Introduction

Welcome to the University of Manchester and the School of Biological Sciences

We hope that you have an interesting and exciting year. Please take the time to read through the Handbook. The information it provides is of great importance to you and we hope that it will be a useful resource throughout the academic year. It contains key details about your degree programme, as well as information such as staff contact details, links to degree regulations and work and attendance requirements.

It will be assumed that you have read and understood the contents of this Handbook. Please talk to your Academic Advisor or Student Support Office if anything is not clear to you.

My Manchester 

My Manchester brings all your online university services together in one place. From My Manchester you can access the student self-service system, which allows you to view your timetable, select course units and access your grades for assessed work. My Manchester also allows you to access University services including Blackboard and your University library account.

You can login to My Manchester at: http://my.manchester.ac.uk

You can view your personalised timetable on Publish: Publish (manchester.ac.uk)

All the information in this handbook was accurate at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Our future

At The University of Manchester, one of our core goals under Teaching and Learning is as follows: “As an institution built on world-class research, we want to share knowledge to challenge and transform our students, giving learners of all ages and backgrounds the chance to contribute to positive change, improving their lives and those of others.

We will inspire learners with challenging ideas, knowledge and wisdom, and help them develop the capabilities needed for a stellar career. Our teachers will be supported to deliver the highest levels of student satisfaction, embracing digital opportunities and placing personalisation at the heart of what we do.”

Compulsory Introductory Course

All students are automatically enrolled onto an introductory unit (BIOL62000) that provides information on health and safety, academic malpractice and academic literacy. Completion instructions for each of these sections are clearly defined within the course.

Completion of the academic malpractice and health and safety sections is mandatory for all students. All assessments must be completed as soon as possible after the programme begins, with the academic malpractice assessment completed before the first piece of coursework is submitted and no later than 31 October 2023. Completion of these assessments is monitored by the School.

All students are also strongly advised to complete the academic literacy section.

Key Contact Details

If you have any queries or concerns at any time during your period of study at The University of Manchester, there is a range of people you can approach. Your Programme Administration team will be your first point of call for general issues. Alternatively, you may wish to contact the Programme Director for specific aspects to do with the course or your Academic Advisor for career development issues. If you wish to raise a confidential matter at School level, you should approach the Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience – contact details below.

Responsibility for overall management of the Programme lies with the Programme Director who has assembled a Programme Committee, which meets regularly, to advise on content, structure, management, student supervision, and regulatory matters such as Programme improvement and refinement. The Committee also includes the student representative who is democratically elected by you to attend these meetings.

Programme Administration Team

Your first point of call should be directed as follows:

• Student Hub
  • sbs.hub@manchester.ac.uk
• Student Support
  • sbs.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk
• Assessments
  • sbs.assessment@manchester.ac.uk
• Curriculum
  • curriculum.sbs@manchester.ac.uk

Student Representative
• To be appointed democratically

Director of Education Director of Education (UG and PGT)
• Professor Nicky High
• nicky.high@manchester.ac.uk

Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience
• Kerry Mycock
• kerry.mycock@manchester.ac.uk

Teaching and Learning Manager
• Kelly Salimian
• kelly.salimian@manchester.ac.uk

Student Service, Support & Development Manager
• Sam Green
• sam.green-1@manchester.ac.uk

Programme Director
• Mr Andrew Devereau
• a.devereau@manchester.ac.uk

Deputy Programme Director
• Dr Michael Cornell
• michael.cornell@manchester.ac.uk

Clinical Informatics Lead
• Prof Evangelos Kontopantelis
• e.kontopantelis@manchester.ac.uk

Your contact details

You will be supplied with a student e-mail address. The University will direct communications to you by using your student e-mail address and it is your responsibility to ensure that you can access and read mail from this source.  You should check your university email regularly and in turn should send all emails to the University using your student email address.

 

Blackboard

Blackboard is an electronic system that complements and builds upon traditional learning methods used at The University of Manchester. All course-related materials will be placed on Blackboard.   It is essential that you familiarise yourself with the system as soon as possible. Blackboard also offers Discussion forums which you may find a useful resource to share information about assignments and other course-related queries.

Blackboard is available to students.

• Students should access Blackboard via My Manchester
• Queries (technical related) should be directed to: elearning@manchester.ac.uk
• Queries (course content related) should be directed to: Programme Administration Team.

                                                                                                                                              

School/University Facilities

Computers and printers:

On campus, access to computers, printers, email and the internet is available at several computer clusters within the School including the Multiuser laboratories on the ground floor of the Stopford Building. Additionally, there is a Postgraduate Hub on the 3^rd Floor of the Stopford Building.

• PC access on campus
• Printing services

Food/Drink on Campus

There are a variety of places to eat and drink on campus. An up-to-date list can be found below.

• Further places to eat on campus

International students

The International Society is a busy centre for international students based in the Greater Manchester area. It is located on Oxford Road (see campus map).

The society offers students the opportunity to engage with social events, visit places of interest as well as language support and cultural events.

Sharing Information

The University may share appropriate information relating to your health and/or conduct with external organisations such as your professional employer(s) (for example, relevant NHS Trust, Professional and Statutory Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)), placement and training providers and/or regulator (such as NSHCS). 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) 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.

Programme Information

Programme Overview

The MSc Clinical Science (Clinical Scientific Computing and Data Science) Clinical Informatics is designed to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of clinical informatics. It will equip students with the transferable, intellectual and professional skills to permit them to develop their academic and professional potential throughout their career by fostering lifelong learning in the pursuit of excellence in scholarship and professional practice.

MSc Clinical Science (Clinical Scientific Computing and Data Science) Clinical Informatics programme is delivered by the University of Manchester (UoM) in collaboration with the University of Liverpool (UoL) and University College London (UCL). The teaching in year one is mostly delivered by UoM with one module at UoL. Teaching in years two and three is delivered in either UoM or UCL as part of the UCL/UoM Health Informatics Joint Award programme or Health Data Science (HDS) programme.

