Work and attendance regulations
Your Personal Advisor monitors your work and attendance throughout the course. This monitoring is for your own benefit (to make sure that you are coping with your programme and keeping up with any continuous assessment elements) as well as to confirm that you are actually attending the University. In practice, only a small number of students contravene these regulations and are called to account for their actions.
You are expected to attend all the lectures for the units for which you are registered, and to be familiar with their content. During your degree your attendance for PPD (BIOL10100, BIOL20200 & BIOL31200) and Clinical Methdology (BIOL12051, BIOL22051 & BIOL22062) is compulsory and is always monitored.You must submit all associated work (e.g. data handling assessments, essays, practical reports) by the dates stipulated. You will also be required to fulfil any special requirements, e.g. attendance at Field Courses and submission of appropriate reports. Attendance at all appropriate examinations is compulsory.
If your work or attendance gives cause for concern you will, in the first instance, be asked to explain your position to your Personal Advisor. If you continue failing to meet the work and attendance requirements, you will be issued with a written warning informing you that should your work and attendance not come up to the required standard, you will not be allowed to sit University examinations.
On receipt of a warning letter you will be given the opportunity of meeting with the Senior Advisor to explain your position.
If you are refused permission to sit an examination or undertake a final year laboratory-based project, you have the right to appeal. Information on Academic Appeals can be found in the Crucial Guide Live at https://my.manchester.ac.uk/d/crucial-guide/academic-life/formal-procedures/academic-appeals/. The receipt of any warnings about attendance may also impact on your ability to be considered for the MSci Optometry degree programmePermitted absences
If you need to be absent from a practical class or tutorial, for reasons other than ill health you must supply documentary evidence to your Unit Coordinator or Academic Advisor strongly supporting your reasons for absence well in advance of the occasion in question. If you are granted leave of absence your attendance will be recorded as a permitted absence. For practicals, the Unit Coordinator MAY be able to make arrangements for you to attend a replacement session. DO NOT JUST TURN UP AT A SESSION FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOT TIMETABLED.
Attendance and religious observance
If religious observance affects your attendance at normal teaching and learning activities including any assessments in ways that will cause problems, you should discuss the issue with the Senior Advisor. The School will give sympathetic consideration to your problems and will try to make reasonable adjustments. However, adjustments can only be made provided they maintain the standard of your degree (e.g. you will not simply be excused from parts of the programme affected by your religious observance or from satisfying overall attendance requirements). If religious observance means that you miss a lecture or other class, supporting material may be provided via Blackboard. However, if you want further notes from the lecture you must make your own arrangements to copy them from another student. Similar principles apply if religious observance affects your attendance at assessments (e.g. presentations or practical tests). Because lectures, practicals and assessments for the semester are scheduled in advance, you must notify the Senior Advisor of your requests for allowances for religious observance by the Thursday before the start of teaching each semester, and the School will use its best efforts to reschedule the assessment to accommodate your needs (e.g. by changing your scheduled slot in a programme of assessed presentations)..
Deadlines for handing in assessed work will not normally be extended to allow for religious observance, and you must therefore schedule your work accordingly.
For guidance on the University’s examinations and religious observance policy please see http://www.exams.manchester.ac.uk/exam-timetable/#religious-observance where you can also download an Examinations & Religious Observance form.
Guidelines on ill health
You should register with a local General Practitioner who is willing to provide evidence in the form of letters, or comments and a signature on a self-certification document. A list of GP practices can be obtained from the Student Occupational Health Services, any University Hall of Residence and some pharmacies. According to guidance issued by the General Medical Council it would not be regarded as good practice for a family member to be the registered GP or to offer treatment, except in the case of an emergency.
You should always consult your GP (or for emergencies the Accident and Emergency Department of a hospital) if your illness is severe, if it persists, or if you have any concerns about your health. Your Personal Advisor or the Senior Advisor will give you guidance on the effect of any absence from your studies and your options if you consider your illness has affected your studies. If you have repeated episodes of ill health that are affecting your attendance and/or studies, the School may refer you to the Student Occupational Health Services.
