Assessment

Deadlines for Assessed Work

Assessment details and deadlines will be published on Blackboard. Students are expected to check Blackboard and email regularly for information and changes to assessments.

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU TRANSFER SUBMISSION DATES TO YOUR DIARIES AS SOON AS THEY ARE PUBLISHED.

Assessment Submissions

The University uses electronic systems for the purposes of detecting plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice and for marking. Such systems include Turnitin and SafeAssign, the plagiarism detection service used by the University. As part of the formative and/or summative assessment process, you may be asked to submit electronic versions of your work to Turnitin and/or other electronic systems used by the University (this requirement may be in addition to a requirement to submit a paper copy of your work). If you are asked to do this, you must do so within the required timescales. The School also reserves the right to submit work handed in by you for formative or summative assessment to Turnitin and/or other electronic systems used by the University. Please note that when work is submitted to the relevant electronic systems, it may be copied and then stored in a database to allow appropriate checks to be made.

All written summative assessments should be submitted via Blackboard® through Turnitin®. All written summative assessments must be submitted anonymously, only displaying your student ID.

Submission deadline dates are published on Blackboard® for each course unit. However the submission time is always 12 noon UK local time.

We urge you to attempt to submit your assessment early in order to address any problems before the deadline.

Assessments must be submitted within the specified deadline. If there is a problem which prevents you submitting the assessment on time you must bring this to the attention of the Programme Administrator promptly and before the assessment submission date. Depending on the length of time you require to complete the assessment you will then need to apply for an extension of up to a maximum of one week for circumstances such as acute illness. If you are experiencing longer term problems you should follow the mitigating circumstances route.

Work submitted after the deadline without prior approval will be subject to a late penalty in accordance with the University Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment on Taught Programmes. The penalty applied is 10% of available marks deducted per day/24 hours (from the time of the original or extended deadline), until the assignment is submitted or no marks remain.

Penalties for late submission relate to 24 hours/calendar days, so include weekends and weekdays, as well as bank holidays and University closure days.

The mark awarded for the piece of work will be reduced by:

  • 10% of the available marks deducted if up to 24 hours (1 day) late
  • 20% of the available marks deducted if up to 48 hours (2 days) late
  • 30% of the available marks deducted if up to 72 hours (3 days) late
  • 40% of the available marks deducted if up to 96 hours (4 days) late
  • 50% of the available marks deducted if up to 120 hours (5 days) late
  • 60% of the available marks deducted if up to 144 hours (6 days) late
  • 70% of the available marks deducted if up to 168 hours (7 days) late
  • 80% of the available marks deducted if up to 192 hours (8 days) late
  • 90% of the available marks deducted if up to 216 hours (9 days) late
  • 100% of the available marks deducted if up to 240 hours (10 days) late

If the assessment is submitted within 10 days of the deadline the assessment should be marked and feedback to the student provided. If this mark before the penalty is applied reaches the appropriate pass mark but the applied penalty results in a fail of the assessment, the student should not be required to resit the assessment as the original mark can be taken as the resit mark. Further information and examples can be found in the Policy and associated Guidance documents.

For work submitted more than 10 days late, it is regarded as a non-submission and need not be marked. In this case a mark of zero will be awarded and normal resit regulations will apply. The sliding scale should only be applied to first-sit submissions. For all referred (resit) assessment, any late submission will automatically receive a mark of zero.

For further information:

Guidance on Late Submission

Policy on the Submission of Work for Summative Assessment on Taught Programmes

Extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment by the required deadline and you wish to request an extension you must submit the relevant form directly to the programme support team. Please contact the programme support team (iovs@manchester.ac.uk) with details of your reasons for needing an extension to request a copy of the form, and guidance on completing it and providing evidence. Please provide as much detail as possible (name, student registration number, course unit, assignment, reason for extension request), and be assured that all information will be treated confidentially.

Course unit leads do not accept extension requests.

Please send extension requests no later than 4.00 pm on the last working day before the assessment deadline. Please do not submit extension requests via Blackboard.

Extensions of up to 2 weeks will be granted at the discretion of the programme director. If you need longer than this you will need to apply to the PGT Mitigating Circumstances Committee, which meets monthly, usually on the 1st Tuesday of the month. If you are experiencing longer term problems that affect your ability to study you may wish to apply for Mitigating Circumstances.

