Attendance

The University has General Regulations for Students including the expectation that you must be in attendance as appropriate to your programme of study by the first day of term and must remain in attendance until the last day of term. If you are following an online programme, then you must engage with your studies throughout the programme. You should also make sure that you are aware of any specific attendance requirements determined by your discipline.

If you have examinations deferred or referred to a different assessment period (e.g. August), then your attendance is also required at that time. Attendance is monitored via the Exeter digital check-in. 

From the start of the 2018/9 academic year, a new system of digital check-in will be rolled out for all taught students who have MyTimetable. The digital check-in system works via the iExeter app, and will record your attendance at teaching sessions. Personal and Academic tutors will be able to view your attendance and this will help discussions about ongoing student support. FAQs are available on the Digital Check-in web page.

The student illness procedure provides more guidance on reporting unavoidable absence via iExeter. If you are absent for more than 7 successive days due to illness, you will be required to obtain a doctor's certificate. If illness significantly affects your performance or work across a whole assessment, module or level of study you should refer to the Mitigation procedure.

Failure to demonstrate a satisfactory level of attendance may result in referral to the Health, Wellbeing and Support for Study Procedure, or Unsatisfactory Student Progress and Engagement Code of Good Practice.

It is your responsibility to be aware of your own study commitments and not to undertake employment that will be detrimental to your academic work. The University strongly recommends that, for the sake of balance, full-time undergraduate students do not undertake paid employment for more than 15 hours per week during term time. There is a helpful set of guidelines on taking paid employment during term-time on the Career Zone website.

Academic Misconduct

The University Academic Misconduct procedures explain how we deal with cases of alleged cheating, plagiarism or collusion and include examination misconduct. Ignorance of these procedures is not considered to be an excuse for academic misconduct. You are required to undertake the ‘Academic Honesty and Plagiarism’ module available through the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE). 

Disciplinary Procedures

The University Disciplinary Procedures detail how behaviour of a student falling below the expected standards at Exeter is handled. You are expected to adhere to University rules and regulations, to show respect for persons and property, and to behave in a way that does not interfere with normal operations of the University. You have the right and ability to make decisions about your conduct, and the responsibility to accept the consequences of your decisions.

iExeter provides you with links to your course, timetable, the student records system, the careers zone, the Student Information desk (SID), the Exeter Learning Environment and many other resources to help you with your studies and make the most of your time at Exeter.

The current student pages on the web will link you to guidance on rules and regulations for study covering a wide range of academic matters, such as:

• Registration
• Term dates
• Module choice and changing modules
• Changing your course
• Tutorial support
• Interruptions and withdrawal
• eBart

It is important that you refer to the handbooks provided on ELE for your discipline, programme and individual modules. These will have important information about teaching, assessment details and feedback as well as guidance on word limits, reading lists and, where appropriate, recap recordings, additional material, news forums, and essay titles and past examination papers (where provided).

You should take opportunities to speak with your tutors whenever you need to do so. You have a personal/academic tutor allocated to you who will offer you opportunities to meet with them over the course of the year. They are there to support and guide you.

The Academic Skills and Student Engagement Team are available to help you make the most of your studies. As well as study skills and workshops you can also participate in opportunities to enrich and improve the student experience for yourself and your fellow students. You can become an academic representative on the Student-Staff Liaison Committee or Peer Mentor for your fellow students; you can volunteer with University community projects; you can propose a Students as Change Agents project and seek to develop new and exciting activities within the University; and much more

For administrative questions (around deadline dates, mitigation, eBart, etc), you can visit your local Student Information point/hub in person or contact them by email.  

The formal regulations of the University on Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook, can be found in the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual (TQA). This covers: setting and submission of assessments, examination, marking, feedback, assessment, assessing student with disabilities, Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committees, classification of awards, mitigation, and the consequences of failure.

The TQA also contains the Learning and Teaching support handbook, which covers regulations on a wide range of matters such as: generic assessment criteria, dissertation or project supervision, procedures for interruption and withdrawal, Student-Staff Liaison Committees, English language support, and study and work abroad.

1. One member of staff will have overall responsibility for each module. The name of this member of staff will be made clear to you on the module descriptor as the convenor. You may consult module convenors during their office hours or at other times by arrangement. At the start of each module (no later than the end of the second week), you should be informed by the module convenor of the following: 

• the full schedule of assessment items on the module (including formative and summative)
• submission dates, and dates by which you can expect to receive assessment marks and/or feedback
• where it is necessary or desirable for you to have attended certain scheduled teaching sessions or completed certain activities before  starting work on a given assessment item (so as to allow you to schedule your work appropriately)
• the relevant marking criteria (aligned to the University Generic Assessment Criteria) specific to the programme, module and/or assessment item, and how these criteria will be applied
• the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) for the module, including information on how these relate to the assessment items and marking criteria.

2. Module convenors will ensure that reading lists are up-to-date, that all essential/recommended literature (and/or other curriculum resources) is accessible to you (whether in hardcopy or digitally), and that the relationship between the literature/resources, the scheduled teaching sessions, and the assessment processes is clear to you.

3.Academic staff will make known to you details of their office hours which will be at least two  hours per week, on separate days, during term time. During those times, they will be available for student consultations, sometimes only by appointment.

4. During term-time, members of academic staff can normally be expected to respond to communications (e.g. emails or telephone calls) from you within 3 working days. If the member of staff is away from the University, then you should receive a notification, outlining when the academic is likely to respond. This response should be as soon as reasonably possible. Staff will make it clear how you can best make contact with them in normal circumstances. Staff are under no obligation to correspond with students outside of term time.

