arrival 30 days before
the start of each block. Students should contact their supervisor approximately three weeks
before the start of the module to obtain joining instructions. As all SSCs are assessed and
this process is scrutinised by the External Examiners, a particularly important issue is how the
module is assessed (see below). The same rules apply whether the module is chosen from the
website or student-proposed.
SSC Allocation
A computerised ranked-choice allocation system is used for allocation of SSC places. From the list of
available SSCs, students are asked to rank their choice of 6 SSCs and submit these on line.
Thereafter, an algorithm within the VALE system randomly selects a student and allocates him/her
to his/her highest choice available and this process is repeated until all students are allocated to
SSCs. The algorithm is run many times over until the best possible ‘fit’ is obtained in terms of all
students getting their highest choice possible within the constraints of the number of places
available. Thus, it is possible for one student to be allocated to a SSC lower down in his/her ranking
than another student who had the same SSC ranked higher.
Student-proposed SSCs
Students are encouraged to propose their own SSCs. These can be undertaken in Glasgow,
anywhere in the UK or world-wide. SSCs can be undertaken which run into or flow from the elective
period and these can be in an overseas laboratory or hospital. If you wish to propose your own
module, please carefully follow the important steps listed below and ensure that all steps are
completed well before the start of the SSC block (minimum: 30 days, preferably earlier).
Steps:
1. Identify the subject area of interest.
Be as specific as possible and consider possible titles for any written work
(report/essay/dissertation) to be assessed subsequently.
2. Identify a Supervisor.
In the case of SSCs outwith the Glasgow area it is necessary to identify an academic
supervisor in the “distant” laboratory/hospital and an academic member of staff in
Glasgow (or NHS staff with Honorary status at the University of Glasgow) who is prepared
to discuss the content and assessment of the module as well as mark the written work.
Although some assistance in identifying suitable individuals may be available from the
SSC Coordinator in cases of difficulty, students are normally expected to undertake this
and approach the individuals concerned. For student-proposed SSCs in and around
Glasgow it is likely that the Supervisor will be able to assess the work or suggest
someone who can mark the report, but this individual must be associated with the
university (a member of academic staff or honorary staff). For all such modules, both the
distant and the “Glasgow” Supervisor should send a confirmatory e mail to the SSC Office
to indicate their willingness to act in this capacity.
3. Prepare the SSC Self-proposal Form
This should be prepared in conjunction with the SSC Supervisor (and Glasgow marker
where relevant) and submitted on line. In case of difficulties, a hard copy can be
submitted to the SSC Office (SSC Forms page). This will be examined and feedback
given, where necessary. In some instances the SSC Supervisor may decide to prepare an
outline (view example) in which case the Learning Contract may not be required. The
learning outcomes and the assessment are crucial parts of the contract, being the only
means by which the module can be judged by the External Examiners.
4. Agree the Learning Contract with the Supervisor and obtain signatures.
This should then be sent to the SSC Office. A well-prepared Learning contract should
contain all the information required.
The crucial elements of the learning contract are the assessment process (see below) and the
learning outcomes. Whether the latter are achieved by the end of the module is used to gauge
student performance and form an important part of the assessment process in the code of
assessment for the University of Glasgow. These learning outcomes should be clearly stated
separately within the written work.
SSCs outwith Glasgow raise particular issues that must be addressed well before the start of the
SSC. The distant SSC Supervisor would normally be expected to be an academic member of a
university or hold an affiliated honorary position. A minimum of 80% of the assessment should be in
a form accessible to Examiners (Internal and External) in Glasgow. This generally involves a written
report/essay/dissertation. Subjective assessment of student performance by the Supervisor may be
offered but should not have a weighting of more than 20% of the total.
The Year 4 SSC can be linked to the Junior Elective to yield a nine week SSC block. Under these
conditions the written work should be more extensive (~4.5k words) and can also be used for the
Elective report. The Year 4 Secretary should be contacted in order to align the SSC block with the
beginning of term.
Insurance
NOTE: Students are responsible for their own travel insurance.
Assessment of SSCs
This is a crucial part of the SSC as it provides the only means whereby the academic rigour of the
students’ work can be assessed by the External Examiners. An A to G grading system is used, based
on the University of Glasgow’s code of assessment that employs descriptors of student performance
based on learning outcomes (i.e. the educational objectives and the extent to which these have
been achieved) which should be clearly stated, preferably up front in a separate section. For each
relevant assessment instrument, a grade with secondary band will be awarded. These will be
summed subsequently to calculate the overall grade which will also be sub-banded. Please note that,
in keeping with assessments in other parts of the course, there is no formal mechanism for
challenging the grade awarded.
