STUDENT HANDBOOKTAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROVISION 2014/15

This handbook is available on request in alternative formats from Student Services

Welcome4 Mission

General Information about Leeds College of Music6 A Welcome from the Principal

6 Key Staff

6 Student Services & Registry

7 Library and Computing Facilities

7 Access to the University Library

9 Postgraduate Studies & Research Centre

9 Apple Computer Laboratories

9 Studios

10 IT Facilities

10 SPACE

10 Student Enquiries Counter

11 Booking Rooms

Communication within the conservatoire12 Student Guide to

Communication & Consultation

12 Keeping your Contact Details up to date

12 Communication

13 Rules Governing Absence

13 Feedback

13 Student Representative System

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Health, Safety & Safeguarding14 Health & Safety

14 Fire Evacuation

14 Safeguarding

Programme of Study Information16 The Academic Year

16 The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

University Regulations16 University Regulations

18 The Requirements of your Programme of Study

18 Teaching and Learning Methods

18 Submission of Assignments

19 Assessment Procedures

19 Overlength and Underlength Assessment

20 Penalties for Late Submission

20 Submissions with Access Arrangements

20 Marks and Feedback

20 House Style

21 Boards of Examiners

21 Credit Transfer

Extra-curricular Opportunities23 Performance Opportunities

23 Enterprise & Business Support

23 Individual Tuition

Examinations & Assessment 24 Dates of Examinations

24 Instructions for Candidates for Written Examinations

24 Special Needs in Examinations

24 Alternative Examination Arrangements

25 References

25 Transcripts

25 Re-sits

Unfair Means – Plagiarism and Cheating 26 Unfair Means – Plagiarism

and Cheating

26 The Plagiarism Declaration

28 Plagiarism and How to Avoid It: Referencing – Some Basic Principles

Possible Problems & Solutions 30 Changing your Programme

of Study

30 Withdrawing from Leeds College of Music

31 Suspending Your Studies - ‘Intercalation’

31 Repeating a Semester or Whole Year

32 Financial Implications of Suspending/Repeating/Transferring/Withdrawing

32 Mitigating Circumstances

33 Academic Discipline

33 Academic Appeals

33 University of Hull Student Progress Committee

General Regulations34 General Regulations

Complaints by Students34 Complaints by Students

Support Services 35 Student Services

35 Records Management

35 Disclaimer

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME OUR MISSION

The aim of this Handbook is to provide you with a clear, accurate and user-friendly guide to Leeds College of Music (LCoM) and to direct you to more detailed information on the conservatoire’s Virtual Learning Environment (SPACE) and website (www.lcm.ac.uk). This handbook has been produced by members of Registry, IT, the Library and Student Services and provides an initial point of reference for all postgraduate students at Leeds College of Music.

This handbook should be used in conjunction with information provided by the conservatoire, such as the Course and Module Specifications which are available on your General Course Page on SPACE. A new document this year is our Student Charter which is a summary of our aspirations and expectations of each other at Leeds College of Music. The Charter is available on Space and all students and staff are strongly encouraged to read it.

Your programme of study leads to an award of The University of Hull (The University), and has been validated by the University to assure the quality of your learning experience and the standards of the award. This handbook has been produced utilising guidance provided by the University. The handbook sets out your rights and obligations as a student taking a programme delivered by LCoM leading to an award of the University. It points you in the direction of further information, such as full copies of regulations and procedures which will apply to you. Matters detailed in this handbook are subject to review and change during the year. Every effort is made to ensure that the information is accurate and up-to-date at the time of publishing. LCoM will inform you of any changes occurring during the year via SPACE and it is your responsibility to check the relevant pages regularly throughout your time at LCoM.

If you have any queries about the information contained in this Handbook, wish to make suggestions about the content or how it is presented; please send your comments to HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk. All feedback is appreciated. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the content of this handbook, and make sure that you use it as the first source of information and guidance on matters relating to your programme and status as a student. You will not be permitted to rely on ignorance of regulations, policies or procedures contained in this handbook as a ground for mitigation, special treatment or appeal.

The handbook is also available on SPACE.

We are an innovative conservatoire: a hub for high quality musical activity and music education, with world- class facilities. We enable our students to become creative, confident and versatile practitioners in their chosen fields, and we provide opportunities for the local, national and international communities to engage with music and music-making of the highest standards.

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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LEEDS COLLEGE OF MUSIC

A Welcome from the Principal

Studying in a small, specialist conservatoire such as LCoM brings many opportunities, including the ability to work with staff who are practising professional artists, access to industry-standard facilities, and the chance to form professional networks and friendships that will continue for years to come. I urge you to make the most of these opportunities and to use your time here to best advantage; the current external environment is a challenging one and your time here will be over all too soon.

We place great importance on student feedback as an important part of maintaining the highest standards in what we offer. Please take every opportunity to contribute to this process and if you have any concerns about your course, contact the relevant member of staff straight away.

I hope that you enjoy your time as a student here and that your studies are both stimulating and rewarding.

Key Staff

A full organisational structure is available on SPACE and gives details of all full time staff and where their offices are located in the building.

Principalship:

Gerry Godley Principal and Managing Director

Joe Wilson Director of Curriculum

David Warren Director of Operational Services

Postgraduate:

Dr Andrew West Head of Postgraduate Studies

Dr Damien Harron Senior Lecturer, Postgraduate Studies

Student Services & Registry

Student Services, Careers and Employability Service, Finance, Events and Enterprise, IT and Registry offices are all located on the fourth floor. Signposts for these can be found next to the lift. LETS (Library, E-Learning and Technical Services) are located on the fifth floor.

