The Academic Survival Guide - AUSA
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The Academic Survival Guide Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) is a registered Scottish Charity, No. SC037971.
Transcript of The Academic Survival Guide - AUSA
The Academic Survival Guide
Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) is a registeredScottish Charity, No. SC037971.
Contents
Introductionyour class repsStudent Monitoring ExamsGrading ScaleGetting Feedback Appeals and ComplaintsAcademic Misconduct useful contacts
3.4.5.9.11.
13.15.16.18.
Contents
The Academic Survival Guide2
Navigating through University life and academic regulations can seem very daunting so at AUSA Advice we have created this booklet to guide you through the process. Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) provide free, impartial and confidential advice as we are independent from the University. If you have any questions which are not answered in the guide then please do not hesitate to contact us on the information below or drop in to see one of our advisers.
As well as offering academic advice, AUSA Advice can help with accommodation issues, part-time employment and health & wellbeing issues.
Opening times:
Monday – Friday09.00 – 16.00 AUSA Students’ Union Building Elphinstone RoadOld Aberdeen
Contact
Email: [email protected] Phone: 01224 274200Facebook: /aberdeenunisa
Introduction
Introduction
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your Class reps
Your Class Reps
Your Class Reps are a vital link between staff and students who work to improve your learning experience. Class Reps are elected to represent a module or programme, and they gather and present your feedback to staff. Fostering an open dialogue, Reps collaborate with staff to find solutions to any issues which may arise during your course.
Class Reps listen to their fellow students, signpost by directing enquiries to relevant staff members and work with School Conveners who liaise with Heads of Schools, sit on the Education Committee, participate in the Student Council, and may attend some University Committees and the University Senate. Via Class Reps, your voice will inform the University decision-making processes from the bottom to the top.
If you want to become a Class Rep, talk to your Programme Convenor at the beginning of teaching.
If you have questions about your Class Reps, please contact AUSA Reps Team at [email protected].
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Student Monitoring
Student Monitoring
The University uses the student monitoring system to ensure you are on track and attending your classes.
Missed a class?
It is the expectation of the University that students will normally attend all of their classes. However some teaching sessions such as tutorials, lab work and seminars are compulsory, and attendance at these is monitored. If you are unsure of the attendance requirements for your course they should be outlined in the course handbook, which should be available on MyAberdeen. In addition, students are obligated to attend all examinations that contribute to their course.
You must report your absence if you miss an exam, do not submit an assessment or cannot attend a compulsory teaching session. If you are absent for more than 7 days, or you miss submission of any assessment, you will need to submit evidence (such as a medical certificate) along with the absence report.
If an absence is planned (i.e. hospital appointment or funeral) then it is advised to report it as far in advance as possible. In the event of illness or another reason when advance notice is not feasible, absence should be reported as soon as possible. You can add evidence when you receive it, do not wait for a medical certificate to submit an absence form.
You should complete the absence form on MyAberdeen. To do this go to the ‘report an absence’ section and complete the form detailing the classes you have missed and the reasons why. At this stage you can attach any supporting evidence. If you are unable to access MyAberdeen then the absence should be reported directly to the school.
On returning to class it is your responsibility to ask the appropriate member of staff if any catch up work is required.
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Student Records
The letter ‘C’ is used to record information on the Student Record System. Here’s a list of the codes that could appear in your student portal.
C1. You achieved a first class grade.
C2. You achieved an upper second class grade.
C3. You will have to make a case to the Student Progress Committee to progress to the next year.
C4. You are registered for a class.
C5. You have attended a class you are not registered for.
C6. You are at risk of losing your class certificate because you have missed classes or failed to hand in coursework.
C7. You have failed to respond to at risk monitoring emails and have lost your class certificate. This means you will not be able to take an exam or resit and will not receive credits for the module.
C8. Your grade will consist of one assessment, usually an exam.
C9. You have been formally authorised to leave a class or change modules.
CX. You received a C7 in a first semester module and now you cannot enter a class in the second semester.
Medical and Extenuating Circumstances
If you believe personal circumstances or a medical condition have affected your academic performance in an exam, the best course of action is to notify your school as soon as possible. You should submit the details through MyAberdeen on the day of the exam and certainly no later than three days following the exam.
Student Monitoring
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The University use the student monitoring system to ensure that you are on track with your studies. If the University has concerns about your progress a monitoring email will be sent to you notifying you that you have a C6 or C7.
If you get a C6?
A C6 means you are “at risk” of losing your class certificate. If you fail to meet the minimum required attendance and/or fail to submit an assessment you will receive a C6 email from the University.
The C6 email should inform you what action you are required to take to remove the C6. Each school does this differently, so if you are unsure you can check the Infohub website at: www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/removing-a-c6-or-c7.php. You will be provided with deadline to respond to the C6 email. This is usually 8 working days from the date of the email.