Absence due to illness affecting attendance at compulsory classes/tutorials
If you are unwell and feel unable to attend the University to take a compulsory class or attend a tutorial then you must inform the Student Support Office immediately and they will complete a Notification of Absence form for you. You can inform the office in person, through a friend or family member*, by telephone (0161 2751487) or by email (studentsupportoffice.sbs@manchester.ac.uk).
There are inherent risks in communicating sensitive personal data by email such as the possibility of misdirection or interception by third parties. Therefore if you do correspond with us by email, we will take this to mean that you understand and accept this risk.
If you send an email you must ensure that you keep a copy of both the email itself and the confirmation of reading the email, as there may be serious implications of being absent and consequences for your academic progress. You must do this as soon as possible, so that all options can be considered, and certainly no later than the day and start time of your compulsory class.
If you do not do this then you will normally be considered to have been absent from the class without good reason in which case you will be recorded as having an unauthorised absence. Until your return to University you must also inform us of any further missed compulsory classes.
* If you are so unwell that a friend or family member has to contact the Student Support Office on your behalf it will only normally be possible for them to provide information for you – they will not be able to learn of the implications of your absence on your academic progress, which you must discover for yourself on your return to health. School staff will not engage in any dialogue with third parties regarding your studies without your explicit, written consent.
On your return, you must report to the Student Support Office to complete a Self Certification Form. This MUST be completed within 7 days of your initial absence.
If illness keeps you away from the University for more than 7 days including weekends, you must consult your GP. If you do consult a GP and he/she considers that you are not fit for attendance at the University, then you should obtain a note from the doctor to that effect or ask him/her to complete Part III of the University form ‘Certification of Student Ill health’ copies of which are available at local GP surgeries. You should hand this certificate to the Student Support Office as soon as you return to University and no later than 7 days after your return. The use of the “Certification of Student Ill Health” form by GPs, as described above, has been agreed by the Manchester Local Medical Committee. A GP may make a charge for completing the form.
If missing a practical is unavoidable (and you know in advance), you must see the Unit Coordinator to see whether alternative arrangements can be made for you to attend a replacement session. DO NOT JUST TURN UP AT A SESSION FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOT TIMETABLED.
Additional important information for Final Year Students:
You are required by the General Optical Council to see a certain number of patients during your final year, and you will keep a logbook to record these sessions. This means that if you miss any sessions (even if you had a good reason for doing so) it can affect your ability to graduate. You must make every effort not to schedule other appointments/interviews to coincide with clinics. If missing a clinic is unavoidable (and you know in advance), you must see the Programme Director as far in advance as possible, to discuss an appropriate course of action. If you are ill and unable to attend, you MUST leave a telephone voicemail message with the Clinic Reception (0161 306 3860) AND the Student Support Office (0161 275 1487) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. This is obviously particularly important if the session is a clinical practical where you would have patients booked. If you are not able to phone yourself, ask friends or relatives to do it for you, BUT DO NOT ASK FRIENDS TO PASS ON THE MESSAGE WHEN THEY ATTEND FOR THEIR OWN PRACTICALS – this will be too late to make other arrangements for your patients, and it is YOUR responsibility, not theirs.
On your return you must report to the Student Support Office to complete a Self Certification Form. This needs to be completed within 7 days of your initial absence. If illness keeps you away from the University for more than 7 days including weekends, you must consult your GP. If you do consult a GP and he/she considers that you are not fit for attendance at the University, then you should obtain a note from the doctor to that effect or ask him/her to complete Part III of the University form ‘Certification of Student Ill health’ copies of which are available at local GP surgeries. You should hand this certificate to the Student Support Office as soon as you return to University and no later than 7 days after your return. The use of the “Certification of Student Ill Health” form by GPs, as described above, has been agreed by the Manchester Local Medical Committee. A GP may make a charge for completing the form.
