Annual Reports: | Detailed annual reports on undergraduate students are not required unless their progress has been unsatisfactory or unless other unusual circumstances arise (e.g. change of course). A brief formal report is, however, made each year on every undergraduate in receipt of an award from a public authority. In the case of undergraduates receiving support from a Local Education Authority (LEA) or the Student Loans Company (SLC) these brief reports are prepared as a matter of routine in the Academic Registrar's Department. Tutors may be consulted if additional details are required in respect of students whose progress has been unsatisfactory or who are not progressing normally. Supervisors are consulted when an awarding body requires an annual report on a research student. It is therefore essential that tutors and supervisors document on students' personal files in the Faculty Office all interviews held with students in difficulty. |
Interim Reports: | The appropriate Faculty Office must be notified immediately of any exceptional circumstances which might affect a student's progress. In particular, a tutor should send an interim report on any student whose progress is not adequate to the appropriate Faculty Office. If making an adverse report, a tutor should at the same time give the student notice in writing that their progress is not satisfactory. |
Final Reports: | These may be required by some Faculties from tutors in respect of undergraduate students at the end of their course of study. These reports are retained on the student's file as a basis on which subsequent reports and references may be compiled. They are not sent to LEA's or the SLC. Where the completion of these reports is Faculty policy, the necessary report forms are sent to tutors and supervisors towards the end of the summer term, and tutors must give a full report (on personal qualities and academic ability). This document is especially important when references for students are requested after a tutor has left the University. |
Other Reports: | Many external bodies supporting students at the University (e.g. foreign embassies sponsoring international students) frequently ask for reports on a student's progress. These enquiries are dealt with by the Academic Registrar's Department through the Faculty Offices (in consultation with the tutor or supervisor as necessary) and any tutor receiving such a request direct is asked to pass it to their Faculty Office for reply. |
Note: | When tutors are away from the University for a period they should always arrange for mail relating to students to be dealt with by another member of the department. This is particularly important when a reference is required by a prospective employer (see further section 2.7 below). |
Tutors may find it helpful to know the practices with whom their students are registered; this information is normally given at registration and should appear on the University Registration Form, a copy of which may be consulted in the relevant Faculty Office.
A self-catering suite of three rooms is set aside in the Wessex Lane Halls for use by any sick or seriously disturbed student, and their carer. Initial contact should be made through the Warden, Tel 556744.
Students who are absent for more than five days on account of illness must report this absence to their tutor or supervisor who may require a medical certificate. Periods of absence owing to illness for up to five days or short-term illness during an examination should be reported to tutors using forms for self-certification of illness available from Faculty Offices and the University Health Service. Only in cases of serious illness, longer periods of absence, or absence from an examination should a certificate signed by a medical practitioner be requested, and students should inform their Faculty Office as well as their tutor. Where an illness or medical condition persists for some time and affects the student's ability to study, the student may qualify for additional assistance with their academic activities, and should be referred to the Disability co-ordinator, Debbie Viney, Ext 25644.
Students holding awards from public funds who are absent through illness for 28 days or more must arrange for the submission of medical certificate/s to the Academic Registrar (through their Faculty Office).
With the student's permission, the doctors in the University Health Service and Highfield Health are always willing to discuss with a tutor the medical problems of a student, especially where ill-health is interfering with study or the stress of academic work may be affecting health. Tutors are asked to inform the Health Service through Faculty Offices of students who propose to withdraw, who request suspension of course because of ill-health, or who are returning after such suspension. It is then possible to arrange help, plan medical care for the period of absence, and offer subsequent supervision in an attempt to prevent problems recurring.
For the purposes of these guidelines, the term staff also encompasses postgraduate students who have supervision, teaching, or assessment responsibilities.
All such consensual relationships raise serious questions of conflict of interest and equal treatment in teaching and assessments, selection and research. They can also be damaging to trust, confidence and dependency as well as potentially having a harmful effect on working relationships with other students and colleagues. There can be no objection in principle, or if matters are properly handled, in practice, to personal relationships between staff and students, however paragraph 6 details some services and functions where particular care is required.
For the protection of both staff and students, the boundaries of the professional role of staff must be fully recognised and respected. Staff should recognise their professional and ethical responsibility to protect the interests of students, to respect the trust involved in the staff - student relationship and to accept the constraints and obligations inherent in that responsibility.