Mitigating Circumstances

If your personal circumstances might severely affect your completion of a non-coursework assessment such as a written exam or OSCE you can apply for consideration of Mitigating Circumstances. This may, for example, allow retaking a failed exam as a ‘first attempt’ but *will not* lead to adjustment of marks.

If you wish to apply for consideration of Mitigating Circumstances, please initially contact the programme support team (iovs@manchester.ac.uk) with details of your reasons for request for consideration. They will provide you with the form and guidance on evidence required. The PGT Mitigating Circumstances Committee meets monthly, usually on the 1st Tuesday of the month. Evidence can only be considered if presented in time for this Committee and in any event no later than the publication of the examination results. Applications may be rejected without strong third party evidence or if requested on grounds including, but not limited to, those noted below. It is not possible to apply for consideration of Mitigating Circumstances after results are published.

Please note: Any IT issues (including printing problems) or simply ‘not having enough time’ or ‘not being able to get on a computer’ will NOT be regarded as a sufficient reason for late submission. You must ensure you give your assessed work priority! Do not leave completion until the very last minute. Even theft of a home computer will not be deemed an excuse as you should always ensure work is ‘backed-up’ elsewhere.

The Policy on Mitigating Circumstances can be accessed here:
http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/tlso/map/teachinglearningassessment/assessment/sectionc-reachingdecisionsfromassessment/policyonmitigatingcircumstances/

Guidance for students on mitigating circumstances can be found here:
http://www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/map/teachinglearningassessment/assessment/sectionc-reachingdecisionsfromassessment/mitigatingcircumstancesguidanceforstudents/

A basic guide to mitigating circumstances can be accessed here:
http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/basic-guide-mitigating-circumstances/

(For students submitting a final dissertation if the work is submitted after the deadline, at the discretion of the Board of Examiners or other appropriate Committee, it may be treated in the same manner as a resubmission following failure with the mark capped at 50% with no further opportunity for resubmission)

Word Limits for Assessed Work

With the exception of examination answers, all assessed work is subject to a word limit. There are three reasons for this.

  • It is one of our objectives to encourage students to acquire the skill of expressing ideas in clear and concise written prose. Writing within a word limit imposes a discipline on your work.
  • For any given type of work we can only apply fair and consistent marking standards when everyone is writing within the same constraints.
  • Imposing word limits communicates clear expectations.

In accordance with the University Policy on Marking:

Each written assignment has a word limit which you must state at the top of your first page. It is acceptable, without penalty, for you to submit an assignment within a range that is plus 10% of this limit. If you present an assignment with a word count exceeding the specified limit+10%, the assignment will be marked but 1% will be deducted from this mark for every 100 words over the limit given.

For an original word limit that is 1000 words and an assignment that is marked out of 100. If a submission is made that is 1101 words then it exceeded the 10% leeway, and is more than 100 words over the original limit and should receive a 1 mark deduction.

In accordance with accepted academic practice, when submitting any written assignment for summative assessment, the notion of a word count includes the following without exception:

  • All titles or headings that form part of the actual text. This does not include the cover page or reference list.
  • All words that form the actual essay.
  • All words forming the titles for figures, tables and boxes, are included but this does not include boxes or tables or figures themselves.
  • All in-text (that is bracketed) references.
  • All directly quoted material.

Certain assessments may require different penalties for word limits to be applied. In such cases the rules for word count limits and the penalties to be applied will be clearly stated in the assessment brief and in the submission details for that assessment.

Word limits should not include text in the bibliography/reference list, figure legends and tables and appendices (if relevant). However, students cannot use figure legends or text within tables to try and side step the word limit (i.e. figure legends and table must be of appropriate length) and must be warned that if they do so they will be penalised.

Where assignments have high numeric content (e.g. statistics) then a judgement should be made as to whether it is reasonable for this ruling to apply.

Where any mark reductions result in a fail, the unit will be treated as a failed unit in accordance with the University’s Degree Regulations.

Submitting Work

All assignments must be submitted electronically. The published deadlines for assessments all relate to the electronic submission which is done via Blackboard, on the TurnItIn system. You must submit by the deadline advertised in your timetable/assessment handbook.

