Introduction
1. The following paragraphs provide the framework for undergraduate programmes at University Campus Suffolk jointly validated by the University of East Anglia and the University of Essex that lead to the following awards: Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE); Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE); and Honours Degree (BA/BSc).
2. The purpose of credit based provision is to provide a framework within which wide ranging higher education can be offered so as to maximise flexibility of admission, choice, study opportunity and awards, whilst ensuring that the student's programme of study is developed within an appropriate intellectual framework.
3. Within the framework, honours degree awards may be either:
Single, major, minor, joint or Individual Studies Structure
4. For courses which require study of up to 45 weeks of the year, normally the academic year (hereafter described as an academic session) will be divided
into three 15 week periods of study. For other courses including those within the Modular Degree Programme (hereafter known as MDP) normally the academic session will be divided into two semesters each of 15 weeks. Except where placements, field study and/or bridging and/or access modules are provided, all teaching and assessment will be carried out within the designated academic session. For MDP courses, normally teaching will be carried out in the first 12 weeks of the semester, the remaining 3 weeks being used for assessment during which Assessment Boards will normally be held.
5. Courses are managed by Course Committees constituted within the terms of reference of the Management of Courses Regulations. Roles and responsibilities of Route Leaders are also defined within this paper.
Modules
6. Academic and professional study will be organised into modules, based on a standard unit of 1/18th of the work required for an Honours degree (or 1/6th of the work required for a One year Level 0 foundation programme).
7. A standard module normally involves not less than 150 hours of student learning time.
Levels of Study
8. Modules within undergraduate programmes of
study are normally offered at three Levels:
a. Level 1 (Certificate level) modules, at the standard of the first year of a full-time Honours degree programme;
b. Level 2 (Intermediate level) modules, at the standard of a second year full-time Honours degree programme;
c. Level 3 modules (Honours level), at the standard of the final year of a full-time Honours degree programme.
9. Where a course incorporates a foundation programme designed to prepare students for entry to Level 1, modules in the foundation programme shall be designated at Level 0.
Credit Weighting
10. Modules are valued in terms of credits. One year of full-time undergraduate study is equivalent to 120 credits normally achieved through the satisfactory completion of 6 modules. (See also 35 – 38).
11. A standard module is valued at 20 credits, except:
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where a full-time and/or part time course has validated a Research Project module at Level 3 or equivalent one such module may have a weighting of 40 credits;
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where a part-time course has validated a Research Methods module at Level 2 or equivalent one such module may have a weighting of 40 credits;
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where a part-time course has validated a Research Project module at Level 3 or equivalent one such module may have a weighting of 60 credits.
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within the Individual Studies Route (IS), the Delivery of a Learning Contract module may have a value at Level 2 of 60 credits and at Level 3 of 120 credits.
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a practice learning module at Levels 1, 2 and 3 up to half a year’s length may be valued at 40 or 60 credits and;
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a module at Levels 1, 2 and 3 integrating academic learning with practice learning may also be valued at 40 or 60 credits.
12. Further and exceptionally, courses which have modules which represent periods of professional practice, sandwich placements or periods of study in another institution may have modules which attract a value of 5, 10 or multiples of 20 credit modules where appropriate and where the coherence of the curriculum necessitates it. Mandatory Modules, Pre- and Co-requisites and Excluded Combinations
13. Modules may be linked in such a way that a student is required to take one concurrently with another, in which case these modules shall be designated as co-requisites for the other(s).
14. Modules may be linked such that a student is required to have passed one module or equivalent study/experience prior to studying another, in which case the former module or equivalent study/experience shall be designated as a prerequisite for the latter.
15. Normally no modules validated at a given level may have a prerequisite at the same level.
16. Subject to the limits indicated in Section 36 the requirements to take/pass one or more pre- or corequisites may, with the approval of the Assessment Board, be satisfied by Accredited Prior Learning/Accredited Prior Experiential Learning except in those circumstances defined by statutory professional awarding bodies.
