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. The 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 (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(s)
• Dr Janine Lamb
• janine.lamb@manchester.ac.uk

• Dr John Curtin
• john.curtin@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. 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

General Introduction

Precision Medicine is a rapidly changing and exciting area of healthcare. Huge advances in science and technology, from biotechnology to computer power, have fuelled a new model of clinical medicine, changing the way that individuals access healthcare and doctors treat their patients. Precision Medicine transforms healthcare from a “one size fits all” approach, to a more tailored disease prevention and treatment approach, that takes into account variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person.

The MSc Precision Medicine provides training in the principles of precision and stratified medicine and the clinical impact of individual molecular and lifestyle variability. In this programme, you will learn about multidisciplinary molecular profiling technologies including genetics, genomics, proteomics and metabolomics and their application to the growing area of precision and stratified medicine.

The MSc course consists of four taught units plus an extended 35-week project that may be undertaken at the University, the Manchester Cancer Research Centre or a teaching hospital in Greater Manchester. Our teaching integrates different omic technologies to enable you to undertake precision medicine research.

You can choose from a range of projects covering areas such as the use of gene expression profiling, proteomics, metabolomics, stem cell research, tissue culture or pharmacogenetics in the biology of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, stroke or diabetes.

The MSc Precision Medicine is a 1-year programme structured around a 2:1 split between research projects and taught elements.

Aims

• Equip students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to pursue a research career
• Provide graduates who will meet the regional, national and international demands for scientists with a broad range of research methods skills
• Provide highly qualified researchers to contribute to and enhance the excellence of the Faculty’s research programmes

Intended learning outcomes of the programme are:

1) Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of the programme students will be able to:

• Understand scientific method together with the philosophical contexts within which research is conducted in the field.
• Be familiar with the theoretical and practical basis of the research methods and techniques used in the major sciences basic to medicine.
• Have acquired an understanding of the theory and practise of research methods and techniques.
• Be aware of the practical issues and problems associated with conducting high quality research in medicine, including ethical issues; informed consent; storage of patient information
• Have a detailed and systematic understanding of a chosen area of medical science

2) Intellectual (thinking) skills:

The ability to:

• Adopt a reflective and inquisitive attitude to the analysis and evaluation of research in the field.

• Recognise, define, formulate and prioritise research questions that are pertinent to the field.

• Analyse, interpret, objectively evaluate and prioritise information, recognising its limitations

• Understand and be able to critically appreciate methodology, including the appropriate selection of quantitative or qualitative methods

• Recognise the importance of rigour in collecting, analysing and interpreting data

• Exhibit creativity and resourcefulness in their professional learning, scientific endeavour and research formulations

3) Practical Skills

The ability to:

• Apply appropriate methodologies to specific research questions

• Demonstrate competence in practical laboratory or clinical skills to enable sound and reproducible collection of data

• Present information clearly in written, electronic and oral forms, and communicate ideas and arguments effectively

• Retrieve, manage and manipulate information by all means, including electronically

4) Transferable Skills

The ability to:

• Effectively manage time resources and set priorities

• Monitor and realistically evaluate their own performance and personal capability

• Be aware of career opportunities and begin to plan a career path

• Demonstrate scholarship in research

• Demonstrate a capacity for self-directed, independent learning and adopt the principles of reflective practice and lifelong learning

• Deal with uncertainty and work within a changing environment

Programme Structure

Course Unit	Credit	Teaching Methods	Assessment Method
Health and Safety and Academic malpractice course unit	0	Online material	Online MCQ assessment
Research Methods course unit	15	Lectures and workshops. Online material	Critical appraisal of literature, ethical reflective piece and statistical online MCQ assessment, Self-learning exercises. Students take 3/4 assessments
Lab Skills course unit	15	Lectures, workshops, Online material	MCQ assessment and 1000 word report
Genetics and Genomics course unit	15	Lectures, workshops, Online material	Group oral presentation. 1,500 word written report
Proteomics and Metabolomics course unit	15	Lectures, workshops, online material	Group presentation, written research project, MCQ exam
Research Project 1	30	Orientation meetings with supervisory team. Preparative directed reading	Written literature report maximum 6,500 words and project proposal 2,500 words
Research Project 2	90	Research experience (25 week duration).	Written report 10,000-13,000 words. Poster presentation and research performance assessment

 

Course Units

MEDN69910: Research Methods

Credit rating: 15

Unit Lead: Vitalia Kinakh vitalia.kinakh@manchester.ac.uk

The Research Methods Course (RM)/Unit is an interactive blended learning unit and is worth 15 credits. It will give you a comprehensive introduction to key information and skills required for the design, execution, interpretation and dissemination of medical, scientific and clinically-related research.

