BSc Speech and Language Therapy

Student Handbook

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

School of Health Sciences, Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience

2024-25

Version 1, September 2024

Disclaimer

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information given in this handbook is correct, errors may be present. Any subsequent amendments to this handbook will be published on Blackboard.

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION

Welcome message from the Programme Director

Dear Student SLT

Welcome to the profession of speech and language therapy. Congratulations on being selected as someone who has demonstrated excellent potential to develop and achieve both academically and clinically to become a healthcare professional we can be proud of. As a student speech and language therapist (SLT), you are joining a community of dedicated, hard-working people, committed to supporting the needs of individuals with communication and eating, drinking andswallowing difficulties. We expect you will have  high expectations of your degree programme and high expectations of yourself as you dedicate the next few years to preparing yourself, with our support, to become an independent healthcare professional, worthy of the title, ‘speech and language therapist’. Clearly the journey from first year to qualified practitioner is a challenging one. We will endeavour to ensure that you are equipped with the necessary study skills, knowledge and
understanding to take you further as you progress through your studies. However, success on a demanding, vocational degree programme involves a great deal of commitment and sustained effort on your part as a student SLT. You will become very familiar with the terms ‘independent learner’ and ‘enquiry-based learning’ whereby you are expected to be the driving force behind your own learning experience. If you are to be a respected clinician and/or researcher at the end of your studies and throughout your career, able to work autonomously and keep up-to-date, then you need to be clear from the outset that you need to take responsibility for your own learning.

We sincerely hope you enjoy your time studying with us here in Manchester and that your passion for the subject grows as you acquire more knowledge and skills. Myself and the SLT programme team look forward to working with you.

Best wishes

Jenny Freed, Programme Director

School of Health Sciences Student Handbook

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The student handbook has been developed as a resource for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students completing degree programmes within the School of Health Sciences (SHS). 

This resource should be used as the first point of reference for questions concerning your programme, support and advice, or academic policies and procedures. 

The University of Manchester is a large and complex organisation, and we want to ensure that you know how to access the information, support, and guidance you need to succeed in your studies. It is therefore designed to guide you through many aspects of your time as a student and provides useful links to information available through the University’s website, as well as summarising the facilities and support services that are available across the University and how you can access them. It also outlines what you should expect of the School and what they can expect from you, and clarifies the policies and procedures relevant to your area of study.

 

 

BSc/MSLT Speech & Language Therapy

How to use this Programme Handbook

This Programme Handbook is absolutely central to your studies. It provides you with key information about the content of your studies, how your work is assessed, what is expected of you as a student SLT and what you can expect from staff. It directs you to other useful sources of information. It is, in part, a record that you keep of exactly what you studied while you were here. At the start of each academic year you should download the handbook from Blackboard along with the course unit specifications for that year. The course unit specifications for years 1,2 and 3 will be provided in the Syllabus Booklet. It is important for you to have an accurate record of exactly what your cohort (year group) has studied; apart from your transcript of marks, future employers, particularly in other countries, may like more detail of your course content.

What qualities does a BSc Speech and Language Therapy or a Masters Speech and Language Therapy graduate have?

University of Manchester graduates of the BSc(Hons) Speech and Language Therapy and the Masters in Speech and Language Therapy are eligible to apply to register with the Health & Care Professions Council and thereafter can work in the UK* as speech and language therapists. They will be able to demonstrate theoretical knowledge applied to their clinical practice in a broad range of communication and swallowing disorders in adults and children, applying the principles of evidence based practice. They will be able to source, review and critically appraise the literature available in any clinical area, thus ensuring the theoretical rationale behind their chosen approach to clinical practice is sound. In emerging clinical fields where robust evidence base is lacking, they will know how to establish the current clinical consensus. Well informed and scientific in their approach, they will be able to select appropriate tools to approach the information-gathering process during clinical assessment of the client’s communication or swallowing difficulties. Equipped with comprehensive knowledge of published standardised assessments available in the field as well as other assessment methodologies, they will take a holistic and person-centred approach to finding out whether there is a difficulty they are able to address in their capacity as speech and language therapists. Effective clinical communication skills are developed across the programmes, whereby our graduates work hard to improve their own interpersonal skills in order to best facilitate effective communication with others. Knowing never to work in isolation, they will look to the relevant members of their multidisciplinary team beyond their own agency (usually the NHS) for collaboration. Having spent 3 years studying the impact of developmental and acquired communication and swallowing difficulty on the lives of clients and their families and carers, they will be aware of the multiple sociological, psychological, economic and cultural factors which play a part,
meaning that each person experiences disability differently. Integrated Masters students spend an additional year exploring specific topics in greater depth at level 7 study and complete a project on a topic of special interest to them.

They will be able to lead a discussion, including the preparation of a clinical case study presentation. They will be able to plan, structure and edit written work as required for formative and summative assessment. They will be able to present written work to the high standards required by the course which requires the use of accurate referencing and clear, objective, scientific language. They will be able to carry out a project leading to a written or oral presentation, be able to conduct independent research to an advanced standard, and be able to organise their own work to meet deadlines. They will have experienced the greatest of pressure on time management skills while on clinical placements in years 1-3. They will have appropriate IT skills, be able to use online databases and adapt to using new software. They will be able to reflect on their own development and critically assess their work and that of others. They will be able to work effectively with their peers, academics and clinical educators in the field in an effective and professional manner.

*for overseas graduates this will be dependent on an individual’s status in terms of visa restrictions.

The degree programmes

The degree of Bachelor of Science in Speech and Language Therapy (BSc SLT) is a three-year programme comprising academic studies and clinical work. This programme has been approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for regulatory purposes. Students who successfully complete the academic and clinical components and gain the award of a degree from the University, will be eligible to apply for registration with the  HCPC and can apply for full
membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).

The degree of Masters in Speech and Language Therapy (MSLT) is a four-year integrated Masters programme. That means that the first three years are identical to the BSc SLT, but that, instead of graduating with the BSc at the end of three years, students go on to complete a fourth year at level 7 (or postgraduate level). To be eligible to progress onto the MSLT, students must have achieved a certain standard academically (year averages of 60% or above). This programme has been approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for regulatory purposes. Students who successfully complete the academic and clinical components and gain the award of a degree from the University, will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC and can apply for full membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). Both programmes are aimed at students who wish to take up a career as a speech and language therapist. Please note that the MSLT programme is not available to students starting the programme from September 2023 onwards.

The programmes are based within the Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience in the School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Supervised clinical practice takes place in a variety of settings in the National Health Service (NHS), independent practice, social services, the voluntary sector and educational environments. The clinical (speech and language therapy) lecturers are all registered members of the RCSLT and the HCPC and continue to be involved in clinical practice. Student SLTs who wish to gain the professional qualification to practise as speech and language therapists must successfully complete the required clinical component and all the core course units (see Section 3: Credit Assessment and Awards Regulations for further details of course units).

Our history

In 2019 we celebrated 100 years since the foundation of our department. In 1974, the training of speech and language therapists began, making Speech and Language Therapy at Manchester one of the longest established providers of preregistration education of speech and language therapists in the country. Nowadays training programmes are delivered for teachers of the deaf, audiologists, healthcare scientists and speech and language therapists.

Internally, we underwent a Periodic Review in 2015, in which the programme team was commended for its responsiveness to change and willingness to embrace innovation in a rapidly changing 21t scentury learning context. The panel praised our excellent standards in teaching and learning and our continuous efforts towards academic quality and enhancement in a research-led environment. In response to changes to the way in which SLT education is funded, we decided to streamline our pre-registration provision to create a 3-year BSc which we anticipated would be more appealing to students who have been fee-paying from 2017Along with an evolving portfolio of postgraduate CPD options for qualified therapists, this provides a suite of programmes which we are proud to offer here at Manchester.

The SLT Undergraduate (UG) Studies, along with other UG taught programmes in the School, report to the Faculty every year on their progress against a jointly agreed action plan to maintain and enhance the quality of provision. The change to a 3-year BSc and a 4-year integrated Masters triggered a re-approval visit by the HCPC in March 2017. The programme meets the HCPC’s Standards in Education and Training (SETs) and needs to demonstrate how it continues to meet these standards in order to renew HCPC approval each year. The programme is also accredited by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and adheres to RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines. The programme received renewed accreditation from the RCSLT in November 2023. The programme continues to be reviewed on an annual basis by Health Education England North (HEEN), the body which oversees the placement provision of speech and language therapists and considers workforce needs in the region on behalf of the NHS.

Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience

Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience (PCHN) founded as the Department of Education of the Deaf in 1919 by Sir James E Jones in memory of his deaf son, Ellis Llywd Jones, and was one of the first such departments in the world. Since that time it has played a major role in the development of audiology and deaf education both nationally and
internationally.

We boast a leading national and international reputation in the education and training of audiologists and healthcare scientists, speech and language therapists, psychologists and teachers of the deaf, and have a commitment to broadening our portfolio of taught programmes. We make basic research discoveries, translate these discoveries into real world applications and improve the quality of life for individuals across the lifespan. We have strong research and teaching networks across the Faculty and beyond. We aim to build these areas further to foster research collaborations, so that psychological approaches to language, communication and hearing are infused into many areas of activity.

The Division houses two research Centres:

1. Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD, http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/manCad)

2. ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD, www.lucid.ac.uk).

The Division runs regular meetings and research discussion forums both at Divisional level and in the Research Centres. Our resources include access to an impressive suite of research labs and clinical research facilities (including EEG and eye tracking) located on campus.

Research in the Division is organised into the following main themes:

– Audiology

– Early language development

– Language impairment

– Social communication and pragmatics intervention

Further information can be found on:

– ManCAD pages for audiology and the teaching of the deaf http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/manCad

– LuCiD website (www.lucid.ac.uk)

– Division research pages for language development and disorders http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/ldd/people

Our teaching is organised into the following main discipline areas:

Audiology and Healthcare Science: both pre-registration programmes and post-registration CPD and specialist qualifications

Deaf Education: PGT programmes preparing teachers of the deaf

Speech and Language Therapy: both pre-registration programmes and post-registration CPD qualifications

PCHN staff members contribute to the delivery of fourteen programmes. These are as follows:

• BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Therapy
• BSc in Healthcare Science (Audiology)
• MSc in Clinical Science (Neurosensory Sciences)
  MSc Audiology
• Certificate of Clinical Competence UK & Irish Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (ICCCA) MSc in Advanced Audiological Studies
• MSc in Advanced Audiological Studies (Paediatric Pathway) Post Graduate Diploma in Deaf Education
• MSc in Deaf Education
• MRes Psychology
• MSc Neuroimaging for Clinical & Cognitive Neuroscience Continued Professional Development
• Higher Specialist Scientist Training (Audiological Sciences) PhD studentships in Audiology
• Teaching and Learning

All members of academic staff contributing to the teaching of UG SLT studies are committed to excellence in their teaching practice. New lecturers undergo the New Academics Programme in their first years in post, which is accredited by AdvanceHE. There is a strong commitment to our continuing professional development as educators and colleagues are encouraged to attend conferences and courses both in the Faculty and externally in order to enhance their teaching practice. AdvanceHE fellowship at all levels (Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow) has been achieved by members of the teaching team and there is an ongoing commitment to supporting colleagues to study towards gaining postgraduate teaching qualifications.

 

Name	Position	Room	Email
Dr Jenny Freed	Programme Director Lecturer	B1.5a Ellen Wilkinson	jenny.freed@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Claire Mitchell	Senior Clinical Lecturer	B1.8 Ellen Wilkinson	claire.mitchell@manchester.ac.uk
Emma Ormerod	Senior Clinical Lecturer	B1.7 Ellen Wilkinson	emma.ormerod@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Sean Pert	Senior Clinical Lecturer	B1.16 Ellen Wilkinson	sean.pert@manchester.ac.uk
Rachel Starkey	Practice Education Lead Senior Clinical Lecturer	B1.11 Ellen Wilkinson	rachel.starkey@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Alex Sturrock	Clinical Lecturer Admissions Officer	B1.10 Ellen Wilkinson	alexandra.sturrock@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Katie Twomey	Senior Academic Adviser Lecturer	1.16 Coupland 1	katherine.twomey@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Samantha Durrant	Exams Officer Lecturer		samantha.durrant@manchester.ac.uk
Rachel Purcell	Clinical Lecturer	B1.4 Ellen Wilkinson	rachel.purcell@manchester.ac.uk
Ceri Ellis	Peer Support Lead Lecturer	TBC, Ellen Wilkinson	ceri.ellis@manchester.ac.uk
Carly Hartshorn	Clinical Lecturer	B.1.4, Ellen Wilkinson	carly.hartshorn@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Athanasia Papastergiou	T & R Lecturer	B1.14 Ellen Wilkinson	athanasia.papastergiou@manchester.ac.uk
Steph Greenwood-Davies	Clinical Lecturer	B1.8 Ellen Wilkinson	stephanie.greenwood-davies@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Susan Foster-Cohen	Clinical Lecturer	B1.18, Ellen Wilkinson	susan.foster-cohen@manchester.ac.uk

 

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY TEAM DETAILS

Jenny Freed, BSc, MRes., PhD., PGCert in HE, Programme Director, Lecturer

Received MRes in Psychology followed by a PhD examining literacy and memory skills in children with pragmatic language impairment, both at the University of Manchester. Special interests: developmental language disorders (social communication disorder, specific language impairment and autism), reading and listening comprehension and memory.

Claire Mitchell, BSc, MPhil, PhD, Reg. MRCSLT. Reg. MHCPC. Senior Clinical Lecturer

Qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1995. NHS clinician with experience in paediatrics, adult learning disabilities, voice, dysfluency and then specialising in stroke and adult-acquired neurological conditions. Started work at the University of Manchester in 2003, combining clinical practice and teaching with clinical research. Awarded an NIHR
doctoral research fellowship in 2014 to look at the use of technology for speech rehabilitation after stroke. Recent research: Integration of health and social care; Support for carers of stroke survivors and PPI in research. Special interests: acquired neurological communication disorders, dysphagia and organising health care. Qualified as a speech and language therapist from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2000. Has worked in the NHS, specializing in adult acquired disorders of communication and eating, drinking and swallowing. Specialist interests: acquired communication and eating, drinking and swallowing disorders and simulated learning.

Sean Pert, BSc (Hons), PhD, PGDip. Leading and Managing in Healthcare Organisations, PGCert, Fellow of AdvanceHE, mRCSLT. HCPC Registered, Senior Clinical Lecturer

Qualified as a speech and language therapist (SLT) from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1995 and has worked in the NHS as a specialist SLT, student coordinator and manager. Special interests are bilingualism, speech and language disorders and trans and non-binary voice. Specialist Adviser for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists(RCSLT) and Vice Chair of the RCSLT National Trans and Gender Diverse Voice and Communication CEN. Specialist adviser on bilingualism for the Building Early Sentences Therapy (BEST) language intervention research programme funded by the Heather van der Lely Foundation. Doctoral research on code switching in bilingual children at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2007). Staff Volunteer of the Year (2018), Making a Difference Award for Outstanding Contribution to Equality and Diversity and been shortlisted for Most Inspiring Lecturer (2017). These awards recognised Sean’s social
engagement work with trans and non-binary people, providing voice and communication groups involving student volunteers. Joint winner of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation on an unprecedented three occasions (2005 and 2012 and 2017).

Rachel Starkey, BSc, Reg. MRCSLT. Reg. MHCPC, Senior Fellow HEA, Senior Clinical Lecturer, PGCert in HE

Qualified as a speech and language therapist at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1991 and worked for many years as paediatric clinician in North Lancashire. Special interests: children with special educational needs, student clinical education.