17. Within the terms of regulation 21 below modules may be designated as mandatory and/or core modules which must be passed. Normally not more than 3 such modules may be so designated at any level within a single or a major route and not more than 2 modules maybe so designated within joint routes or minor routes at any level.
18. Modules may contain material which substantially overlaps with material from another module in which case these modules shall be designated as excluding their being taken in conjunction with each other. Except where specifically indicated as excluded combinations or where module or modules are designated as leading to or requiring professional accreditation normally all modules will be available to students on other courses including the IS subject to any specified pre-requisite or co-requisites being met.
19. Where pre-requisite and co-requisite requirements are met or where access to modules is precluded owing to that module or modules being designated as leading to or requiring professional accreditation, module choice will be subject to academic guidance and module availability.
Types of Degree
20. The following types of degree are available within the Credit Based Undergraduate Framework:
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Single subject, joint, major/minor and the Individual Studies Route.
21. For programmes of study within the MDP, the diagram below outlines the pattern of subject-specific modules in the different types of degree route:
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Single subject degree
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Joint degree
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Minimum
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Minimum
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Level 1
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3
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2+1
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Level 2
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4
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3+2
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Level 3
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6
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3+3
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Major/Minor degree
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Minimum
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Level 1
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2+1
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Level 2
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4+1
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Level 3
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4+2
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Individual Studies route
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Level 1
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6 (2 Individual Study process + 4 content)
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Level 2
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6 (3 Individual Study product + 3 content)
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Level 3
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6 (Linked to make up 1 combined unit of study. In addition up to 2 taught modules may be included in the learning contract. These taught modules will not be formally assessed)
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Foundation Routes (Level 0) 6 modules at Level 0
22. For all single subject, joint, major/minor degree routes and courses there is a compulsory subjectspecific Research Methods Module at Level 2 and a compulsory double Research Project module at Level 3.
23. For programmes of study at Level 2 within the MDP, the Research Methods module is undertaken as part of the major route in a major/minor programme. For a joint programme, full-time students may either enrol on one or two Research Methods modules, unless excluded combinations. For part-time students where enhanced credit is available, only one Research Methods module may be taken. Choice will be subject to academic guidance from the Route Leader(s) concerned.
24. For programmes of study at level 3 within the MDP on joint routes subject to academic guidance and approval from the relevant Route Leader(s) the compulsory Research Project will normally include study from either or both routes. Responsibility for the supervision of the joint dissertation will be lodged within one route.
25. For programmes of study at level 3 within the MDP on major/minor routes the compulsory Research Project must be lodged entirely in the major route.
26. On joint degree routes within the MDP 14 modules must be subject-specific with a minimum of eight from one academic discipline and six in another.
27. For some courses specific requirements also exist relating to the minimum number of modules which must be studied according to the choice of degree study and to the existence of mandatory modules. These are published in Student Handbooks.
Mode of Study
28. Where validated, courses will normally provide opportunities for study by part-time, full-time or a combination of these modes.
29. Except where specified by Professional Bodies the normal study load for a student studying full-time will be modules to the value of 120 credits, (subject to a maximum of 80 credits in any one semester) in one academic session except where a student is undertaking a placement concurrently with taught modules when the minimum shall be 80 credits with a maximum of 140 credits in any one academic session.
30. A student studying part-time will be permitted to study up to 80 credits in one academic session, subject to a maximum of 40 credits in any one semester, with the exception of the Research Methods module at level 2 and the Research Project double module at Level 3, or where a part time student is deemed to be following an accelerated programme or a programme of independent study when up to a maximum of 100 credits may be permitted in one academic session subject to a maximum of 80 credits in any one semester.
Awards
31. The Credit Based Undergraduate Framework normally makes provision for the following awards:
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Certificate of Higher Education
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Diploma of Higher Education
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Honours Degree (BA, or BSc Hons)
(*This award will not be available by the Individual Studies route)
32. Named awards for which students are eligible are those which are identified at the point of validation.
Admissions, Exemptions and Credit Transfers
Admissions
33. The admissions procedure is designed to provide opportunities for study to as many students as possible provided they have the ability to benefit there from and a reasonable expectation of achieving the award for which they wish to register. In some circumstances, numbers of students may be restricted by contractual arrangements.