Security, Reception/Box Office, Facilities and the Technicians (including support staff for the Mac Labs) are located on the first floor and the Students’ Union on the second floor.

Library & Computing Facilities

The library is situated on the fifth floor. Your LCoM student card also acts as your library card and postgraduate students can borrow up to 20 items at one time. All postgraduate students receive an induction during enrolment week to help use the library effectively. The library provides books, CDs, printed music and online resources to support and enhance your learning. Online resources and the library catalogue are available 24/7 and are available both on and off campus on the conservatoire’s virtual learning environment, SPACE. In the library you can

• Study in group-work or silent zones

• Plug in your laptop and access the Wi-Fi

• Get information about accessing our range of online resources

• Buy stationery, disks and other items that you may need in the conservatoire.

SPACE and the conservatoire’s website have comprehensive details about the library and your borrowing rights.

The Postgraduate Research Centre is located in the library and is available exclusively to postgraduate students during library opening hours. It is also used for seminars and tutorials and is equipped with four Mac computers.

Security, Reception/Box Office, Facilities and the Technicians (including support staff for the Mac Labs) are located on the first floor and the Students’ Union on the second floor.

Access to the University of Hull Library

As a student on a programme validated by the University of Hull you have full access to the Brynmor Jones Library (BJL) situated on the Hull campus and the Keith Donaldson Library (KDL) situated on the Scarborough campus. The BJL, the largest library, is currently undergoing a major redevelopment to create a state-of-the-art place of learning for generations to come. The libraries have over 1,800 study spaces and several small group study rooms. The University’s libraries hold more than a million items including books, periodicals, multimedia and maps. All of this material is listed in a web-based catalogue which you can access from anywhere in the world. You can download searches from the catalogue, check which items are on loan to you, and renew and reserve items. You may also renew items once by telephone provided that they are not reserved by another reader. You have the same borrowing rights as the University’s own postgraduate students, with the exception that off campus access to electronic resources cannot be allowed for licensing reasons. However if you visit the libraries in person then you can use the full range of electronic resources.

If you wish to use either library you will also need to obtain a University student card. The student card that you receive on registering with the University is also your library card and you will need it to borrow material and to enter the libraries. You can obtain a card by visiting Student Administrative Services on either site when you have had confirmation that you have been registered as a student of the University. For new students this is when you have had a registration sheet to sign. Continuing students will receive an email to their University account to confirm this. If you try to obtain a card before you are registered you will not be able to do so. Please also be aware that it will take 24 hours for the registration confirmation to be processed by the library so please allow sufficient time before trying to access the libraries.

The libraries provide one-to-one help at the enquiry desk in finding information. Further details of the services available from the University’s Libraries and details of the Brynmor Jones Library redevelopment are available on the Library website www.hull.ac.uk/lib.

General Information about Leeds College of Music

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Postgraduate Studies & Research Centre All postgraduate students have access to the Postgraduate Studies & Research Centre (PSRC). The PSRC is for quiet study and is conveniently situated within the conservatoire’s library, therefore allowing easy access to learning resources. The PSRC has four internet enabled Mac computers with Microsoft Office.

Apple Computer Laboratories

There are three Apple computer labs for HE related teaching. These are located in rooms 340, 419 and 511. There are a further three Apple computer labs in 144, 240 and 336 used for non HE related teaching. All six labs are available for you to use any time when there is no teaching taking place.

All Apple computer labs have Logic, Protools, Sibelius, Ableton and Reason installed. In addition the computers in rooms 419 and 511 also have Kontact player. A number of other specialist music software packages (e.g. electro acoustic software) are installed in various locations. If these specialist packages are relevant to your studies, details of where they are deployed will be provided during your lessons.

To logon to an Apple computer you need your student ID and password that you received at enrolment. Your personal network folder (also referred to as your H: Drive) is on your desktop. The name of your folder is the same as your student ID. Please note that machines are regularly rebuilt so you should make sure to save any work you need to keep to your personal network folder or removable media at the end of every session. Please also make sure you logout after you have finished using a machine.

If you encounter technical issues with machines in an Apple computer lab then you should contact IT Support in room 406 or email ITSupport@lcm.ac.uk

Studios

The conservatoire is well resourced with recording and mixing studios. Studios are booked online using Room Booker and guests are allowed into the conservatoire to help with your recording, as long as they bring photo ID. The studios are open until 3.00am weekdays and until 5.00pm at weekends.

We have a selection of microphones, cables, headphones and other equipment that you can borrow for either internal or external recordings. These, along with studio keys, can be borrowed at the Technicians Counter on the first floor, and all you need is your student ID card.

There is more information available on the Studio pages on SPACE including lists of equipment. If you encounter any problems, the Studio Technicians are happy to help you, and can be found at the Technicians Counter or by emailing studiotechnicians@lcm.ac.uk

There are a few rules that are in place to ensure that the studios are operated in an equitable manner for all. All postgraduate students are required to sign the studio user’s agreement before they are allowed to use the studios. A copy of the regulations is available on SPACE and on the conservatoire website. In summary they are:

• Users must turn up on time for their session: all late arrivals must contact the studio counter on 0113 222 3435. Unless notified, the Studio Assistant will advertise unclaimed studio slots on social media platforms 15 minutes after the start time.