Alexandra Sturrock, BA (Hons), MMedSci Human Communication Sciences, Postgraduate Dip. Autism Spectrum Disorder,PhD, Reg. MHCPC. Clinical lecturer, Admissions Officer

Completed undergraduate studies in Linguistics, in 2005, then a Master’s degree in Human Communication in 2009. Worked consistently as a speech and language therapist since this time specialising mainly in complex developmental disorders and most recently focussing on high functioning autism diagnosis and management. Completed a Postgraduate
diploma in Autism spectrum conditions in 2014. Joined the University of Manchester in 2014 completed a PhD in gender differences in the language and communication of children with high functioning autism. Special interests: Language and communication difficulties in high functioning autism, gender differences in the presentation of autism and how this impacts on diagnosis.

Katie Twomey, BA (Hons), MRes, PhD., Fellow HEA, Lecturer in Language and Communicative Development & Senior Academic Adviser

Completed BA, MRes and PhD at the University of Sussex with a PhD thesis (2012) focusing on early word learning in typical development and computational modelling. Worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool investigating syntax acquisition, and then as a research fellow at Lancaster University studying the influence of the nonlinguistic learning environment on early language development. Joined Manchester in September 2017. Special interests: early language learning, (language) learning through play, modelling early language processing, supporting research opportunities for Speech and Language Therapy students. Advocate for neurodivergent SLT students.

Rachel Purcell, BMed Sci., MPhil, Reg. MRCSLT, Reg MHCPC, Fellow HEA, Clinical Lecturer and Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.

Qualified as a speech and language therapist in 2000 from The University of Sheffield. Work with adults with acquired communication and swallowing impairments and fluency disorders. Specialist interests: aphasia, dysphagia and stammering.

Athanasia Papastergiou BEd (Hons with QTS), MSc, PhD, Fellow HEA, T&R Lecturer

Athy holds a BEd (Hons) in Primary Education with QTS from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and an MSc in Developmental Disorders from Lancaster University. She obtained her ESRC-DTP Wales funded PhD from Bangor University focusing on the language and cognitive skills of Greek-English bilingual children in the U.K. Before joining the University of Manchester in August 2023, Athy was a Lecturer in Bilingualism (Linguistics) in the Department of Linguistics, English Language and Bilingualism at Bangor University. She has also worked on various projects as a
Research Fellow and as a Research Assistant at Lancaster University, the University of Bath, Bangor University, and the University of Greenwich. Since 2015, she has been teaching a wide range of modules in linguistics, such as psychology of language, research methods, and applied linguistics. Special interests: bi/multilingualism, typical and atypical cognitive and language development of bi/multilingual children/heritage speakers/second language learners, reading and listening comprehension of typically and atypically developing children, executive functions.

Samantha Durrant, BA (Hons), PhD., Lecturer, Exams Officer

Completed PhD at University of Plymouth in 2014 investigating how toddlers representations of words are influenced by variation in the input they receive. Worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the Language 0-5 Project at the University of Liverpool from 2014-2019 tracking the language development of 80 children over the first 5 years of life. Currently working- part time as a postdoctoral researcher exploring the role of curiosity in word learning. Special interests: individual differences in language development, influence of variability on learning, interplay between the environment and the child in learning.

Ceri Ellis, BSc, PhD, Associate Fellow HEA, Lecturer

Received a BSc in Psychology and Child Language Development followed by a PhD in Neurocognitive Linguistics from Bangor University in 2016. Worked as a postdoctoral researcher on several projects: mainly working with autistic children and young people and their families. Special interests: social communication, language development, bilingualism, autism.

Carly Hartshorn, BSc, Reg. MRCSLT. Reg. MHCPC. Clinical Lecturer

Qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2004 from University of Manchester. Worked as a Paediatric SLT across a range of caseloads within the NHS specialising in Developmental Language Disorders, Multilingualism, Visual Impairment. Continues to maintain a clinical caseload whilst managing a Children’s Therapies Team alongside teaching at the university.
Special Interests: Developmental Language Disorders, Visual Impairment, Practice Education

Jackie Kindell, BSc, MClinRes, PhD, Clinical Senior Lecturer

Graduated as a Speech & Language Therapist from Manchester University in 1990. Worked in mental health, specialising in dementia, as well as allied health professions management and leadership posts. PhD in life story work in semantic dementia (2016, Manchester University). Research interests: interactional approaches in dementia, qualitative and creative methods, primary progressive aphasia.

Dr Susan Foster-Cohen BA, PGCE, PhD. Clinical Lecturer

We operate an open door policy, whereby students are welcome to call in and if we’re free we’ll be glad to speak to you.

However, with so many demands on everyone’s time, and given that many staff are part time, it is advised to make an appointment by email in order to find a time convenient for both parties.

We are able to meet students either face to face on campus or virtually over Zoom or Teams.

SECTION 2 – PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

In this section, we have attempted to provide you with a general overview of your degree programme so that you know what to expect in terms of:

• how the academic year is organised
• workload across the year
• importance in terms of ‘weighting’ of individual course units
• different expectations of you across the different years of the programme
• what types of assessment you will complete and how assessment is spread across the year [1]
• how clinical placements fit in with on-campus education
• expectations of our professional bodies

The Academic Year

Across the three years of this vocational degree programme (your first three years if you take the MSLT), you will attend educational sessions ‘on campus’ (i.e. University premises) and participate in clinical placements in other settings (e.g. NHS premises, community settings, educational settings, social care settings, the independent sector).
The academic year is divided into two semesters: September to January and February to June. Semester 1 always starts with ‘welcome week’ (week 1) and attendance is expected by all students in all years from welcome week onwards. Both semesters then have 12 weeks of teaching (weeks 2-13 on the timetable for semester 1, weeks 20-29 and 33-34 for semester 2). At the end of each semester there is an exam period: Semester 1 exams are in January; Semester 2 exams are in May-June. In addition, there is a resit exam period in August-September each year. You need to make sure you are available for all exam periods. Please check the following website for exact dates of semesters, exam and vacation periods. https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/key-dates/

NB During the fourth year for those taking the MSLT, there is no clinical placement and the academic year takes the same format as outlined here.

The Structure of Undergraduate Degree and the Credit Rating System [1]

Credits

An undergraduate degree is made up of a number of course units in each year, each with a credit rating which indicates its associated value and workload. A normal workload in one year for a full-time honours student involves the completion of course units totalling 120 credits. Ten credits represent a student workload of approximately one hundred hours, or 100 hours of ‘student effort’. The workload may include teaching contact time, group or practical work, structured independent learning activities, independent study, directed reading, online learning activities, assignment or presentation preparation, revision and sitting assessments as appropriate.

Levels of study

Undergraduate course units have a designated level: 4, 5 or 6 reflecting the standard of work required and corresponding to years 1, 2 and 3 of your programme respectively, as represented in the table below.

 

Study Levels, credit structure and expectations of students at each level
Year	Level	Credits	Expectations at this level
1	4	120	High achieving students with exceptional level of vocational commitment, prepared to work hard academically to establish a grounding in theory to set themselves up for future application to clinical practice; learning independent study: reading outside the scope of lecture notes.
2	5	120	Now equipped with the foundation to consider application of theory to clinical practice; well versed in independent study; ready to read more widely on clinically-related subjects.
3	6	120	Thoroughly independent learners developing clinical autonomy and an ability to reflect upon and question the theory-practice link. Now equipped to critically evaluate the literature, identify gaps in the research and propose new areas of research. Ultimately graduate SLTs: independent healthcare professionals, committed to lifelong learning by the process of Continued Professional Development and/or research.

 

If you are on the MSLT pathway, your fourth and final year will be at level 7, as follows:

Please note also, that, since you are now studying at level 7, the pass mark goes up to 50% (pass mark is 40% at Bachelors level).

Study Levels, credit structure and expectations of students at each level
Year	Level	Credits	Expectations at this level
4	7	120	Informed by the forefront of the discipline of SLT. Successful students show originality in the application of knowledge, and they understand how the boundaries of knowledge are advanced through research. They are able to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, and they show originality in tackling and solving problems. They have the qualities needed for employment in circumstances requiring sound judgement, personal responsibility and initiative in complex and unpredictable professional environments.

 

Every course unit of a degree programme is assigned a level and a number of credits. For the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy and for the Masters in Speech and Language Therapy these are shown in the programme specifications below and in the individual course unit descriptions. You are awarded the credits for a given course unit on satisfactory completion of that unit, including all elements of assessment.

Eating, drinking & swallowing (EDS) competencies

‘In addition to the long established core competencies required, additional competencies specific to eating, drinking and swallowing (EDS) were recently introduced..’The Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) introduced a competency framework for undergraduate SLTs targeting competencies in the assessment and management of adults and children with EDS difficulties in 2021.
Students graduating from 2026 will need to demonstrate successful completion of the EDS competencies. Content to support the successful completion of EDS competencies are taught throughout the second and third years of the degree. Scheduled face to face active learning sessions on campus are included in the following units: Clinical & Professional Practice 2 & 3, Lifelong Disability A & B, and Acquired Communication & Swallowing Disorders A & B. Active learning opportunities on campus (such as case-based and simulation learning) ensure you can meet the competency requirements. Students require a minimum of 30 hours of direct working with adults with EDS issues and 10 hours of working with children. These direct hours can be achieved by attending the scheduled active learning sessions on campus. A further 60 hours of indirect work must be completed by attending scheduled lectures, independent reading and accessing bespoke eLearning units. Depending on your allocated
clinical placement, you may also be able to successfully sign off some competencies using workplace learning. You will need to demonstrate you have been signed off on at least 16 of the 20 competencies as well as keeping a record of your direct EDS hours. Students who do not demonstrate 16 of the 20 competencies and have inadequate hours of direct and indirect working with EDS issues will be unable to graduate.

Exit Awards

To qualify for a Bachelor’s degree with Honours or the Masters with the protected title of ‘speech and language therapy’ and the eligibility to apply to the Health & Care Professions Council to register as a speech and language therapist, you must achieve 360 or 480 credits respectively (i.e. passes in all course units in all years of the degree, after compensation and resit arrangements have been applied – see Section 3).

A student on the BSc pathway who is unable to progress to the award of BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy may be awarded with a BSc Human Communication Science (if they have gained sufficient credits at the appropriate level to merit a pass degree). This is a purely academic award: this award does not permit the holder to practise as a speech and language therapist (see the various possible exit awards listed at the start of the Programme Specification chapter.

A student on the MSLT pathway who is in their fourth and final year but unable to progress to the award of Masters Speech and Language Therapy, may exit with the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy as the clinical award with eligibility to apply to the HCPC for registration to practise, as they will have completed the mandatory clinical components of their pre-
registration award by the end of Year 3. However, if, at any point during this 4 th integrated Masters year, the student is found guilty of serious professional misconduct, they will not then be eligible to exit with the clinical award. The award they would be eligible to exit with, even if they had completed the entire 120 credits of that 4 th year academically, would be the non-clinical award of Masters Human Communication Science. Without achieving the full credits in Y4, they may be eligible for the BSc Human Communication Science. Again, this award does not permit the holder to practise as a speech and language therapist (see the various possible exit awards listed at the start of the Programme Specification later in this chapter

Not only does the credit rating of a course unit tell you how much work you are expected to do in completing it, it tells you the weighting of the course unit in the calculation of your year average or degree classification. Course units are weighted in exact proportion to their credit rating so that, for example, in the first year Clinical & Professional Practice 1 (30 credits) is worth three times the number of credits as Clinical Research 1 (10 credits) and makes up 25% (30/120) of the year’s average mark.

What do course unit codes tell you?

Each course unit is given a separate code which contains letters followed by five numbers. The first number indicates the year and the fifth number the semester in which the course unit is taught.

1 = Semester 1

2 = Semester 2

0 = Semesters 1 and 2

Examples:

PCHN 1XXX2 Taught in year one, semester two

PCHN 3XXX0 Taught across both semesters of year three

Course Unit Specifications can be found in the Syllabus Booklets available on the Blackboard Programme space

Overview of Clinical Placement Hours

The Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists recommends that students should undertake 150 placement sessions, including 100 sessions under the supervision of a qualified speech and language therapist. One session is equivalent to half a working day, which is usually counted as 3.5 hours. It is mandatory to attend all of the 150 sessions (100%) in order to meet the RCSLT requirements. The programme has 160 sessions in total over the 3 years which exceeds the RCSLT requirement by 6.7% in order to ensure that you have more than enough opportunities to not only meet the RCSLT requirements, but to meet the expectations of the programme. You are required to attend all of the 160 sessions (100%) but we are aware that adverse events may happen (ill health/difficult personal circumstances on your part or on the part of your practice educators).

This tolerance of 10 sessions is designed into the programme so that, if you do experience a period of unavoidable non-attendance, you will usually have completed enough placement hours to meet professional body requirements by the end of year 3. If you are ill while on placement and need to be absent at all from placement, you must notify your Practice Educator, your academic advisor, and the Clinical Education Lead (Rachel Starkey) as soon as possible. You must self-certify or provide a sick note just as you would at any other time during your studies

 

Year	Semester / Weeks	Placement type	Direct client contact sessions*
1	Semester 1, Weeks 9-12	4 weeks block placement	40 sessions or 140 hours 4 weeks X 5 days per week X 2 sessions of 3.5 hours per day
2	Semester 2, Weeks 1-6	6 weeks block placement	60 sessions or 210 hours 6 weeks X 5 days per week X 2 sessions of 3.5 hours per day
3	Semester 2, Weeks 7-12	6 weeks block placement	60 sessions or 210 hours 6 weeks X 5 days per week X 2 sessions of 3.5 hours per day
Grand total of sessions			160 sessions or 560 hours 16 weeks X 5 days X 2 sessions of 3.5 hours per day

*Direct client contact includes face-to-face sessions with clients as well as sessions and contact with caregivers, professionals and others when the contact is of direct relevance to a particular client or group of clients.

**Placement study sessions are to include any sessions other than direct SLT client contact, whether in NHS placement (e.g. NHS staff meetings; meetings to discuss and develop learning outcomes with clinical educator; training sessions with other disciplines; training in related issues) or on University campus (e.g. clinical workshops; meetings with clinical team) which provide support to your clinical training and are under the direction or guidance of either a clinical educator or a member of the University clinical team. The number of these sessions will vary between individual students and the above figures are intended as a bare minimum according to what has been formally organised.

Teaching Aims and Intended Learning Outcomes

Each course unit is introduced by outlining the main teaching ‘aims’ and ‘intended learning outcomes’. Teaching aims usually state in very general terms and quite briefly what the course unit coordinator is aiming to provide with the delivery of the course unit (i.e. lecturer-focused). Intended learning outcomes should be measurable and therefore need to be stated in terms of what the student should be able to do by the end of the course unit. Detailed intended learning outcomes will be provided in individual teaching sessions and should provide a useful guide for your independent studies and revision.

SUMMARY OF CURRICULUM YEARS 1-3

Year 1

In preparing you for your first clinical placement (4 weeks just before the Christmas break) we design the curriculum from the outset to ensure you have a strong professional training as well as a grasp of the core academic subjects for speech and language therapy. Hence you are immersed straight away into consideration of your own professional development as a healthcare professional in Clinical and Professional Practice 1. We are keen to establish the ethos of good professional conduct, with patient safety and dignity central to your thinking and an appreciation of core professional values. In
Linguistics, Phonetics and Language Development, you will learn about the fundamentals of how speech and language works and how children learn to talk. We look beyond speech and language development to explore human
development more broadly across the lifespan in Applied Psychology and Sociology.