Aims

• Provide clinical scientist trainees with strong science-based, patient-centred clinical training in Clinical Scientific Computing and Data Science – Clinical Informatics.
• Produce graduates with a critical understanding of the principles, application, impact, stakeholders and wider multidisciplinary team involved in Clinical Informatics
• Contribute to innovation, change and service developments in Clinical Scientific Computing and Data Science at both the laboratory and institutional levels by equipping students with a systematic and critical understanding of relevant knowledge, theoretical frameworks and advanced skills.
• Enhance career-long development and promote lifelong learning in students in order to support and enhance best practice in clinical informatics
• Develop the students’ experimental, analytical and interpretative skills through the undertaking of a comprehensive research project.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Apply specialist knowledge to the practice of Clinical Informatics
• Critically evaluate the application of new technologies and practices in Clinical Informatics to patient care
• Appraise the benefits, risks and impact on patient care of informatics systems and services
• Practice in accordance with legislation and “good practice” guidance.
• Evaluate alignment of practice with local and national policy.
• Apply appropriate methodologies and programming skills to develop and deliver informatics solutions to meet stakeholder requirements.
• Critically analyse data to support decision making in the provision of patient care and healthcare services
• Display a critical understanding of the regulatory processes and practices involved in conducting research in a health service or academic setting.
• To systematically and critically employ the knowledge and understanding obtained during the taught component of the programme to address an original research question through the design and undertaking of a comprehensive research project and production of a dissertation.

Intellectual Skills

• Apply knowledge of health informatics, clinical bioinformatics and computer science to address specific clinical problems and healthcare delivery challenges.
• Critically evaluate tools used to gather stakeholder requirements and project management methodologies and how they are used to support system development
• Appraise technologies/tools to manage, extract and visualise data, and be able to justify their usage for a given scenario.
• Critically evaluate data management technologies including their strengths and limitations.
• Critically analyse scientific and clinical data.
• Present scientific and clinical data appropriately.
• Synthesise, evaluate and systematically combine information obtained from different sources including scientific and clinical literature, and formulate a critical argument.
• Develop a defined original research question and then to address it through the development of a coherent research project.

Practical Skills

• Present information clearly in the form of written reports.
• Communicate complex ideas and arguments in a clear and concise and effective manner.
• Work effectively as an individual and part of a team.
• Map processes, requirements for health information systems/technologies that are used across patient pathways using appropriate software.
• Write a script in Python to extract and wrangle data for visualisation.
• Choose and use appropriate tools to create data visualisations for a range of audiences.
• Perform analysis on DNA data and protein sequence data to inform analysis of the impact of variation.
• Perform sequence alignment tasks.
• Select and apply appropriate bioinformatic tools and resources from a core subset to typical diagnostic laboratory cases, contextualised to the scope and practice of a clinical genetics laboratory.
• Use relevant literature and electronic resources to collect, select and organise complex scientific information.
• Compare major informatics resources for clinical diagnostics, and how their results can be summarised and integrated with other lines of evidence to produce clinically valid reports.
• Use appropriate tools to gather requirements and perform project management.
• Design a scientifically valid experimental strategy to address a specific research question relevant to modern clinical science practice.
• Produce a cogent dissertation that contains a critical analysis and evaluation of data generated during research project, and a concise and scientifically valid interpretation of the experimental findings.
• Perform sequence alignment tasks.
• Select and apply appropriate bioinformatic tools and resources from a core subset to typical diagnostic laboratory cases, contextualised to the scope and practice of a clinical genetics laboratory.
• Use relevant literature and electronic resources to collect, select and organise complex scientific information.
• Compare major informatics resources for clinical diagnostics, and how their results can be summarised and integrated with other lines of evidence to produce clinically valid reports.
• Use appropriate tools to gather requirements and perform project management.
• Design a scientifically valid experimental strategy to address a specific research question relevant to modern clinical science practice.
• Produce a cogent dissertation that contains a critical analysis and evaluation of data generated during research project, and a concise and scientifically valid interpretation of the experimental findings.

Transferable Skills

• Communicate effectively in a variety of settings with a range of individuals.
• Actively seek accurate and validated information from all available sources.
• Demonstrate research and enquiry skills by accessing and analysing literature in order
  to inform and develop practice.
  Work co-operatively and effectively with others as a member of a team.
• Interpret data and convert into knowledge for use in the clinical context of individual and groups of patients.
• Manage personal workload and objectives to achieve module of work.
• Use logical and systematic approaches to problem-solving and decision-making.

Programme Structure and Credit Requirements

The MSc Clinical Sciences (Clinical Bioinformatics) programme consists of 120 credit taught component and a 60 credit research project. The structure of the programme is illustrated in Table 1.

Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Professional Practice (20)	Research Skills in Healthcare Science (10)	Policy, Strategy and Operations (10)
Introduction to Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics (10)	Data Science and Engineering (10)	Digital Health Tools and Clinical Decision Making (10)
Introduction to Health Informatics (10)	Systems Development & Design (10)	Artificial Intelligence (10)
Introduction to Clinical Scientific Computing (10)	Research Project (30)	Research Project (30)
Introduction to Business Intelligence (10)

Table.1

Course Units

Professional Foundations of Healthcare and Clinical Science (20 Credits)

• This five day unit will provide students with an introduction to professional practice within a health service setting. The unit will introduce and critically review the frameworks and academic literature underpinning professional practice and enable trainees to gain the knowledge, skills, experience and tools to develop, improve and maintain high standards of professional practice at all times. It will also provide an overview of key areas such as public health, the psychosocial aspects of health and disease, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics and bioinformatics.

Introduction to Clinical Bioinformatics (10 credits)

• This module will introduce the practice of Clinical Bioinformatics, centring on the clinical analysis of genetic sequence data and genetic variants.

Introduction to Health Informatics (10 credits)

• This module will introduce the principles, application, impact, stakeholders and wider multidisciplinary team involved in Health Informatics.

Introduction to Business Intelligence (10 credits)

• This module will introduce trainees to the strategies and technologies used by NHS organisations for the reporting and analytics of service information to create Business Intelligence. It will focus on software, data and visualisation.

Introduction to Clinical Scientific Computing (10 credits)

• This module will introduce trainees to the laboratory practices and principles of quality, analysis and clinical scientific computing fundamental to practice as a Clinical Scientist in the Clinical Scientific Computing in Physical Sciences.

Data Science and Engineering (10 credits)

• This module aims to give trainees the key concepts to be able to work in a multidisciplinary team with those that are data engineers and give them hands-on experience in designing, managing and optimising the flow of health data throughout a healthcare organisation.

Systems Development and Design (10 credits)

• This module will provide an opportunity for trainees to develop and apply detailed understanding of the different approaches to the specification, design, development, testing and implementation of clinical systems in the context of formal project management methodologies.

Policy, Strategy and Operations (10 credits)

• This module will provide trainees with the key knowledge and skills required by professionals to understand, contribute to, write and deliver policy and strategy for safe and secure health systems.

Digital Health Tools and Clinical Decision Making (10 credits)

• This module will introduce trainees to how patient data and clinical knowledge is used to inform decision-making. Trainees will learn about the different forms of healthcare knowledge, how they are defined and represented, and the design and evaluation of decision support systems.

