University of Southampton Calendar 2014/15


University Calendar 2014/15 Section X : Academic Regulations - Faculty of Health Sciences

Academic Unit	Health Sciences
Final Award	Masters in Midwifery
Programme(s)	Midwifery (156 week programme)
Last modified	July 2014

Reference should be made to the University's General Regulations found in Section IV and Section V (Higher Degree Regulations) of the University Calendar.

Except where an opt-out has been granted by the University (see below) the following academic regulations apply in addition to the General Regulations.

Admissions

Candidates for admission must satisfy the Regulations for Admission to Degree Programmes as specified in Section IV of the University Calendar and meet the entry requirements for either school leaver or mature applicants stipulated for this profession.

Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to specific health requirements (consistent with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act [2010]). Prospective students are required to inform the Faculty of any health problems relevant to their future employment as a health professional. All students will be subject to an occupational health check.

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 Faculty of all criminal convictions. All students will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Midwifery do not accept RPL into the pre-reg programme as according to the NMC 2009 – only for transfers across midwifery programmes.

Structure of Programme(s)

The award of Masters in Midwifery with registration as a midwife shall be of 156 weeks duration. It is also obtained upon completion of a minimum of 120 ECTS at the appropriate levels. This is a full time programme.

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.

In Year 1 students will study 30 ECTS at Level 6 with 30 ECTS at level 4 for practice experience (certificate).
In Year 2 students will study 37.5 ECTS at Level 7 and 30 ECTS at Level 5 for practice experience (postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma dependant upon successful module completion).
In year 3 students will study 37.5 ECTS at Level 7 and 37.5 ECTS at Level 6 for practice experience (Masters).

The outline of the content of each module shall be specified in the module outlines and made available to students on ‘Blackboard’.

Progression

Progression Regulations are as described in the University Calendar, Section IV : General Regulations; Progression, Determination and Classification of Results. For all programmes which lead to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or the Health and Care Professions Council, statutory regulations apply. For this reason, all our pre-registration programmes are exempt from section 3.3 (regarding compensation) and section 4.1 (regarding referral of assessments) of the General Regulations.

The pass mark for all level 4-6 modules will be 40% and 50% for all level 7 modules. Students must meet the pass criteria in both academic and practice experience to pass overall. All practice placements must be passed.

Module Referral
The criteria for module assessment referral are:

Failure to achieve a Pass/Fail assessment.
Where an assessment comprises of two or more components, students must achieve a minimum of 40% in each component in order to pass at levels 4-6 and 50% at level 7.
In order to meet NMC requirements in drug calculations, specified assignments must achieve 100%.
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.

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

developing a retrieval action plan in partnership with a mentor and/or academic tutor;
implementing the retrieval action plan during a minimum of a four-week practice period as soon as possible.

Progress to the Next Year of the Programme
A student will normally progress to the next level of the programme if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more in all level 4-6 assignments and 50% in level 7 assignments, a Pass in all Pass/Fail assessments and fulfils all module completion requirements.

Year 1 Conditional Progression into Year 2, Year 2 Conditional Progression into Year 3
Students cannot normally progress from Year 1 to Year 2 and Year 2 to Year 3 with any assessments outstanding.

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.

A student completing Practice Experience 6 of the programme (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 the additional placement.

Termination of Registration
A student’s registration will normally be terminated following resit/retrieval assessments if he/she:

fails any assessment repeat attempt;
does not attend, or is more than half an hour late for a resit examination, or is requested to leave the examination room.

Assessment

The performance of students shall be assessed by the Board of Examiners in accordance with the Faculty’s regulations governing examinations for the Bachelor of Midwifery (Hons). Students must meet the pass criteria in both academic and, when required, practice assessment to pass overall. Non-assessed work may also be a course requirement. The faculty programmes handbook presents a summary of process for the submission of coursework.

When attending for an examination students must produce either their university ID card or a form of photographic ID in which they are clearly identifiable. Students without photographic ID will not be permitted entry to the examination.

Work submitted up to 5 days after the deadline will be marked as usual. The final agreed mark is then reduced by the factors detailed in the relevant University Policy. https://sharepoint.soton.ac.uk/sites/ese/quality_handbook/Handbook/Assessment%20Framework.aspx.

Candidates who exceed the specified word limitation (+/-10%) within a module will incur a 10% penalty reduction in their assessment mark.

Level 4-6 Practice Experience modules in year 2 and 3 of the programme will be graded as per NMC (2009) Standards for Pre-registration midwifery education (Standard 15).

Award of Qualification(s)

The Programme follows the University Regulations for the Progression, Determination and Classification of Results specified in Section IV of the University Calendar. In order to qualify for the award of Masters in Midwifery with registration on the Midwives part of the Nursing and Midwifery register, candidates must:

have satisfied the entry requirements as set out in the Programme Specification;
have undertaken all the levels of the curriculum as appropriate to the 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 50% hours of academic study and 50% hours of practice experience;
have met the NMC requirements of European Directive 2005/36/EC;
be judged as of good health and good character and worthy of admission to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.

The final award is awarded by Senate on the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Board to candidates who have satisfactorily completed an approved course of study and have satisfied the assessment requirements.

Students who are successful at all year one and two assessments but who but are unable to successfully complete all the required Clinical Placements shall be eligible for the exit award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Studies (60 credits at level 7) (30 ECTs).

Students who are successful at all assessments but are unable to successfully complete all the required Clinical Placements shall be eligible for the exit award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Studies (155 credits at level 7) (77.5 ECTs).

To qualify for a Distinction at Masters level the mean programme mark will be 70% or higher from the level 7 modules of study. In addition, the student will achieve a mean practice placement mark of 70% or over in the final two practice placements, and will have met all the programme completion requirements.

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 Postgraduate Certificate in Health Studies or Postgraduate Diploma in Health Studies.

The programme follows the University's regulations and procedures for review, appeals and complaints.

Placements/Study Abroad/Exchange/Fieldwork

Practice experience forms an integral part of the programme and students are required to pass in order to complete the programme successfully. Practice equates to 50% of the programme outcomes and is full time for the duration of the programme.

Students are not permitted to continue in placement whilst progressing an academic appeal against a relevant body.

Other

These regulations may be revised during the student's period of registration in accordance with the procedures approved by Senate.

Compensation
Compensation is not permitted on this programme.

Fitness to Practice
Students are advised to acquaint themselves with the University Fitness to Practise Policy which is used within the Faculty of Health Sciences.