In Biomedical Sciences we have a bespoke curriculum so that all the anatomy and physiology you study is specifically applied to your work as a speech and language therapist. You will also be introduced to the concept of evidence-based practice in Clinical Research 1 and the need to ground your clinical practice in sound theoretical rationale.

Year 2

Your second clinical placement is a longer 6-week block and takes place in semester 2 just after the Christmas break. Your professional development remains central to our teaching in Clinical and Professional Practice 2 and you should be fairly adept by now at reflecting honestly regarding your practice as a trainee speech and language therapist: welcoming others’ constructive criticism and being willing to learn from your mistakes. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics builds on your learning of typical speech and language development in Year 1 regarding towards understanding of ways in which speech and language difficulties present clinically. In addition you explore the communication and swallowing needs of differentcli nical populations in children (Lifelong Disabilities A and Developmental Speech and Language Disorders A) and in adults (Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disabilities A). Your clinical research skills will build on those in Year 1 by studying Clinical Research 2 .

Year 3

With your final 6-week block placement at the end of semester 2 this time, there is plenty of opportunity within Clinical and Professional Practice 3 to prepare you fully for this last step towards your status as an autonomous healthcare professional, ready to graduate and apply for registration with the HCPC. We include a healthcare leadership course in this final year, since it is a growing expectation of healthcare professionals in modern services that you are equipped with the leadership skills to make key decisions about service provision as well as clinical decision-making.

In addition, we explore the communication and swallowing needs of clinical populations in adults: both in terms of acquired disability (Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disabilities B) and in terms of lifelong disability (Lifelong Disabilities B). You will build on knowledge from Year 2 in child client groups in Developmental Speech and Language Disorders B. You will have the opportunity to research an area of particular interest to you in Clinical Research 3.

Year 4 (for students on the MSLT pathway)

There is no clinical placement in this year of study. Instead, you focus on deeper, more reflective learning with more creative input from you as the student regarding specific topics, with a greater degree of choice of options. You should note that, given that entering this Masters year means you are studying at level 7 now, the pass mark goes up to 50% in line with other PGT courses. You will complete a research project in a topic which interests you, which carries half the year’s credit weighting (Clinical Research 4), so is a substantial piece of work (60 credits). As well as this, you will elect to take four other 15-credit options which should help you to build a portfolio around an area of special interest for you.

SUMMARY OF TOPICS ACROSS YEARS 1-3

Audiology, Hearing Impairment & Communication

The AHIC component is threaded throughout the programme. Within first year Biological Sciences the structure of the ear and the mechanisms and measurement of hearing are included. This knowledge is an important supplement to later teaching as many people with communication disorders have hearing difficulties. A knowledge of the ear and hearing is vital to the assessment, diagnosis and understanding of communication difficulties.

The topic of hearing impairment, its management and its effect on speech and language is developed further in different units. In Developmental Speech and Language Disorders A in Year 2, students consider the implications of conductive loss in the clinical context. As part of Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disabilities A, there is an introduction to hearing loss in adults, focusing on management strategies to consider as a speech and language therapist. The role of the speech and language therapist working with deaf children is explored in Lifelong Disabilities A in Year 2.

Biological Sciences

The first year course unit, Biomedical Sciences, covers relevant aspects of anatomy and physiology in a lecture and case approach. A detailed knowledge of the structure and function of the human body is vital for understanding the causes and manifestations of many communication disorders. In particular, the structure of the oral tract is important in the study of cleft palate and disorders of the voice. Neuroanatomy is important in the study of communication and eating, drinking and swallowing disorders arising from developmental and acquired neurological disorders. Much of the learning from this course unit will be required during Years 2 and 3 as more detailed studies of particular disorders are carried out. As detailed above, sound understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear is a crucial requirement.

Clinical and Professional Skills

Clinical and Professional Practice runs throughout all three years of this pre-registration vocational programme, with a clear focus from the outset on the development of the necessary professional and clinical skills to ensure students are equipped to be competent speech and language therapists by the time of graduation.

The following five core capabilities of the speech and language therapy profession, as outlined in the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ 2018 Curriculum Guidelines, are central to the curriculum:

1. communication

2. partnerships

3. leadership & lifelong learning

4. research & evidence-based practice

5. professional autonomy & accountability

We prepare students to be thoughtful, caring and compassionate clinicians who have the safety and dignity of their clients/patients and their carers and families at the forefront of their minds. We prepare students to reflect critically upon their own performance and development as healthcare professionals and to take responsibility for their own learning which is to continue throughout their career. To this end students are supported to maintain a portfolio throughout their studies.
Our focus on research-led teaching and learning means that a focus on evidence-based clinical practice is paramount. We prepare students to make connections between theory and practice continually. Teaching and assessment methods are aligned to these intended learning outcomes and high quality learning opportunities are provided both on campus and in clinical practice settings. All clinical placements are in blocks, with a 4-week block in Y1, and a 6-week block in both Y2 and Y3.

Clinical Experience

Clinical experience runs throughout the three years of the BSc. You will move through increasing stages of independence in assessment, diagnosis and management of people’s communication or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties to a point at which you are ready to become an independent healthcare professional. Details of the clinical placements are given in the Clinical Handbook. In addition to the clinical training you will experience on placement, your clinical skills will be developed both within Clinical and Professional Practice across all three years of the BSc and within specific clinically-related course units.

During your pre-registration studies (years 1-3 of the programme) you will be required to contribute to roleplay activities occasionally. Roleplay is regarded as a useful teaching methodology in clinical education, providing a ‘safe place’ to rehearse difficult interactions, central to the therapeutic relationship with clients, patients and their carers. You will be asked to sign a consent form during Welcome Week in first year to confirm that you give your consent to being asked to act as clinicians and/or service users in role play activities.

Clinical Research Skills

Clinical Research also runs throughout all three years, with its central focus on evidence-based practice. Working towards the ultimate goal of supporting our graduates to become autonomous healthcare professionals who ground their clinical practice in sound theoretical rationale and critical understanding of the literature, the Clinical Research curriculum is designed to support students to acquire the necessary skills to engage fully with the published literature and to be in a position to contribute to the evidence base themselves as qualified speech and language therapists. We will take you from
a level 4 understanding of the importance of research and how to read the literature to a graduate level understanding whereby you will be equipped to apply research skills to your practice as a clinician or researcher yourself. We aim to give you adequate knowledge of statistics and research design to enable you to critically evaluate the literature in Clinical Research 1 & 2. You will then design your own research in Clinical Research 3. Taken together, the Clinical Research units will support you in undertaking and using clinical research in your future professional role. For those pursuing the MSLT route, you will have the opportunity to do further research in your Masters year project (Clinical Research 4).

Education

Speech and language therapists are increasingly working with children in an educational context and so it is vital that you understand the context of current and past educational provision and policy and that you develop the skills to work in co- operation with teachers and other educational support staff. This is covered partly in Clinical and Professional Practice and specifically within Developmental Speech and Language Disorders A & B. You will also integrate knowledge and experience gained from other course units (e.g. Lifelong Disabilities A & B) and from relevant clinical placements.

Ethical Grand Challenges is a non-credit-bearing, University-wide, initiative which provides you with the opportunity to learn alongside students from other disciplines during a workshop each year to explore topics of pertinence across all fields of future employment for our graduates: sustainability; social justice; workplace ethics.

Leadership & Lifelong Learning

We are confident that our graduates will go on to become leaders in the profession of speech and language therapy and beyond, taking on leadership roles in wider communities. From the outset it is made clear to students in first year that they are expected to become independent learners, taking on greater responsibility for their own learning as they progress.
Through subsequent years, a variety of innovative teaching methods (such as problem-based learning activities and group presentation work) provide students with the opportunity to take on leadership roles and reflect upon their ability to do so.
Within campus-based teaching of speech pathology subjects as well as during clinical placements in years 1 to 3, students are taught about the consultative model of speech and language therapy, whereby the speech and language therapist takes a lead role in training of others to support an individual client’s communication or eating, drinking and swallowing needs. In the course as a whole the student representative system, peer mentoring, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), the Staff Student Liaison Committee and the Inclusivity Steering Group give the opportunity for leadership and representation roles within each cohort.

Linguistics and Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics

Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics provides students with the skills to transcribe, assess, analyse and plan therapy for both speech sound disorders (SSD) and language disorders (LD). Students begin with typical English phonetics, phonology and language in Year 1. In Year 2, SSD, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Acquired and Progressive Language Disorders are explored. In Year 3, more complex and less frequently encountered SSDs and LDs are addressed. Both monolingual English and Language Other Than English (LOTE) contexts are considered.

Neurology

A sound understanding of neurology is important for aspects of speech and language therapy which include communication disorders of neurological aetiology, whether developmental or acquired. Adult neurology will be explored within Acquired Communication & Swallowing Disabilities A & B and paediatric neurology within Lifelong Disabilities A. Both will be vital for clinical placements. Whilst a social model of disability is appropriate for considering communications needs of adults with learning disabilities in the final year, the neurological origin of this population’s difficulties must not be overlooked.

Personal Development

From the beginning of your course you will be encouraged to record and reflect on your personal and professional development. This starts in year one Clinical & Professional Practice, where you will be asked to reflect upon your burgeoning identity as a trainee healthcare professional and to log your reflections in your Professional Clinical Portfolio in order to (a) reflect on your aims, needs, existing and developing skills and (b) note down reflections, questions, concerns in relation to the above. This portfolio forms a basis for discussion with your Academic Adviser. This process will take place at key moments during your study so that you can look back on what you have already done and forwards to the next stage of your programme. In later years of the course, profiling focuses more on clinical and professional skills. You will be asked to maintain your Professional Clinical Portfolio in years 1-3. Your Portfolio also records clinical experience and performance and your reflections on your clinical needs and development.

Psychology

This broad subject area runs throughout the course, incorporating lifespan development, human social and cognitive development, language, literacy and research appraisal and planning. It is vital for ensuring that you have a good understanding of your clients, carers, learning patterns and the influence of various factors on any diagnosis and intervention you may carry out.

Speech and Language Therapy

In the first year you have an introduction to SLT within Clinical & Professional Practice and there is clinical application to relevant populations within the Biological Sciences and Applied Psychology and Sociology units. SLT in the second year embarks upon 3 broad areas or pathology: (i) Developmental Speech and Language Disorders A (developmental communication difficulties including literacy and language development and motor speech difficulties in children) (ii)
Acquired Communication & Swallowing Disabilities A (communication and swallowing disorders associated with acquired conditions) and (iii) Lifelong Disabilities A. In the third year, the same 3 broad areas are continued to allow you to explore the communication and swallowing needs of these clinical populations further. Course units may follow or precede particular practical experience in these clinical areas; you will therefore need to discuss your level of knowledge with your practice educator and of course be prepared to undertake independent reading to support your clinical experience.

Transferable Skills

As you will see from the opening pages of this handbook under ‘What qualities does a BSc Speech and Language Therapy or a Masters Speech and Language Therapy graduate have?’, we aim to produce graduates who have skills which are in demand not only in the world of speech and language therapy but will equip you for success in all aspects of your future career. Throughout the course, you will be provided with the opportunity to develop skills which will help you during your degree programme and also in future work environments and in lifelong learning. These skills are developed through familiarity with Information Systems (word-processing, computer statistical packages, spreadsheets, email, the internet, electronic library resources), the use of the library, participation in My Learning Essentials and the opportunity for presentations in seminars (working individually and in groups). Professional preparation is a major component of this vocational course, addressed specifically through Clinical & Professional Practice course units and through clinical placements. There is a strong emphasis in development of highly specialist, facilitative communication skills, whereby you build upon your existing interpersonal skills to become a highly empathetic, compassionate listener, best placed to gather and pass on crucial information from and to your clients/patients, their carers and family members and your colleagues in all discipline areas. Clinical presentation skills, whereby student SLTs are equipped to present clinical data in a coherent, succinct and digestible format to differing audiences are taught throughout the programme, with opportunities for students to practice such skills in units in all years. As a Manchester SLT, we expect that you will have learned to be a flexible thinker and problem-solver, undaunted by significant challenges in the workplace and prepared to adapt in the face of continual change. You will have the self-knowledge and the humility to acknowledge and be prepared to address your shortcomings by engaging with lifelong personal and professional development. You will also have the insight and confidence to recognise and build on your strengths and have a strong sense of the unique contribution you will make to the profession.

BSc (Hons) SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION

1. SUMMARY

1.1 Awarding body/institution:
The University of Manchester

1.2 Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body:

The degree is accredited by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Students who successfully complete both the clinical and academic components of the course are eligible to apply for state registration with the HCPC and for certified membership of the RCSLT.

1.3 Name of the final award:

BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy

1.4 Details of exit awards:

Level 4: Certificate of Higher Education Human Communication Science

Level 5: Diploma of Higher Education Human Communication Science

Level 6: BSc (Ord) Human Communication Science

1.5 Programme title:

Speech and Language Therapy

1.6 UCAS code:

B620

1.7 Subject benchmark:

Health care professions – Speech and language therapy. Further information on subject benchmark statements can be
found in The UK Quality Code for Higher Education -Subject Benchmark Statements.

1.8 Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ):

Level 6: Bachelor’s degree with honours

Further information on the FHEQ can be found in The UK Quality Code for Higher Education.

1.9 The role of the programme specification:

Programme specifications focus on single programmes of study (or courses), and outline the intended knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes of a student completing that course. A programme specification also gives details of teaching and assessment methods as well as linking the course to the framework for HE qualifications and any subsequent professional qualification and career path.

The University of Manchester has programme specifications for the courses that it offers. Not all programme specifications need to look the same. While there is no set template for programme leaders to follow, programme specifications should contain specific topics.

Schools publish programme specifications and may make these available on their web sites.

Programme specifications form one part of a set of different types of documents about a programme and its components, which include prospectus, programme handbook, unit specifications and information on websites.

There may be concern that ‘specifying’ what a student will have learnt at the end of the course or programme might inhibit innovation within that course. For this reason it is important not to see programme specifications as ‘tick lists’. They offer
broad indications of the types of things students might be expected to learn and the types of skills and abilities they might be expected to gain.

Adapted from Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) guidance to students on understanding courses.

1.10 Date at which the programme specification was written or revised: Version/Date: 06/17.07.2019

1.11 Further links to other relevant information:

Speech and Language Therapy UG Studies Programme handbook
Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health homepage

https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk

MASTERS SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION

1. SUMMARY

1.1 Awarding body/institution:
The University of Manchester

1.2 Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body:

The degree is accredited by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Students who successfully complete both the clinical and academic components of the course are eligible to apply for state registration with the HCPC and for certified membership of the RCSLT.

1.3 Name of the final award:

Masters in Speech and Language Therapy (M.SpchLangTher)

1.4 Details of exit awards:

Level 4: Certificate of Higher Education Human Communication Science

Level 5: Diploma of Higher Education Human Communication Science

Level 6: BSc (Ord) Human Communication Science

Level 6: BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy or BSc (Hons) Human Communication Science

Level 7: Masters Human Communication Science

1.5 Programme title:

Speech and Language Therapy

1.6 UCAS code:
B62M

1.7 Subject benchmark:

Health care professions – Speech and language therapy. Further information on subject benchmark statements can be
found in The UK Quality Code for Higher Education -Subject Benchmark Statements.

1.8 Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ):

Level 7: Integrated Masters Degree

Further information on the FHEQ can be found in The UK Quality Code for Higher Education.