The Research Methods course is an integral part of your experience whilst undertaking your degree. It will help provide you with the strongest grounding possible to carry out successful research, whether as part of your course (e.g. in a dissertation) or/and in the future in academia, industry or a medically-aligned profession.

Aims

This unit aims to prepare you for postgraduate research. Specifically, it will:

• Introduce you to the skills and knowledge required to critically design, effectively implement, ethically conduct and knowledgeably interpret research in medical, scientific and clinically related sciences.
• Provide you with life-long critical appraisal skills that you will be able to apply to any research evidence that comes before you.
• Develop your competence in key transferable skills, particularly written and oral communication of research and time and project management in the research setting.

BIOL66111: Laboratory Skills

Credit rating: 15

Course cordinator: Dr Susan Taylor susan.h.taylor@manchester.ac.uk

The Laboratory skills unit aims to equip students with the theoretical understanding and practical skills relating to laboratory-based biomedical techniques to enable them to undertake, interpret and accurately record experimental research in the biomedical sciences.

All Students will complete an Induction Part I (online) and Induction Part II (both compulsory) then take a further 2 workshops to complete the course unit, (please, note that students of the six MSc Life Sciences programmes will be required to take workshops 1 and 3).

Induction (part I) – basic laboratory guidance, including health and safety regulations, keeping a laboratory notebook. Biological Safety, Laboratory Health & Safety, risk assessment and management.

Induction (part II) – Manual handling in a laboratory, including dilutions and solution preparation.

Workshop 1 – Staining techniques: histological staining, immunohistochemistry.

Workshop 2 – Nucleic acid techniques: PCR, Real-time PCR and qPCR.

Workshop 3 – Protein handling techniques 1 & 2: 1 – Protein extraction/purification and analysis, including SDS-PAGE. 2: Western blot.

Workshop 4 – Results/ data recording, scientific report writing (including methods, figures, figure legends and referencing).

Students will attend a total of FOUR workshops including Induction part II, Workshop 4 (both compulsory) and two further workshops from workshops 1-3.

Aims

The unit aims to equip students with the theoretical understanding and practical skills relating to laboratory-based biomedical techniques to enable them to undertake, interpret and accurately record experimental research in the biomedical sciences.

Learning Outcomes

Category of outcome	Students should/will be able to:
Knowledge and understanding	·         Develop awareness of current best practice in laboratory health and safety and understand how to keep themselves and those around them safe within a laboratory environment. ·   Develop an understanding of the principles of a range of practical techniques used in the biomedical context and understand how to employ and adapt these within their own research applications.
Intellectual skills	·         Develop critical understanding of the limitations of particular techniques and their applications. ·         Develop an understanding of how to solve problems arising from unexpected results.
Practical skills	·        Acquire the practical skills to enable them to follow written standard laboratory methods and achieve expected outcomes. ·        Acquire technical competence in a range of biomedical and computational techniques. ·        Learn best practice for recording experimental procedures and outcomes in a standard laboratory notebook.
Transferable skills and personal qualities	·       Be able to carry out laboratory techniques alone or in partnership with others safely and efficiently. ·       Demonstrate the ability to record experimental procedures in written form and to interpret experimental results obtained.

 LEARNING AND TEACHING PROCESSES (INCLUDING THE USE OF E-LEARNING)

The learning and teaching processes will take the form of lectures, practical laboratory classes, laboratory demonstrations and e-learning (completion of on-line formative assessments).

BIOL72021: Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, Transcriptomics and Functional Genomics

Credit rating: 15

Unit coordinator: Dr. Janine Lamb janine.lamb@manchester.ac.uk

Aim of Week 1

The human genome comprises millions of nucleotides of genetic variation. The purpose of this Unit is to introduce students to the theoretical and practical skills and knowledge required to evaluate the contribution of genetic variation to human health and disease. Understanding genetic variation and its potential impact on human health and susceptibility to disease is essential for developing effective preventative or therapeutic treatment strategies to improve quality of life, for use in precision and stratified medicine, and may provide useful diagnostic biomarkers.

Students will develop a theoretical and in silico framework within which to assess the potential contribution of genetic variation to human health and disease.