To comply with Medical School regulations, in order to graduate students must pass ALL SSC
blocks. In addition, the SSC grades will be used, in proportion to their contribution to the
curriculum as a whole, for the award of Honours and Commendation, along with the “core”
assessments from Final and other years of the course. To comply with the Data Protection Act,
students’ written work (electronic or otherwise) will be kept for 6 months after publication of the
SSC grades for that block and thereafter destroyed, these grades becoming immutable thereafter.
Assessment of the students’ work can be undertaken by the SSC Supervisor as long as he/she did
not significantly contribute to the development of the students’ work. If this is the case, then the
report etc. should be assessed by a colleague who can be nominated as a Deputy. Assessment
instruments can vary between SSCs but in all instances at least 60% (80% in the case of those
SSCs involving a Glasgow marker) must be in a form accessible to the External Examiners e.g. a
report, essay, dissertation or other work.
Penalties for Late Submission
Students are expected to complete all written work by the end of the SSC block and submit this via
a website to a secure server. This allows storage and “date stamping” of submitted work. Failure to
do so will incur a penalty of reduction of the grade awarded by two secondary bands for each
working day (or part of a working day) the work was submitted late. In circumstances where due
to a minor problem a student is unable to submit coursework by this deadline, or who anticipates
being unable to so submit, he/she may ask the SSC Supervisor for a deferral of the deadline,
subject to a limit of three days.
Where a student experiences a major problem with submission e.g. due to illness or other adverse
personal circumstances, he/she must make the circumstances known to the SSC Director or Deputy,
and provide appropriate written evidence such as:
Medical documentation e.g. a medical certificate, a medical report or a note from a hospital
or
Other types of documentation e.g. a note from an independent responsible person who can
vouch for the event(s) which led to difficulties; evidence from a member of staff who was alerted to
the circumstances at the time (e.g. Advisor of Studies); a letter from a student counsellor or other
professional that the student actually consulted during the period when the difficulties were
occurring, or a note from the police.
Notification should normally be made before the end of the SSC block but not later than one week
after the date at which submission of the work for assessment was due, otherwise this shall not be
taken into account unless circumstances have prevented the student from notifying the SSC Director
or Deputy within this time. If the documentary evidence presented is accepted, a new deadline will
be set to which the student must adhere, otherwise the late submission penalty described above will
apply. Appendix 1 shows a flow diagram of the procedure for applying penalties.
IMPORTANT: The work submitted to the Supervisor/marker for grading will be accepted as the
final version. Any subsequent versions (electronic or hard) will not be accepted.
Although the final grade cannot be confirmed until approved by the External Examiners, SSC
Supervisors have been told that they can indicate the provisional grade, or at least the Pass/Fail
divide. Please note that the grade awarded cannot be contested. Students who fail the SSC
should be informed by the Supervisor and offered the opportunity of remediation, unless the
reason for failure is non-submission of requested assessments or non-attendance. In addition,
Supervisors are encouraged to offer feedback to students, both verbal and written.
SSC Assessments
Ideally, the main assessment instrument should consist of a properly referenced
report/dissertation/essay (2.5 to 3.5k words) on some aspects of the area of study. This should
be the main outcome measure and have the largest weighting (minimum of 60%).Scientific rigour is
expected of all written work and simple case reports (i.e. clerking of patients) are not acceptable
unless accompanied by a reflective commentary of some 500 words which should also include
references. This commentary can cover aspects such as pathophysiology/management/
epidemiology etc., with the patient’s history and findings being illustrative. If only this type of case
report is to be presented for assessment, a minimum of three are expected, to give reflective
commentaries totalling about 1.5k words. Audits are acceptable, although it should be ensured that
these can be completed and written up by the end of the module.
An important point to bear in mind is that if one of the major assessment instruments is a group
report or some other form of group activity (e.g. multimedia presentation) then some means of
assessing individual student contribution or performance must be included e.g. a summary or
reflective commentary of the report of about 500 words. In particular, A grades cannot be awarded
on the basis of group assessments alone.
Note: If a case report is included, it must be written in such a way that the patient should
not be identifiable. Please do not use initials and date of birth, instead use terms such
as Mr X and the age of the patient.