1.9 The role of the programme specification:

Programme specifications focus on single programmes of study (or courses), and outline the intended knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes of a student completing that course. A programme specification also gives details of teaching and assessment methods as well as linking the course to the framework for HE qualifications and any subsequent professional qualification and career path.

The University of Manchester has programme specifications for the courses that it offers.

Not all programme specifications need to look the same. While there is no set template for programme leaders to follow, programme specifications should contain specific topics.

Schools publish programme specifications and may make these available on their web sites.

Programme specifications form one part of a set of different types of documents about a programme and its components, which include prospectus, programme handbook, unit specifications and information on websites.

There may be concern that ‘specifying’ what a student will have learnt at the end of the course or programme might inhibit innovation within that course. For this reason it is important not to see programme specifications as ‘tick lists’. They offer broad indications of the types of things students might be expected to learn and the types of skills and abilities they might be expected to gain.

Adapted from Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) guidance to students on understanding courses.

1.10 Date at which the programme specification was written or revised: Version/Date: 0.3/17.07.19

1.11 Further links to other relevant information:

Speech and Language Therapy UG Studies Programme handbook
Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health homepage

University central support services

2. AIMS AND INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (BSc and MSLT)

2.1 Aims of the programme:

1. To provide students with opportunities to gain, develop, apply and reflect on knowledge and understanding, intellectual and practical skills, and personal qualities and values required for safe, ethical and effective speech and language therapy professional practice (and by the Health and Care Professions Council).

2. To provide students with opportunities to engage with and critically evaluate research and inquiry at the forefront of the discipline and to gain, develop and apply knowledge, skills and understanding necessary for evidence-based practice and to enable them to contribute to the clinical research agenda or consider progression to postgraduate research.

3. To provide students with a learning experience that encourages them to develop their intellectual curiosity and promotes independent critical thinking and a commitment to, and capacity for continuing professional development, leadership, lifelong learning and social responsibility.

4. To provide students with a ‘person-centred’ professional training which involves and engages with, and is responsive to the changing values, priorities and needs of employers and the communities it serves.

5. To provide a community of practice and seed-bed for ideas, research and scholarly activity that can positively influence and impact educational and professional policies or practice.

2.2 Programme intended learning outcomes:

The Quality Assurance Agency’s subject benchmarks for speech and language therapy provide a baseline of learning outcomes for speech and language therapy to be achieved by each student. The Health and Care Professions Council Standards of proficiency – Speech and language therapists identify the requirements to be met in order to be eligible to apply for registration and maintain registration.

The programme intended learning outcomes outlined here (and in individual course unit specifications) are therefore aligned to these benchmarks and standards ensuring that students who achieve them are also meeting these requirements.

On successful completion of the programme speech and language therapy students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate and apply knowledge and critical understanding, intellectual and practical skills, and personal qualities and values required for safe, ethical and effective speech and language therapy professional practice (and by the Health and Care Professions Council) and at, or informed by the forefront of the academic or professional discipline.

2. Engage with, conduct (MSLT) and critically evaluate research and enquiry at the forefront of the discipline and to demonstrate and apply knowledge, skills and understanding necessary for evidence-based practice and to enable them to contribute to the clinical research agenda or consider progression to doctoral research.

3. Exercise personal responsibility, intellectual curiosity, independent critical thinking and a commitment to, and capacity for continuing professional development, leadership, lifelong learning and social responsibility.

2.3 Intended learning outcomes for each year of the programme:

2.3.1 On successful completion of Year 1 (level 4) speech and language therapy students should be able to:

1. demonstrate understanding of the need to maintain high standards of personal and professional conduct and the importance of maintaining their own physical and mental health

2. demonstrate understanding of both the need to keep skills and knowledge up to date and the importance of life-long learning and continuing professional development

3. demonstrate understanding of the importance of and be able to respect the rights, dignity, values, and autonomy of service users and to maintain confidentiality

4. demonstrate understanding of the roles of other professionals relevant to speech and language therapy and the principles and importance of building professional relationships and working in partnership with other professionals, service users and their families and carers

5. demonstrate understanding of the principles and applications of scientific enquiry and the research process including an awareness of a range of research methodologies

6. demonstrate understanding of the principles of critical appraisal and be able to appropriately use and reference scholarly reviews and primary sources to support work

7. accurately present, evaluate and interpret information, in order to develop structured and coherent arguments and make sound judgements

8. understand, evaluate and interpret psychology as relevant to language and lifespan development and change, cognition, learning, behaviour, and psychological and social wellbeing

9. understand, evaluate and interpret sociology in relation to the practice of speech and language therapy, including its application to education, health, concepts of functioning and disability and multi-cultural societies

10. demonstrate understanding of principles of typical language development, linguistics, and phonetics and be able to transcribe, analyse and reflect on typical speech, language, communication and interaction, including their own

11. understand and interpret biomedical sciences as relevant to the development and maintenance of communication and swallowing, together with knowledge of disease, impairment and dysfunction

12. appropriately access learning support and technology and to manage their own workload and independent study effectively within a highly structured and supported context

2.3.2 On successful completion of Year 2 (level 5) speech and language therapy students should be able to:

1. practise safely, ethically and effectively in a highly guided and supported context, exercising some personal responsibility and decision-making

2. demonstrate understanding of the principles and methods of evidence-based practice, including the role of research, audit, review and the use of appropriate outcome measures

3. gather, record and interpret holistic information relevant to an individual’s communication and swallowing abilities and needs

4. effectively select, administer, record, score and interpret a range of assessment tools to describe and analyse communication and swallowing abilities and needs using, where appropriate, phonetic transcription and linguistic analysis

5. demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of impairments of speech, language, communication and swallowing, approaches to assessment and intervention, and of the way in which the discipline has developed

6. apply relevant knowledge and understanding to inform clinical reasoning and decision making in a highly supported context, including identification, assessment, differential diagnosis and the formulation of specific and appropriate management plans, evaluating critically the appropriateness of different approaches

7. initiate and undertake critical analysis and evaluation of information, understanding the limits of their knowledge and how this influences analyses and interpretations

8. effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences

9. reflect on, review and critically evaluate clinical practice, including their own

10. manage their own workload and independent study and learning effectively within a supported context

2.3.3 On successful completion of Year 3 (level 6) speech and language therapy students should be able to:

1. practise safely, ethically and effectively in a supported context, exercising initiative, personal responsibility and decision-making and appreciating the limits of their practice and when to seek advice or refer to another professional

2. respect and uphold the rights, dignity, values, and autonomy of service users including their role in the diagnostic and therapeutic process and in maintaining health and wellbeing

3. demonstrate understanding of the principles and importance of participation in training, supervision and mentoring, and the concept of leadership and its application to professional practice

4. demonstrate a coherent, detailed and current knowledge and conceptual understanding of impairments of speech, language, communication and swallowing, and approaches to assessment and intervention, including the complexity of disability, therapeutic contexts, and associated psychological and social wellbeing

5. apply detailed and current knowledge and conceptual understanding to make reasoned clinical decisions in a range of complex contexts, and to record the decisions and reasoning appropriately, evaluating critically the appropriateness of different approaches

6. demonstrate a range of appropriate verbal and non-verbal skills in effectively communicating information, advice, instruction and professional opinion to service users, their relatives and carers and other specialist and non-specialist audiences

7. use established techniques of analysis and enquiry to critically evaluate research and other evidence to inform their own practice, make judgements and reasoned arguments whilst appreciating the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge

8. frame appropriate questions to identify a solution or range of solutions and plan, design and report on a research project, demonstrating a logical and systematic approach to testing a hypothesis

9. independently manage their own workload and learning, effectively applying the methods and techniques that they have learned to continually review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding

2.3.4 (MSLT) On successful completion of Year 4 (level 7) speech and language therapy students should be able to:

1. apply in depth knowledge and understanding, at, or informed by, the forefront of the discipline, to their professional practice, research or scholarship.

2. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of, and practical skills in, methods or techniques applicable to their own professional practice, research or advanced scholarship.

3. demonstrate a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline.

4. evaluate critically current research, methodologies and advanced scholarship in the discipline and, where appropriate, propose new hypotheses.

5. demonstrate understanding of the limits of their knowledge, and how this influences analyses and interpretations based on that knowledge .

6. demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge and understanding to professional practice, research or advanced scholarship, communicating reasoning and conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

7. advance their knowledge and understanding, and develop new skills, exercising initiative, personal responsibility and demonstrating independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

3. TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS

3.1 A summary of teaching, learning and assessment methods for the programme:

An approach to teaching, learning and assessment which employs a variety and balance of methods (taking advantage of e-learning technology and ‘flipped classroom’ approaches) is used on the programme. The approach aims to integrate opportunity for development towards (teaching and learning) and demonstration of (assessment) a range of intended learning outcomes related to:

a) discipline-specific knowledge and understanding;
b) intellectual skills;
c) clinical, professional and transferable practical skills; and d) personal and professional qualities and values (see individual course unit specifications and section 3.2 below).

The approach supports you to take increasing responsibility for your own learning and development as you gain intellectual and practical skills in managing your own learning.

There are clear and increasing expectations, related to your level of study (see Framework for Higher Education

Qualifications for Level descriptors), outlined in intended learning outcomes and associated assessment guidelines and criteria.

A carefully designed timetable provides opportunity for you to effectively plan and manage your independent study to allow for your participation in ‘flipped classroom’ approaches (integrating your independent study with interactive classroom learning), whilst also allowing you some flexibility in terms of pace and location of study.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods include:

Teaching sessions (lecture/tutorial/seminar/workshop/simulated clinical learning) Structured Independent learning activities

Independent study and individual learning and self-assessment Tutor led learning, facilitation, assessment and feedback

Group/peer learning, mentoring, supervision, facilitation, assessment and feedback

Masters level study in the fourth year allows for more student choice and for a more personalised and student-led approach, often taking the form of independent or small group learning. Course unit options will allow for far greater levels of discussion and interaction between students and staff. The individual course unit specifications provide details of independent and small group learning for each course unit.

The programme’s summative assessment strategy employs a variety and balance of methods affording a holistic demonstration of achievement across the intended learning outcomes. Elements of student choice are incorporated into many assessments enabling you to demonstrate your maximum potential and pursue your individual academic and clinical interests. Further, all summative assessment is also designed to be formative, providing opportunity for you to practice skills
(e.g., written/oral presentation skills) and reflect your performance and feedback received to promote your future learning.

3.2 How methods of teaching, learning and assessment are appropriate to the development of, and demonstration of the achievement of, the intended learning outcomes of the programme:

Throughout the programme you will have the opportunity to:

Participate in interactive learning allowing opportunity to work at your own pace and with flexibility of study location. Use of model answers and sharing of peer work provides opportunities for you to continually self-evaluate and reflect on your developing understanding.

Participate in simulated case or enquiry based learning allowing opportunity to practice, become aware of and demonstrate your clinical reasoning skills outside of the pressures of the clinical placement context.

Maintain an online Professional Clinical Portfolio, providing you with opportunity to develop and demonstrate your reflective skills and supporting you to identify the skills being acquired and recognise your progress towards fulfilment of intended learning outcomes.

Listen to presentations, providing opportunity for you to learn from experts and receive direct instruction to identify and develop your knowledge and understanding of key concepts and principles.

Engage in discussion and seminar offering opportunities to for you to develop, articulate and defend your own arguments and opinions.

Read scholarly reviews and primary sources in the field allowing you opportunity to consolidate, extend and question your knowledge and understanding.

Watch expert clinician models to provide tangible examples of highly experienced clinical practice, providing opportunity for you to develop your confidence in applying learning or theory to the clinical context, and to develop your awareness of experienced clinical thought processes and decision making.

Collect, analyse and interpret a range of clinical data, providing opportunity for you to practice research and clinical skills.

Participate in extensive supervised clinical practice affording practical experiential learning to develop, practice and demonstrate your professional /clinical skills, ability to apply knowledge and understanding to a clinical context, and to reflect on your own skills and behaviours.

Prepare and make presentations and participate in vivas (interactive discussions with staff members), proving opportunities to develop and demonstrate your skills in effectively communicating information, arguments and analysis for a variety of specialist and non-specialist audiences as well as developing, articulating and defending your own arguments and opinions.

Research and produce written work, providing opportunities to extend, consolidate and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding and to develop and demonstrate your written communication skills.

Practice with assessment and intervention tools, providing opportunities to develop and demonstrate your clinical and professional skills.

Engage with service users, providing you with opportunities to gain insights and understanding of the service user experience, preferences and the impact of services and professionals on service users’ lives.

Complete unseen written examinations, providing opportunities for you to demonstrate and apply your knowledge and understanding and effective written communication skills.

Engage in peer mentoring, supervision, assessment and feedback, providing opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate critical reflective skills and skills in communicating information and providing constructive feedback.

Engage in interprofessional learning, providing opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate your collaborative working skills and to reflect on your own skills and behaviours.

Produce a detailed research proposal, allowing you to extend your knowledge and understanding in a specialist area of your choice and to consolidate and apply your knowledge and understanding of research methods and research skills.

Please see the University’s Undergraduate Degree Regulations for further information.

4. SUPPORT FOR STUDENT LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Welcome and induction support:

Welcome Week is intended to provide a warm welcome to all first year undergraduate students and to give you the opportunity to meet fellow students and teaching staff. You will also be invited to attend various welcome and orientation sessions as part of Welcome Week. Student IT services and the Library also provide induction sessions.

Welcome Week also provides the opportunity for you to meet and work with undergraduate students from across the University in the first part of your Ethical Grand Challenges Programme, which will contribute to your Stellify award.

In years two and three (and four) you will be invited to a ‘welcome back’ sessions to orient you to the new academic year as well as other compulsory sessions on relevant topics for years two, three (and four).

4.2 Peer support:

As a student SLT you will have access to peer support during your studies. Peer mentors are higher-year students on the degree programme, who can provide support and advice for lower year students. On this programme peer mentors meet with students in Welcome Week when first years are paired up with a peer in a higher year of study. Peer mentors will often organise activities and workshops to support you with a specific issue.

As a student SLT you will have the opportunity to take part in Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) to support study and learning. The sessions are led by trained volunteer SLT students (PASS leaders) who act as facilitators. PASS provides a supportive environment, where PASS Leaders facilitate student-led discussions around academic topics. PASS aims to increase individual confidence with the goal of deepening understanding of your studies.

PASS has been part of the SLT programme for several years now, and has been twice awarded University of Manchester Outstanding Contribution to Peer Support Awards scheme of the year with recognition for outstanding contributions from students and staff. The PASS sessions provide a platform for a small group of students to discuss and revise difficult subtopics within, without the presence of a formal lecturer but with some guidance from a facilitator from a higher year group who has already completed the course unit.

Within the SLT Society, all students have the opportunity to get involved as a committee member or attend events. . Social, public engagement and charity events are all planned and organised by the SLT Society.

4.3 Academic support:

As student SLTs, you are offered opportunities for significant interaction with teaching staff on an individual or small group basis. In addition, every student SLT is assigned an Academic Adviser who is there to give you advice about any academic issues throughout the duration of the programme [8]

Academic Advisers provide information and guidance on academic choice, assisting you with the planning of short-term and long-term targets for academic, personal and professional development. They proactively monitor both your academic performance and your level of engagement with your studies and they will advise you on constructive strategies for improvement as necessary. Your Academic Adviser will help you to recognise the skills you are acquiring and encourage you to reflect on your academic development through the use of an online Professional Clinical Portfolio (see below).Your Adviser will work with you to build a personal academic relationship. They will try to ensure that you do not lose contact with academic staff or become isolated from student support staff and facilities if you face academic and/or personal difficulties at any point. Your Academic Adviser will monitor your learning and academic progress, initiating contact with you following Exam Board and agreeing a personalised action plan for learning to help you attain your goals academically. Your Academic Adviser will also provide support and guidance regarding personal issues or circumstances as well as health and fitness to practise issues within the broader University/School support systems.