• Keys may only be signed out with a student card and by a user who is taking part in the session.

• Users must treat studios and equipment with respect. Eating or drinking is not permitted with the exception of water in a container with a lid.

General Information about Leeds College of Music

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Booking Rooms

Rooms can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance via the internet using the room booker system. Keys (when needed) can be collected from the facilities counter on the first floor. Details can be found on the ‘Booking Space’ pages on SPACE, including

• A video tutorial for instructions on how to use the software. Please watch this before booking a room to avoid errors.

• The Room Booking Handbook - this includes details regarding:

- which rooms are available to book and how long you can book them for;

- how to cancel requests that you have submitted;

- some frequently asked questions.

General Information about Leeds College of Music

• Users must leave punctually at the end of their session and when the facility is closing. Equipment should be returned to the studio counter packed up in the requisite manner e.g. cables should be coiled correctly.

• Users must not behave in a disorderly or offensive manner and music should be played at an appropriate level in studios as defined by government legislation and LCoM policy.

• The replacement cost of any item that is lost, stolen or damaged shall be invoiced to the person on whose card the loan was made.

IT Facilities

When you enrol at LCoM, you are issued with a user name and password for all systems as well as an IT Induction Guide detailing available services, how and where to get support and ‘How To’ guides on the most commonly used services. This document is also available on SPACE.

SPACE

SPACE is the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at Leeds College of Music. It provides a central place for students to find news, events, resources and information in addition to submitting assignments online and undertaking online learning activities. Once enrolled you will be able to log onto SPACE with your username and standard network password at http://space.lcm.ac.uk

SPACE also includes:

• MyPortfolio: An ePortfolio tool that you will use throughout your studies to reflect and record your progress, as well as undertake assignments. It also has a group function where you can collaborate with your fellow students. This is sometimes referred to by its software name of Mahara.

• AV SPACE: This is where audio-visual media lives; including videos of lectures, workshops, technique demonstrations and software screencasts. This is sometimes referred to by its software name of Panopto.

• Connect SPACE: Using Adobe Connect, this area of SPACE is used for online classrooms, workshops and meetings.

• There are also links to your email, timetable and the room booker system.

You will be provided with an introduction to SPACE during induction and additional workshops and drop-in sessions are provided throughout the year. Further help can be found on SPACE or assistance can be provided via space@lcm.ac.uk

Student Enquiries Counter

The Student Enquiries Counter is situated in Room 406 and is open Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 5pm & 5.30pm to 9.30pm and Friday 8.45am to 4.30pm. Specifically we can help you with the following

• Exam queries / information

• Mitigating circumstances queries

• Admissions queries / information

• Timetable queries

• Room booking queries

• Confirmation of study letters

• Council Tax exemption

• Course information

• Replacement ID cards

• IT Support

• Appointments with staff

• Performance related queries

General Information about Leeds College of Music

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Rules Governing Absence

Attendance registers are kept for all modules and you should appreciate that progress only comes with regular attendance and a commitment to independent study. In some practical modules, the learning outcomes of the module contain references to professional practice and attendance. For example, where specific expertise on studio equipment must be acquired before independent use of the studio can be allowed, attendance is vital. In some cases, a continued unsupported or unexplained absence might mean that you would fail to meet a learning outcome of a module; this could subsequently affect your mark.

You should be aware that the attendance of all HE students is monitored and you will be contacted if we have any concerns about your level of attendance on your course.

Absence from studies must be notified as follows:

• HE students must contact their Course Administrator by telephone (0113 222 3492/3433) or by email to HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk. If you are taken ill at LCoM, please inform a relevant member of academic staff or Course Administrator at the Student Enquiries Counter.

• If you are likely to be absent for other reasons (e.g. dentist appointment) please inform your Course Administrator who will log the details. Absences that have not been notified in advance will be considered unauthorised.

• Where your absence exceeds 7 consecutive days (including weekends) we must receive a medical certificate or other appropriate explanatory evidence.

• Absence on the day of an examination must be confirmed by a medical certificate or other explanatory evidence.

• Other absences affecting examinations, where it may become necessary to submit a case of mitigating circumstances to a Board of Examiners, must be confirmed by a medical certificate or other appropriate explanatory evidence and in accordance with LCoM Mitigating Circumstances procedure.

• Medical certificates or other appropriate explanatory evidence should be sent to your Course Administrator as appropriate.

Feedback

There are many opportunities for you to comment on your student experience at LCoM throughout the academic year. LCoM wants to actively work with you in partnership to create positive change to your student experience. You are the experts in being students; tell us what you think and why. What are your suggestions for improvements?

Student Representative System

LCoM believes that student representatives play a vital role in enhancing the student experience. Representatives are full members on a number of LCoM’s decision-making committees and we are committed to ensuring students engage with the way in which we enhance the curriculum. Hearing the student voice and communicating effectively with the whole student body is of vital importance to the successful running of the conservatoire. We must work

Communication Within the Conservatoire

Student Guide to Communication & Consultation

This new Guide outlines expectations of both students and Leeds College of Music with regard to communication and consultation. The Guide is available on Space.

Keeping your Contact Details up to date

When you start your programme of study you will enrol with Leeds College of Music and also register with the University of Hull. Through this process the University will be provided with your personal details which the University will hold on its student record system.