Artificial Intelligence (10 credits)

• This module introduces the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) providing the key concepts and knowledge in how it is used or has the potential to be used to solve healthcare challenges, whilst also discussing the wider issues considering its usage.

Research Skills in Healthcare Science (10 credits)

This module will prepare trainees to undertake their own research project to contribute to the improvement of patient care. On completion of this module trainees will be equipped with knowledge of research, service evaluation and audit. Trainees will appreciate the lifecycle of a project and the methodology required, including qualitative and quantitative research methods, ethical considerations, sharing results and the importance of public and patient involvement. Trainees will also have an awareness of the research environment within the NHS and wider healthcare environment.

Research Project and Dissertation (60 credits)

The research project permits students to develop and refine core research and transferable skills in addition to expanding their knowledge and understanding of Clinical Bioinformatics. The research project will be started during the summer of year 2. It will run through the summer and be completed in semester 1 of year 3. The project can be undertaken full-time over 8-10 weeks or a part-time over an extended period. The programme expects employers to allow students sufficient “protected” time to complete their projects within the time frame outlined above. If a student is having difficulties they should immediately contact their Academic Project Advisor or the Programme Director. For further information, please see the Programme Dissertation Handbook. At the end of the research project the trainees will have to produce a dissertation. Students will be asked to give notice that they will submit their dissertation, and the format of their dissertation.

• One copy of the dissertation should be submitted through Turnitin. Guidance for presentation of Taught Masters Dissertations is provided below.
• You should expect some help from your project supervisor in writing the report and from your academic project advisor. Obviously, the extent of this help may be reflected in the final mark, but as a rule your project supervisor will be expected to read and comment on an outline and final draft of the report. Trainees should however provide supervisors with adequate notice when submitting their draft report since they have many calls on their time. Trainees will find that it helps to prepare figures and to work on aspects of their reports throughout the research project, rather than leaving it until the end.
• It is important to remember that one of the dissertation markers will not be familiar with the project. It is therefore important to provide a clear and concise dissertation.
• Given that projects will vary in the number and size of figures/images, the fairest and most consistent method to standardise the length is to impose a word limit.

Student Progression

For operational and administrative purposes the MSc is divided into three parts.

• Part 1: Year 1 Core taught units + first examiners meeting
• Part 2: Year 2 Taught units + interim examiners meeting
• Part 3: Year 3 Taught units and Research Project + final examiners meeting

Students who wish to leave the Programme may do so at the end of year 1 (i.e. after core taught units) with a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Science, or after completion of year 2 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Science. The award of a Certificate or Diploma is dependent on the student obtaining an average of at least 50% for the units taken (see below).

The First Examiners’ Meeting (Year 1)

The MSc Programme has External Examiner appointed, who advises the Faculty regarding the quality of the MSc Programme and its management, as well as providing advice on the quality of the assessment procedures and fairness of the decisions made about individual students. The External Examiner will be sent the assessments from the taught units and the research project dissertations. The major purpose of the First Examiners’ Meeting (held in June/July) is to ratify the provisional marks from the core taught modules and to decide which students should be allowed to progress to Part 2 of the MSc Programme (see below for details) and to determine which students should progress onto the research project. Students must have passed all taught units at Masters level i.e. achieved a mark of at least 50% (including any units passed by referral, within the referral allowance defined by the Postgraduate taught degree regulations) to be able to progress to the research project. Students who do not meet the criteria to remain on the Masters pathway will be considered for any applicable alternative award (e.g. PG Certificate). This meeting also provides the examiners with an opportunity to review students’ feedback on the course.

Interim Examiners Meeting (Year 2)

A second examiners meeting is held to ratify the provisional marks from the Year 2 taught units and to determine which students should progress onto the research project. The Health Informatics pathway also is covered by a Subject Specific Examiner.

Final Examiners Meeting (Year 3)

A final examiners meeting is held in year 3 to review the progress of each student. The marks from the research project dissertation will be combined with the taught unit marks to provide a final weighted average percentage score. The panel will then recommend the classification to be awarded to each student.

Deadlines for Assessed Work

The deadline for any piece of assessed work is usually 16:00 on the due date. Please refer to course timetables for any due dates you may have.

 

Supervisor

All students at dissertation level are allocated a Supervisor. Briefly, the responsibilities of the Supervisor include: giving guidance about the nature of research and the standard expected; the planning of the research programme; and pointing the Student towards relevant literature and other sources of information.

The relationship between the Student and their Supervisor is of central importance. Both the Student and the Supervisor have a responsibility to ensure that the dissertation is completed within the prescribed period of the programme. Supervisors and students should establish at their initial meeting clear and explicit expectations of each other in order to minimise the risks and problems of misunderstanding, inadequate supervision and unsatisfactory work.

Progress monitoring meetings are closely documented. It should be noted that in some instances students may be jointly supervised by staff, in this case they will be assigned a principal and a second supervisor.

If you have any queries or concerns at any time during your period of study, there is a range of people you can approach:

• Your Supervisor
• Programme Directors
• The Programme Administration Team
• Postgraduate Taught Education Support Manager
• Postgraduate Taught Director

Recording Lectures

Please do not assume you can record lectures with a voice recorder or similar device. If you wish to record a lecture or other teaching session, ensure you obtain the prior permission of the lecturer. You may not share any recordings with any other person (including by electronic media) without first being given specific permission by the lecturer.

• Policy on the Recording of Lectures and other Teaching and Learning Activities

Programme Management

The programme is managed and operated in accordance with the policies, principles, regulations and procedures of The University of Manchester.

The Programme Directors, have day-to-day responsibility for the management of the programmes and are assisted by the Programme Administration Team.

Programme Committee

The Programme Committee meet twice a year. The committee’s functions and responsibilities are to maintain the standards of teaching, to evaluate and revise the programme in the light of feedback, to monitor student progression and to provide a forum for discussion between the University and the students.

The Programme Committee reviews the annual monitoring report and acts on recommendations arising from the annual monitoring process.

The membership of the Programme Committee includes: the Programme Directors; the Programme Administration Team; Teaching Staff and Student Representatives.

The Programme Committee report to the Consortium and SBS Teaching and Learning Executive Committee.

External Examiner

The External Examiner for this programme is Professor Sinead Brophy at Swansea University.

Please note that it is for information only and 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 Administrator in the first instance.

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
External Examiners’ reports relating to this programme will be shared with student representatives at the Staff Student Liaison Committee and/or Programme Committee 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.

Confidentiality, Professionalism and Information Sharing Agreement

Information in relation to a student’s academic progression will be shared amongst relevant parties in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 and in conjunction with contractual obligations between the parties. Relevant parties could include but not limited to education providers as part of the programme, funding bodies and accreditation bodies.