It is your responsibility to engage fully in the relationship with your Academic Adviser and to regard it as a professional partnership if you are to realise the intended benefits.

FBMH Academic Advising Principles and Objectives

Our aim is that by engaging with their advisor, students:

• will know that their advisor cares about their progression, academic success and future plans

• will feel that they belong and are valued regardless of their background, personal strengths and weaknesses

• will know who to contact if they experience difficulties either personally or academically

• will work to enhance their academic and personal self efficacy as a result of setting & reviewing goals and reflecting on their experiences

• will gain and grow in confidence and skills in developing professional relationships

4.4 Online study skills support:

An intensive self-directed online study skills course is made available to you as student SLTs in your first year, orientating you to the wealth of resources available via the library and allowing you to track your independent study progress throughout your studies. You also have access to the Library’s study skills programme, My Learning Essentials, which provides workshops and online support on academic, employability and well-being. This programme helps you to develop the skills needed to successfully complete a degree programme, including how to research, reference and write in an academic style. You will also be supported to complete a formative piece of work overseen by your Academic Adviser in year 1 to support academic writing and referencing.

4.5 Personal and professional development support:

Your personal and professional development is structured and supported by your maintenance of an online Professional Clinical Portfolio which allows you to recognise and appraise your progress towards the fulfilment of intended learning outcomes and to see how intended learning outcomes are aligned with your progression towards achievement of professional Standards of Proficiency. By familiarising you with reflective practice, the portfolio provides opportunities for
you to continually self-evaluate and reflect on and critique your developing clinical practice, intellectual, interpersonal and professional skills. The online portfolio further aims to promote your commitment to, and capacity for, continuing professional development (CPD) and lifelong learning by supporting you to understand the limits of your practice and knowledge and to self-audit your practice using the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ (RCSLT) audit tool.
The portfolio may then form the basis of your career long CPD which is similarly online and provided by the RCSLT.

Sections of the portfolio may be shared online with your academic adviser and/or placement coordinator/clinical educator to facilitate individual feedback and discussion.

4.6 Placement learning support:

For further information please see the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) guide to Health, disability and
becoming a health and care professional.

Clinical placements are provided by Practice Educators (PEs) in the workplace. PEs are qualified and experienced SLTs working in National Health Service (NHS), Education, private and third-sector settings.

The University of Manchester (UoM) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) collaborate to provide regular training for PEs on supporting student SLTs while on clinical placement. SLTs are expected to attend a new clinical educator training day prior to offering student placement opportunities. Once offering student placements, SLTs are expected to undertake an experienced clinical educator training day once every three years.

The UoM and MMU provide a range of supporting documentation, including guidance and check lists to ensure that students receive an induction, mid-placement review and final end of placement report. The documentation is available online within a specifically designed web site for PEs and the documentation is designed to be completed in discussion with the student.

A clinical placement coordinator is available to support both students and PEs should there be any questions, problems or issues arising before, during or after the student placement. The coordinator is a qualified SLT.

Students continue to have access to their academic advisers and the placement coordinator during their clinical placements. The PE(s) providing the clinical placement act as tutors to the students, directing learning, clinical observation, development of clinical skills and reflection. Students are encouraged to consider their practice and actively reflect on their strengths and needs with the PEs.

Student reflection is structured and supported by maintaining an online Professional Clinical Portfolio. The portfolio consists of a learning contract based on the student’s needs, identified by the student themselves and based on previous clinical practice (where applicable).

Each clinical session is evaluated by the student and the student’s evaluation is discussed with the PE. The PE can then facilitate further development by providing models of clinical practice, advice, feedback and suggestions for future sessions, as well as suggesting learning resources.

The portfolio also contains self-directed learning including observations of highly specialist practice such as dysphagia and collecting anonymised client data on which to base case studies for discussion in facilitated clinical workshops at the university following the clinical placement.

In this way, observation and clinical experience with real clients is utilised in academic activity at the university. Students are encouraged to discuss other aspects of client care and service provision including commissioning of services, and the client journey through the care pathway, from triage to discharge.

The online portfolio also requires students to carry out a self-audit of their practice using the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ (RCSLT) audit tool. The portfolio will then form the basis of the students’ CPD which is similarly online and provided by the RCSLT. The portfolio may be shared with the student’s academic adviser and/or placement coordinator to facilitate audit and individual feedback and discussion.

The Health section of the portfolio should contain documentation of immunisation certificates, your Occupational Health clearance, any risk assessments completed and information on any conditions which are essential for a placement provider or an employer to be aware of in order to make reasonable adjustments and/or protect your health and safety whilst on their premises.

All students must have Occupational Health clearance or sign a declaration if this has not cleared by the commencement of placement. These confidential records are retained by the university. Any health conditions may need to be risk assessed by the student and practice educator at the time of induction. The University and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) requires students to share information about any health conditions so that reasonable adjustments can be made on their clinical placement. Therefore any student with DASS or Occupational Health recommendations will be invited to attend a meeting with their Academic Adviser and/or clinical placement lead to discuss any reasonable adjustments that may be required from the placement provider. This is in the student’s best interests so that appropriate support can be provided but requires explicit consent from the student. For further information please see the HCPC guide to Health, disability and becoming a health and care professional.

Full details of placement learning support and regulation may be found on the Student Clinical Education Website.

4.7 Dissertation support

In your fourth (integrated masters) year you will complete a systematic review. To support this work, students are assigned an individual dissertation supervisor and regular, individual dissertation supervision meetings and feedback opportunities will be offered throughout the unit to support the design and completion of this work. Study at this level tends to be more student-led and therefore it is the responsibility of the student to engage with the supervision process in order to realise the intended benefits.

4.8 SLT resources, facilities and administrative support:

The SLT Resource Room (B2.11 EW) is available for students in all years to familiarise themselves with current clinical materials and technology which may be used in SLT practice.

The SHS Student Support Hub is located on the ground floor of the Jean MacFarlane Building, Monday- Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

4.9 Stellify

http://www.stellify.manchester.ac.uk/

The Stellify Award is the University’s most prestigious extra-curricular accolade. To be awarded the Stellify Award students must:

-Complete all 3 Ethical Grand Challenges – Yr1- Sustainability / Yr 2-Social Justice / Yr 3 – Workplace Ethics

-Complete 40 hours of volunteering https://www.find-volunteering.manchester.ac.uk/

-Complete 2 leadership activities e.g. students could take on a peer support role or become a student rep.

4.10 Central support services:

The University of Manchester also provides a range of central support services, including:

The Disability Advisory and Support Service, which will help if you have additional needs arising from a medical condition, a physical or sensory disability, a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, or a mental health problem that affects your study.

The Counselling Service, which provides professional and confidential counselling for students with personal problems affecting their work or sense of well-being.

The Students’ Union Advice Service, with full-time advisers who can assist with issues such as housing or finance.

The Student Services Centre, which is the central point of contact for all administrative and support services once you enrol at the University.

The Student Support and Advice, home to the Information, Advice and Guidance Service, the Careers Service and the International Programmes Office. Here you’ll be able to find out about getting involved in campus life, the opportunities for study and work abroad, your future options, or money issues. You can also make use the Student Support and Advice’s quiet study lounge.

Student IT services, which provides support for your IT account, getting online wirelessly, internet in your hall and Blackboard and online resources.

The Occupational Health Service provides confidential services to protect the health of students in training and in study and assesses and advises on fitness for training and study to ensure that health issues are effectively managed.

The University of Manchester Library offers a range of resources to support your studies.The University of Manchester Library provides you with the resources and support you need throughout your Speech and Language Therapy programme. The Main Library houses all of the essential text books whilst the Alan Gilbert Learning
Commons provides a 24/7 learning environment in addition to study skills workshops. The Library also has an extensive collectionof eBooks, databases and journals available online.The My Library tab in My Manchester (http://my.manchester.ac.uk ) has quick links to all of the Library’s resources and services available to students.

4.11 Summary of support:

Matter of concern	Where to look/who to speak to
Academic Matters: Including course unit content, exams and assignments, and progression to next year.	Programme Handbook Individual course unit lecturer or lead SHS Hub Your year rep if a matter for all student SLTs Your Academic Adviser Programme Director Peer mentor
Placement Learning Matters: Including problems with placements, difficulty with skills learning, health check issues, DBS issues, travel expenses.	Clinical Website Clinical Education Lead Individual clinical educator on placement SHS Hub Your Academic Adviser Peer mentor
Personal Circumstances: Including ill health, financial difficulties, other personal circumstances affecting work, disability.	Your Academic Adviser/Senior Academic Adviser Individual lecturers if lectures missed Programme Director SHS Hub Disability Advisory and Support Service Student Services Centre Counselling Service SHS Wellbeing team
Administrative Matters: Including hand-in of assignments, accessing resources, correspondence for staff, extension requests, mitigating circumstances forms, absence reporting.	Blackboard SHS Hub

 

5. PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Clinical Website

Clinical Education Lead

Individual clinical educator on placement

SHS Hub

Your Academic Adviser Peer mentor

Your Academic Adviser/Senior Academic Adviser

Individual lecturers if lectures missed

Programme Director SHS Hub

Disability Advisory and Support Service

Student Services Centre Counselling Service SHS Wellbeing team

Blackboard

SHS Hub

5.1 A summary of the programme structure and requirements:

Year 1:

Mandatory units	Credit weighting[9]	Programme ILOs[10]	RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines[11]
Clinical and Professional Practice 1[12]	30	2.3.1. i – iv, vi, vii, ix, xii	4.2.1 A, B, C’ 4.2.2 A, B, C 4.2.3 A, B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C
Clinical Research 1	10	2.3.1. v – vii, xii	4.2.3 D, 4.2.4 A, B
Applied Psychology and Sociology	20	2.3.1. vi – viii, ix, xii	4.4.1 (4, 6). 4.4.2 (1, 3, 4, 5)
Linguistics, Phonetics and Language Development A	20	2.3.1. vi, vii, x, xii	4.4.1 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7) 4.4.2 (2, 4)
Linguistics, Phonetics and Language Development B	20	2.3.1. vi, vii, x, xii	4.4.1 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6. 7). 4.4.2 (2, 4)
Biomedical Sciences	20	2.3.1. iv, vii, xi, xii	4.4.3 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Ethical Grand Challenges programme: Sustainability	N/A	2.3.1. vii	4.2.2 A

 

Year 2:

 

Mandatory units	Credit weighting	Programme ILOs	RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines
Clinical and Professional Practice 2[13]	30	2.3.2. i – x	4.2.1 A, B, C 4.4.1 (1, 2) 4.2.2 A, B, C 4.2.3 A, B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C
Clinical Research 2	10	2.3.2. ii, iv, vi – viii, ix, x	4.2.3 D 4.2.4 A, B
Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics	20	2.3.2. iii, iv, vii, viii, x	4.2.5 A, B, C 4.2.3 (2, 3, 10, 14)
Developmental Speech and Language Disorders A	20	2.3.2. ii – x	4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (9, 10, 12, 14) 4.4.1 (7)
Lifelong Disability A	20	2.3.2. ii – x	4.2.1 B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (5, 6, 9, 12, 13) 4.3.3 (6, 7)
Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disorders A	20	2.3.2. ii – x	4.2.1 B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14) 4.4.1 (5) 4.4.3 (3, 6, 8, 10),
Ethical Grand Challenges programme: Social Justice	N/A	2.3.2. vii, viii	4.2.2 A

 

Year 3:

 

Mandatory units	Credit weighting	Programme ILOs	RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines
Clinical and Professional Practice 3[14]	40	2.3.3. i – vii, ix	4.2.1 A, B, C 4.2.2 A, B, C 4.2.3 A, B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C
Clinical Research 3	20	2.3.3. vi – viii, ix	4.2.3 D 4.2.4 A, B, C
Developmental Speech and Language Disorders B	20	2.3.3. ii – vii, ix	4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (9, 10, 12, 14) 4.4.1 (7)
Lifelong Disability B	20	2.3.3. ii – vii, ix	4.2.1 B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (6, 7, 9, 11, 13) 4.3.3 (6,
Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disorders B	20	2.3.3. ii – vii, ix	4.2.1 B, C 4.2.5 A, B, C 4.3.2 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15) 4.4.1 (5) 4.4.3 (3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)
Ethical Grand Challenges programme: Workplace Ethics	N/A	2.3.3. ii, iii, v – vii	4.2.2 A

 

Year 4:

 

Mandatory unit	Credit weighting	Programme ILOs
Clinical Research 4	60	2.3.4. i – vii
Optional units15 (proposed new unit options)	Credit weighting	Programme ILOs
New Horizons in Aphasiology	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Advances in Language Development and Disorders	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Working with Adults with Acquired Dysphagia	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Working with Bilingual Children and their Families	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Optional units (example existing unit options – subject to change)
Developing Deaf Child	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Developing Practice and Managing Change	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Dementia – a Person-Centred Approach	15	2.3.4. i – vii
Leadership in Professional Practice	15	2.3.4. i – vii

 

5.2 Ethical grand challenges programme:

The Ethical Grand Challenges Programme gives you the opportunity to explore three of the biggest challenges facing the world in the 21st Century – sustainability, social justice and workplace ethics.

You’ll get a chance to look at the world around you in new ways and take part in lots of different activities with students from different degree disciplines.

Year 1: Sustainability #GetSust

During a Welcome Week event, undergraduate students from across the University work in interdisciplinary groups to build Campus East, a new development of the fictitious University of Millchester.

The aim of the event is to provide students an opportunity for interdisciplinary learning and group working while developing insight into the challenges of balancing environmental, economic and social factors in order to build a sustainable future, as well as provide a greater understanding of some of the challenges faced by Universities in the 21st Century.

Year 2: Social Justice #JustFest

As part of our Social Justice festival, JustFest, undergraduate students from across the University take part in a programme of workshops which explore a range of social justice themes, led by academics and external presenters, including the BBC and the Runnymede Trust. You will have the opportunity to explore themes such as how we should promote a just society, challenge injustice, value diversity, define human rights, and allocate resources. You will have the opportunity to explore what it might mean build fairer communities in the city, the UK and across the globe.

The event also includes a performance stage and an exhibition tent where students can take part in activities with organisations including The People’s History Museum, Fallowfield Foodshare and In Place of War.

Year 3: Workplace Ethics

This final year event is an interactive, interprofessional workshop on a grand scale. Unfolding scenarios are brought to life with clips of actors playing roles and students gaining the opportunity to consider and explore the ethical dilemmas of real life work situations commonly faced by early health care professional graduates.

6. MECHANISMS FOR PROGRAMME REVISION

6.1 External monitoring, review and approval by professional and regulatory bodies:

The programme is the subject of a number of external reviews. The programme is overseen by Health Education England North (formerly Health Education Northwest) which is the Local Education and Training Board which has been responsible for commissioning speech and language therapy education in the region until 2017 (and continues to have a role in overseeing placements), and by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) who approve the programme. The HCPC has a system of annual monitoring of approved courses, normally through the provision of documentary evidence of meeting their Standards of Education and Training (SETs). Each year a SETs mapping document is compiled. For each SET, the document indicates where in the accompanying documentation the evidence can be found. A visit will be considered if more than 25% of the course has changed since approval; or if there are major changes to the course. A re- approval event was triggered by the move to a 3-year programme and 4-year Integrated Masters and took place in March 2017 and continued approval has been granted following 2019 audit: it was concluded that we continue to meet HCPC standards for both programmes. At the same time, both programmes gained RCSLT accreditation against the RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) completed their Major Review of all healthcare programmes in the UK in 2005. The outcome for the University of Manchester was very successful. Work arising from the QAA report was monitored through an action plan that was jointly agreed by all partners.