Content of Week 1

This Unit comprises a mixture of in-person and online lectures/tutorials and two computer workshops.

The lectures cover the basis of genomic structure and variation, experimental methods available to measure this variation, methods to assess the potential contribution of genetic variation to human health and disease susceptibility and how this variation may give rise to differing responses to therapeutic treatment.

The lectures/seminars will be complemented by two computer workshops using online resources for interrogation of genetic data and genetic study design and statistical analysis tools. All lectures will be supported with examples of online electronic resources and suggested landmark journal articles or review articles.

Week 2: Transcriptomics and Functional Genomics

Unit coordinator: Dr Philip Day philip.j.day@manchester.ac.uk

Aims of Week 2

The purpose of this module is to provide an understanding of the relationship between transcriptomics and functional genomics with life processes, the importance of measurements in these research fields, and the influence of data gathering process on data analysis. An appreciation of innovation and commercialization in the biotech industry will also be gained. Students will experience a basis for designing experiments to optimise the retrieval of data relating to gene regulation and how future technologies aims to improve the resolution of data to better permit quantitative measurement of gene activity. The impact of gene measurement and manipulations on the pharma and biotech sectors will be discussed by leading industrial specialists.

Content of Week 2

This Unit is made up of 7 lectures totalling 10.5 hours, which cover how transcription works in the control of cell activity, and measurements can be made in the laboratory using different types of established techniques. Students will be shown how statistics can be applied to study transcription profiles to determine which transcripts can be identified and related to specific dysregulation associated with pathogenesis. A separate lecture is devoted to new and emerging technologies that are in development to further enhance the capacity to obtain quantitative recovery of gene-related activity by implementing miniaturization approaches. Speakers have been invited from the private sector to discuss how innovation can be developed and lead to a commercial enterprise and the inter-relationship between industry and academia.

 

BIOL 72031: Proteomics and Metabolomics/Metabolic Profiling

Credit Rating: 15

Unit coordinator: Drupad Trevedi  drupad.trevedi@manchester.ac.uk

Aims

The primary objective of this module is to provide an introducetion to the scientific  disciplines of proteomics and metabolomics. The secondary objective is to provide an  appreciation of the experimental techniques performed used in proteomic and metabolomics  studies to provide students with an introduction to the necessary theoretical knowledge to  design complex studies. Students will gain knowledge of basic requirements for proteomic  and metabolomic studies and insights in to how these techniques are applied in medical  and mammalian research with emphasis on biomarker discovery and applications in  diagnosis of disease. The unit will provide overview of entire workflows of both omics technologies.

Learning Outcomes

The module will be delivered over over a two-three weeks and consists of a series of face to face  lectures, and interactive seminars, omics lab tour and pre-recorded content. Lectures are supported with examples of online  electronic resources and/or key references.

Enquiry-based learning will also be applied to allow students to perform critical thinking in  relation to scientific studies already performed and in relation to a specific set study  (published in peer-reviewed journals) or essay question.

The oral group presentations provide further learning opportunities and formative feedback will be provided through seminar activities. A multiple-choice questions exam will test the fundamental understanding of topics covered.

BIOL66121: Research Project 1: Literature Review Research Proposal

Credit Rating: 30

Unit coordinators: Janine Lamb/ John Curtin

RP1 Unit Overview

Each MSc programme has its own allocation procedures which will be explained to you elsewhere. In all programmes, directors aim to allocate you to a project of your choice. Once allocated, you contact your project supervisor(s) who will guide you during Research Projects (RP) 1 and 2. Of these, RP1 comprises:

• the performance and write-up of a literature review, usually covering the scientific background of your future work on RP2 (see BIOL66132 further below).
• the design and write-up of a proposal, usually outlining your future research.

Both activities on RP1 are supervised and assessed. They provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to grasp concepts and current understanding of a scientific field and turn your new insights into written documents that meet professional standards. If performed with sufficient depth and thoroughness, your engagement on RP1 will essentially improve your understanding and experience during your six-month-long work on RP2.

To write the literature review, your supervisor(s) will provide you with a brief outline of the topic and some starter references. Your task will be to study the background and history of your research topic, critically examine relevant previous research, understand the underlying mechanisms and processes, spot opportunities or gaps needing further research, and often also potential applications and wider implications. During this time, you will have regular progress meetings with your supervisor(s) to help you identify and fill important gaps in your basic knowledge and understanding, monitor your progress and make sure you do not deviate from the agreed topic. However, please be aware that you will be expected to work with a high degree of independence.