If any of your details change you must contact us at HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk immediately.

Communication

LCoM communicates with students via the following methods:

Email

We use LCoM email as the main form of communication between staff and students. We expect students to check their LCoM email at least once a day and to only use LCoM email addresses to contact staff. A directory is available with all staff and student email addresses.

Please note we will not communicate using personal email addresses.

Text messaging (PageOne)

We use a text messaging system (PageOne) to inform you of any important information that we need you to receive quickly, such as room changes for lectures or if we need you to contact us, therefore it is important that we have a current UK mobile number. Please note that this system is only for outgoing text messaging and you cannot reply to this number.

Post: Term/Permanent Addresses

For official documents, such as transcripts, enrolment documents and registration packs, we will use the postal address that you use as your permanent address.

Your term time address needs to be updated if you move. We send all student term time addresses to Leeds City Council’s Council Tax department as normally students are exempt from paying this. If we do not have your correct address then you may be charged council tax and if this is not paid then you may be issued with a court summons. If you do not live in Leeds, and you or your parents need proof of your student status for Council Tax exemption, please ask at the Student Enquiry Counter.

Electronic Noticeboards

Electronic noticeboards can be found throughout the building and are used to advertise upcoming events and workshops that are being held in the conservatoire.

SPACE

There are forums on SPACE for students to use, as well as a ‘Latest News’ feed on the homepage where staff will place messages that are relevant to all students.

COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE CONSERVATOIRE

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Health & Safety

LCoM believes that the health, safety and welfare of its staff, students and visitors is one of its highest priorities. LCoM is committed to the highest standards of health, safety and welfare through continual improvement and the control of risk whilst ensuring the delivery of world-class music education in fit for purpose premises. The allocation of suitable resources to attain, as a minimum, legal compliance and the promotion of a proactive and responsible attitude towards health, safety and welfare are key priorities for the conservatoire.

You have a legal duty of care for your own health and safety and that of others. You must:

• ensure you follow all Health and Safety advice, instruction and training;

• not interfere with or misuse anything provided for your health, safety and welfare;

• use all equipment and other items correctly and as instructed;

• remember to display your ID badge at all times within the conservatoire.

Further information relating to Health & Safety can be found on SPACE.

HEALTH, SAFETY & SAFEGUARDING

Fire Evacuation

The fire alarm is a continuous electronic sound. If you hear the alarm, you must evacuate the building immediately by the nearest safe exit or as directed by the Fire Marshals.

The fire assembly point is located diagonally opposite the main entrance. There are Fire Marshals to direct you if necessary. If you need assistance to exit the building, please make sure your lecturer is aware.

Safeguarding

LCoM is committed to promoting the welfare and safety of all our students, staff and visitors. Please ensure that you are familiar with the current procedures which can be found on the Safeguarding page on SPACE.

If a student is convicted of a relevant criminal offence at any time during their studies at the conservatoire, they must inform the Head of Student Services.

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University Regulations

PROGRAMME OF STUDY INFORMATION

UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS

The Academic Year

The Academic Calendar is available on SPACE and lists all of the key dates such as Enrolment and Induction, Reading Weeks, Assessment Weeks and term dates for both the Accelerated degree and the standard Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes. Students must be in attendance during Induction and Assessment weeks. Attendance is not required during reading and vacation weeks unless stated otherwise. For example, if you are required to complete resit assignments, these may take place outside of normal teaching and assessment weeks and your attendance at these will be compulsory. Non-attendance due to other commitments will not be accepted as grounds for mitigating circumstances or appeals.

The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

University awards are designed to comply with the Quality Assurance Agency’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and other ‘external reference points’. (Information is available at http://www.qaa.ac.uk). In particular all departments have produced programme specifications for all of their programmes, which set out what you can expect to be able to do if you successfully complete the programme. These are referred to as intended learning outcomes.

All Programme and Module Specifications are available on your General Course Page on SPACE. For the modules that you are currently studying; more detailed information can be found on the individual Module Pages, which can be accessed via your ‘My Course’ page. Here you will find your assignment briefs, links to submit work, resources and lecture notes.

University Regulations

As indicated in the Introduction, the programme of study for which you have registered leads to an award of the University of Hull. Because of this your programme is governed by the University’s Programme Regulations. These ensure consistency irrespective of the subject of your degree programme. The following is a summary of the regulations. A full copy is available from http://www2.hull.ac.uk/administration/policy_register/quality_handbook/section_b.aspx

You should also refer to the FAQs on SPACE.

• Each programme is divided into stages representing each set of 60 credits. For example the taught masters degree is made up as follows:

- Certificate stage (first 60 credits – equivalent to the first semester full-time)

- Diploma stage (second 60 credits – equivalent to the second semester full-time)

- Masters stage (third 60 credits – commonly the dissertation undertaken during the Summer period)

• To qualify for the award of the degree you must successfully complete all 60 credits for each stage.

• A candidate at the Diploma stage, who fails more than 60 credits, is automatically deemed to have failed the programme, without being permitted to be reassessed in the failed modules. However, such a candidate may be permitted to repeat the stage at the discretion of the Programme Board of Examiners. Student Progress Committee has determined that the following factors should be considered in exercising this discretion: (i) the profile of marks, ii) the candidate’s submission record, (iii) the candidate’s potential to succeed in the repeated stage and whole degree, (iv) any mitigating circumstances properly notified

• Subject to the above you can be reassessed once in any failed module unless the Module Board has denied reassessment as a result of you not complying with the attendance and/or submission requirements of the module.