An annual review meeting, looking at all healthcare programmes commissioned by Health Education England North in the Faculty takes place every spring.

The QAA subject benchmark statement ‘Health care programmes – Speech and language therapy’ is one of a number of external sources of information that are drawn upon for the purposes of academic review.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) produce Curriculum Guidelines which have been revised. As stated above, RCSLT accreditation against these guidelines was gained for both programmes in 2017. The programme received renewed accreditation from RCSLT in November 2023.

6.2 Internal monitoring and review:

Annual and 6-year Internal Review Panels:

Periodic Review considers the continuing validity and relevance of programme aims and intended learning outcomes. The process of periodic review is based on a self-evaluation document produced by the programme that is then discussed with a panel of peers external to the School. The panel is normally chaired by an Associate Dean of the Faculty and includes an officer of the Students’ Union, external subject specialist/s, and a representative of the Teaching and Learning Support Office.

Recommendations from the review are considered by Programme Committee and a response and actions formulated and followed up via the Annual Monitoring process.

Continual Monitoring Committee:

Membership: Academic membership of the Programme Committee.

Purpose: annual (June) monitoring to ensure that the standard of the programme is being maintained and to drive continual improvement of the student experience. Review of the entire programme takes place taking into account feedback from key stakeholders, with a view to recording action planning for the coming academic year. This process is also used to consider the ‘student experience’ at programme level referencing key ‘Student Voice’ satisfaction indicators such as the National Student Survey, Student Barometer, feedback from staff, Staff Student Liaison Committees (SSLC), DLHE statistics and the results of Unit Surveys.

The output of annual monitoring is a report to the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee for consideration and to inform the Faculty’s Continual Monitoring Overview. The summary report to the Faculty includes a Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP), outlining the work to be undertaken.

Continual monitoring considers:

• Outstanding actions from the previous year’s SEAP
  Comments from External Examiners
• Consideration of External Examiners’ reports by SSLCs
• Recruitment, retention, progression and achievement by students
• Information, advice and guidance to students and published information
• Comments on the effectiveness of information, advice and guidance to students Student Charter
• Induction and Welcome Week
• Student engagement and responding to feedback (from students and staff) PASS/Peer Mentoring
• Professional, statutory and regulatory bodies
  Other feedback
• Employability
• Curriculum development and learning support
  Innovations and good practice
• eLearning / blended learning
• Instilling graduate attributes (as set out in the Manchester Matrix)
• Personalised learning and the principles underpinning a Manchester undergraduate experience Staff development
• Support needs
• Continual monitoring and quality procedures
• Curriculum Planning Committee:

Membership: academic membership of Programme Committee plus student and service user representation.

Purpose: Annual (Jan) review of entire programme curriculum to drive continual renewal, development and innovation.

Detailed review, year by year, taking into account feedback from key stakeholders takes place with a view to proposals for the coming academic year to be taken to Programme Committee and/or Faculty Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Committee for approval as appropriate. Each year an emerging key theme is identified for discussion.

Programme Committee:

Membership: Programme academic teaching staff and professional support staff and the Student Welfare team.

Purpose: Day-to-day running of the programme; overseeing the development of the course; curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment review, for maintenance and enhancement of quality standards and for the co-ordination of course administration.

Assessment scrutiny and Board of Examiners:

The programme External Examiners are invited to comment on all assessment methods, content and administration. They also have an opportunity to meet with students. Recommendations are considered by programme committee and a
response and actions formulated and followed-up via the annual monitoring process.

Peer review of teaching:

Peer Review of Teaching is the process whereby a colleague or colleagues act as reviewers and explore a reviewee’s

teaching skills with them by means of direct observation of their interaction with students as well as review of their teaching materials. It is designed to provide teachers with an objective overview of their teaching from their peers so that performance can be modified and its effectiveness and efficiency improved.

6.3 Student involvement:

This section describes the ways in which student involvement, consultation and feedback is incorporated into procedures for revising the programme and the ways in which we provide feedback to students indicating how comment they have provided has shaped the programme. It should be noted that in addition to the processes outlined below, there is student representation at the Curriculum Planning Committee.

Student representatives and Staff-Student Liaison Committee:

Each year group is invited to elect two representatives each year. These representatives are to be responsible for keeping in close contact with the students within their year and discussing any problems that arise with the appropriate tutor(s) or lecturer(s).

Student representatives from each year are members of the Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) and will be invited to attend one meeting each semester, chaired by the Programme Director and supported a member of the Student Welfare team. Issues are brought to the SSLC meeting by documenting on the SSLC form what the specific issue is and how many students have agreed it is an issue. Copies of the minutes are made available on Blackboard.

Issues or feedback are shared with relevant programme staff and any response or actions are decided and agreed at Programme Committee.

Reply and any actions taken in response to issues raised are reported back at the next meeting under ‘matters arising’.

Procedures for responding to course unit evaluations:

Evaluations are processed by the Faculty and the summaries are sent to the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee, Head of School, Programme Director and to the course unit co-ordinators and lecturers concerned to inform their practice. Actions and developments arising from student comment are considered at Curriculum Planning Committee. The Programme Director liaises directly with individual course unit leads of low scoring units and asks for an action plan which will feed into the Annual Monitoring process. The Programme Director also initiates sharing of good practice identified (rolling item on Programme Committee agenda).

Procedures for responding to the National Student Survey:

Student evaluations and comment are shared with the academic teaching staff and actions considered at Programme Committee. The Programme Director is required to report to the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee actions and developments arising from student comment.

6.4 Service user involvement:

This section describes the ways in which service user involvement, consultation and feedback is incorporated into procedures for revising the programme and the ways in which we provide feedback to service users indicating how comment they have provided has shaped the programme. It should be noted that in addition to the processes outlined below, there is service user representation at the Curriculum Planning Committee.

The SLT Service user involvement group is an online community of service users willing and able to be approached for different service user involvement activities across SLT teaching and research. Any subset of members of this group may be approached for subject specific consultations or evaluations as required such as evaluation of teaching materials or review of teaching.

The SLT Programme Advisory Group is a subset of the SLT Service user involvement group who are invited to be involved, via a variety of methods, in planning and decision making processes for the entire programme. This group is represented at the Curriculum Planning Committee.

Reply and any actions taken in response to issues raised by this group are reported back via a report indicating how comment they have provided has shaped the programme.

6.5 Other stake holder involvement:

Throughout the academic year the programme engages with a variety of external stakeholders including local NHS

managers and clinicians, SLTProfNet (NHS SLT Managers), Committee of Representatives in Education for SLT (CREST), and representatives from Health Education England North and it is constantly reviewing its activity related to stakeholder involvement and consultation. The Programme is also proud to have a number of NHS managers and practising clinicians among the internal academic teaching team.

SECTION 3 – CREDIT, ASSESSMENT AND AWARDS REGULATIONS

It is crucial that you understand how your work is to be assessed and how decisions are made as to whether you are ready to progress to the next year of study. Once you understand about credit-rating of individual units and the weighting of different assessments within a unit, you can begin to plan your revision, clear about what needs to be prioritised.

As a student SLT, you will be taught how to become involved in evaluating your own performance. Reflective practic whereby you think carefully about what you have learnt to date and how much you still have to learn is valued highly. Additionally, your work and attendance for all course units is formally assessed by lecturers. We need evidence that you have completed the course unit to a satisfactory level and that you deserve to be awarded the credits for that unit (see Section 2: Programme Overview for further explanation of the credit rating system). It is important that we have a true picture of your level of performance so that your final award is a true reflection of your abilities. It is also important that you have a true picture as you progress through your degree programme, so that you can reflect upon your performance and become more actively involved in the process of learning.

There are numerous measures in place to ensure that any means of assessing your work is as fair and accurate as possible. These include the use of External Examiners, internal and external moderation of exam question papers and assignment questions; anonymous marking; internal and external moderation of marking; Board of Examiners meetings; consideration of mitigating circumstances at particular times; consideration of disabilities; arrangements for late submission of assignments; regulations regarding word limits; resit regulations and compensation arrangements. These are all explained in this section. Additionally, we need to be sure that any credit awarded is justly deserved by the student concerned and is awarded in recognition of their own work.

Interruption and currency of award

The programme is full time and the length of the BSc programme is three years and the MSLT programme is four years.

Very occasionally it may be deemed necessary (on very serious personal or health grounds) to interrupt a student’s studies for up to a year. In order that your practice be considered current and to ensure your eligibility to register with the HCPC upon graduation, it is expected that you complete your studies within a maximum of five years for the BSc or six years for the MSLT.

If you would like to apply for or discuss an interruption to study please can you contact the shs.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk email address and request an interruption form

Conduct and Ethics

It is absolutely vital that you appreciate that progress to each stage of your degree programme and to eventual qualification is not dependent on academic attainment alone. The Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for Students, published by the Health & Care Professions Council states clearly:

‘On your programme you have the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge you need to become a professional in an environment which protects the public. You also have the opportunity to learn about the behaviour that the public expects from a registrant. As a student studying to become a professional in a regulated profession, you have certain responsibilities. On your programme you will be expected to meet high standards of conduct and ethics. You should be aware that in very serious circumstances, your conduct may affect your ability to: complete your programme; gain the final qualification; or register with us.’

https://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/learners/while-i-am-studying/guidance-on-conduct-and-ethics/

The HCPC guidance document then goes on to give further guidance as to how you should interpret the 10 points regarding conduct and ethics which apply to you as students:

1. Promote and protect the interests of service users and carers.

2. Communicate appropriately and effectively.

3. Work within the limits of your knowledge and skills.

4. Delegate appropriately.

5. Respect confidentiality.

6. Manage risk.

7. Report concerns about safety.

8. Be open when things go wrong.

9. Be honest and trustworthy.

10. Keep records of your work with service users and carers.

This document is essential reading for all Clinical and Professional Practice units.

In addition to University guidance on conduct and discipline (Conduct and Discipline of Students: Regulation XVII – Appendix 3 of this handbook) students should be aware of programme level policy for dealing with concerns about students’ profession-related conduct (below).

Formative assessment and feedback

This type of assessment is intended to help with your development or ‘formation’ as a student. You are often given qualitative feedback (comments) as well as quantitative feedback (numerical marks) for your work which tell you what you need to do to improve your marks for next time. The idea is that such formative feedback feeds forward to drive your learning and help you to do better in future assessment. Formative assessment may take the form of a quiz done in class or on Blackboard in your own time or it may be an assignment such as an essay, poster or presentation and you can normally expect the feedback from formative assessment in time to help you with summative assessment of the same or other related units. Feedback may take the form of a mark, outline answers, verbal comments, peer comments or a combination of these.

For each course unit specification, there should be information regarding ways in which you can expect to receive formative assessment and feedback for each course unit. If this is not clear, please approach your course unit lead who will be able to explain what you can expect.

Summative assessment

This type of assessment, sometimes referred to as ‘examined’ assessment, contributes to your end-of-year overall mark. In years 2 and 3 of the BSc and in years 2, 3 and 4 of the MSLT these marks contribute to your degree classification.
Summative assessment may take various forms (e.g. essay, presentation, assignment or exams). In the case of summative assignments, hand-in dates (usually submitted electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard) will be provided for each assessment. In the case of summative exams, these will take place in one of the two allocated exam periods towards the end of each semester. (See later under Examination periods).

RCSLT Eating, drinking and swallowing pre-registration competencies (2021)

Students are required to complete a minimum of 16 of the 20 pre-registration eating, drinking and swallowing competencies, as well as accumulate 60 hours of indirect EDS experience, 30 hours of direct EDS experience with adults and 10 hours of direct experience with a paediatric caseload. Attending scheduled active learning sessions on campus are essential to ensure you meet the requirements for the direct contact hours. Attendance to lectures, discussion seminars and completing independent reading and eLearning resources will ensure you meet the mandatory requirements for the 60 indirect EDS experience hours. Where attendance to scheduled teaching activities covering EDS competencies and experience is poor, this will result in students being unable to graduate from the programme from 2026. Students are expected to keep an honest and accurate record of their EDS hours and competency development. Where a student has concerns regarding reduced EDS experience hours and incomplete competency development, they should raise this concern with their academic advisor.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is taken very seriously on this vocational degree programme (see above re conduct). It is a requirement that you attend all timetabled sessions for any individual course unit and an 80% minimum attendance requirement across the duration of each course unit is imposed. It is a professional requirement that you attend 100% of clinical placement sessions (see p26 for further detail re placement hours). Students are expected to check in to each session attended using the My Manchester attendance check in system when in attendance for a particular session. Please note that lecturers will complete semi-regular spot checks of these check ins to ensure that attendance is being logged correctly. If your attendance in a particular course unit is deemed unsatisfactory, you may not be permitted to complete the assessment and/or awarded the credits for that course unit, which would mean that you would not be able to progress and that you would have to leave the programme.

In order to support academic attainment and monitor wellbeing, Academic Advisers will be given regular updates of their student’s attendance profiles. Students who reach trigger points (detailed below) will be flagged to their Academic Adviser. The role of the Academic Adviser in attendance monitoring is a supportive one, to ensure that students are well and engaging with the programme. Academic Advisers will treat cases of poor attendance on an individual basis and agree to a range of actions. These may include regular meetings, referral to Occupational Health or revisiting guidance on the attendance requirements.

Board of Examiners

Marks are considered by the Speech and Language Therapy Board of Examiners in June, which applies the resit and compensation guidelines (see later) and makes decisions regarding resits, progression to the following year and degree classification. All exam boards are conducted anonymously in the interests of fairness to all students.

Please note that there are certain clinically applied assessments which, due to our responsibility to replicate live clinical situations, may not be adapted to accommodate disability support needs, by allowing additional time in an exam or allowing an ‘automatic’ extension to an assignment submission date, for instance. Such assessments will be clearly highlighted. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for additional time or an extension for a piece of work you should check with the course unit lead or the Programme Director.

External Examiners

External Examiners are academic colleagues from another university who monitor our assessment processes 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 comparable with those in equivalent higher education institutions. The External Examiners are invited to comment on the appropriateness of assignment topics and examination questions prior to being distributed to students and moderate the marking of a selection of scripts from each examination and a sample from assessed coursework, once they have been first marked and internally moderated. There are a number of External Examiners for Speech and Language Therapy UG studies, dealing with different subject areas (for example Biological Sciences, Linguistics, Psychology, Clinical Linguistics, Speech Pathology). An External Examiner in Speech and Language Therapy has sight of a proportion of clinical assessments.

External Examiners’ reports relating to your studies will be shared with student representatives at the Staff Student Liaison Committee (SSLC), 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.

For the 2024-25 academic year the External Examiners involved in moderating the Speech and Language Therapy UG programmes are:

External Examiners

Dr Laura Loftus, University of Galway

Morag Bixley, De Montfort University

Dr Sarah James, Leeds Beckett University

Please note that it is not appropriate under any circumstances for students to make direct contact with External Examiners, in particular with regard 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 Director, Jenny Freed.