5. In line with the University’s Assessment and Feedback principles, the College will:

• provide explicit information of intended learning outcomes, assessment processes, marking criteria, and academic syllabuses and standards for programmes and modules
• ensure sufficient, effective and timely feedback on completed assessments, with work that has been submitted on schedule being marked within three working weeks (unless there are exceptional circumstances), and with feedback indicating both strengths and weaknesses and how future performance can be improved
• ensure valid and rigorous marking of completed assessments
• encourage the adoption of assessment processes that prepare you effectively for employment and/or further study
• ensure appropriate provision to promote the success for all students academically and in terms of career outcomes

6. Assessment Progression and Awarding Committees will monitor your progress at College and Departmental levels.

7. A Personal/Academic Tutor will be assigned to you with whom you will be invited to meet, on an individual basis, at least five or three times during the academic year, depending on whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate. Your Personal/Academic Tutor will be available to: support you through your transitions into higher education and from stage-to-stage; guide your academic progress (e.g. in relation to understanding assessment and feedback, making module choices and advising on study skills); and signpost you to professional services supporting, for example, health and well-being, and careers and employability development.

The University has a wide range of support services and resources for students. Within the College you can contact your personal/academic tutor, or the info point/Hub relevant to your studies. The Students’ Guild Advice Unit http://www.exeterguild.org/advice/ or, for Penryn, The SU advice service https://www.thesu.org.uk/welfare/ may also be able to assist you. The Exeter Advice Unit can be contacted on 01392 723520 or by email at advice@exeterguild.com  and for The SU by email at advice@fxu.org.uk or you can make an appointment with an adviser here. A full A- Z of support services for students is available on the Current Students page.

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/az-services/

Wellbeing Services

The University Wellbeing Services can help you get the most out of your time at University. For students with disabilities and long-term health conditions we understand that you may need support to manage your health and wellbeing, as well as your studies. We recognise that it is much more difficult to learn and enjoy student life when practical and personal difficulties arise. Wellbeing Services can offer a range of services to support you personally and in your studies when difficulties occur. The service is made up of three main pathways:

• Psychological Therapies Pathway
• Mental Health Pathway
• AccessAbility Pathway

Wellbeing Services also includes the Exeter Access Centre.  The Wellbeing Service can also advise about examination adjustments, local and national services, advice for family and friends and who to contact for emergency support. The website includes links to the Welfare services polices and the Mitigation policy. 

We support current students studying at our Exeter campuses (Streatham Campus and St Luke's Campus). If you are based at our Penryn campus, or Truro, please visit the The SU Wellbeing pages.

As with Wellbeing services in Exeter the Wellbeing team within Student Services in Penryn help students get the most out of their time at University. Health and wellbeing are crucial for effective study as well as for a fulfilling student experience, but staying well in body and mind isn’t always easy at University.

The Wellbeing Service offers two main types of support, counselling and mental health.

Counsellors offer confidential support for students experiencing difficulties with their psychological or emotional wellbeing. Counsellors are qualified practitioners who aim to help students cope more effectively with any personal and/or emotional difficulties that may arise during their time at University.

The Mental Health team provide expert advice and support on a range of mental health difficulties. Team members are registered mental health professionals, who can help students to consider their needs and support options, and provide advice and guidance to students with mental health difficulties. With consent, staff can liaise with others such as GPs, NHS mental health professionals, and members of staff within the University to ensure appropriate support is in place.

Within Student Services we also have the Accessibility team who advise and support students with disabilities, health conditions and specific learning differences. The team can advise and assist with DSA applications and queries and can look to put in place relevant adjustments for a student’s studies and assessments.

Other sources of support and advice include:

Student Health Centre (Streatham) and Health Centre (Penryn – www.fxplus.ac.uk/students/student-support-services/health )

The  multi-faith Chaplaincy and Chaplaincy Cornwall

International Student Support

An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is a document that informs Colleges within the University of the recommended reasonable adjustments that may be put in place once you have declared a disability.

Fitness to Practise  procedure govern how we consider fitness to practice for professional programmes (e.g. PGCE)

Health Wellbeing and Support for Study Procedures (HWSSP) – Exeter and Penryn Campuses The pages here detail how we consider appropriate support where illness or other circumstances is affecting your ability to study.

At all times there are many sources of help, whatever kind of difficulties you are facing. Please ensure that you do let us know if you are struggling or need additional support or guidance.

If you are ever are unsure where to turn for assistance or are experiencing issues relating to your wellbeing or welfare which are impacting upon your studies  please contact  your local info@point.

For Penryn,  contact welfare.penryn@exeter.ac.uk  or visit the Info point in the Peter Lanyon building and ask to speak to a member of the Welfare team who will be happy to assist. 

Help us to help you by keeping in touch and following advice.

We recognise that from time to time you may not be satisfied with some aspect of the University’s service, or you may want to appeal against a decision made about your academic performance.

Student Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your experience at the University or the services we provide, we would like to know about it, so that we can improve our provision. These pages tells you what to do if you have a complaint.

The student complaints procedure is designed to cover the following types of complaint:

• A failing in a University service, academic or non-academic
• Misinformation about academic programmes
• Poor teaching or supervision
• Insufficient facilities
• The behaviour of a member of staff
• The behaviour of another student

If you are unhappy with your experience or with the service you have received you are encouraged to first talk directly with the person responsible. It is best to raise matters informally at first because there may be simple and quick resolutions.

If you wish to make a formal complaint please see the University's Student Complaints Procedure page.

Academic Appeals

The Academic Appeals procedure  explain how to appeal against a decision made regarding your academic performance.