Format of Written Work
To improve clarity, reports/dissertations/essays must include a cover page with a title of the
work as well as the student’s matriculation number and contain relevant subsections e.g.
introduction and conclusions. If appropriate, written work may be in the form of a
scientific paper and should have the following subsections: Introduction, Methods, Results,
Discussion, Conclusions and References.
Student Feedback
A document management system is in place requiring students to submit written work to a secure
server at the end of the module. SSC Supervisors can access this work via the website, but students
are also asked to submit a hard copy of their written work to their Supervisor. This now offers the
opportunity to provide students with feedback by return of their annotated written work after
assessment. However, if a Fail grade has been awarded, the original written work should
be forwarded to the SSC Office and a photocopy given to the student. The originals are
required for evaluation by the External Examiners.
Students can also be offered feedback about their performance during the module using the
Comments section on the SSC Supervisor’s assessment form. This section must be completed if a
Fail grade has been awarded, to assist the External Examiners. Fail grades will be made available for
inspection by the External Examiners, along with a selection of other grades.
Plagiarism, citation and referencing
An increasingly recognized problem at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels is a tendency to
use someone else’s work without giving credit to the original author by providing a reference. The
following statement appears in the COPE Report (1999): “Plagiarism ranges from the unreferenced
use of others’ published and unpublished ideas, including research grant applications to submission
under ‘new’ authorship of a complete paper, sometimes in a different language. It may occur at any
stage of planning, research, writing or publication: it applies to print and electronic versions”. The
ease of access to the Internet, and download therefrom, sometimes results in large chunks of text
being “lifted” and inserted into an essay, report etc without referencing. This is an unacceptable
practice and if detected can result in disciplinary action.
The rules for citation and referencing are quite simple and will avoid plagiarism:
Verbatim duplication of someone else’s work must be enclosed by inverted commas and referenced.
Modification (e.g. re-writing) of someone else’s work while still conveying the original author’s
concepts always requires referencing. This should go all the way back to the original author and
not simply a reference to a review article which itself refers to others’ work. It goes without saying
that the original reference must always be read and critically evaluated by the student.
Caution is required with material derived from the Internet as little of this is peer-reviewed, unless
from recognized scientific journals. Students should use the Vancouver style
(http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/help/citing/vancouver-numbered-system/vancouver-numbered-system) where
references are numbered (the number being superscripted or bracketed), with the bibliographic
details appearing in numerical order at the end of the text in a section labelled “References”.
Footnotes should never be used for referencing and are discouraged as they break up the flow of
text. Footnotes are never used in scientific papers to communicate any information of relevance to
the main text, which should be self-contained.
Students should include and sign the following statement at the conclusion of their written work:
Plagiarism Statement
I am signing to undertake that the attached work is all my own, except where proper
attribution has been made to material paraphrased, copied, transcribed or quoted directly
from another source, in accordance with the definitions in Plagiarism Statement (item
XXXIII, page Gen. 48) under "University Fees and General Information for Students" in the
2006-7 Calendar.
Signed___________________________________________________________________
The calendar can be accessed via the following link: http://senate.gla.ac.uk/calendar/
SSC submissions to the SSC Office: SSC Office
Wolfson Medical School Building
University Avenue
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Tel: 0141 330 8037 Fax: 0141 330 2776
E-mail: SSM@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Appendix 1
SSC Submission Procedure (including penalties for late submission)
Friday Week 5 of SSC Block
Deadline for Submission of All Assignments
(submit electronically by 12 midnight)
Submitted by Deadline
-Work Graded
Major Problem with Submission
e.g health problem/major personal issue
Minor Problem with Submission
e.g computer problems
Contact Medical School (in advance)
SSC Director or Deputies
No Submission & No Contact
with SSC Supervisor
Contact SSC Supervisor
(in advance)
No Submission & No Contact
with SSC Supervisor
provide appropriate evidence e.g
medical certificate (see regulations)
New submission date set
Work penalised according to
University Guidelines
2 subgrade points per working
day late
Arrange deferral of
submission date up to a max
of 3 working days
Work penalised according to
University Guidelines
2 subgrade points per working
day late
Submitted by Deadline
-Work Graded
No or Late Submission & No Contact with
SSC Director or Deputies
Work penalised according to University
Guidelines
2 subgrade points per working day late
Submitted by Deadline
-Work Graded
No or Late Submission & No Contact
with SSC Supervisor
Work penalised according to University
Guidelines
2 subgrade points per working day late