• Where the module specification stipulates that to pass the module you must achieve a pass in one or more of the sub-module elements, and you do not then a mark of 34 will be awarded for the module in question.

• The mark for any module passed following reassessment is capped at 40.

• In very limited circumstances, involving no more than 20 credits, a narrow fail can be treated as a pass (called ‘compensation’), although no change is made to the mark awarded for the module.

• If you are offered a ‘pass with mitigation’ then you will be awarded a mark of 40 for the module - but only the mark will appear on the transcript with no reference to the mitigation.

• A candidate may have up to 20 credits disregarded (called ‘condonement’) in deciding the candidate’s eligibility for the degree provided certain conditions are met.

• A candidate who is not allowed to progress to the Masters stage but is allowed to undertake reassessment in failed modules, may not begin the research for the Masters stage dissertation until the reassessments have been successfully completed unless no more than 40 credits have been failed and the candidate is permitted to continue by the Programme Board of Examiners.

• Where a candidate has to be reassessed and is not permitted to continue as explained above, the three month period for undertaking the final stage will be deemed to commence once you are notified that you have passed the reassessments and are allowed to commence the final stage.

• If you do not successfully complete a stage you can be awarded a lesser qualification, at which point your programme of study will be at an end.

• A candidate may not repeat a stage except with the approval of the University Student Progress Committee. Such approval will only be given where medical circumstances or exceptional personal circumstances are established of a kind which clearly affected the candidate’s performance throughout the year. Repeat years are not given lightly. Equally you may not reapply for the same degree without the approval of the Student Progress Committee. The same criteria as for a repeat stage will apply.

• Masters degrees are awarded as a pass, but will be awarded with ‘distinction’, where the candidate has achieved an average of 70+ over all 180 credits, and with a mark of no less than 67 in the masters (dissertation) stage and with ‘merit’ where the candidate has achieved an average of 60-69 over all 180 credits, and with a mark of no less than 57 in the masters (dissertatio) stage

• Distinctions are determined using only credits awarded by the University of Hull; to be eligible for consideration for a distinction, the candidate must have achieved no fewer than 120 credits from the University of Hull, including the Masters (dissertation) stage of the programme.

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The Requirements of your Programme of Study

In addition to the above University regulations, your programme of study (set out in the programme specification) details the modules which you must take in each year. The programme specification is available on your General Course Page on SPACE and this outlines learning outcomes, methods of assessment, marking criteria, weightings between modules for all pathways offered at postgraduate level.

100% attendance at all organised sessions is expected. If you are unable to attend any lectures, seminars, workshops or one to one lessons due to ill health or other mitigating circumstances, please ensure that you email HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk before the missed session. A lack of engagement with the course, often identified by absences can seriously disrupt your studies; therefore non attendance is closely monitored at the conservatoire.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Students will undertake modules in their specialist study (performance, composition, production or combined) along with shared modules that address creative practice in both academic and professional contexts. Where the specialist study is designed to give students opportunities to reach their potential in their chosen discipline(s) through one-to-one tuition, the Creative Practice in Context modules allow students from all disciplines to come together and engage in professional and academic activities that relate to both the generic and specialist areas of the music industry. It is here that students attain a sophisticated professional and academic context of their discipline that will prepare them for the final Masters module where students must produce an extensive critique (MA) or undertake a viva voce (MMus).

Submission of Assignments

You will be given access to module pages on SPACE for any module on which you are enrolled. As well as information about the specific module, the module page will contain any assignment briefs for the module and where necessary, an upload facility for you to submit your work. Your assignment brief should detail the assignment task, aims, assessment criteria and learning outcomes and has other important information about presentation and referencing, so please make sure you read this information carefully. It should also tell you whether to submit your work online, offline or via myPortfolio. If you have any queries about an assignment brief, speak to the module coordinator or your Course Administrator.

For online or myPortfolio submissions (submitting via SPACE):

If you access the relevant module page on SPACE for the assignment you wish to submit, in the Assignment section of the page there will be an assignment upload link providing you with the facility to upload your work (clearly labelled with the assignment code and title). Once you have clicked on the upload link, you will then be able to follow the instructions to upload your work successfully whether it is an electronic file or a myPortfolio submission.

For offline hand-in (submitting a paper or CD copy):

If there is no upload facility for the assignment on SPACE you will be instructed to submit the assignment in paper or media format (offline). Make sure you have completed an assignment cover sheet.

If you wish to submit your work prior to the published deadline the postbox can be found:

• At the Student Enquiries Counter during normal opening hours

• In Main Reception at all other times.

Further information about arrangements for submitting on the day of the deadline will be published on SPACE.

Further information regarding the submission of all types of assignments can be found with the Student Information Pages on SPACE under Course Admin, Exams & Assessment (HE).

Assessment Procedures

Assessment submission deadlines and penalties are clearly defined and set out on the Module pages, on assignment briefs and on the calendar on your ‘My Course’ page on SPACE.

In September 2012, the University implemented a standard system of penalties which LCoM must apply to summatively assessed work which is deemed to be ‘overlength’. Please read the following information carefully.