Progress and Assessment

Deadlines for Assessed Work

All assessed work must be handed in at the prescribed time. Dates will be published in advance of the deadline. We recommend that you transfer these dates to your diaries as soon as they are published.

Assignment Word Count (Including Dissertation)

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 fly 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. For example, if part of the requirement for the assessment is conciseness of presentation of facts and arguments. In such cases it may be that no 10% leeway is allowed and penalties applied may be stricter than described above. 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.

Submitting your work

All assignments must be submitted electronically. The published deadlines for assessments all relate to the electronic submission which is completed via Blackboard, using the Turnitin system in the majority of cases. You must submit by the deadline advertised in your timetable/assessment handbook.

 

• Submitting an electronic copy of the work
• Log onto Blackboard via My Manchester
• Click on the relevant course unit
• Go to assessment folder
• Upload your assignment via the Turnitin process

Turnitin

The University uses electronic systems for the purposes of detecting plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice and for marking. Such systems include Turnitin, the plagiarism detection service used by the University.

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.

Guidance on how to submit assignments

Please note that you can only upload one document so you cannot save your references/appendices as a separate document.

Guidance for Presentation of Taught Master's Dissertations

The University of Manchester guidance on presentation of taught Master's Dissertations is available at:

Guidance for the presentation of Taught Master's dissertations

The guidance explains the required presentation of the dissertation, and failure to follow the instructions in the guidance may result in the dissertation being rejected by the examiners.

There is more information on taught master's dissertation requirements on Blackboard: https://my.manchester.ac.uk

Extensions to Assignment Deadlines

On rare occasions students may need to request an extension to a coursework deadline due to circumstances beyond their control. If you need to request an extension to your assignment submission deadline then you must submit an extension request form which must be accompanied by supporting evidence (medical letters, certificates or other appropriate evidence). The supporting evidence must justify the length of the requested extension.

The extension request form is available via the Student Support Team .

The form should be submitted as soon as possible before the coursework deadline and should be submitted to the Student Support Team.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your request has been received.

You will be notified of the outcome of your request via email as soon as possible. Please note that an extension to a deadline is classed as mitigation. Mitigation can only be applied once to a piece of work. i.e. you cannot have an deadline extension and also apply for mitigation for poor performance due to the same circumstances.

Late Submission Penalty (Including Dissertation)

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. Resit marks are capped. 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

Academic Malpractice

Academic malpractice is any activity – intentional or otherwise – that is likely to undermine the integrity essential to scholarship and research. It includes plagiarism, collusion, fabrication or falsification of results, and anything else that could result in unearned or undeserved credit for those committing it. Academic malpractice can result from a deliberate act of cheating or may be committed unintentionally. Whether intended or not, all incidents of academic malpractice will be treated seriously by the University.

Guidance on academic malpractice and how to avoid it

The procedures and penalties for dealing with academic malpractice are covered by the same regulation as apply to Conduct and Disciple of Students (Regulation XVII).

You are responsible for ensuring that you understand what academic malpractice is, and how to avoid committing it. If you are unsure, ask your lecturer or academic advisor.

As further support for students, the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health has developed an Introductory Course. This unit must be completed by all postgraduate taught students and will allow you to test your understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and academic malpractice. You can access the resource via Blackboard. Log in to My Manchester and click on the Blackboard tab. The online resource will be listed under the My Communities heading. The module should be completed as soon as possible after you begin your programmes, but must be completed before you submit your first piece of academic work for assessment.

Feedback for Assessments

The purpose of feedback is to provide constructive comments so that you can improve the standard of your work. Thus, in addition to marks you will receive written feedback on most of your assessed coursework.

Marks awarded for your assessments (i.e. everything which contributes to your final degree classification) are subject to ratification by the examination board and the external examiner at the awarding examination meeting. Consequently all marks given before the final examiners’ meeting has taken place must be regarded as provisional. Shortly after the examinations meetings we will publish results and a breakdown of your marks. These will remain provisional until after the final examination board has met.

The marking process involves several steps to ensure appropriate academic consideration and quality assurance processes have been adhered to. Students will be notified by email once the work has been marked and grades are available. We will endeavour to mark work 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. In these circumstances, you will be kept informed of this.

The University Policy on Feedback to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Students

A video message explaining the university feedback policy is available in the community space on Blackboard. It is recommended that you watch this message for information and suggestions on how to best utilise the feedback you are given throughout your course.

Following graduation 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, membership of professional bodies, exemption from sections of professional examinations etc. If you need an official transcript, contact the SSC on 0161 275 5000.

Unofficial transcripts can be provided by the Assessments Team.

How To Find Your Marks

Once work has been marked and moderated you will receive an email from the Assessment Team to tell you that the marks have been released. Work submitted via Blackboard will usually show a mark along with feedback on the Blackboard system.

You can also access marks by logging into your My Manchester account and going to My Services/Self Service and Student Centre. You can choose ‘Assignments’ from the drop-down box and choose the relevant unit. Your Final mark for the unit does not appear until the unit is fully completed and marks have been through an exam board.

Examinations

Examinations may be scheduled at any point during the academic year. The Assessments Team will provide you with details on when examinations will be scheduled. 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. More details will be provided by the individual unit leads. Past papers for some units (where appropriate) are available online:

Past Exams

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 Assessments Team or Programme Directors.

Students are expected to attend all scheduled examinations. If for any unforeseen circumstances you experience any issues in attending, you must report this to the Programme Administration Team/Programme Director who may recommend that you submit a Mitigating Circumstances application.

Student Representation and Feedback

 

Election of Student Representative

At the beginning of the year you will be asked to elect a student representative. The student representative will be invited to attend the Programme Committees for parts of the meeting that do not involve discussion of individual students and the assessments. The student representative should make students’ views known to the programme management. In addition, they should report any relevant information back to the students.

 

Feedback from/to students

The University has a Policy on Feedback to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Students in relation to the timely provision of feedback for academic progression.

Students will also have the opportunity to feedback their thoughts on the programme via a series of anonymous evaluation forms. Student feedback questionnaires will be made available via the Module Leads at the end of each module. The information will then be collated to assess the performance level of the programme. It is expected that every student will complete these forms. These feedback questionnaires are produced by the programme and allow students to comment on specific aspects of the organisation and delivery of the taught modules. The information obtained is collated and discussed during the next Programme Committee meeting. The quality of teaching on the programme is monitored in part by student feedback. Thus it is very important that you make your views, good and bad, known.

