Welcome to the University of Manchester and the School of Biological Sciences
We hope that you will have an interesting and exciting year.
The aims of this handbook are to:
- explain what you should do now
- tell you who does what, and where you can find people and places
- give you details of the coming year of your programme and help you in your selection of optional units
- give you general information about the School of Biological Sciences
The information provided herein is of great importance to you, so please do READ IT.
FIRST LEVEL HANDBOOK 2019-2020
IMPORTANT DATES IN 2019-2020
First Semester:
Monday 16th September 2019 - Friday 24th January 2020
Degree Programme Registration: Monday 16th September 2019
Welcome Week events: Monday 16th to Friday 22nd September 2019
Lectures begin: Monday 23rd September 2019
Christmas Break:
Friday 13th December 2019 - Monday 13th January 2020
Second Semester:
Monday 27th January 2020 - Monday 6th June 2020
Easter Break:
Friday 27th March 2020 - Monday 20th April 2020
Examination Periods:
13th – 24th January 2020 (semester 1 exams)
11th May - 5th June 2020 (semester 2 exams)
Examination Result publication dates:
Monday 24th February 2020- Semester 1 exam results
Monday 6th July 2020 – Semester 2 exam results
August/September examination period:
17th - 30th August 2020
August/September Examination Result publication date:
Monday 7th September 2020
BIOL10000 Tutorial Unit Submission dates:
Please consult the Tutorial Handbook (Semester 1) (Semester 2) and Tutorial Blackboard site for up to date submission deadlines.
Talks:
First Year Field Course Selection Session – Week 1 Thursday 26th September 2019, 12:00-13:00, Stopford Lecture Theatre 2
“What to expect from your Second Year” (Senior Advisor)
Monday 16th March 2020 12:00-13:00, Roscoe Theatre A
Programme Director Fair for students considering changing programme
Monday 16th March 2020 - 13:00-14:00, Whitworth Hall
Course unit selection during PD Clinics - week commencing 27th April 2020
Choosing Your Second Year Field Course Talk - Tuesday 24th March 2020 - 11:00-12:00, Stopford Lecture Theatre 6
Prospective Placement Talk – Wednesday 6th May 2020 - 10:00-12:00, Stopford Lecture Theatre 1
Compulsory for all students on programmes ‘with industrial/professional experience’
Deadlines:
Change of programme form submission – Wednesday 22nd April 2020
RSM preferences submission deadline – Thursday 7th May 2020
Academic Calendar
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/key-dates/
Reading Week
Week 6 of the first semester is Reading Week and no Biological Sciences lectures are scheduled. However, you should plan to be in the University, as there will be practicals, seminars, meetings and scheduled teaching in other Faculties. There should not be a tutorial (unless your advisor agreed this at the start of the semester) as this week should give you time to read.
Examination timetables
It is essential that you make any changes to your optional units on the Student System by the specified deadline (see Section Swapping an optional course unit (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3)), so that your registration for University examinations is kept up-to-date. If you do not do this there is a serious risk that you will have a clash of examinations and therefore score zero on one.
A personalised copy of your examination timetable will be provided shortly before the relevant examination period and you will receive a communication from the University in December and April informing you of how to obtain your personalised exam timetable. It is your responsibility to:
- check that there are no timetable clashes between any of your examinations (there should not be any if you have kept your registration up-to-date).
- ensure that you know when and where a particular examination will take place.
Misreading of the timetable or failure to locate an examination room is not a valid excuse for absence from an examination. As examinations may be held in a huge variety of locations, some of which are off campus, you are urged to check very carefully before the day in question that you know exactly where and when each exam will be. Campus maps and advice about locations can be sought from the Student Support Office.
Closely spaced examinations (e.g. 2 per day on consecutive days) may occur for many students and would not be considered grounds for applying for mitigation against poor performance.
If you have any queries regarding your timetable, please seek advice from either the Student Support Office, or the Student Services Centre.
If you are required to take August/September examinations, a personalised copy of your examination timetable will be provided shortly before the examination period (see provisional dates at front of handbook). It will not be possible to find out the exact date of the exam before this and the School does not control the scheduling of examinations.