Consequently, a personal relationship between a member of staff and a student, particularly where it is a romantic or sexual one, will always involve serious risks rooted in unequal power as well as real problems in maintaining the boundaries of professional and personal life. In such circumstance, staff are strongly advised to terminate any supervisory, assessment or other direct professional responsibility in connection with the student and to make alternative arrangements for the discharge of those responsibilities.
It should be noted that there are some services and functions whose work requires particular care where they are dealing with vulnerable adults as detailed in the Home Office Guidance 'Caring for young people and the vulnerable'. There is no strict definition of a vulnerable adult given in the Guidance. The relationship, however, would normally be based on authority and trust and the potential for exploitation so strong that any romantic or sexual relationship would be unacceptable whilst the member of staff continues in their professional capacity with that vulnerable adult. It can also cover people who go through periods of vulnerability, for example after having a nervous breakdown and subsequently recovering. Such services where particular care is required include, but not exhaustively:
Accommodation
Chaplaincy
Counselling Service
Disability Services
Dyslexia Services
Equal Opportunities Office
Staff employed within Clarkson House or performing personal care services for students
Student Advice and Information Centre
Wardens and Hall staff (All such relationships must be discussed with their line manager)
Some of the services will have their own policies on relationships and these should be adhered to in addition to any guidance given within this guideline.
There are also some functions within Faculties where such care is similarly necessary and this includes personal tutor roles.
Tutors should inform their Faculty Office, by completing a Change of Course form, of all changes in a student's registration particulars, some of which have to be recorded in Faculty Board Minutes. It is essential that students complete this form for any change of unit course within the first three weeks of the semester. Where this involves a change of Faculty or degree programme for an undergraduate, a Faculty or Departmental transfer form, available in all Faculty Offices, must be completed. If the student is supported by a LEA and/or the SLC, and a longer period of study is entailed, this support will normally be extended for the full duration of the new course only if the change is notified to the LEA/SLC (by the Academic Registrar's staff) before the second year of study begins.
No paid or unpaid work should be undertaken by students during a period of full-time study which would conflict with a student’s studies and the obligation to attend all required classes. Persistent absence from required classes may constitute grounds for termination of course. Students must also abide by any condition of their studentships which include a restriction on part-time work as a condition of their award. Furthermore, in the event of poor academic or clinical performance, no student may cite as an extenuating circumstance that their study was adversely affected by any period of paid or unpaid work. The University has the right to terminate at any time the course of a student whose academic work proves unsatisfactory, or whose level of attendance is unacceptable.
Withdrawal
Students who withdraw from the University are required to notify the Academic Registrar in writing via the Faculty Office (see Calendar, Section IV, General Regulations for Students, Regulation 9), but as a safeguard tutors also should notify the Faculty Office at the earliest possible time. Tutors are asked to identify the cause of withdrawal and inform Faculty Offices of the reason which grant-awarding authorities will wish to know. This information is also required for the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA): tutors should remind any student (including any postgraduate student) withdrawing from the University to comply with this regulation immediately, and to include a brief statement of the reasons for and the effective date of leaving.
When an undergraduate seeks to transfer to another institution, the Faculty Office should be informed of the position at the time of transfer, since steps have to be taken to ensure the continuation of the student's LEA/SLC support. Students who are withdrawing from a course and are not transferring to another course, should do so within 20 weeks of the date of first attendance (vacations are not counted in the 20 weeks); since otherwise they will not be eligible for LEA/SLC support at any time in the future, unless there are exceptional grounds for withdrawal, such as health problems. Students do not have to repay their grant/loan for any weeks for which they have received instruction, but they do have to repay the grant/loan for any other weeks of term and the Christmas and Easter vacations, where applicable. Students who are transferring to another course can normally continue to receive an award if arrangements are made within 16 months of the start of the course.
Students who are withdrawing from a course can be referred to the Student Advice & Information Centre for further advice on their financial position. Students may also find it helpful to contact the University Counsellor and/or Careers Advisory Service to discuss their decision and future plans.