Submitting an electronic copy of the work

  • Log onto Blackboard via the My Manchester https://login.manchester.ac.uk/cas/login
  • Click on the relevant course unit
  • Go to assessment folder
  • Upload your assignment via the Turnitin or SafeAssign submission link

Please remember you can only upload one document so you cannot save your references as a separate document.

IMPORTANT

For Online Blackboard submissions, you MUST put your ID number first in your assignment title and save your document using your ID Number e.g. 7123456 Assignment 1.

DO NOT save the work as ‘Essay’ or as the title of the work.

When creating your document please ensure your ID number is on each page (in header or footer) and your name does not appear on the document.

The electronic copy is your official record of submission.

Feedback for Assessments

The purpose of feedback is to provide constructive criticism and encouragement so that you can improve your standards as time goes on. Thus in addition to marks we will give you written feedback on most of your assessed coursework and give it back to you.

Marks awarded for your assessments (i.e. everything which contributes to your final degree classification) are subject to moderation by the examination board and the external examiner. Consequently all marks given to students before the final examiners’ meeting has taken place must be regarded as provisional. Shortly after the examinations meetings we will publish results and email out results letter.

The date your results will be published will be added to Blackboard.

When you have graduated you may obtain a detailed official written account of all your examination results (called a transcript) from the Student Services Centre on payment of a small fee. This carries the University stamp and is recognised for such purposes as admission to a further course of study at another institution (in the UK or abroad), membership of professional bodies, exemption from sections of professional examinations and so on. If you need a transcript, contact the SSC on 0161 275 5000.

Return of Marked Work

Understandably students are keen to know their results and to receive comments. However, there must inevitably be a trade-off between the diligence of the marking process and the speed at which it takes place. Marks from marked work must also be entered into our records, and this process is slowed by the need for painstaking checking to ensure accuracy. Students will be notified by email once the work has been marked and grades are available.

We will endeavour to mark module coursework and give feedback to students 15 working days after the hand-in date. However, occasionally there may be delays as a result of staff illness or other unforeseeable factors. Marking of the Dissertation will take considerably longer as it will need to be reviewed by external examiners before marks are released to students. We aim to release the marks of the literature review within 2 months.

The Policy on Feedback to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Students can be accessed here: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=6518

How to Find Your Marks

Once work has been marked and moderated you will receive an email from the Programme Administrator to tell you that the marks have been released. That email will contain instructions on how to access your mark and any feedback provided. Work submitted via Blackboard will usually show a mark along with feedback on the Blackboard system.

Examinations

Examinations run in the standard University exam periods. The University publishes the dates of each examination period two years in advance, please refer to:

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/key-dates/

Please be aware that you may be tested on any topic from within a unit. Do not presume that because a piece of coursework has covered one area of a unit that it will not also appear in the exam. Past papers (where appropriate) are available on Blackboard in the Assessment folder for each course unit. Do not assume that exams will take the same format as previous years. Academic staff should not indicate what will/ will not feature in an exam as this may not be accurate. Staff may have submitted questions that may not, necessarily, appear on the final exam paper. You should presume that anything can appear on the exam paper unless informed officially by the Programme Administrator or Programme Director.

Academic Appeals

Students have a right of appeal against a final decision of an Examination Board, or a progress committee, or a graduate committee or equivalent body which affects their academic status or progress in the University.

Students thinking of appealing should first discuss the matter informally with Programme Director, in order to better understand the reason for the result or decision.

Should you wish to proceed to a formal appeal, this must be submitted within the timeframe outlined in the Academic Appeals Procedure to the Faculty Appeals and Complaints Team,
Room 3.21, Simon Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL
(e-mail: FBMHappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk).

The Academic Appeals Procedure (Regulation XIX) and associated documents, including the form on which formal appeals should be submitted, can be found at www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic

Complaints

The University’s Student Complaints Procedure (Regulation XVIII) and associated documents, including a complaints form, can be found at www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic

Students thinking of submitting a formal complaint should, in most instances, attempt informal resolution first (see the procedure). Formal complaints should be submitted on the relevant form to Faculty Appeals and Complaints Team, Room 3.21, Simon Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (e-mail: FBMHappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk).