Examinations and religious observance
The University will make every effort to avoid timetabling assessments on religious days or festivals for those students whose commitment to the observance of their faith would otherwise cause them to miss the assessment. If this may affect you, you must fill in an ‘Examination and Religious Observance form’ from the Student Services Centre. More information is available at http://www.exams.manchester.ac.uk/exam-timetable/#religious-observance.
Student Charter
One of the University’s three core goals is “To provide a superb higher education and learning experience to outstanding students, irrespective of their backgrounds, and to produce graduates distinguished by their intellectual capabilities, employability, leadership qualities, and their ability and ambition to contribute to society” (from the University of Manchester Strategic Vision 2020).
Our Student Charter, developed jointly by the University and the Students’ Union, is an important part of how we establish and maintain clear mutual expectations for the experience of all students: undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research. It sets out what we can expect from each other as partners in a learning community.
The Charter provides an overview of the Manchester experience and refers to regulations, policies and procedures.
To access the Charter please go to: http://www.yoursay.manchester.ac.uk/student-charter/
Service level agreement for the Student Support Office
Communication
When fully staffed and for at least 95% of cases the following performance standards will be met:
- Respond to all emails within 2 working days. Where this will not be possible, for example, Welcome Week, students and staff will be notified by an automatic reply of the estimated response time if it differs from the normal service level agreement.
- Activate auto-replies when staff are out of the office providing an alternative contact for any urgent queries (this includes staff who work part-time)
- Answer the telephone within 4 rings where possible
- Pick up colleagues phones when they are away from their desk including when they are out of the office/on annual leave
- Set up voicemail messages only when colleagues cannot answer telephones.
- When the Student Support Reception is busy two members of the Education Team will cover it. e.g. Welcome Week
- Reception will be manned continuously between the hours of 0830 and 1700.
Administration of the School of Biological Sciences
The School of Biological Sciences forms part of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH).
Although your main contacts in the School will be your Academic Advisor (see Section Academic Advisors) and Programme Director (see Section Programme Directors and where to find them (Undergraduate) (Postgraduate Taught)), some aspects of your course will be dealt with by the Student Support Office (see below) within the School. Management of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biological Sciences is the responsibility of the Education Management Team.
Your official contacts in the School
Student Support Office - Opening hours: 08.30 - 17.00 Monday to Friday
Room G.483 Stopford Building
Email: studentsupportoffice.sbs@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2751487
Fax number: 0161 2751488
Director of Undergraduate Studies- Professor Nicky High
Room G.554 Stopford Building
Email: nicky.high@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755749
Deputy Directors of Undergraduate Studies – School of Biological Sciences
Dr Donald Ward
Room A.1025 Michael Smith Building
Email: d.ward@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 275 5459
Dr David Boam
Room 1.205 Stopford Building
Email: dave.boam@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755105
Senior Advisor - Dr Tracey Speake
Room 1.104 Stopford Building
Email: tracey.speake@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755693
Deputy Senior Advisors - Dr Richard Prince, Dr Katherine Hinchcliffe & Dr Elizabeth Fitzgerald
Room 1.100 Stopford Building
Email: senioradvisors.sbs@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 0161 2755469
In addition, the following academic roles support the School:
Head of School – Biological Sciences - Professor Judith Hoyland
Writing Fellows
The School has two ‘Writing Fellows’: Amanda Dalton and Curtis Jobling, who are funded by The Royal Literary Fund.
The Writing Fellows provide students with free and confidential one-to-one advice on effective writing, including writing essays, lab reports, literature reviews or other coursework, Students can make an appointment during term-time with one of the Fellows by emailing them directly. Their availability and contact details are listed below:
| Writing Fellow | Availability | Contact details |
| Amanda Dalton | Mondays | amanda.dalton@manchester.ac.uk |
| Curtis Jobling | Thursdays & Fridays (office hours from 10am) | curtis.jobling@manchester.ac.uk |
Programme Directors and how to contact them
The Programme Director oversees the content of your Degree Programme, agrees your choice of optional course units during Welcome Week and assists your Academic Advisor in giving you advice on academic matters.
