University of Southampton Calendar 2007/8


University Calendar 2007/08 Section VIII : Academic Regulations - Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Nursing and Midwifery

Regulations for the Diploma in Nursing, Diploma with Advanced Studies in Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing (Hons) with Professional Registration

Academic Regulations

Regulations are approved through the Senate of the University and are operated by all academic departments. They include rules on the conduct of examinations, the appointment of examiners, the award and the appeal system. They include regulations governing transfers, termination of courses and withdrawal from the course. Finally there are assessment rules which operate within the School and are tailored to fit the requirements of the professional bodies, ie: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

In order to qualify for the award of:

Diploma in Nursing with Registration on Part One of the Nursing Register
Diploma with Advanced Studies in Nursing with Registration on Part One of the Nursing Register
Bachelor of Nursing (Hons) with Registration on Part One of the Nursing Register

Candidates must:

have satisfied the entry requirements as set out in the Programme Specifications;
have undertaken all the levels of the curriculum as appropriate to each award and passed all the required assessments (theory and practice);
have completed satisfactorily all practice assessment, practice experience and other coursework as required;
have met all the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements for progression;
have met the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements of 2300 hours of academic study and 2300 hours of practice experience;
for adult branch students, to have met the NMC requirements of the EU77/453/EEC directive;
be judged as of good health and good character and worthy of admission to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.
In order to progress from one year of the award to the next, students must have successfully completed the appropriate examinations, assessments, coursework requirements and practice experience in the particular level of study and this is subject to progression regulations.

Admission and Duration of Registration

3.1

The programmes leading to the awards of Diploma in Nursing, Diploma in Nursing with Advanced Studies and Bachelor of Nursing (Hons) shall be of three years' duration. The maximum period of registration shall normally be five years. This period of registration will incorporate periods of suspension or interruption of studies. In line with NMC regulations, the award must be completed within five years of the commencement date.

3.2

Candidates for admission must satisfy the Regulations for Admission to Degree Programmes in Section IV of the General Regulations and meet the entry requirements for either school leaver or mature applicants stipulated for this professional route.

3.3

Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to specific health requirements (consistent with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act [1995]). Prospective students are required to inform the School of any health problems relevant to their future employment as a health professional. All students will be subject to an occupational health check.

3.4

Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to consideration of any criminal convictions. The programme is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act [1986]. Prospective students are required to inform the School of all criminal convictions. All students will be subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Assessment

4.1

Level 1: The assessment tasks are structured and students are required to carry out specific instructions. All summative assessments are compulsory. Successful completion of these assessments is required to continue to Level 2 of the programme subject to progression requirements.

4.2

Level 2: Students begin to take more responsibility for selecting and organising the material presented in the assessments. All summative assessment are compulsory and contribute, for those students on the BN (Hons) award, towards the honours classification at a weighting of 33%.

4.3

Level 3: At Level 3 the students have more freedom in choosing the topics/areas which will be evaluated. All summative assessments are compulsory and, for those students registered on the BN (Hons) award, contribute towards the honours classification at a weighting of 67%.

Marking Criteria

5.1

The marking criteria are based on the University Level descriptors which have been developed further by the School of Nursing and Midwifery into marking grids for both assignments and examinations. These are available to students prior to submission.

5.2

The pass mark for each unit will be 40% for all levels. Students must meet the pass criteria in both academic and practice experience to pass overall.

5.3

The assessments are graded as:

	1st attempt	Pass/Refer/Defer
	2nd attempt	Pass/Fail/Defer

Deferral

6.1

A student will normally be allowed to resit/re-submit failed assessments as a first attempt if he/she has special circumstances declared to the Examination Board (see also Section 15 - Special Consideration).

Unit Referral and Retrieval

7.1

The criteria for unit assessment referral are:

Failure to achieve a Pass/Fail assessment.
Where an assessment comprises of two or more components the minimum pass mark for one part must be 35%.
In order to meet NMC requirements in drug calculations, specified assignments in Year 1 and Year 3 must achieve 100% pass mark for this component.
Non-attendance or late arrival more than half an hour after the start of an examination/presentation, or is required to leave the examination room.
Submission of an assignment 24 hours or more after the published deadline.