About half-way through your literature review, you will start to work on the research proposal usually relating to your future project (note that some MSc programmes provide a logged timetable, as will be explained by your programme directors). Developing a proposal teaches you important skills, such as identifying open questions in your field and developing hypotheses based on current knowledge (as learned from the literature review), as well as the design of experiments that can address them (as learned on other taught units of the programme). It will be of benefit to write the proposal alongside the ongoing literature review which introduces you to the emergent research questions in the area and provides important food for thought to engage in dialogue with your supervisor(s).

Aims of RP1

The aims of RP1 are to train students in strategies:

• to identify relevant literature and data sources
• of critical resource analysis and information filing
• o identify important questions, formulate respective hypotheses and design experiments to address them
• to plan and organise written reports
• to plan and generate appropriate illustrations and their legends
• of appropriate scientific referencing
• of effective communication with other researchers (here your supervisor)
• of effective time management

For further detail, please see here: https://online.manchester.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_15282953_1&course_id=_76364_1

BIOL66132: Research Project 2

RP2 Course overview

You will carry out your own research project which will either be laboratory- and/or data-analysis-driven, may be clinic-based or occasionally undertaken with external companies. In most cases, the research proposal you generated during RP1 will form the basis of your project, but potential changes or amendments may be discussed at the start of RP2.

You will be trained in the required methods, experimental design and data interpretation, and will often have the opportunity to participate in research group meetings to learn experimental approaches taken by others. You will have the opportunity to work with a high degree of independence, whilst being supported by your supervisor and other members of your team.

RP2 usually takes place in the laboratory of your supervisor(s), which may in some cases be away from the main university campus. It is a full-time project, and you are expected to spend 5 full days per week working on it. As will be explained further down in the handbook, there is the option to gain out-of-hour access to work in the evenings or on weekends, thus providing you with more freedom to adapt your experimental schedules. Be aware that you will occasionally have to attend or perform on other taught units of your programme.

You should aim to work to high professional standards, which includes:

• efficient organisation of your daily and experimental schedules
• reliability in sticking to agreed deadlines and performing agreed tasks
• effective communication with members of your team
• to be a good team player and share with chores and general tasks
• setting high standards during your experimental work with respect to keeping order, reproducibility, health and safety, data analysis, data management and documentation
• to be prepared to read up on your topic and further improve your knowledge of the field
• to be self-driven and able to work independently, whilst knowing when to seek help or discuss matters to improve your outcome.

Performance at high standards will improve your research experience and will enable your supervisor to write strong letters of recommendation that will help you during your next career steps. Feedback on your research performance will be provided at informal and formal progress meetings as well as potential group meetings throughout RP2.

Aims of RP2

The aims of RP2 are to:

• equip students with knowledge, practical skills and a thorough understanding of processes of scientific research to enable them to pursue their independent research career
• develop skills to communicate their own work in written, oral or poster form
• equip students with the above skills and understanding as well as a valuable portfolio of own work to substantiate future job applications

For further detail, please see here: https://online.manchester.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_14756510_1&course_id=_76365_1

 

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

 

Occupational Health Screening

You are required to attend an occupational health screening appointment. The Programme Administration Team will send you a Occupational Health screening form by email which you should return to Occupational Health directly within two weeks of receipt. The Occupational Health Service will then send you an appointment time.

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

External Examiner

The External Examiner for this programme is Dr Jia Li, Reader in Biological Chemistry at Imperial College London.

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 the Programme Administration Team 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.

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. 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 will not permit compensation rules to be applied to the following units:
  • Research Project 1 (BIOL66121)
• Reassessment will be permitted in up to half of the taught units plus Research Project 1 (50% of total number of taught units (60 credits) + Research Project 1 (30 credits) = 45 credits)

The University Postgraduate degree regulations can be found online:

• Postgraduate Degree Regulations

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 Route (formerly known as Tier 4) Visa Census Requirements

If you are a Student Route visa holder, you must attend census points throughout the year, in addition to complying with your programme’s attendance requirements. Census checks are at specific times throughout the year and usually take place.

• September / October
• January
• May/June
• July

The School must be able to confirm your presence to the UKVI by the end of each census point in the academic year. If you do not attend a census point when required by the School and you do not provide a valid explanation for your absence you will be deemed ‘not in attendance’. Further information can be obtained from the Student Support Team.

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 will normally be granted a maximum of 5 additional working days (in addition to any DASS automatic extension that a 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