| Degree Programme | Programme Director |
| Anatomical Sciences | Dr Stefan Gabriel |
| Biochemistry | Prof Andrew Doig |
| Biology | Dr Thomas Nuhse |
| Biology with Science & Society | Prof Matthew Cobb |
| Biomedical Sciences | Dr Rebecca Dearman (Year 1)
Dr Tristan Pocock(Year 2) Dr Michelle Keown (Year 3) |
| Biotechnology | Dr Shazia Chaudhry |
| Cell Biology | Dr Lisa Swanton |
| Cognitive Neuroscience & Psychology | Dr Jennifer McBride |
| Developmental Biology | Dr Matthew Ronshaugen |
| Genetics | Dr Kimberly Mace |
| Immunology | Dr Kathleen Nolan |
| Life Sciences | Dr Patrick Gallois |
| Medical Biochemistry | Dr Andrew Gilmore |
| Microbiology | Dr Jen Cavet |
| Molecular Biology | Dr Lisa Swanton |
| Neuroscience | Dr Maria Canal |
| Pharmacology | Dr Susan Cochran |
| Pharmacology & Physiology | Dr Susan Cochran |
| Medical Physiology | Dr Liz Sheader |
| Plant Science | Dr Patrick Gallois |
| Zoology | Dr Ben Chapman |
Where to find people and places
There are maps showing room numbers posted in various corridors around the buildings
you are likely to use.
Finding rooms may be difficult at first and if time is short, it is usually quicker to ask the staff at the reception desks found at the front of most buildings. However, here are some guidelines:
Staff may have offices in the Michael Smith Building, the Core Technology Facility, the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the Stopford Building, AV Hill Building or Simon Building.
Communication – email/mail/announcements/texts
The Student Support Office is open 08.30 -17.00 Monday to Friday and should be your first stop for queries relating to your programme and general student support. Occasionally the opening times may vary, but we will inform you of this via the email announcement service (see below).
Effective communication between you, the staff of the School and the central administration of the University is vital. There will be many important official notices (including those on timetables, examinations and course assessment marks) for you to read and act upon during the year. There are three important channels of communication: electronic (email via your University email account,
announcements, the intranet, text messages nd Blackboard); paper (e.g. letters to your postal address); verbal (e.g. announcements in lectures and practicals).
Electronic communication: as part of registration you will be provided with a University email address and will be given a username and password. You must not pass on your username or password to anyone else and must not divulge email addresses of fellow students or staff to anyone else without their permission.
Verbal communication: staff may occasionally make verbal announcements in lectures and practicals that do not appear in any other fashion, so if you are late, or unable to attend something, be sure to check with a fellow student or the staff member concerned that you did not miss an important announcement. This is especially important for practical work; as if you are late you may miss health and safety announcements and may be denied entry to the lab.
Email and the Faculty Intranet Announcement Service are the standard methods used to communicate with students so you must ensure that you check your University email messages (including "Announcements" emails) on a regular and frequent basis - at least once a day. If you do not regularly check your email, your inbox may become full and important messages will not then get through to you.
Failure to respond to notices and mail means that you may miss lectures, tutorials or meetings, or it may even cost you money (e.g. library fines).
Email will be the main medium for communication with academic staff, including your Advisor. You will find their addresses in the email address books on the University network and on the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) Intranet.
PLEASE NOTE: email communication will only occur via your University email address and staff will not use or respond to any other email address except in very exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, you should not autoforward University email to a personal email address. Once personal email folders are full, new messages are deleted.
Text Messages: The School will endeavour to send any urgent messages that require immediate notification (such as cancellation of a lecture) via SMS text message to your mobile phone. To ensure that you receive these message you must ensure that your personal details held by the University are updated with any changes to your mobile phone number. If you do not wish to receive urgent messages in this format, please contact the Student Support Office.
MyManchester: My Manchester is a personalised online space for current students, which provides easy access to learning resources, services, student support and information, all in one place.