If you get a C7?
A C7 means you have been removed from the module, have lost the right to attend classes and will no longer have access to the course material available through MyAberdeen.
If you fail to respond to the C6 email by the stated deadline or your school does not accept your explanation you will be awarded a C7. This means you lose the right to your class certificate and will be at risk of failing to satisfy the requirements of your degree programme.
If you are an international student on a Tier 4 visa, this may put your student visa at risk.
You can appeal a C7 decision if you feel you have grounds. Find out more about the appeal process on page 14.
Student Monitoring
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Student Monitoring
You have no more than 5 working days to appeal the C7 from the date of the email. For more information on appealing read section 6 and email [email protected] .
Termination of Studies
If you are awarded two or more C7s, then the University may send you a letter informing you that your studies have been terminated. You may be asked by the Student Progress Committee to explain your situation. At this point, you must appeal within 5 working days if you want to remain on your degree programme.
If you are an international student, the University is obligated to contact UK Visas and Immigration to inform them of a termination of studies and this could put your visa in jeopardy.
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The exam timetable will be available to view around four weeks before the exam diets begin and you can view it through MyTimetable.
Once you have your exam timetable make sure to write the dates times and locations down. It is also important to double check on MyTimetable before the exams that none of the details have changed. If you have extra time or additional exam requirements then the location of your exam will most likely be different from your classmates.
Stressed out Students
At AUSA Advice we know exams are a very stressful time for students, so each semester we run our Stressed out Students events during the revision weeks. Like Aberdeen University Students’ Association on Facebook for information on our events and for useful exam tips.
Past Papers & Study Help
The University has a database of past exam papers. It can be a good idea to use the past papers as practice questions although the layout, format and questions in the exams can change - so don’t rely on your exam being the same as the past papers. You can find information on past papers here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/support/exam-papers-180.php
If you want to develop and improve your learning and studying then you can book an appointment with one of the study skills advisors. More information and the booking form is available at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/study-advice/.
Exams
Exams
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Exam rules
The majority of exams in the University follow the same rules.
You must to take your student ID card to each exam and place it on the top right corner of your exam desk.
Listen to the instructions of the invigilators. You may have heard them before but it is important to listen at each exam as they may say something important about the format of the exam.
You cannot leave the exam hall in the first 30 minutes or last 30 minutes of theexam. No candidate will be admitted to an examination hall after the first 30 minutes of an exam.
Make sure you turn off your phone and any other electronic devices, and leave them with your jacket and bag in the area designated by the invigilator. If you are found with a phone on your person during the exam there could be serious consequences.
No food or drink (except water) is allowed in the exam hall, unless medically prescribed.
You may refer to English/native tongue dictionaries if the school allows it. Dictionaries must be given to an invigilator for inspection if requested.
The full list of rules for exam candidates can be viewed atwww.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/teaching/assessment-policies-and-guidance-6099.php
Results
Exam results are published on your student portal and should be available around a month after the exam period. If you are disappointed by your results then you can request feedback from your course coordinator to see where you went wrong in order to improve going forward.
Exams
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The University’s Common Grading System (CGS) provides a common, alpha–numeric marking scale which is used across all schools.This allows students to compare their performance in different disciplines and courses, and ensures consistency in assessment.
The CGS comprises 23 grades grouped into 7 bands each with an associated grade point. The grade points are used to determine the overall course mark from a number of components and to determine the overall honours degree classification or progression and award within a PGT award.
Grading Scale
Grade Grade Point Honours Classification PGT Award
A1 - A5 22-18 First Distinction
B1 - B3 17-15 Upper Second Commendation
C1 - C3 14-12 Lower Second Pass
D1 - D3 11-9 Third Pass
E1 - E3 8-6 Fail Marginal Fail
F1 - F3 5-3 Fail Fail
G1 - G3 2-0 Fail Fail/TokenNo Submission
Grading Scale
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How does the University calculate your course grade?
Here is a basic example of how a course grade is determined.
A student has 2 essays each weighted at 20% and one exam weighted at 60%. The Grades are B2, A3, C1.
Degree Classification
Your honours degree classification is determined by the calculation of an aggregated grade point average from your third and fourth year grades. The unrounded course grade for each course is used to determine your GPA. Full details on calculating your degree classification can be found at:www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/teaching/ug-entering-honours-201415-onwards-2922.php
Grade Grade Point Weighting Calculation
B2 16 20% (20% X 16) +(20% X 20) + (60% X 14) =3.2 + 4 + 8.4=15.6 (used for GPA)A3 20 20%
C1 14 60% = 16 (rounding)Overall grade B2
Grading Scale
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Getting feedback on assessments is a fundamental part of academic life and helps you make improvements to your performance and learn from your mistakes.