Attendance will be monitored in each clinic session. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that your attendance is logged, and not having your swipe card with you will not be an acceptable excuse. If you are absent from any clinic/practical session you will be asked to see The Programme Director to discuss the situation. Staff writing references for you will have full information about your attendance to pass on to employers, who are understandably keen to know about reliability and punctuality of their future employees. Please note that when you are offered a job it is usually conditional upon satisfactory references, and job offers can be withdrawn later!
Absence affecting submission of written work
If, as a consequence of illness or other mitigating factor, you wish to seek an extension to a deadline for submitting written coursework for a course unit or a tutorial assignment, you must submit an Assessed Coursework Extension Request form with appropriate supporting evidence to the Student Support Office (or your Academic Advisor in the case of tutorial work). The application for extension must be made BY 10:00 THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE DEADLINE and NOT retrospectively. Forms are available from the Student Support Office or can be downloaded from the Student Support Forms page on the Faculty intranet.
You should not assume that an extension has been approved until you receive written (e.g. email) confirmation from the Student Support Office. If you have been granted an extension to a deadline it is normally not possible to claim further mitigation for this work unless it is for a different reason.
Absence affecting eLearning assessments
Note that eLearning assessments are open for at least one week and close at 4.00pm on the published end date. Students should anticipate a possible period of illness during this time and complete the assessments as soon as they open. Students failing to submit by the deadline will receive a mark of zero for that assignment. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as prolonged illness, will a request for mitigation be considered; note it is typically very difficult to grant extensions for individual students for these assessments as the deadlines are set within Blackboard for all students taking the unit. To request mitigation for an eLearning assessment, you must submit an Assessed Coursework Extension Request form with appropriate supporting evidence to the Student Support Office. The application for mitigation must be made BY 10:00 THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE DEADLINE and NOT retrospectively. Forms are available from the Student Support Forms page on the School intranet.
Absence from examinations due to ill health
You should make every effort to attend all examinations; it is often surprising how well candidates who are ill can perform in written examinations, and a mark of just 40% will avoid the automatic referral in August/September (level 1 and 2 only, there are no referrals for level 3 students). It will not be possible to make special arrangements to take the exams in an alternative location, unless this has been arranged through the DASS.
If you are so ill you are unable to take an exam you must contact the Student Support Office as soon as possible, and certainly no later than the day and start time of your examination. You should complete a Mitigating Circumstances Form which must be accompanied by appropriate independent third-party supporting or collaborative documentation such as a Doctor’s note or letter signed by your GP or a letter from your health care professional. If the information is of a highly confidential nature, you may submit your evidence in a sealed envelope, marked for the attention of the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Committee. Students who attend a hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department must obtain written confirmation of attendance either from the hospital or subsequently from their GP confirming their attendance and stating the nature of the emergency. A hospital attendance card alone will not be accepted as appropriate evidence of illness.
2017/2018 DEADLINES for submitting your mitigating circumstances form;
Semester 1 - 5pm, Monday 29th January 2018
Semester 2 - 12pm, Friday 8th June 2018
Resit Period - 5pm, Monday 3rd September 2018
Requests for mitigation submitted after this date for the end of an examination period cannot be considered without a credible and compelling explanation as to why the circumstances were not known or could not have been shown beforehand (and in no circumstances after results have been released).
If you miss a unit examination through illness, you will be required to take the examination again in the August/September examination period (level 1 and 2 only). Provided that you have followed the procedures described above, this re-examination will normally be counted as your first attempt and the referral fee will be waived.
Mitigating Circumstances Forms are available from the Student Support Office or can be downloaded from the Faculty intranet. All forms need to be submitted to the Student Support Office via hand delivery or email - mitigatingcircumstances.sbs@manchester.ac.uk.
Illness not resulting in absence from examinations
You may be unwell but able to proceed with an examination, but feel that your performance will have been impaired. If you wish this to be taken into account you must follow the same procedures as in Section Absence from examinations due to illness (Undergraduate) (Postgraduate Taught). Note that long-term chronic conditions or suffering from stress, anxiety or feelings of panic would not normally be considered a mitigating circumstance. If you anticipate or experience any of the latter problems you are strongly encouraged to contact the counselling service (see Section Counselling and see further information available in the Crucial Guide Live at https://my.manchester.ac.uk/d/crucial-guide/personal-life/emotional-problems/).