If your personal details change (term-time or home postal addresses, phone numbers, etc.) you must update your student record promptly or notify the Student Support Office if you are unable to make the changes via MyManchester. It is also your responsibility to ensure that your programme and unit information are correct and to notify the Student Support Office if changes are required. Any difficulties obtaining emails should be reported to IT Services - http://www.itservices.manchester.ac.uk/help/.
Society of Biology accreditation
All four-year ‘with industrial/professional experience’ and ‘with language’ degrees have been accredited by the Society of Biology. Degree accreditation by the Society recognises academic excellence in the biosciences, and highlights degrees that educate the research and development leaders and innovators of the future (for more information see https://www.rsb.org.uk/education/accreditation/degree-accreditation). The accreditation criteria require evidence that graduates from the programme meet defined sets of learning outcomes, including gaining a substantial period of research experience. Our School has been successful in demonstrating that these programmes meet these criteria.
In recognition of your time spent on industrial/professional, or with language placement, as a graduate of an accredited programme, you can apply for membership of the Society of Biology at Member (MSB) level after just one year of practice, rather than the usual three years. This will allow you to attain the qualifications of Chartered Biologist or Chartered Scientist two years sooner than graduates from other Degree Programmes. Further information is available from the Society of Biology at http://www.rsb.org.uk/index.php/membership
The British Psychological Society (BPS) sets out accreditation requirements for Degree Programmes that provide eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Registration of the Society. These may be important if graduates wish to work as a Psychologist or practise Psychology in their future careers. In the case of the Cognitive Neuroscience & Psychology Degree Programme, the BPS requirements stipulate completion of a minimum number of course units in Psychology and that the third year project comprises a significant Psychology component. Please note that there will be a limited number of such projects available. If students do not have any intention of applying to the BPS for registration, then these constraints do not apply.
Health and Safety
The work that you do this year will require knowledge of and conformity with health and safety rules. It is consequently important for you to gain a wide understanding of the legal and practical requirements for working safely.
The University of Manchester is subject to British and European Community law on health and safety. The University has therefore, a duty to formulate health and safety policies and to promote these. From time to time the University issues its updated “Health and Safety Policy Statement”, as well as Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes. Following the requirements stipulated in the latter, the School of Biological Sciences is required to devise regulations that are suited to its work. These regulations apply to staff, students and visitors to the Faculty. Similar obligations and procedures apply to all employers in the UK, so that preparation and familiarity gained now could stand you in good stead for future employment. Please see the Health and Safety pages on the Faculty intranet.
An important set of regulations that require close attention are those that relate to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health; the COSHH Regulations. Everyone is required by these regulations to make an assessment of the risks that might arise during the storage or use of the substances that they use in their work. You must ensure that no one will be adversely affected as a consequence of the decisions that you make. During first year undergraduate practicals you will find that all risks will have been assessed for you by the practical coordinators (for specific risks relating to individual practical classes) and by the Teaching Laboratory Technicians (for COSHH also known as single substance risk assessments). Bear in mind that the term substance covers a wide range in relation to risk - biological as well as chemical. See https://app.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/hs/coshhdocuments.aspx.
It should be understood that these rules are not designed to prevent potentially hazardous work from taking place, but that they are designed to make sure that the work is done safely. This means that substances that might be hazardous to health can continue to be used when due precautions are taken by those engaged in the work. You are thus obliged to take these things into account yourself. You are entitled to expect that due care has been taken by those responsible for supervising your work, but it is important to remember that your willing co-operation for the implementation of safety measures is required. It is thus reasonable to expect that, so far as is reasonably practicable, you prepare in advance for the work that you will undertake. You are required to take notice of the relevant safety information provided at the start of each practical laboratory class and to wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In all cases this will consist of a white laboratory coat and goggles that must be worn for the full duration of all ‘wet’ practicals. Other items of PPE will be made available as appropriate e.g. gloves. You are required to keep the use of all personal items to a minimum in the laboratory in line with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). This includes mobile phones and other electronic devices. If digital devices are required then iPads will be provided, which are fully disinfected between classes and do not get used outside of the laboratory to minimise the risk of contamination to other users.