Overlength and Underlength Assessment

The following policy will apply to summatively assessed work which is deemed to be overlength:

(i) Penalties are a percentage of the maximum mark available for the assessment element which is overlength

(ii) Overlength assessment penalties apply only to word counts and exclude charts, graphs, tables etc

(iii) Unless otherwise specified the published word limit excludes references in footnotes, appendices, references and bibliography lists

(iv) Students are required to declare a word count on the coversheet where a word limit is specified. If you do not submit a coversheet or do not include a word count on the coversheet, you may be awarded a mark of zero.

(v) An erroneous word count declaration will be dealt with as suspected use of unfair means.

(vi) The penalties which must be applied to work which is overlength are

- 10-20% over the specified word limit, a penalty of 10% (10 marks)

- More than 20% over the published word limit, the work will be awarded a mark of zero

(vii) Other penalties will not be applied.

The following policy will apply to summatively assessed performance (includes any assessments which have a length or duration rather than a word count):

- up to 10% under/over the specified duration or length = no penalty

- 11-20% under/over = deduction of 5 marks

- 21-40% under/over = deduction of 10 marks

- 41% + under/over = deduction of 20 marks.

A mark will not be reduced below 40 as a result of a penalty for exceeding the specified duration/length, however if a performance is under-length/duration, the penalty will be applied in full and this may reduce the mark below 40.

University Regulations University Regulations

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Please read the following information carefully:

Penalties for Late Submission

The following policy will apply:

(i) Penalties are a percentage of the maximum mark available for the assessment element which has been submitted late

(ii) All coursework assessments must have a published submission deadline

(iii) The late submission penalties which will be applied to coursework submitted after the published deadline are:

- Up to and including 24 hours after the deadline, a penalty of 10% (10 marks)

- More than 24 hours and up to and including 7 days after the deadline; either a penalty of 10% (10 marks) or the mark awarded is reduced to the pass mark, whichever results in the lower mark

- More than 7 days after the deadline, a mark of zero is awarded

Submissions with Access Arrangements

Students who have supplied LCoM with suitable evidence of a learning difficulty or disability may be entitled to have Access Arrangements, including extended deadlines for submissions. Any work submitted within the agreed extended deadline for the assessment will be marked as a normal on time submission. Any work submitted after the agreed extended deadline for the assessment has passed will incur the penalties for late submission as detailed above. Please see your course assessment pages on SPACE for details of agreed extended deadlines.

Marks and Feedback

After you hand in an assignment, we aim to provide marks and feedback 20 working days. Your feedback will reference the assessment criteria and detail the positive aspects of your work as well as areas for improvement.

Once you have viewed your feedback, you will have the opportunity to rate your feedback and tell us how useful you think it was. This is anonymous and your rating will be used to improve the quality of our feedback to students.

Not all feedback is written - for example, in your one-to-one or small group lessons, you get continuous feedback from your tutor. You will also receive regular feedback in ensembles, studio groups, seminars and tutorials. If you are unsure about how you are progressing, ask your tutor. You do not need to wait until you get written feedback from your assignments.

House Style

Below are some general guidelines about our House Style for the submission of assignments. Further information can be found on SPACE on the Course Admin, Exams & Assessment (HE) page. See also the information on page 28 about referencing.

Essays and written work

• Use a word-processor to produce your work

• Set the page margins to at least 2.5cm

• 1.5 or double line space the text

• Use an easily readable font, such as Times New Roman or Arial

• Set your work in 12pt

• Number the pages

• Include the standard cover sheet (available on the House Style pages on SPACE)

• Put your course, year, module and name on the header on all other pages

Interactive essays and reflective journals

Follow the above guidance for written work, including hyperlinks as appropriate. For Myportfolio submissions, please also refer to the specific House Style guidance.

Audio/visual submissions

Clearly label media (the disc and casing) with:

• the module title

• the assignment code

• the duration of the submission

• track identifications

• the names of the student(s) responsible for its production

MP3 submissions will be accepted where indicated on Space. MP3s must be specified as follows:

• Format: Stereo MP3 (MPEG 1 – layer 3)

• Sample rate: 44.1 kHz;

• Bit rate: 192 kbps.

Boards of Examiners

Your progression on your programme of study (i.e. whether you have passed one year and can move onto the next) and your eligibility for the award and degree classification (if applicable) will be determined by Boards of Examiners governed by the University’s regulations. There are two levels of Boards of Examiners

• Module Boards – which decide the mark to be awarded for each module

• Programme Boards – responsible for determining progression to the next stage/to the award based on the credits achieved, and determining what happens in the event of credits not having been achieved (e.g. compensation, condonement, referral). Under no circumstances can a Programme Board change the mark for an individual module.

Boards of Examiners include membership from the staff who deliver the programme, staff from the University and the External Examiner(s) appointed by the University to oversee the academic standards of the award. The External Examiner will be a member of staff of another University or similar body who is experienced in the subject area of your programme of study.

Credit Transfer

You may have undertaken studies prior to starting your programme at the University. In certain cases such ‘prior learning’ might be transferable to your current programme and therefore give you exemption from some of the requirements of your current programme. This is called Accredited Prior Learning and may be ‘certificated’ or ‘experiential’ (e.g. work experience). If you have experience which you think might be transferable to your degree programme you should discuss this with your department, who will advise on whether it is transferable and the evidence you will have to provide. In addition to the judgement the department will have to make, the following regulations must be adhered to:

• Candidates must complete the final stage - all 60 credits - of the (Hull) qualification sought - e.g. the final (usually dissertation) stage of a masters degree. Credit transfer is therefore not possible towards a postgraduate certificate. (see above under regulations regarding eligibility for distinctions)

• Credits cannot be transferred where they have already been used towards a qualification (whether from this University or another institution) unless the first qualification is a step towards the current qualification.