34. All applicants must demonstrate to course/route leaders that they are capable of studying at undergraduate level and offer evidence of academic ability, motivation and potential. This may include formal qualifications, relevant work experience, or prior completion of a suitable course. Where appropriate, candidates must meet the minimum admissions requirements as specified by awarding, statutory and/or professional bodies.
Credit Transfer and Exemption
35. Subject to the approval of the Assessment Board and where specified at validation, students may be awarded credit for prior certificated learning (APL) and/or prior experiential learning (APEL) at Levels 1, 2 or 3, unless professional statutory bodies deem otherwise.
36. Credit for prior learning, whether certificated or experiential, may count towards the requirement of a named award up to a maximum which will not normally exceed 240 credits, as defined in the assessment regulations for each programme of study, unless professional statutory bodies deem otherwise.
37. In all cases the prior learning for which credit is awarded must constitute a coherent and validated programme of study when considered together with the credits gained for modules studied within the programme of study.
38. Credit for prior learning, unless constrained by particular requirements of an award recognised by a professional body, must relate to learning outcomes for specific modules or clusters of modules. Where credit is awarded for learning which matches closely with the objectives and learning outcomes of a particular module, the student may, in addition to claiming credit, be exempt from that module. Exemption signifies that the student is considered to have completed the module for the purposes of preand/ or co-requisite requirements.
39. Credit for prior learning, whether experiential or certificated, will not normally contribute to degree classifications.
40. As a Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, the Credit Based Undergraduate Framework is designed to allow students to accumulate credit at an appropriate level in order to be considered for an award. In so doing, opportunities exist at all levels for students to study modules at the next highest level concurrently, subject to the meeting of pre-requisites for the study of modules at that level and following appropriate academic guidance.
41. Specific regulations may apply within validated programmes of study for those students who have failed to achieve a pass in core/mandatory modules at a level for some routes and courses.
Course planning
42. The terms single subject, joint and major/minor route/course are used to describe the approved selection of modules which a student will undertake.
43. Each and every student is responsible for compiling and obtaining approval for their programme of study, within the constraints of the regulations for the route or course on which they are registered. The arrangements for the management of the specific route/course or linked routes or courses includes the designation of teaching staff responsible for providing students with appropriate advice and information on their course of study and for approval of student choices.
44. A student's choice of modules will be approved by the Course or Route Leader(s). Approval for a student's route for the academic session must normally be obtained within the first week of the semester in which he/she first registers. Approval of a programme of study is not automatic; a student who
fails to secure agreement to a programme of study will not be permitted to continue on that route/course.
45. Normally, a student who is registered for a module and wishes to transfer to another module may do so at any time up to the end of the first week of a semester, provided that there are places on the module, and subject to the agreement of the module leaders concerned and to course planning approval in the normal way.
46. A student who is registered for a module and completes a module withdrawal form, with appropriate approval, by the end of week 3 of the semester will be deemed not to have attempted the module for the purposes of the Regulatory framework. Where a student fails to do so, she/he will remain registered on the module. In this case failure in, or failure to sit or submit, coursework assessments or examination, will in most circumstances constitute failure in the module. In this instance where a student submits a valid extenuating circumstance to the Assessment Board for the route concerned, this will be taken into account by the Assessment Board in determining the outcome of such decisions.
Assessment Regulations
47. Separate assessment regulations exist for each programme of study. For routes of the Modular Degree Programme, the assessment regulations used will be the MDP Assessment Regulatory Framework. For all other provision within the Credit Based Undergraduate Framework, course specific assessment regulations apply. These can be found in the validation document for each course.
48. All assessment regulations will include course specific regulations and requirements as specified by Academic Board.