Suspension
Requests for suspension of registration (as distinct from permanent withdrawal) should similarly be made to the Faculty Office. Where suspension is on grounds of ill-health the University Health Service should also be informed, irrespective of whether the student concerned is registered with the Service, and the student should be informed that return to the University will be conditional upon the provision of a medical certificate acceptable to the University Health Service. Students who suspend their registration will not be eligible to claim benefits and will normally have their award suspended also. Students who are likely to be in financial difficulty should be referred to the Student Advice & Information Centre for further advice. Where an illness or medical condition persists for some time and affects the student's ability to study, the student may qualify for additional assistance with their academic activities, and should be referred to the Disability Where an illness or medical condition persists for some time and affects the student's ability to study, the student may qualify for additional assistance with their academic activities, and should be referred to the Disability Co-ordinator, Debbie Viney, Ext 25644.
Writing references may appear to be a straightforward matter, and indeed many apparent problems can be solved simply by common sense. However, it is important to protect both the reference-writer and the University from legal claims, and the advice in this section is offered for that purpose.
Content of References
Unsolicited References
An unsolicited reference, i.e. where the subject of the reference has not, to your knowledge, cited your name as a referee, should not be given. Care should be taken to avoid giving information about a student or colleague in the course of answering any such enquiry. As indicated in the recent circular on confidentiality of information about students, requests for brief references or confirmation of student status will sometimes be received for casual employment, where it is not immediately apparent whether the student has nominated you as a referee. In such cases, if you are in any doubt that the student would wish you to provide the reference, you should consult him or her.
Telephone References
References should not be given over the telephone except in exceptional circumstances (you do not know how the information will be filtered as it passes through the various stages of what the enquirer understood you to say; what s/he jotted down; what s/he reported orally to the panel). If references are given over the telephone, a note should be made of the information given and a follow-up written reference should be sent.
When a written reference is provided and this is followed up by a phone call, the same advice applies.
Access, Confidentiality and Sensitive information
The Data Protection Act 1998 in principle gives subjects the right to see any information kept about them in either computerised or paper form, under certain conditions, and also places conditions on the release of sensitive information. This clearly has implications for references. There has been no case law so far, and so it is not clear how the Act will work in practice, but the following is our best advice at present.
Liability
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, it is unlawful for employers, or prospective employers, to take into account offences in relation to which the person is deemed to be rehabilitated, unless for example they are involved in the care or supervision of children as part of their duties. This means that after a certain period of time, which will depend on the seriousness of the offences and the length and severity of the punishment, the person concerned should be assessed as if the conviction had never occurred: the conviction is considered to be “spent”. The individual may omit to give details of a “spent” conviction to a prospective employer and this must not be counted against him/her in selection. Where a request for a reference seeks information regarding previous convictions, offences or conduct, the question should be treated as not relating to 'spent' convictions, and the answer framed accordingly. There are, however, certain professions, offices and employment where individuals must disclose all previous offences. The Personnel Department can provide more information on these exemptions and when a conviction is considered to be 'spent'.
Insurance
The University has insurance which covers both itself and individual members of staff (as employees) against claims arising from a reference. This includes references written by a member of staff while employed by the University, and as an employee on University business - so including references on behalf of current and former students or employees - but excluding references written in a private capacity, for example on behalf of a friend or neighbour. The cover extends beyond the period of the referee's employment by the University, but only for references written while in employment here. If you are challenged over a reference, you should immediately refer the matter to the Deputy Academic Registrar (for references on students) or on the Director of Human Resources (for references on staff).
The maximum and minimum periods of candidature for research degrees are also set out in the Regulations for Higher Degrees. Students who have completed the minimum period of candidature must continue in registration, and pay the appropriate fee, until they submit their thesis or withdraw, otherwise their candidature lapses.
Faculty Boards may allow students to transfer to nominal registration when they have completed the minimum period of candidature, ceased to require supervision, and planned their thesis in detail after discussing it in draft with their supervisor. Nominal registration lasts one year initially, and candidates must apply in writing to their Faculty Office for any extension. A nominal registration fee will be charged at the time of transfer. Before contemplating transfer to nominal registration, students holding studentships should carefully check upon the effect of any change of status on their studentships.
It is helpful if any changes to candidature are recommended to the Faculty Board during the summer vacation, or at least that the position of every research candidate is reviewed, so that the students' status is clear at the start of the next session when they come to register and to be charged fees.
Supervisors should be aware that additional support may be available for research students who have a specific learning difficulty (e.g. dyslexia), or disability. Please contact Debbie Viney, the Disability Co-ordinator, Ext 25644.