At the end of each semester, you will be asked to complete an anonymous University generated online evaluation form. This is known as a Unit Survey and will address more general issues with the information obtained being used to inform the teaching strategy of the Faculty/University. You will also receive a Postgraduate Taught Unit Survey form at the end of the semester. Again all students are expected to complete these surveys.

University Regulations

Postgraduate Degree Regulations and exemptions

Please be aware this programme has some higher requirements to the University degree regulations and details of these are outlined below:

• The programme employs a 50% pass rate across all pathways
• This programme will not apply compensation rules to any course unit
• As per professional body requirements resit pass marks will be recorded on the transcripts as 50R. However the actual awarded mark as described in the ‘Late Submission and Penalty (including Dissertation)’ section above (i.e. 40-49R) will be used to calculate the overall weighted average and degree classification
• Each 10 or 20 credit sub component of the overarching unit must be passed with a cumulative assessment mark of 50% based on the assessments relating to each sub component. Reassessment will be required in the event that this cumulative sub component grade is not achieved. Standard reassessment credit limits will apply.

The University Postgraduate degree regulations can be found online:

• Postgraduate Degree Regulations

A video explaining the degree regulations can be found in the community space on Blackboard.

In order to progress to the dissertation/research project you must have satisfactorily achieved the relevant pass mark in taught course units, including by use of resit and/or compensation as outlined in the degree regulations, in order to continue to this element of the programme.

Ethics Procedures

The nature of your programme and/or project work may require ethical approval.

• Policy on Ethical Approval of research on human subjects in taught assessment

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have followed the correct ethical procedures, and that you have done this in good time.

Speak to your Supervisor or Programme Director at the earliest opportunity to ascertain whether ethical approval is required.

Student Support and Guidance

Academic Appeals, Complaints, Conduct and Discipline

Academic Appeals

Academic Appeals are a way of asking the University to review a recent decision taken by an Examination Board or equivalent body, which affects a student’s progression or status (e.g. where a student is excluded from the University, or transferred to a programme for a lower qualification). However, appeals cannot be made simply on the basis of disagreeing with a mark, or as a challenge to academic judgement. They must instead be based on one of the grounds for appeal detailed in Regulation XIX Academic Appeals.

Full details are available here.

The purpose of this regulation is to safeguard the interests of students and may only be used when there are adequate grounds for doing so which are outlined in the regulation. It may not be used simply because you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your assessment or other decision concerning your academic progress.

An appeal which questions the academic or professional judgement of those charged with the responsibility for assessing a student’s academic performance of professional competence shall not be permitted. This means that you may not challenge marks or grades awarded unless you believe that they may have been affected by factors under i-iv below.

The accepted grounds for appeal are as follows:

(i)       Circumstances affecting your performance of which, for a credible and compelling reason, the Examination Board or equivalent body may not have been aware when the decision was taken, and which may have had a material effect on the decision. Note: if students wish to appeal on such grounds, they must give credible and compelling reasons with supporting documentation explaining why this information was not made available prior to the decision being made.

(ii)         An administrative error or procedural irregularity in the assessment process or in putting into effect the regulations for the programme of study such as to cause significant doubt as to whether the decision might have been different if the error or irregularity had not occurred.

(iii)        Evidence of prejudice or bias or lack of proper assessment on the part of one or more of the examiners.

(iv)        The supervision or training in respect of research for a dissertation or thesis or equivalent work was unsatisfactory to the point that your performance was seriously affected.

Appeals based upon provisional decisions of the School cannot be considered. This means that you will not be able to submit an appeal until after examination boards have taken place and the results have been released. All recommendations for mitigating circumstances must be approved by the Board of Examiners.

In the first instance, students should submit an informal appeal directly to the school to see if an informal resolution can be reached. Students can do this by emailing their appeal to sbs.appealsandconduct@manchester.ac.uk with any evidence provided as email attachments. The specifics of the appeal can be outlined in the email. The email should provide the following information:

• An explanation of the mitigating circumstances and the impact that this had on your academic performance - you have provided this.
• Evidence to support the mitigating circumstances - if you have any further evidence, please send it through.
• An explanation (ideally supported by evidence) as to why you were not able to make the school aware of these circumstances earlier (e.g. by applying for mitigating circumstances).

Should an informal appeal be rejected, you will then have the right to submit a formal appeal to the Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health Appeals, Complaints and Discipline Team within 20 working days of the date you are notified of the outcome of your informal appeal. This route should not be pursued until an informal appeal has been considered first.

Please be aware that if you submit a formal appeal without having submitted an informal appeal first, there is no other channel for submitting a further appeal within the university.

Please note you can only appeal on your own behalf. If you want a representative (e.g. a parent) to appeal for you, you must send a letter (or email) with your appeal explaining that you have given them permission to act on your behalf. Students can contact the Students’ Union Advice Centre for assistance in drafting an appeal.

For further information on submitting an appeal, please contact appeals.sbs@manchester.ac.uk

Student Complaints

The University’s Student Complaints Procedure (Regulation XVIII) and associated documents, including a complaints form, can be found at Regulations | Academic-related regulations | Regulation XVIII: Student Complaints Procedure | The University of Manchester

The University has separate procedures to address complaints of bullying, harassment, discrimination and/or victimisation - see https://www.reportandsupport.manchester.ac.uk/ 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 electronically by 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 https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/tlso/academic-appeals-complaints-and- misconduct/

Faculty policies for students on communication and dress code, social networking. and drugs and alcohol can be found at:

• http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=29038 (Communication and Dress Code)
• http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=29039 (Drugs and Alcohol)
• http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=29040 (Social Networking)

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/

In accordance with the Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment on Taught Programmes, ‘All typed summative assessment, including dissertations, should be submitted online and subjected to plagiarism detection software, where appropriate’.

The University Library has produced online resources to help students in avoiding plagiarism and academic malpractice at: https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/using-the-library/students/training-and-skills-support/my- learning-essentials/online-resources/

An Introduction to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism is provided by the Student Guidance Service at: An Introduction to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism (Student Guidance Service)

The Student Support website provides guidance on Good Study Skills at: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/study-support/goodstudyskills/

The Student Support website also provides guidance on avoiding academic malpractice: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/study-support/academic-support/assessments-and-exams/avoiding-academic-malpractice/ 

Students thinking of submitting a formal complaint should, in most instances, attempt informal resolution first. Students can submit complaints to the Head of Teaching, Learning & Student Experience, Kerry Mycock (kerry.mycock@manchester.ac.uk), for the School to respond to.

Mitigating Circumstances: Requesting Extensions and/or Mitigation for Adverse Events Impacting on Your Studies

During your studies, you may experience unforeseeable and unpreventable significant events which negatively affect your ability to submit work and assessments or perform to your usual standard in an assessment of any type. The University’s Policy on Mitigating Circumstances outlines the processes in place to reduce the negative effects of these situations on academic outcomes.