The first stage in the COSHH process is called risk assessment. You are required to refer to published information and, where appropriate, to ask for advice when carrying out this assessment. Manufacturers and suppliers are legally obliged to provide written information about the storage and use of substances. The range of examples to be considered is large, so that each individual substance must be considered, both alone and in conjunction with other substances to be found adjacently e.g. the same cupboard or in a mixture. The fact that a substance is within a container may not provide sufficient protection in all the circumstances that might arise, i.e. you are required to anticipate what could happen in the event of an accident. Flammability is one example of the information to be provided but you would also need to know if a substance became hazardous or more hazardous upon heating (physically and/or chemically): i.e. would it become explosive; how it might react in combination with other things? Then, what safety precautions and remedies must be provided?
The next stage is to decide how and in what circumstances a substance might be used safely, even if there is a risk. If there is a risk or the consequences of an accident could be serious, it would be necessary to consider the use of a satisfactory substitute. Someone in authority must decide this.
The principles of risk assessment cover all forms of activity in the place of work, and every activity should be assessed before you start work. A person in authority will normally have carried out this assessment on your behalf, and it is important to adhere to the protocol you have been given. You must be familiar with the contents of the relevant Risk Assessment before you start any form of work, and you must not make any changes to work procedures without the permission of your supervisor. Risk Assessments for most common procedures can be found at on the Faculty intranet.
Finally, a decision has to be made by a person in authority, e.g. your supervisor; about who should do the work and in what circumstances should the work be done. You can expect to be informed about any particular hazards and methods that apply in a laboratory, so please take note during the safety briefing at the start of any practical class. Please note that if you are pregnant or breastfeeding you should inform the relevant member of academic staff (e.g. Practical Unit Coordinator or Supervisor) immediately, so that an individual risk assessment can be undertaken. Please be assured that your confidentiality will be maintained and the outcome of the risk assessment will be handled with discretion.
Human subjects and animal tissues
The life sciences are observational and experimental sciences concerned with living systems. It is therefore important that your education should be appropriate and that you should gain experience of working with tissues of living organisms. Some of the practicals may require the use of invertebrates or tissues or cell components from vertebrates, including humans.
In some units it is important that you gain experience in human experimentation. Some practical classes may require human volunteers and the only possible source is those students registered for the units. In the many years that similar practical classes have been held, students have found them interesting and worthwhile. None of the procedures which volunteers are asked to undergo are inherently dangerous. No volunteer has ever suffered serious ill effects and there is no compulsion for students to act as subjects. You will be given full information and asked to complete a Consent form if you volunteer. All practicals involving human volunteers have been approved by the University Committee on the Ethics of Research on Human Beings. Such practicals have been banded into Band 0, 1 and 2 according to an assessment of Health and Safety risk and medical ethical considerations. You will be given full information and asked to complete a Consent form for each Band 1 and 2 practical. Further information can be found here.
Your active participation is expected in all practical classes, and examinations will be based on all matters taught in your unit. If you have any reservations about participation in practicals using animals or their tissues, you should discuss them with your Programme Director before registration.
Safeguarding your work
You must ensure that you back up your work on a regular basis to safeguard against loss, machine failure or theft. In addition to saving your work regularly to the secure University system in your ‘my documents/P: drive’ (for further information on P:drives please refer to the IT Services website.), you should back up your work on an external hard drive, USB memory stick, cloud storage, etc. (which you are advised to keep secure and separate from your computer). Do not save your work on the hard disc of Stopford PC cluster or other networked computers. Loss of data (i.e. your work) will not be accepted as a valid reason for extension requests or for late submission of work as this is deemed to be a preventable occurrence.
Do you need more space to save your files?
As academic submission deadlines approach, you may find that you need additional space in your "My Documents" area. Should you find that this is the case then please contact the IT Service Desk.
NOTE: Access to "My Documents" will cease when you leave the University.
Student Societies
A number of societies run by students and covering a range of interests are affiliated with the Students’ Union and several of these concern the life sciences, in particular the School of Biological Sciences Society (SBSSoc). These societies are open to students and staff of the University. They usually provide a series of lectures, social or sporting events. You are likely to be canvassed for a subscription, and invited to participate in social and sporting activities, during Welcome Week.