7.2

A student who submits an assessment up to 24 hours late will have the assessment marked as a first attempt but this will normally accrue a maximum mark of 40%.

7.3

On successful completion of re-submitted/resat unit assessments, a student will normally progress onto the next year of the programme if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more or a pass on all the resit assessments. The student may only carry a maximum mark of 40% for a graded re-submitted/resat assessment.

Practice Experience Referral and Retrieval

8.1

A student will normally be required to retrieve a referred practice experience assessment on one further occasion if he/she refers a Pass/Fail practice experience assessment.

8.2

A student will normally be required to retrieve a practice experience by:

Developing a retrieval action plan in partnership with a mentor, academic tutor and, if necessary, the Student Practice Learning Advisor (SPLA).
Re-submitting the retrieval action plan documentation to be implemented within a set four-week practice period immediately following the summative practice assessment points at the end of Year One, Year Two and Year Three.
In Year One, meeting NMC requirements for completion of all assessment within 12 weeks of completing the common foundation year and entering the branch component of the award.
Undertaking a new experience if a significant number (33%) of proficiencies has been referred, and submitting a completely new assessment of practice documentation.

8.3

A student completing Practice Experience 6 of the ward (final practice experience), if referred, will normally:

undertake a new experience during an agreed period of extended time;
re-submit the assessment of practice documents 6 - 8 weeks after commencing this additional placement.

Classification of the Honours Degree

The degree classification shall be based on the 100-point mark scheme for the final degree average, ie:

	70% and over	First Class (I)
	60% - 69%	Second Class, Upper Division (IIi)
	50% - 59%	Second Class, Lower Division (IIii)
	40% - 49%	Third Class (III)
	Less than 40%	Fail

10.

Calculation of Honours Degree

Number 9 refers to the final average mark rounded to the nearest integer. In programmes subject to professional accreditation, the programme specification may define a required aggregate pass mark greater than 40%.
Weighting of Years: Level 1 work shall be excluded from the final degree classification. A weight of 0:1:2 shall be used for the three levels of an Honours degree programme. This is in addition to weighting by credit points.
Weighting of Units/Modules: Each unit/module will be weighted according to the number of credits it carries; eg: a 40 credit unit/module will be worth twice as much as a 20 credit unit/module and four times as much as a 10 credit unit/module.
Classification Algorithm: The class awarded shall be that within which the average falls or the next higher class if the average is within 2% of the higher class and at least 50% of the credit points, weighted by level of study, is derived from unit marks in the higher class or above.

11.

Progress to the Next Year of the Programme

11.1

Year 1 Progression into Year 2

A student will normally progress to the next level of the award if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more in all assignments and a Pass in all Pass/Fail assessments and fulfils all unit and practice experience completion requirements.

11.2

Year 1 Conditional Progression into Year 2

In line with the NMC regulations (NMC QA/06/xx - Agendum 14 April 2006), if a student has any outstanding assignments (units and/or practice experience) in Year 1 (Level 1), they will be permitted conditional progression into Year 2 (Level 2). All outstanding Level 1 assessments (units and/or practice experience) must be successfully completed and confirmed by the end of week 12, Year 2.

11.3

Year 2 Progression into Year 3

A student will normally progress to the next year of the award if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more in all assignments and a Pass in all Pass/Fail assessments and fulfils all unit and practice experience completion requirements.

11.4

Year 2 Conditional Progression into Year 3

Students cannot normally progress from Year 2 to Year 3 with more than two units or 40 credits outstanding. In the case of students having more than two units or 40 credits outstanding, they will normally interrupt and re-submit/resit assessments off award.

11.5

Further Attempts/Second Attempts for Students off Award

All assessments must be submitted and successfully achieve a pass outcome in order for students to return to the award at the start of the following academic year.

12.

Transfers between Awards

The School operates a policy/process whereby students may request a transfer to another award. Transfers between academic awards are confined to specific points in the award journey and are governed by the award structure in the School.

13.