There are two ways that these circumstances can be considered; Extensions for coursework submissions and Mitigation for coursework/assessments and exams.

Extensions to Coursework/Assessment Submissions

If, because of illness or other mitigating factors, you wish to seek an extension to a deadline for submitting written coursework for a course unit or a tutorial assignment, you must submit an Assessed Coursework Extension Request form.

The application for extension must be made BY 10:00am TWO DAYS BEFORE THE DAY OF THE DEADLINE.  For example, if the deadline is at 4pm on Thursday, the extension request must be submitted before 10am on the Tuesday of that week.  If the deadline is on a Monday, the extension request MUST be submitted by 10am on the Thursday before the deadline.

If a student is eligible for a DASS Automatic Extension, they should apply, at the latest, TWO DAYS BEFORE THE DASS DEADLINE.

We will not consider late applications.  If a student misses the deadline to apply for an extension, we recommend they apply for mitigating circumstances (see below).

Students on STP Programmes will normally be granted a maximum of 2 weeks (in addition to any DASS automatic extension that the student may be entitled to).

If a student requires additional time, they are recommended to apply for mitigating circumstances – see below.

Applications for extensions must be submitted online using the link communicated to students each semester.  Students will be sent regular email communications which will include information on how to apply – including a link to the online form.- Applications not completed via the provided online link, will not be accepted.

Extension requests will only apply to assessed written work, for example, coursework essays, and do not apply to the following:

• Group/teamwork
• Presentations
• Formative coursework
• Assessments limited by logistical constraints e.g., assessments to be completed whilst on a field trip; short recurring deadlines – where assessments are to be submitted weekly for a particular unit; continuous ongoing course work – portfolios; or where feedback needs to be provided to students before the extension end date
• Practical/skills-based work
• Take home timed written examinations.

Students are not required to provide supporting evidence for extension requests (unless they wish to provide this).  The application will be assessed based on whether a student has fully demonstrated the impact of the incident/issue on their ability to submit the written piece of work within the original deadline.

Reasons for requesting and granting an extension may include (but not limited to):

• Technology/IT issues – broken laptop, Wi-Fi issues etc.
• Physical ill health – Covid, sickness, injury etc.
• Mental ill health – anxiety, stress etc.
• Disability (whether the student is registered with DASS or not)
• Domestic/family crisis – bereavement, illness, relationship breakdown, caring responsibilities, maternity/paternity/adoption leave
• Personal crisis – accommodation issues, theft, assault, financial difficulties
• Jury Service.

Extension requests that fall within the following categories would not normally be granted:

• Planned/anticipated events – moving house, holidays etc. (anything that could be reasonably expected)
• Assessments that are scheduled close together – unless impacting on health/wellbeing
• Misreading assessment timetable
• Inadequate planning or time management
• Act of religious observance
• Consequences of paid employment (except in exceptional circumstances, i.e. if related to family/financial crises).

You must not assume that an extension has been approved until you receive written (e.g. email) confirmation. You should receive this confirmation prior to the original deadline.

Mitigating Circumstances

Sometimes circumstances or events beyond your control may adversely affect your ability to perform in an examination or assessment to your full potential. The University defines mitigating circumstances as ‘unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances that could have, or did have, a significant adverse effect on the academic performance of a student’.  

Possible mitigating circumstances include:

• significant illness or injury; or worsening of an ongoing illness or disability, including mental health conditions (please see the DASS website for examples of disabilities);
• personal issues such as the death or critical/significant illness of a close family member/dependent; significant family or personal crises or major financial problems leading to acute stress;
• some IT-related issues such as a network or hardware fault at the point of submission; and
• absence from the University for public service, for example, jury service.

Events that will NOT normally be regarded as grounds for mitigation include (but are not limited to):

Personal issues: 

• holidays, moving house and events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected.
• loss or theft of a computer or printer that prevents submission of work on time.  Students should back up work regularly and not leave completion so late that they cannot find another computer or printer.
• the act of religious observance.
• consequences of paid employment (except in some special cases for part-time students)

Time management or organization/administrative issues:

• assessments that are scheduled close together.
• misreading the timetable or misunderstanding the requirements for assessments.
• inadequate planning and time management.
• students who commence their studies later than the expected start date who have missed a portion of teaching/learning.

Issues during exams:

• exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness or supported by medical evidence.
• disruption in an examination room during the course of an assessment which has not been brought to the attention of, or recorded by, the invigilators (including instances such as fire alarms or other noise disruption).

You should include any evidence that supports your request, such as:

• Extracts from your medical notes (you can request these from your GP practice)
• Copy of prescription or photo of name label on prescribed medication
• Photo of labelled positive COVID-19 test result (if available)
• Appointment cards from medical unit or hospital admissions letter
• Confirmation text of medical appointment
• Communications from a school or care facility confirming that they are closed or the person you care for is unable to attend
• An obituary or letter from a family member, in the case of bereavement
• Police, security or insurance report
• Press or media report
• Internal confirmation of existing engagement with our counselling / Advice and Response service

For medical conditions we do not require a specific letter from your GP or healthcare provider, and in cases of bereavement we do not require a death certificate. However, you can still include either of these as supporting evidence if you wish.

If you are registered with DASS, they will confirm with your School directly – you do not have to seek this evidence from them.

Please note some third-party providers can take several weeks to provide you with supporting evidence, so it is important to organise this as soon as possible.  If your evidence will not be available until after the deadline, you must ensure your application is submitted on time and notify sbs.mitcircs@manchester.ac.uk when they can expect to receive the evidence.

If due to an emergency you have attended a hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, you must obtain written confirmation of attendance either from the hospital or subsequently from your GP confirming your attendance and stating the nature of the emergency.

If the information is of a highly confidential nature, you may submit your evidence in a sealed envelope to the SBS Student Hub, marked for the attention of the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Committee.

Coursework and other assessment deadlines for submitting your mitigating circumstances application and supporting evidence

Coursework and other assessments completed during the Semester:

Applications must be submitted within 5 working days of the assessment deadline.  For example, an application for an assessment with a deadline of 4pm on Thursday must be submitted by no later than 4pm on Thursday of the following week.

Requests for mitigation submitted after the deadline dates cannot be considered. Students would need to go through the appeals process and provide a credible and compelling explanation as to why the circumstances were not known or could not have been shown beforehand.

Applications for mitigating circumstances must be submitted online using the link communicated to students each semester.  Students will be sent regular email communications which will include information on how to apply – including a link to the online form. Applications not completed via the provided online link, will not be accepted.