Our mechanism for considering and approving APL and APEL claims is considered on a case by case basis. Further information can be found on SPACE.

University Regulations University Regulations

20 21

EXTRA-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES

Performance Opportunities

Leeds College of Music is pleased to offer an extremely varied range of performances throughout the academic year. Core ensembles (chamber orchestra, wind orchestra, chamber choir, big band and contemporary jazz orchestra) are open to all students and rehearse weekly, performing at least once a semester. In addition to this, the conservatoire holds weekly showcase concerts, each week focusing on a different pathway. Further opportunities to perform internally and externally can be found in the student performance handbook, by visiting the ‘performance and workshop’ area on SPACE, or by contacting the performance and workshops coordinator Tristan Watson (t.watson@lcm.ac.uk).

Enterprise and Business Support

The Enterprise Team offers support for students and alumni to develop entrepreneurial and business skills both for musicians and for more traditional business models. We provide support and business mentoring to help you start your own business and help you tap into local enterprise networks. A series of presentations, workshops and networking events are available throughout the year. Further information is available on SPACE.

Student funding information can be found on SPACE, or on the conservatoire’s website at www.lcm.ac.uk/courses/Fees-and-Funding. For advice about all aspects of funding or financial support, contact

• Fees and Funding Manager studentfunding@lcm.ac.uk 0113 2223419

• Fees and Funding Officer studentfunding@lcm.ac.uk 0113 2223508

• Call into Student Services (Room 401)

Academic prizes are made to students completing their courses and are presented at our graduation ceremony in July. Awards to students who are part way through their course are made at the prize-giving ceremony in the autumn semester. Prizes recognise outstanding achievement across disciplines and genres.

Awards consist of a trophy and/or a financial reward. Many prizes are given in memory of musicians or people who have supported LCoM over the years.

Individual Tuition

If you wish to continue your lessons in a different instrument to your principal study, you can apply for additional instrumental or vocal lessons at the conservatoire. These lessons will take place at LCoM with one of our tutors and are usually charged per block of lessons. The current fee for a block of ten half-hour lessons is £160.

For further information and an application form, please see SPACE or ask at the Student Enquiries Counter on the fourth floor.

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References

Academic or character references can be obtained by contacting a senior member of academic staff for your Pathway. For confirmation of attendance dates and qualifications gained, email HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk

Transcripts

You are entitled to an official transcript which sets out the full record of your results for the whole of your programme of study. This will be produced by Leeds College of Music in accordance with guidance issued by the University (as the awarding body). You should note that you will be refused a transcript if you are in debt to Leeds College of Music for your tuition fees. The official transcript shall be issued to you once your award has been conferred by the University Progress Committee.

Resits

Where students are recommended to complete failed or outstanding assessments, their formal results notification will also be sent to the permanent postal address on record. You can be reassessed once in any failed module unless the Module Board has denied reassessment as a result of you not complying with the submission requirements of the module. Instructions for submitting reassessments are sent to relevant students with their formal results notification. A reassessment fee of £100 per component (assignment) is applied to any non-submitted work or non-serious attempt (mark of zero) where a resit is subsequently required.

EXAMINATIONS & ASSESSMENT

Dates of Examinations

For the full and part time Postgraduate Diploma, assessments mainly occur in the designated Assessment Weeks, highlighted on the Academic Calendar, which can be found on SPACE. For full time Masters students, Specialist Study 3 will be assessed in September/October. The timetable of practical assessments during designated Assessment Weeks will be issued by the Exams team and will be published on SPACE. An email will be sent to your conservatoire account via SPACE to inform you when these are available.

Written submissions will have deadlines throughout teaching and assessment weeks; deadline dates are made clear on the relevant Assignment brief, module pages and on your calendar on SPACE.

It is part of the requirement of your degree that you are available during each of the examination periods. It will not be regarded as ‘good cause’ if you are unavailable during any reassessment period with the reason that you did not expect to have to sit an examination and have made another commitment. Note that only in the most exceptional circumstances will you be given permission to sit an examination other than at Leeds College of Music.

Alternative Examination Arrangements

If you have a disability and require alternative arrangements for examinations you should talk to the Student Disability Advisor and the Exams Team. If you have any other special circumstances which may require alternative arrangements you should discuss this with the Exams Team in the first instance.

Instructions for Candidates for Written Examinations

Currently there are no formal written examinations on the postgraduate pathways. The regulations and procedures for taking practical assessments are on the Student Information Pages on SPACE under Course Admin, Exams & Assessment (HE).

Getting your Results

Marks and Feedback on SPACE - where appropriate, marks for individual pieces of assessed work are given to you during the module, to enable you to utilise feed-back in completing the module. However, such results are provisional, that is they can be changed by the module board for example on the advice of the external examiner. They are not therefore final until that Board has met. The fact that a Module Board reduces a mark previously notified to you as provisional does not constitute a ground for appeal.