Conduct and Discipline of Students

General University information on the Conduct and Discipline of Students can be found at http://www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/appeals-complaints/conductanddisciplineofstudents/

Faculty policies for students on Communication and Dress Code, Social Networking and Drugs & Alcohol can be found at:

Sharing Information

The University may share appropriate information relating to your health and/or conduct with external organisations such as your professional employer (for example, relevant NHS Trust Professional and Statutory Regulatory Bodies (PSRB), placement and training providers and/or regulator (such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council )). This may occur where concerns in relation to your health and/or conduct arise and the University considers it necessary for them to be disclosed to one or more of the above organisations.

The University’s Privacy Notice for Registered Students (which is accessible via this link: www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/data-collection-notice/) includes further information about how the University may use and process your personal data, including the legal basis and conditions which may be relevant to such processing (see section 6 of the Privacy Notice). The University will only disclose special category data (such as data relating to your health) to a third party organisation where one of the additional conditions are satisfied (see section 9 of the Privacy Notice), including where processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

Understanding Academic Malpractice

The University does not permit plagiarism or other forms of academic malpractice under any circumstances, and individuals found to have committed such an incident can expect a harsh penalty, which in some cases results in exclusion from the University. To ensure that you are fully informed about University expectations and understand your responsibilities with regard to academic malpractice, please ensure you complete mandatory academic malpractice training in the Blackboard unit SHSS60001 Introductory Courses and have read the guidance provided by the University to students on this topic.

This is available at: www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic

You can also access an online e-learning package on avoiding plagiarism via the University Library’s award-winning skills programme, My Learning Essentials

If you have any doubts or further questions please contact your programme director.

Further information on Academic Malpractice and how to avoid it can be found at http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/guidance-to-students-on-plagiarism-and-other-forms-of-academic-malpractice/

Feedback from Students

Students will be asked to complete an online survey at the end of each unit. This feedback is vital to help us improve the programme for future cohorts of students.

Responsibilities of the Student

The responsibilities of the student include:

  • pursuing the programme with a positive commitment, taking full advantage of the resources and facilities offered by the academic environment and, in particular, contact with the staff and fellow students
  • ensuring that he/she is aware of the health and safety regulations and academic rules and regulations and codes of practice of the University
  • successfully completing any training programme arranged within the prescribed time period;
  • taking the initiative in raising problems or difficulties, however elementary they may seem, bearing in mind that prompt discussion and resolution of problems can prevent difficulties and disagreements at a later stage.

Role and Responsibilities of Unit Leaders

  • To develop and update the unit specification in consultation with specialists and programme directors, ensuring a coherent selection of teaching material and assessments to fit with the overall aim of the programme and its specifications
  • To liaise with a programme administrators and the specialists on their unit to ensure that the information on their unit in the programme handbook is accurate
  • To liaise with programme administrators and specialists to organise examining, marking and student feedback
  • To develop and monitor the Blackboard e-Learning site for their unit, in liaison with specialists for the sessions in their unit
  • To liaise with students concerning queries relating to teaching and assessments for the unit that are not specific to an individual teaching session
  • To attend programme meetings and the programme exam board in order to liaise with programme directors and student representatives
  • To consider and act upon student feedback, staff feedback, and external examiner feedback, in order to modify the structure, content and processes within their unit, in discussion with the programme team.

Role of the External Examiner

External Examiners are individuals from another institution or organisation who monitor the assessment processes of the University to ensure fairness and academic standards. They ensure that assessment and examination procedures have been fairly and properly implemented and that decisions have been made after appropriate deliberation. They also ensure that standards of awards and levels of student performance are at least comparable with those in equivalent higher education institutions.

External Examiners’ reports relating to this programme will be shared with student representatives at the programme board, where details of any actions carried out by the programme team/School in response to the External Examiners’ comments will be discussed. Students should contact their student representatives if they require any further information about External Examiners’ reports or the process for considering them.

The External Examiner for this programme is: Professor Baljean Dhillon
Name of Institution: University of Edinburgh
Position at current Institution: NES Chair of Clinical Ophthalmology

Please note that it is inappropriate for students to make direct contact with External Examiners under any circumstances, in particular with regards to a student’s individual performance in assessments. Other appropriate mechanisms are available for students, including the University’s appeals or complaints procedures and the UMSU Advice Centre. In cases where a student does contact an External Examiner directly, External Examiners have been requested not to respond to direct queries. Instead, External Examiners should report the matter to their School contact who will then contact the student to remind them of the other methods available for students. If students have any queries concerning this, they should contact their Programme Office (or equivalent).