Termination of Registration

13.1

A student's registration will normally be terminated following resit/retrieval assessments if he/she:

achieves a mark of 39 or below on a re-submitted/resit attempt;
fails a Pass/Fail assessment on a re-submission/resit;
does not attend, or is more than half an hour late for, a resit examination or is requested to leave the examination room;
submits a written further attempt assessment more than 24 hours after the stated deadline.

13.2

A student whose registration would normally be terminated will receive formal notification of this by letter from the School of Nursing and Midwifery. This will provide details of the University's Reviews and Appeals procedures should the student wish to request a review of this decision.

14.

Exit Awards

14.1

Students who are successful at all Level 1 assessments but are unable to complete the full award shall be eligible for the exit award of a Certificate in Health Studies.

14.2

Students who are successful at all Level 2 assessments but are unable to complete the full award shall be eligible for the exit award of a Diploma in Health Studies.

14.3

In exceptional circumstances students on the BN (Hons) award, who have accrued 300 credit points (120 at Level 1, 120 at Level 2 and 60 at Level 3) having successfuly completed all clinical practice experiences and all the units that have integration to clinical practice but are unable to complete their full degree studies, shall be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Nursing (BN).

14.4

Any student who has achieved academically the full requirements of the award for which they are registered but has not met the good health or good character and conduct requirements for professional registration will not be granted that award but will be eligible for a Diploma or BA (Hons) in Health Studies as appropriate. The award cannot be named BN (Hons) as the term 'Nursing' is a title protected under the Health Act [1999] for those who are fully qualified and registered as nurses.

15.

Special Considerations

15.1

Students who believe that their assessment performance may be, or have been, affected by special circumstances should follow the procedures for Special Considerations in the student handbook or contact a member of staff immediately.

15.2

The School will only uphold Special Considerations if it is satisfied that there is satisfactory evidence that the special circumstances may have affected the student's performance.

15.3

The Special Considerations sub-board considers any requests for Special Considerations and is deemed a sub-board of the Examination Board.

16.

Grave or Terminal Illness

Any student who experiences grave or terminal illness/injury which prevents them from continuing on their award and achieving professional qualification may be eligible for a posthumous award of aegrotat qualification named either Certificate in Health Studies, Diploma in Health Studies or BA (Hons) in Health Studies. The award cannot be named BN (Hons) as the term 'Nursing' is a title protected under the Health Act [1999] for those who are fully qualified and registered as nurses.

17.

Examination Boards

Examination Boards are constituted and conducted in accordance with University regulations. The Board of Examiners normally meets several times per year. Recommendations are sent to the School Board for approval.

18.

External Examiners

18.1

External Examiners will be appointed for awards in accordance with University regulations. Of the External Examiners, one will be appointed as Lead Examiner (Undergraduate Cluster) - in line with current QAA requirements - and will prepare a summary for consideration by the School and the Faculty.

18.2

The role of the External Examiners is to monitor the School's examinations and assessment procedure. The External Examiners will review marked work. They undertake the following:

Appraise the assessments developed for each unit, monitor the standards set and the reliability and validity of the assessment tool.
Review and verify marks and grades given to students for each assignment.
Confirm marks recommended by School staff.
May recommend changed marks for a whole cohort when they have reviewed work where they deem it as necessary.
Confirm the necessity to resit/re-submit assessments which have been recommended by staff.
Submit recommended marks and resits/re-submissions to the Examinations Board of the School.
Submit an annual report to the University which conforms to the 'Code of Practice for External Examiners' published by QAA.

18.3

The Lead Examiner (Undergraduate Cluster) will prepare a summary report which will conform to QAA requirements.

All assessment regulations, appeals processes, fitness to practice and academic integrity issues are fully described in the 'Assessment Rules and Regulations, General Rules and Regulations, Introduction to Assessment' in the Student Handbook. These are issued to students are the outset of their study and are available online on Blackboard.

Approved : May 2007

SOBS	School of Biological Sciences
SHPRS	School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences
Medicine	School of Medicine
Nursing Index	School of Nursing and Midwifery
Psychology	School of Psychology