Extensions

Some DASS students are entitled to an automatic one-week extension, which does not need to be applied for. If you are a DASS student with this automatic extension and require longer than one-week, please complete the form above by
15:00pm on the day of your DASS submission date.

Interruptions

As a this is a professional programme requiring you to attend placement, you may also need to interupt if you are not well enough to attend placement or attend sufficient teaching sessions to meet required competencies. Note that in order that your practice be considered current and to ensure your eligibility to register with the HCPC upon graduation, it is expected that you complete your studies within a maximum of five years for the BSc or six years for the MSLT.

Attendance monitoring and Student Ill Health

Students are expected to attend all scheduled teaching and learning sessions in every year of study, unless alternative arrangements or flexibility in attendance has been agreed for individual students, if unavoidable circumstances such as illness prevents you from attending or if absence has been authorised. This includes both on-campus teaching as well as online/blended, distance or remote learning modes of delivery.

If you are unable to attend a teaching session you should inform the lecturer/instructor in the first instance to catch up on missed learning and for support with teaching materials. For absences of 1-2 days, you do not need to tell the Student Support and Wellbeing Team.

If you expect to miss one or more full weeks of teaching, you must notify the Student Support and Wellbeing team on shs.attendance@manchester.ac.uk, as well as your Academic Advisor. Please provide a reason for this to help the team provide appropriate guidance and signposting as required.

If your attendance is deemed to be too low, someone from the Student Support and Wellbeing team will be in touch to check in with you and make sure that you are ok. If the poor attendance continues without a valid reason, your Academic Advisor will be informed. If there is still no improvement in your attendance, you will be asked to a meeting with your Programme Director. This is in line with the university policy on monitoring attendance.

Tier 4 Visa Students

As a part of your visa requirement, your attendance needs to be monitored with regular in-person check ins on campus.

You will need to attend the SHS Hub (Ground Floor, Jean McFarlane building) twice a week on your assigned days to scan your student ID card.

Submission of assignments

In order to be fair to all students, assignments should be submitted by the time and date arranged by the lecturer concerned and organised by the exam administrator. Details of submission dates are clearly indicated on the programme space on Blackboard and in individual unit spaces.

You will be asked to submit assignments online via Blackboard and instructions will be provided by email. There is no need to submit a paper copy in this instance or complete a coversheet. You must include your student ID in the header (so it appears on every page) of your assignment and not your name, to ensure marking is anonymous. The start of your submission title should also be your student ID number. Failure to provide your student ID on your assignment will result in your assignment being marked as per the marking guidelines, but your mark will not be released and you will need to make an appointment to see the SLT Examinations Officer for your mark. The TurnItIn software package is used to help markers detect plagiarism. Blackboard e-mails you a receipt once the work has been submitted. Please ensure you receive this e-mail as you may require it to prove you have submitted your work on time.

You may also be asked to submit hard copies of assignments. Hand in sessions are organised to fit around your timetable and in a convenient location. All work must be submitted during the allocated time slot and will not be accepted early. As mentioned above, assignments are submitted under an anonymous cover sheet which can be obtained from the undergraduate office.

It is ESSENTIAL that coversheets are completed in full for EVERY paper submission, ensuring that each receipted section details your student number and the ‘unit code’ of the course unit.

PLEASE DO NOT write your name on pieces of coursework. Submissions are assessed anonymously. To ensure you work is identifiable please remember to detail your student number and the unit code in a ‘header’ on each page of your
assignment and fully complete a ‘Submission Coversheet.’

(APA 6t) referencing, APA style in text citations

The below link contains more information on the submission of work for summative assignments:
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=24561

Format (font size/style)

Your work should be submitted using the following formatting unless stated otherwise:

• Double line spacing
• 12 point Arial Font
• American Psychological Association 6th
• Reference list at end of work, APA  th style reference list
• Word count included at the end of the main body of text before the reference list

The above regulations apply to all assignments unless otherwise stated by the course unit lead setting the work.

Late submission of assignments without prior notification

It should be noted that extensions are only to be requested in response to unanticipated, one-off events. An extension will not be granted in the face of ongoing personal circumstances, health or disability issues which are already known to us, other than in cases where automatic extensions are stipulated in a student’s DASS plan. If an assignment is submitted after the time and date set*, a sliding scale of marking penalties will result (see below).

The following is an extract from: “Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment on Taught Programmes”:

4.7 The standard penalty relates to first attempts only. Students who submit resit assignments after the deadline will be automatically subject to a mark of zero. There are no further resit opportunities for resit referred assignments that are submitted late, unless there is approved mitigation.

4.8 Schools must implement the standard penalty of a sliding scale to penalise late submission; work submitted after the
deadline will be marked but the mark awarded will reduce progressively for each day, or part thereof, by which the work is
late.

4.9 The mark awarded will reduce by 10% of the maximum amount available per 24 hours (e.g. if the work is marked out of 100, this means a deduction of 10 marks per 24 hours late. If the work is marked out of 20, the deduction would be 2 marks each 24 hours late.) The penalty applies as soon as an assignment is late; a 10% deduction would be issued if an
assignment is submitted immediately after the deadline, and the work would continue to attract further penalties for each subsequent 24 hours the work was late, until the assignment is submitted or no marks remain.

4.10 In exceptional circumstances and for sound pedagogic reasons, a Unit Lead may decide not to accept late submission of assessed summative work. These circumstances must be approved by the Faculty and be detailed within Unit
Specifications. The rationale and consequences must also be clearly articulated in assignment briefs.

IMPORTANT: There is no sliding scale in operation for resits.

This guidance relates to first attempts only. Students who submit resit assignments after the deadline will be automatically subject to a mark of zero.

For example, a piece of work which would have been awarded 65%, if submitted on time, would be reduced as follows:

 

Number of Days Late	Mark Awarded
1	55%
2	45%
3	35%
4	25%
5	15%
6	0%

 

NB Late submission of any resit assignment will automatically incur a mark of 0.

Please note that we are extremely strict concerning deadlines: 12pm on a certain date means exactly that:

submitting at 12.01pm constitutes a late submission and a reduction of 10% in the mark is indicated. Please note
also that we are considered generous within the Faculty in offering such a sliding scale: in certain Schools an
automatic mark of 0 is awarded if an assignment is handed in even 1 minute after the agreed submission time.

Exceeding the word limit

Word limits on assignments are set for good reason and you must clearly and honestly state your word count at the end of any assignment you submit. The word count must include the entirety of the main body of text of any assignment, including any references within the text. The reference list at the end of the assignment is not included. Having a word limit is akin to everyone having the same length of time to sit a written exam (or the appropriate length of time, taking into account specific disabilities). It is advisable to aim to go slightly under the word limit (e.g. word limit is 2000 words: aim to write 1975 words).
You will be penalised by a reduction of your mark if your assignment exceeds the word limit according to the following sliding scale, hence this could bring your mark down, even if the assignment content is of good quality. Spot checks of word counts are conducted.

 

Number of words above the stated word limit	Marks deducted
Up to 5%	5
6-10%	10
11-15%	15
etc	Etc
40%+ over:	Mark of 0 awarded

 

Referencing

The use of correct referencing is important for all submitted work and marks may be deducted for poor referencing style.
You are advised to familiarise yourself with the guidelines on referencing using the American Psychological Association (APA) system. Guidelines on referencing can be found on the library website via My Learning Essentials and in the programme space on Blackboard. Please bear in mind that over-use of web-based referencing has become more widespread in recent years and is something you need to learn to guard against. If you are over dependent on Google or other popular search engines and do not learn other more appropriate methods of sourcing information, your marks are likely to suffer.

Marking Criteria

As well as the question, guidance will be provided to you by the lecturer setting an exam or assignment. This is so that you are clear about what is expected of you in completing the piece of work successfully. Detailed in Appendix 4 are the general marking criteria for written assignments and examinations at all levels of study in the BSc. Separate marking criteria will be provided for the MSLT which is at level 7 study.

Degree regulations

The regulations for the BSc Speech and Language Therapy are based on the University Undergraduate Degree regulations ratified by Senate in May 2012:

http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=13147

The following are exceptions to the University regulations which apply specifically to the BSc SLT

Compensation: “Compensation” refers to the process by which a borderline fail mark is treated as a pass providing the student has passed sufficient units in that semester. For the purposes of determining progression the possible range of compensatable marks is 35-39%. No compensation is permitted in the MSLT 4^th year, when all course units must be passed with a mark of 50%. Where a unit is graded simply pass or fail there is no compensatable fail mark. For the following course units, compensation is not permitted and a pass mark of 40% for the unit is required: Clinical & Professional Practice (years 1-3); the phonetic transcription component of Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics (year 2), the dysphagia assignment component of Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disabilities A (year 2) (see individual course unit specifications for more detailed information). Compensation is at the discretion of the Exam Board. If a student fails more than 20 credits in any one year, they lose the right to compensate. In other words, a minimum of 100 credits must be passed outright at first sit in order that compensation of any other mark may be considered. For composite assessments (see detail below), in order to compensate any failed element, students have to achieve a compensatable mark of 35-39% in those individual components of the assessment as well as a compensatable mark of 35-39% as the overall unit grade.

Composite Assessments

Some course units include two or more components of assessment (e.g. an assignment and an exam). These are referred to as composite assessments. The following applies in terms of compensation for composite assessments;

• Students must achieve a pass mark of 40 or above in each part of the composite assessment (or a mark of 50 in the MSLT 4th year)
• The same compensation rules applied at programme level between course units apply within an individual course unit, i.e. a mark of 35-39 for one part of the composite assessment may be compensated by a mark of 40+ in another composite part and therefore a re-sit may not be required. No compensation is permitted in the MSLT 4th year where all assessments must be passed with a mark of 50%,
• The opportunity to compensate within a unit does not apply to phonetic transcription component of Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics (year 2), to the dysphagia assignment component of Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disorders A (year 2) or to any component parts of Clinical and Professional Practice in years 1-3.
• Students achieving a mark of 34 or below in any part of a composite assessment will have to re-sit that part of the assessment, with no possibility of compensation even if the overall unit has a pass mark of 40 or above.
• Students only need to re-sit the component of the assessment that they failed.
• If a student has an overall fail mark for the course unit, then passes the unit at the resit attempt, the final unit mark will be capped at the lowest compensatable mark (i.e 35) or the original mark if this was between 36-39. This mark will contribute to the end of year average and an /R/ will show after the final mark to depict a Resit.
• If a student has an overall pass mark for the course unit but fails a part of the composite assessment with a mark of less than 35, the original mark stands but the student will need to pass the failed part of the assessment. The overall mark will not show /R/ for re-sit.
• For administrative purposes, if a student has an overall pass mark for the course unit, but the student is required to sit one of the composite assessments, the student system will be updated to show ‘on review’ for the course unit. As the composite assessments generally take the form of assignments, students will normally be aware of whether they have passed or failed the piece of work prior to exam board. This should therefore help to reduce any potential confusion for students, associated with this regulation. i.e. they will be aware of the need to resit (or not) prior to finding out their mark for the overall course unit.

Carrying forward failed credit on undergraduate programmes

It is not possible for students to carry forward any failed credit to the following academic year. The structure of the content is such that content builds on learning from the previous year. This means that students must demonstrate sufficient knowledge (by achieving a pass mark in all assessments) before embarking on the next year of study. Further, the timetable and curriculum do not allow sufficient time for students to complete an additional unit alongside the requirements
of the current year of study.

Repeating the Level

It is not generally possible for students to repeat all or part of a year; this could happen in exceptional circumstances only and with strong supporting evidence.

Final year of an undergraduate (including integrated masters) programme: It is a requirement of the HCPC that students demonstrate competence in all subjects and so all course units must be passed, including final (third) year course units of the BSc. Any failed final year course unit which cannot be compensated must be passed at resit in order that the BSc (Hons) or MSLT Speech and Language Therapy (the protected degree title approved by the HCPC) may be awarded. The originally obtained marks will be used to determine the class of degree awarded in these cases.

Classification in Bachelors Programmes

BSc SLT degree classification

1. The programme will follow the standard university model for Bachelor’s degrees and apportion weights of 0.0 (L4), 0.33 (L5) and 0.67 (L6) to the final degree classification.

2. Successful candidates who achieve an averaged mark in the First Class range for the clinical components of Year 2 and Year 3 (Clinical and Professional Practice 2 and 3) will be awarded the degree with Distinction in Clinical Practice.

The following boundaries inform classification when the weighted average falls below a classification threshold.

 

Bachelors Degree classification	Classification thresholds: weighted average (0 to 100 mark range)	Boundary zone weighted average
First class	70.0	68.0 to 69.9
Upper Second class	60.0	58.0 to 59.9
Lower Second class	50.0	48.0 to 49.9
Third class	40.0	37.0 to 39.9

 

Consideration of bachelor degree students within the boundary zone by mark distribution

After allowances have been made for mitigating circumstances, a student whose weighted average at the first assessment
is within the boundary zone specified above, must be considered for the higher award as long as the following are satisfied:

2/3 of the credits in Year 3 (i.e. 80/120 credits) are equal to/or higher than the final award (for example if the student is in the boundary between a 2.1 and a first, 2/3 of the credits must be at 70% or higher to fulfil this criteria and award the students a first class degree).

1/2 of the credits in Year 3 (i.e. 60/120 credits) are in the upper boundary with no credits in the boundary below (for example if the student is in the boundary between a 2.1 and a first, 1/2 of the credits must be at 70% or higher and no credits can be below 60% to fulfil this criteria)

 

MSLT degree classification

The programme will follow the standard university model for Integrated Masters and apportion weights of 0.0 (L4), 0.2 (L5), 0.4 (L6) and 0.4 (L7) to the final degree classification.

Exit awards

For students on the BSc pathway who either fail to satisfy the requirements to proceed to a subsequent year, or who wish to withdraw from the programme before completion of the three years of study, the requirements for the different exit and award points are specified below. Please note that these are exit awards for students who have obtained the appropriate number of credits to enable them to exit at the end of the particular year. For example, if a student fails to complete the 2 nd year of BSc Speech and Language Therapy, they will be eligible for a Cert HE in Human Communication Science since they have successfully completed the first year of studies.

 

Award	Programme Title	Duration	Min. Credits (total)	Min. credits (level)
Cert HE	Human Communication Science	1 Year	120	100 level 4 or above
Dip HE	Human Communication Science)	2 Years	240	100 level 5 or above
BSc (Ord)	Human Communication Science	3 Years	300	60 level 6 or above
*BSc (Hons)	Human Communication Science	3 Years	360	120 level 6
*Masters	Human Communication Science	4 Years	480	120 level 7

Students on the MSLT pathway who either fail to satisfy the requirements to graduate with the full Integrated Masters award
or who wish to withdraw from the programme before completion of the four years of study are eligible for the exit awards as outlined above. They are also able to exit with the clinical award, the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy if they have completed and passed all course units in the first three years, passing all 360 credits. *However, if, at any point during this 4 th Integrated Masters year, the student is found guilty of serious professional misconduct, they will not then be eligible to exit with the clinical award. The award they would be eligible to exit with, even if they had completed the entire 120 credits of that 4th year academically, would be the non-clinical award of Masters Human Communication Science. Without achieving the full credits in Y4, they may be eligible for the BSc (Hons) Human Communication Science.

Please note: achieving the required number of credits for the academic award of an Ordinary degree is NOT the same as fulfilling the requirements for the degree and protected title of Speech and Language Therapy with eligibility for registration with HCPC. The non-vocational award carries a completely different programme title for this reason (Human Communication Science). The degree in Human Communication Science is NOT recognised by the HCPC and so there is no possibility of registering with the HCPC and hence no possibility of working as a speech and language therapist as a
graduate holding this award.