Please be aware, mitigation will NOT result in the changing of any marks, unless penalties for late submission are waived after an assignment has already been marked.

Absence from examinations due to ill health 

You should make every effort to participate in all examinations. It will not be possible to make special arrangements to take the exams in an alternative location, unless this has been arranged through the Disability Advisory Support Service.

If you are so ill you are unable to take an exam, you must contact the SBS Hub – email sbs.hub@manchester.ac.uk or telephone 0161 275 1387 as soon as possible, and certainly no later than the day and start time of your examination. You should complete a Mitigating Circumstances application which must be accompanied by appropriate independent third-party supporting evidence.  Further guidance on the type of evidence you might include is available here.

Please note some third-party providers can take several weeks to provide you with supporting evidence, so it is important to organise this as soon as possible. If your evidence will not be available until after the deadline, you must ensure your application is submitted on time and notify sbs.mitcircs@manchester.ac.uk when they can expect to receive the evidence.

If the information is of a highly confidential nature, you may submit your evidence in a sealed envelope, marked for the attention of the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Committee. If due to an emergency you have attended a hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, you must obtain written confirmation of attendance either from the hospital or subsequently from your GP confirming your attendance and stating the nature of the emergency.

Illness not resulting in absence from examinations 

You may be unwell but able to proceed with an examination but feel that your performance will have been impaired. If you wish this to be taken into account, you must follow the same procedures as stated in the earlier Section Absence from Examinations due to Ill Health by applying for mitigation. Note that exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness or supported by medical evidence, would not normally be considered a mitigating circumstance. If you anticipate or experience any of these issues, you are strongly encouraged to contact your GP, the Counselling & Mental Health Service (see Section Counselling) or the Disability Advisory Support Service (DASS).

Interruptions/Withdrawals

Interruptions

It is the expectation of the University that postgraduate taught students pursue their studies on a continuous basis for the stipulated duration of their programme. However, it is recognised that students may encounter personal difficulties or situations which may seriously disrupt or delay their studies. In some cases, an interruption or extension to your programme of study may be the most sensible option.

Students who wish to interrupt the programme or extend to write up the dissertation should initially discuss their plans and reasons with the Programme Director.

Students should also provide documentary evidence when appropriate, for example, doctor’s letter, sick note etc.

An application must be submitted to the Programme Director who will either support or reject the request. The form will then be submitted for consideration to the School Interruptions Panel who will make the final decision.

The forms required for formal application are available from the Student Support Team.

Withdrawals

Students who are considering withdrawing from the programme should discuss this either with the Programme Director and, if in their dissertation year, with their research supervisor, and make the application by formal letter.

Students may liaise directly with the Student Support Team who will communicate this information directly to the Fees and Records Departments of the University.

Occupational Health

Occupational Health is a specialised area of medicine concerned with the way in which an individual’s health can affect his or her ability to do a job and to study and conversely how the work environment can affect an individual’s health. Their aim is to promote the physical, mental and social well-being of students and to reduce the incidence of ill-health arising from exposure to work place hazards.

The service provides confidential services to protect the health of staff and students at The University of Manchester.

Occupational Health Service

Counselling Service

The counselling service is available for all students. It is free and consists of a team of professional counsellors. The service provides confidential counselling for anyone who wants help with personal problems affecting their work or well-being.

The service is open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday all year round except public holidays.

Counselling Service

Fitness to Practise

Postgraduate students at The University of Manchester who are qualified health or social care professionals (e.g. doctor, dentist, nurse, social worker) registered by a healthcare or social care regulatory body (e.g. General Medical Council, General Dental Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council, Social Care Council) are expected to behave at all times in a way that is consistent with the recommendations or code of practice of the relevant professional regulatory body.

Postgraduate students need to be aware that in the event of misconduct, dishonesty, unprofessional behaviour, or other behaviour or illness (e.g. mental health illness) that raises the possibility that the student’s fitness to practise may be impaired; the University has a duty to protect the public and to inform the relevant professional regulatory body. This means, for example, that where a student has been found to be dishonest (e.g. plagiarism, collusion, falsification of research data or other forms of cheating) the matter may be reported by the University to the relevant professional regulatory body.

Students who are dishonest not only risk failing to be awarded the intended degree, but also place at risk their whole professional career.

Further information on Fitness to Practise related matters can be found online:

Fitness to practise

Disability Advisory and Support Service

The University of Manchester welcomes students with a disability or specific learning difficulties. The University has a Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS), who can supply further information, and staff will be pleased to meet you, by prior arrangement, to discuss your needs. Staff will liaise with your School to make the necessary arrangements for your support during your time in Manchester. The office can also provide a copy of the University's Disability Statement, 'Opportunities for Students with Additional Support Needs at the University of Manchester' which sets out the policy and provision for students with a disability.

DASS is located on the 2nd Floor of University Place (see Campus Map)

• Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk
• Phone 0161 275 7512; Text 07899 658 790 (only for d/Deaf students);
• Website: http://www.dso.manchester.ac.uk/
• DASS are open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday

You can also email the school at sbs.dc@manchester.ac.uk for any advice relating to DASS requirements.

Please be aware that if you were an undergraduate student at the University of Manchester you will need to register with DASS again as a postgraduate student.

Students Union Advice Centre

The Students Union has advisors who can help with any matter ranging from finances to housing and beyond.

Manchester Students' Union

University Careers Service

As a postgraduate the demands on your time can seem overwhelming. The University careers service can make your life easier by offering a range of services designed to help you. Advice and support for Postgraduates include:

• Help with CVs and applications, practice interviews and psychometric tests
• Drop in quick query advice service
• Personal Career consultations targeted to your needs
• A range of postgraduate employability training opportunities
• 24-hour access to up to date information, advice, vacancies and details of forthcoming events, including a specifically designed section for postgraduates available through our website: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers
• Information on Job opportunities and vacancies through our fortnightly vacancy paper bulletins

The University of Manchester Careers Service

Monitoring attendance and wellbeing of students

In order to monitor their progress, students will have regular, scheduled meetings with their academic advisor. Progress forms should be completed at these meetings. These meetings are in addition to the research project supervisory meetings between the student and supervisor, of which there should be a minimum of 10 per academic year.

Students are required to attend ALL lectures.

Attendance monitoring will take place during ALL sessions. It is your responsibility to make sure you have signed the register. Postgraduates are also expected to sit ALL examinations and coursework tests for their degree programme and to submit ALL coursework assignments by the deadline specified. Any queries about attendance should be sent to sbs.attendance@manchester.ac.uk.