Mitigating Circumstances Committee
Sometimes circumstances or events beyond your control may adversely affect your ability to perform in an examination/assessment to your full potential. The University defines mitigating circumstances as 'unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances that could have, or did have, a significant adverse effect on the academic performance of a student'. Possible mitigating circumstances include:
- significant illness or injury; or worsening of an ongoing illness or disability, including mental health conditions; (please see the following DASS webpage for examples of disabilities: www.dso.manchester.ac.uk/who-do-we-support/current-students/)
- the death or critical/significant illness of a close family member/dependant;
- significant family or personal crises or major financial problems leading to acute stress and
- absence from the University for public service, for example, jury service.
Circumstances or events that would NOT normally be regarded as grounds for mitigation include:
- holidays, moving house and events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected;
- assessments that are scheduled close together;
- misreading the timetable or misunderstanding the requirements for assessments;
- inadequate planning and time management;
- failure, loss or theft of a computer or printer that prevents submission of work on time; students should back up work regularly and no leave completion so late that they cannot find another computer or printer;
- the act of religious observance;
- consequences of paid employment (except in some special cases for part-time students);
- exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness or supported by medical evidence;
- disruption in an examination room during the course of an assessment which has not been brought to the attention of, or recorded by, the invigilators (including instances such as fire alarms or other noise disruption).
Please be aware, mitigation will NOT result in the changing of any marks, unless penalties for late submission are waived after an assignment has already been marked. Instead, mitigation may result in some marks being disregarded and the assessment being excused because it was adversely affected. You may also be given a mark for a whole unit based on your performance in the parts that were not adversely affected. Mitigation may also mean treating your overall performance as borderline even though the marks you obtained would not normally be high enough, and so considering you for a more favourable result such as a higher degree class.
Please note some doctors surgeries can take 2 weeks to provide you with a letter of evidence, so it is important to organise this as soon as possible, if your evidence will not be available until after the deadline, you must ensure your application form is submitted on time and notify the Student Support Office when they can expect to receive the evidence.
Pastoral Support
To ensure that students are progressing well throughout each semester, the completion of e-learning assignments on Blackboard and tutorial and practical attendance will be monitored. A summary of this information will be sent to personal advisors in week 6. Students with repeat non-attendance or who have not completed e-learning assignments will be asked to meet with their personal advisor to ensure that there are no underlying problems that the Faculty needs to be aware of.
Academic Appeals
Students have the right of appeal against a final decision of an Examination Board, or a progress committee, or a graduate committee or equivalent body which affects their academic status or progress in the University.
Students thinking of appealing should first discuss the matter informally with the Deputy Head of School Operations (Teaching, Learning and Support), kelly.osgood@manchester.ac.uk, in order to better understand the reason for the result or decision.
Should you wish to proceed to a formal appeal, this must be submitted within the timeframe outlined in the Academic Appeals Procedure to the Faculty Appeals and Complaints Team, Room 3.21, Simon Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (e-mail: FBMHappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk).
The full Academic Appeals Procedure (Regulation XIX) and associated documents, including the form on which formal appeals should be submitted, can be found at www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic.
Conduct and Discipline
The Conduct and Discipline of Students, Regulation XVII not only covers academic malpractice/plagiarism (see section Plagiarism, collusion and other forms of academic malpractice (Undergraduate) (Postgraduate Taught)) but also behaviour and actions.
General University information on the conduct and discipline of students can be found at www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/appeals-complaints/conductanddisciplineofstudents/.
The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) has its own policies for students on communication and dress code, social networking, and drugs and alcohol. Policy documents can be accessed below.
If you find yourself the subject of a disciplinary procedure you are strongly advised to take advice from the Students Union.
If the allegation relates to an incidence which occurred in a Hall of Residence, then you should consult the Code of Conduct for living in Halls of Residence which can be found in the Residences Guide.
Once you have been through the full process within the University, if you remain dissatisfied, you may be entitled to take your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.