The BSc Speech and Language Therapy Board of Examiners has responsibility for forwarding to the Health & Care Professions Council a list of names of students eligible for registration. Only candidates who have satisfied the examiners in all specified course units and all aspects of the clinical component will be so recommended and it is each student’s responsibility to apply directly to the HCPC for registration.

Feedback and notification of results

Examination results are accessible online via the student portal. Individual results letters for re-sits are sent to you by email after each exam board. NO EXAMINATION RESULTS WILL BE GIVEN BY PHONE. After each examination period your Academic Adviser will make contact to discuss your results at the start of the following semester. Feedback will be provided in a timely manner. For those assignments submitted online, you will be able to access marks and individual feedback via Blackboard. Your end of year results will be released once the Board of Examiners have met and applied any resit or compensation guidelines.

What happens if I fail a course unit/s?

• I have a final mark for a Y1 – Y3 course unit of 35-39%

The pass mark for all course units on the BSc SLT is 40%. If you fail a course unit, but have a mark in the range 35-39%, you may still be allowed to progress to the next year of your degree. This is called a compensatable fail. For a fail mark to be compensatable, you have to have an overall year mark of at least 40% and to have passed 100/120 credits) of that year’s course units. Full details of how compensation is applied are specified above.

N.B. There is no compensation in the Y4 MSLT course units and all units must be passed with a mark of 50%.

• I have a final mark for a Y1 – Y3 course unit of 34% or less

If you fail a course unit and the final mark is 34% or less, this is not compensatable. If you have a high enough average and enough credits overall, you will be allowed to resit the failed assessment at the next opportunity. In most cases, this will be the resit examination period in August. You only need to resit the assessments you failed. If you pass the resit, you will obtain the credits associated with that course unit and the final unit mark will be capped at the lowest compensatable mark (i.e 35) or the original mark if between 36-39. This mark will then be used in the calculation for your end of year average and degree classification and an /R/ will show after the final mark on the Student System to depict a Resit.

N.B. There is no compensation in the Y4 MSLT course units and all units must be passed with a mark of 50%.

• I failed the resit assignment/exam

If you fail a resit attempt you will not obtain the credits associated with that course unit. You will therefore not have enough credits to progress to the next year and will be unable to continue on the degree programme.

What is plagiarism?

Below we have included the University’s statement on plagiarism. MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY. But put in simple language you must make sure that anything that is not your work is referenced appropriately: a direct quotation, close paraphrasing of others’ work, statistical or background information etc; things that are other people’s work, words or ideas. Otherwise you could be considered to be trying to pass this off as your own, even if this was not your intention.

Plagiarism is the theft or expropriation of someone else’s work without proper acknowledgement, presenting the material as if it were one’s own. All work submitted by a student, whether assessed or non-assessed must be the work of the student concerned. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and the consequences are severe.

The University of Manchester Guidance to students on plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice:
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=2870

 

SECTION 4 – STUDENT SUPPORT, GUIDANCE AND REPRESENTATION

SLT UG Studies philosophy regarding student health and wellbeing

Patient Safety

The good health and wellbeing of the patients/clients and their carers and families who use SLT services is of paramount importance to the UG team and to the University more broadly. People living with communication and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties are already vulnerable, as are their families and carers. Patient safety is the primary concern of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), whose job it is to protect the public. We do our utmost to ensure that nothing we do as a programme runs the risk of jeopardising the health and wellbeing of service users.

The staff team (many of whom are clinicians registered with the HCPC), acknowledge that there are inevitably times, when particularly difficult personal circumstances and/or a deterioration in our own physical, mental or emotional health mean that we need to take a step back and consider whether we are fit to practise right now. Usually, professional opinion needs to be sought.

The HCPC makes very clear to us all the responsibility we have, whether a student or a qualified practitioner, to be open and honest about our health. The HCPC view, which we share, is that there is no condition in and of itself which would debar you from becoming a therapist or continuing to practise. However, if you fail to disclose any emerging health condition and/or fail to address your health needs appropriately by seeking appropriate treatment, you do run the risk of being deemed unfit to progress with your studies.

Student Health

Of equal concern to the programme team and the University, of course, is the welfare of our students. During the course of the three or four years of your studies, it is anticipated that some of you will experience a period of ill health and/or some trying personal circumstances which may have an impact on your physical or mental health. We need you to be honest and open with us so that we can help you. We’re here to support you and to make sure you get well.

If your attendance starts slipping, our first thought is for your wellbeing: might you be unwell or might something have happened in your personal life that you haven’t been able to talk to us about just yet? Rather than leave you to ‘sink or swim’, we want to know what the matter is so that we can support you to progress academically.

We endeavour to support you and to ensure that you are equipped and fully prepared intellectually, practically and emotionally for the many challenges you will face as a student therapist. You will need physical good health, mental agility and emotional resilience to negotiate the tremendously varied and demanding learning experiences of this healthcare programme.

Occasionally, when things are very serious or prolonged, a student may need to take time out to get well or to address their difficult personal circumstances. We have supported students to interrupt their studies for a period in order to tackle their health or personal issues and many have gone on to graduate successfully. Bear in mind that the degree should be completed within five years of registering for the BSc and within six years of registering for the MSLT (see Section 3).

Ultimately, however, nothing is worth jeopardising your health and wellbeing for, and very, very occasionally what is in the student’s best interests is to support them to leave the programme.

Senior Academic Adviser

If there is something you wish to discuss with someone other than your academic adviser, you are welcome to get in touch with our Senior Academic Adviser, Katie Twomey (katherine.twomey@manchester.ac.uk). During semester time Katie will be in touch weekly with a summary of information you need to know, so please check your emails regularly.

 

Clinical Staff

The Clinical Education Lead and the academic staff on the teaching team who are qualified speech and language therapists are there to support your professional and clinical development and to deal with any problems arising in that aspect of the course. You may also request to, or be requested to see, one of the clinical staff at other times to discuss any individual issues about your clinical placements or performance.

Course unit tutorials

Course unit leads may arrange timetabled academic tutorials as part of a course unit for you to pursue in more depth aspects of subject specific knowledge. You may be expected to prepare a piece of work for these tutorials, or to present a summary of a key paper. The content and timing of tutorials will be specified by the tutor at the beginning of the semester.

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

Students are trained centrally and with guidance and support from the Faculty sabbatical intern as well as our academic staff to act as PASS leaders, facilitating independent study groups. First years will be supported by 3rd year students.

Other tutorials and access to academic staff

You can reasonably expect to be able to see a lecturer individually for discussion of a specific academic or clinical enquiry or a personal problem. Many staff work part time or have other commitments outside of teaching so if you need an appointment and a lecturer is not available when you drop by, you are welcome to contact the lecturer by email to arrange an individual tutorial or meeting.

Lecturers are always willing to see students with personal emergencies, such as ill health, but they may not always be in their offices. In that case you should leave a telephone number where you can be contacted with the staff in the SHS Student Support Hub.

Recording of lectures by students

Lecture capture or audio-recording of lectures for educational purposes, is becoming more widespread across the University and, there are now more lecture theatres with built-in facilities to audio-record lectures. We will certainly make full use of such a facility where it is deemed helpful to the student learning experience. However, there is the possibility that lecturers may opt out of using this facility if they feel it is inappropriate to have the teaching session recorded. This may be due to the confidential clinical nature of the content or it may feel inappropriate to have student interaction recorded, given the interactive nature of the session.

As for individual student SLTs making recordings of lectures for their individual purposes, the BSc SLT Programme Committee has agreed the following:

1) DASS recommendations regarding students with identified disabilities are fully supported. Such students’ support needs will already be known to the School, which may include their being permitted to record lectures for their own personal use. Such students must ensure they are clear about the conditions of this allowance.

2) Any other students wishing to make recordings of lectures, must submit a request to the programme director, detailing their reasons for wishing to do so (form available from the general office). In this way we are able to monitor the use of recordings (and hence potential misuse).

3) Lecturers should highlight which sections of their teaching session(s) they feel it is not appropriate for anyone to record (including students with disabilities). Justification may include the following:

(i) protecting confidentiality of clinical data

(ii)protecting privacy and dignity of fellow students

(iii) pedagogical reasons: when interactive, student-led discussion is required and any recording may be regarded as an inhibiting influence.

Programme review and development

In addition to the ongoing programme development undertaken by the teaching team, the programme is also the subject of a number of internal and external reviews. The programme is overseen by Health Education England (NW) which is the Local Education & Training Board responsible for commissioning Speech and Language Therapy education in the region until 2017 (and which continues to have a role in overseeing clinical placements), and by the HCPC (Health & Care
Professions Council) who approve the programme. The QAA (Quality Assurance Agency) completed their Major Review of all healthcare programmes in the UK in 2005. The outcome for the University of Manchester was very successful. Work arising from the QAA report was monitored through an action plan that was jointly agreed by all partners. Action plans are now produced to ensure that provision meets the requirements of the Skills for Health Quality Assurance standards and framework. An annual review meeting, looking at all healthcare programmes commissioned by Health Education England
North in the Faculty takes place every autumn Research output is assessed via the government’s Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Appendix 1

The following table gives you an overview of the subjects you can expect to cover in year 4 if you are registered on the Integrated Masters programme.

At the start of your 4 th year, you will be able to download more detailed course unit outlines and add your programme handbook. Where you are given a more detailed syllabus and reading list at the beginning of a course unit, it is your responsibility to keep this or to insert it into your programme handbook at the appropriate place. You may need the detailed information in future years if applying for further study or for work abroad.

 

Year 4 (Integrated Masters) Course Units	Credits	Semester	Assessment
Clinical Research 4	60	1 & 2	6000-word dissertation
Choice of Optional Unit	15	1	Dependent on unit chosen
Choice of Optional Unit	15	1	Dependent on unit chosen
Choice of Optional Unit	15	2	Dependent on unit chosen
Choice of Optional Unit	15	2	Dependent on unit chosen
Total credits for year	120

 

Appendix 2

Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room

The Resource Room (B2.11) is available for students in all years to familiarise themselves with some of the clinical materials and computer technology which may be available in Speech and Language Therapy Departments. It is also used for storing reference books.

Use of Printer

Please note that the printer in the resource room is to be used for printing out information relating to specific SLT software packages off the computers ONLY. It is not to be used for printing out coursework or handouts from Blackboard.

RESOURCE ROOM COMPUTERS

Students will be allowed to use the computers in the Resource Room, as required. Specific software is loaded onto the computers and these will be clearly labelled for your information.

You will be able to print out resources using the central credit printing facility. All computers will have access to the internet.

ACCESS

Monday – Friday 9.15am – 4.30pm (3rd and 4 thyear students may use the room later providing that they have checked the time of closing for the main building with the porters).

The Resource Room is locked with a key pad. The code will be given to students at the beginning of the academic year.
Students should be aware that occasionally the room will be unavailable as it is sometimes used for teaching purposes.

RESPONSIBILTY

During the 3/4 years of your degree you will most likely spend a proportion of your time in this room and make use of the resources available. These resources are specific to your degree and are not available elsewhere in the University. The Resource Room is unsupervised as it is understood that students will use resources respectfully. Failure to do this will mean a less efficient resource which will ultimately impact on you, the student.

THIS IS YOUR RESOURCE ROOM. PLEASE USE IT CONSIDERATELY.

Appendix 3

Declaration for SLT undergraduates undertaking paid or unpaid work

Name of student (BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE):

1. I understand that, as a student on the BSc Speech & Language Therapy degree programme, I am not registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and therefore cannot work as a speech and language therapist. I will make this clear to any individual or organisation who offers me work, paid or unpaid, while I am a
student at the University of Manchester.

2. I understand that, as a student on the BSc Speech & Language Therapy, I am covered by the public liability insurance of the placement provider organisation and am protected by the indemnity insurance cover of my supervising clinicians only for clinical placements arranged by the University of Manchester as part of my
degree programme.

3. I understand that, as a student, I am not qualified to give an independent professional opinion regarding communication or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties and I will not independently make decisions regarding assessment, diagnosis and management.

4. I undertake to maintain and uphold the reputation of the University of Manchester (1).

5. I understand that, throughout the 4 years of my degree programme, it is my responsibility to behave in such a way as to uphold my fitness to practise and do nothing which may jeopardise my eligibility to register with the HCPC.

6. The University frequently receives publicity about work opportunities (paid and unpaid) which may be of particular interest to SLT students. I understand that the University cannot be held accountable for any arrangements I enter into with external individuals or organisations.

7. I understand the need for confidentiality regarding the individuals and organisations I am involved with. This duty of confidentiality includes not sharing information without expressed consent in any format (e.g. images, text, spoken word) in the public domain. This includes social networking sites.

8. I undertake to take reasonable care of my own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by my actions whilst doing paid or unpaid work (2).

SIGNED: DATE:

(1) http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=6530

(2) http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/experience/volunteering/

Appendix 64

UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

FACULTY OF BIOLOGY, MEDICINE & HEALTH

Procedure for a Committee on Fitness to Practise

The following links to the most up-to-date procedure:

http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=50549

Further information regarding credit, assessment and awards framework is provided later in this handbook in Section
3 ↑

2. Further information regarding assessment is provided later in this handbook in Section 3, Assessment and
Regulations ↑

3. Includes 4 weeks of placement learning. 40 x 3.5 hour sessions = 140 hours. ↑

4. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. ↑

5. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. Students receive 160 sessions in total
over the 3 years (560 hours). The minimum amount of tutored clinical experience required according to the RCSLT
Curriculum Guidelines is 150 sessions (525 hours, based on 3.5 hour sessions). ↑

6. Students will choose two units from semester 1 options and two units from semester 2 options. Timing of individual
units is TBC. ↑

7. While we aim to assign one academic adviser to each student throughout their studies, in certain circumstances your
adviser will change as you progress through your course. Additionally, you can request a change of academic adviser
at any time. ↑

8. Every 10 credits = 100 hours learning effort. ↑

9. Note that aspects of each ILO may be covered across a number of course units. ↑

10. Note that items of curriculum content may be covered across a number of course units and at different levels of study. ↑

11. Includes 4 weeks of placement learning. 40 x 3.5 hour sessions = 140 hours. ↑

12. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. ↑

13. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. Students receive 160 sessions in total over the 3 years (560 hours). The minimum amount of tutored clinical experience required according to the RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines is 150 sessions (525 hours, based on 3.5 hour sessions). ↑

14. While we aim to assign one academic adviser to each student throughout their studies, in certain circumstances your adviser will change as you progress through your course. Additionally, you can request a change of academic adviser at any time. ↑

15. Every 10 credits = 100 hours learning effort. ↑

16. Note that aspects of each ILO may be covered across a number of course units. ↑

17. Note that items of curriculum content may be covered across a number of course units and at different levels of study. ↑

18. Includes 4 weeks of placement learning. 40 x 3.5 hour sessions = 140 hours. ↑

19. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. ↑

20. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. Students receive 160 sessions in total over the 3 years (560 hours). The minimum amount of tutored clinical experience required according to the RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines is 150 sessions (525 hours, based on 3.5 hour sessions). ↑

21. Students will choose two units from semester 1 options and two units from semester 2 options. Timing of individual units is TBC. ↑

22. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. ↑

23. Includes 6 weeks of placement learning. 60 x 3.5 hour sessions = 210 hours. Students receive 160 sessions in total over the 3 years (560 hours). The minimum amount of tutored clinical experience required according to the RCSLT Curriculum Guidelines is 150 sessions (525 hours, based on 3.5 hour sessions). ↑