The University defines that ‘feedback should be timely, supportive, understandable and focused on improvement’ and should normally be available within three weeks of the assessment deadline.
Getting feedback
When feedback is given on a piece of coursework it should:
1. Inform you explicitly how well you have met specific assessment criteria.
2. Describe how you could have improved the current piece of work and or how you could improve future work.
3. Improve your understanding of the topic of the coursework, particularly highlighting areas where misunderstanding is evident.
4. Provide comments on technique as well as content.
5. Encourage you to critically reflect on your work and motivate you to seek to improve performance.
6. Act as a form of dialogue between you and your tutor.
Getting Feedback
Feedback on examinations should:
1. Be provided as soon as possible after the exam diet.
2. Where appropriate be offered as generic feedback.
3. Be available to individual students on request.
The full feedback policy can be accessed here: www.abdn.ac.uk/feedback/documents/Feedback/Institutional_Feedback_framework.pdf
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If you have an issue with the University there are a variety of ways to work towards a solution. In the first instance you are advised to try and resolve the issue informally, you can do this by going to your course coordinator or school, explaining the situation and asking for support or by approaching your Class Rep.If you are unable to resolve the issue then you can take the matter to the formal process, either an appeal or complaint. If you wish to submit an appeal you must do this within 5 working days of being unable to informally resolve the issue. AUSA Advice can advise and represent you through either process.
In order to submit an appeal you must have grounds (good reason) to do so and follow the prescribed timeline. The grounds for appeal are:
The University’s procedures were not followed; or
The individual who made the decision did not have the authority to do so; or
The decision was made with bias;
And as a result you have faced material disadvantage.
For both appeals and complaints the University has a very strict policy, if you would like more information on how to appeal or complain then please email [email protected].
The full Appeals and Complaints Policy can be found here:
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/appeals-and-complaints-procedures.
php
appeals and complaints
Appeals and Complaints
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Academic Misconduct
Academic MisconductAcademic Misconduct covers four main areas: Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism); contract cheating; other forms of cheating and research misconduct.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the use, without adequate acknowledgment, of the intellectual work of another person in work submitted for assessment. Basically, if you quote or use someone else’s work, you have to reference them in your essay or assessment.
The university also considers ‘self-plagiarism’ to be an academic offence and is defined as the duplication of work submitted for assessment which contains material identical, or substantially similar, to material which has already been submitted by the same student for any other assessment.
In addition ‘collusion’ is a form if plagiarism. It is the collaboration between students in an assignment that has not been authorised by the course coordinator. It does not relate to assessed group work.
Contract Cheating
Contract cheating is the term used by the university to describe any work submitted for assessment by a student which has not be produced by them. This includes having another person or commercial service (such as an essay mill) create work on your behalf whether this is paid for or not.
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Academic Misconduct
Other Types of Cheating
There are many types of cheating and these include but are not limited to: having a phone or other unauthorised material in an exam; copying from or communicating with another student in an exam; removing exam materials from the exam hall; producing work on behalf of any other student or impersonating another student during an assessment or examination; and any other conduct which gives you an unfair advantage over your peers.
Research Misconduct
Research misconduct applies to students studying a fully research based course and is any form of unethical practice while conducting research. This induces but is not limited to falsification, fabrication and deception while collecting research.
Full details on what is considered Academic Misconduct is covered in the Code of Practice of Student Discipline can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/teaching/student-discipline-and-fitness-to-practise-6120.php
What happens if I am accused of academic misconduct?
If are allegations of academic misconduct is made against you then AUSA Advice can explain the procedure and represent you throughout the process. The penalties for academic misconduct are high and will often result in an award of G3 for the assessment in questions. Some case such as repeat offences can result in more serious outcomes such as expulsion from the University.
For more information you can email us on [email protected], or; visit us in the Student Union Building or phone 01224 274200.
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AUSA Advice
We can help you with a wide range of issue, from welfare to part-time employment and accommodation. As well as assisting in academic appeal and disciplinarians. No problem is too small, if we cannot answer your question we can advise you where to go.
[email protected] | 01224 274200 | www.ausa.org.uk
Nightline
Nightline is a confidential, anonymous, non-judgemental, non-directive and non-advisory listening and information service run by students. 7 days a week, 8pm-8am.
[email protected] | 01224 272826
Student Support and Advice Office
[email protected] | 01224 273935
The Counselling Service
[email protected] | 01224 272139
The University Multi-faith Chaplaincy
The Chaplaincy can be found at 25 High Street. They also run sessions most Wednesdays at Foresterhill.
[email protected] | 01224 272137
InfoHub
[email protected] | 01224 273040
Useful Contacts
Useful Contacts
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AUSA Students’ Union BuildingElphinstone Road
AberdeenAB24 3TU
[email protected] 274200
www.ausa.org.uk
Last revised January 2020