Attendance is monitored in conjunction with Regulation XX – Work and Attendance of Students.

Absences supported by medical or other appropriate information will not normally be counted towards the assessment of unsatisfactory attendance. Any absences must be supported by a Mitigating Circumstances Form and supporting evidence.

A-Z of Student Services

The A-Z of Services can be found on the My Manchester website or here.

Here you can find more information on a wide range of topics such as library services, disability support and careers advice.

IT Services Support Centre online

Details of what IT support is available and how to access it can be found on the FBMH eLearning Support page.

Login to the Support Centre online to log a request, book an appointment for an IT visit, or search the Knowledge Base.

Telephone: +44 (0)161 306 5544 (or extension 65544). Telephone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In person: Walk-up help and support is available at the Joule Library, Main Library or Alan Gilbert Learning Commons:

Use Support Centre online for support with eLearning, from where you may make a request, or search the Knowledge Base.

For IT and eLearning support visit: https://elearning.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/student/technical-support/

Blackboard

Blackboard, the University's 'virtual learning environment', will be used for online teaching.

What is Blackboard?

Blackboard is a web-based system that complements and builds upon traditional learning methods used at The University of Manchester. By using Blackboard you can

• view course materials and learning resources,
• communicate with lectures and other students,
• collaborate in groups,
• get feedback,
• submit assignments,
• monitor your own progress at a time and place of your own convenience.

Training in the use of software

The Faculty eLearning team have produced a short introduction to Blackboard for new students. The recording is hosted in two places: the Video Portal and on YouTube:

• Video Portal
• https://youtu.be/47pA877MKJg

The recording is just over seven minutes long and covers most of the commonly used tools in Blackboard.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI tools have the potential to enhance learning, and can support inclusivity and accessibility when used appropriately. It is important that you understand the potential risks and benefits of these tools if you plan to use them during your studies.

You may use AI tools like any other resource to help you generate ideas, key themes, and plan your assessment, and you may also cite or quote content generated by AI systems. However, passing off work generated by AI as your own is plagiarism, and will be treated as seriously as plagiarism of another person.

Some Course Units or assignments may vary this position. In these cases you will be given detailed instructions on what is and isn’t allowed, and may be asked to sign a code of conduct. If you are unclear about what is permissible, contact the course unit lead.

For more detail on the University’s position on the use of AI in teaching and learning, see Artificial Intelligence (AI) Teaching Guidance.

For advice on how to acknowledge and cite content generated by AI see https://manchester-uk.libanswers.com/teaching-and-learning/faq/264824

Religious Observance

The University supports a wide range of religions and will make every effort to support students in observing their religious beliefs.

For centrally timetabled examinations, key dates are to be noted in terms of formally notifying the University on dates in which undertaking assessment will be affected by religious observance. Please contact the Student Support Team with details of any assessments and teaching that may be affected.

Centrally timetabled exams and religious observance

Religious Observance and Looking after yourself and your patients during Ramadan

Policy on Religious Observance:

• University Policy
• The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health has produced guidance for healthcare students on fasting and caring: Fasting and Caring - Looking after yourself and your patients during Ramadan: guidance for health care students.

Library Facilities

Library facilities are available across campus including the Stopford Building.

Photocopying is available in The University of Manchester Library. It is important that you abide by the regulations concerning the copying of copyright material.

The Alan Gilbert Learning Commons is a state of the art study and learning centre in the heart of the Oxford Road campus boasting an onsite café, an impressive atrium providing a social meeting space with wifi access and flexible study spaces and environments throughout the building. The Learning Commons is open to students and staff of the University and is open 24/7 during term time.

Additional support for your studies is available through My Learning Essentials.

Royal Literary Fellows (Writing Support)

The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health has two ‘Writing Fellows’: Sarah Jasmon and Ian Pople,  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 sign up for a one-to-one tutorial (up to 50 minutes) to help you:

• plan your study time
• focus your reading for essay, dissertation or thesis writing
• express your ideas more clearly
• answer grammar and punctuation questions
• discover reading to improve your writing and editing skills
• increase your writing skills with the aim of improving your grades
• improve any academic writing – essays, reports, dissertations, etc.

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
Sarah Jasmon	Mondays and Tuesdays	sarah.jasmon@rlfeducation.org.uk
Ian Pople	Tuesdays and Thursdays	Ian.pople@rlfeducation.org.uk

Online Skills Training Resource

The Faculty has developed a skills training resource to support you through your postgraduate taught programme. This online material should supplement the assessed learning material and activities undertaken in your taught programme.

Accessing the online skills resource

You can access Blackboard through the My Manchester portal (http://my.manchester.ac.uk). The skills training resource is available in an academic community space available to all registered PGT students in the Faculty through Blackboard.

If you cannot see these units in your Blackboard please contact your Programme Administrator.

Content

Full details of all these resources can be found in the introduction to each unit. These resources have been designed to give you formative feedback on your progress through them. If you experience any problems and would like to talk to someone please contact your Programme Director. If you have questions about referencing and how it applies to your own work, please contact your Programme Director or dissertation supervisor/module lead.

Research Methods*	This course is spilt into 2 units that cover introductions to study design and dissertation skills. It has a number of online quizzes where you can test your knowledge.
Introduction to Statistics*	The course provides a valuable foundation for understanding and interpreting biostatistics. It aims to provide you with the fundamentals of quantitative analysis.
Presentation Skills	This short interactive unit is designed to help you to enhance your presentation skills. Regardless of whether you are presenting in public, preparing for conferences, an oral examination or more informal settings this unit will give you the tops tips to improve your delivery. The course also includes a unit on influencing effectively, alongside the presentation and poster information.
Qualitative Research Methods*	This unit has been designed to give you an introduction to Qualitative Research.

*NOTE: the material in this online resource is for reference and formative learning purposes only. In some of your taught programme you may be required to undertake assessed course units for Research Methods, Qualitative Research or Statistics. If your programme involves taught units then you should refer to the Blackboard material relating to that course unit.

Please contact the Programme Administration Team if you are unsure which material relates to your assessed work. You will still be able to refer to the online skills resource in later years.

 

University Proofreading Statement

If a student chooses to approach another person to proofread their written work or seeks to use the services of a proofreading service or agency, they must take account of the following principles:

• it is the responsibility of students to ensure that all work submitted is their own, and that it represents their own abilities and understanding. Any proofreading of work that is undertaken by a third party must not compromise the student’s own authorship of the work;
• proofreading undertaken by a third party must not take the form of editing of text, such as the adding or rewriting of phrases or passages within a piece of student’s work;
• proofreading undertaken by a third party must not change the content or meaning of the work in any way