Formal Results Notification - Your results will be formally notified to you to view online for those completing their programme and those continuing to the next stage of their programme. You will not be able to get your ratified results before the published deadlines, and under no circumstances will your results be given to you over the telephone, nor will they be given to another person on your behalf. You can however notify, to the Exams team, a correspondence address to which they can be sent during the summer vacation. Otherwise they will be sent. It is the student’s responsibility to keep the institution updated with current address details. If you fail to do so, you may not receive your results, or other correspondence, promptly. Formal results notification is co-ordinated by the Exams Team and information is also available on the Student Information Pages on SPACE under Course Admin, Exams & Assessment (HE).

Examinations & Assessment

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The University of Hull and LCoM take very seriously any form of cheating, plagiarism or other form of ‘unfair means’. Allegations of such conduct are investigated and (if proven) penalised using the University of Hull’s Regulations on the Use of Unfair Means. The term, ‘unfair means’, is used to indicate that a very wide range of behaviour is punishable. The regulations give examples, including:

• ‘cheating’ in an examination by possessing materials prohibited in the examination room

• ‘cheating’ in an examination by using materials prohibited in the examination room

• falsifying the results of laboratory, field-work or other forms of data collection and analysis

• impersonating another during an examination or other assessment or related event

• conspiring with another or others to have work completed by another candidate, including offering work, whether for sale or not, for use by another without acknowledgement

• collusion (where the work submitted is the result of the work of more than just the student making the submission but which the student making the submission claims to be his/her own work without acknowledging the contribution of other students)

• using false statements or presenting false evidence, in support of a request to withdraw from an examination, obtain an assessment extension, or explain any form of absence or default

• falsifying a transcript or other official document

• submitting work for assessment which has been performed or created by other persons or commissioning third parties to perform or create the work whether for payment or not

• making your work available to others, giving opportunity for them to plagiarise (group work must acknowledge the contribution of others or collusion may be deemed to have occurred)

• submitting work for assessment which is substantially the same work as submitted for a previous assessment (sometimes referred to as ‘self-plagiarism’)

• plagiarism as further defined in the full regulations.

Conduct is punishable when undertaken by any student on any programme leading to a University of Hull award, whether acting alone or with others, and conduct which amounts to an attempt to use such means is also a breach of the regulations. The regulations define the procedures which must be followed when an allegation is made, stating the rights of the student, including the establishment of an Adjudicating Panel which is required to determine whether the breach has been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

It is essential, therefore, that you recognise that the University of Hull and LCoM take very seriously any form of illegitimate conduct, especially plagiarism, and that if you are judged to have breached the regulations this could result in you not being awarded your degree.

The full regulations are available on the University of Hull website at the following address: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/studenthandbook/academic/unfairmeans.aspx

These regulations are also on SPACE, in the Course Admin, Exams and Assessment (HE) section (under HE House Style, Plagiarism & Submission Guidelines).

The Plagiarism Declaration

When you submit any piece of work for assessment you are required to attach a cover sheet which contains a declaration, which you must sign. Your work will not be accepted unless the declaration has been signed. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have understood the guidance you have been given about referencing – and therefore how not to commit plagiarism. If you have any doubts you must seek advice from your tutors. You are also cautioned against self-plagiarism i.e. of re-using work that you have already submitted within another piece of work.

UNFAIR MEANS – PLAGIARISM & CHEATING

Some Harvard referencing examples

One authorIn-text: (Cope, 2008)

Bibliography: Cope, D. (2008). Righting Wrongs in Writing Songs. Boston: Course Technology.

Journal article

In-text: (Freeman & Van Troyer, 2011)

Bibliography: Freeman, J. & Van Troyer, A. (2011). ‘Collaborative Textual Improvisation in a Laptop Ensemble’. Computer Music Journal. 35 (2), pp. 8-21.

Website (with individual authors)

In-text: (Kelman, 2013)

Bibliography: Kelman, J. (2013) WorldService Project: Articulate Arsonists. Available at: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44932 (Accessed 22 July 2013).

Website (with organisations as authors)In-text: (Arts Council, 2013)

Bibliography: Arts Council (2013). Music education hubs. Available at: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/our-investment/funding-programmes/music-education-hubs/ (Accessed 22 July 2013).

Web pages with no authors In-text: (Miles Davis Biography, 2013) Use the title of the page

Bibliography: Miles Davis Biography (2013). Available at http://www.milesdavis.com/us/biography (Accessed 22 July 2013).

For more details and examples, please consult LCoM’ s house style document available on Space in the Course Admin, Exams and Assessment (HE) section (under HE House Style, Plagiarism & Submission Guidelines).

WHO

WHO

WHEN

WHEN

WHAT

WHAT

WHERE

WHERE

Place: Publisher.

Journal title. (in Italics) Issue. Page

(Year).

(Year).

Title.

‘Article Title’. (In single quotation marks)

Surname, I.

Surname, I. & Surname, I.

Plagiarism and How to Avoid It: Referencing – Some Basic Principles

Good academic practice

To help avoid accidental plagiarism, practise positive academic habits such as good time management and effective note-taking. Further study support advice is available on SPACE under the Information tab and then ‘Study Skills’.

Why reference

LCoM believes an important part of your degree involves being able to critically engage with written sources. When you write an assignment as part of your degree, you need to build on other people’s ideas. Referencing is acknowledging the sources of information/ideas you have used. Referencing correctly means it is clear to the marker of your work what your ideas and words are and what are those from a source you have read/listened to/watched etc.

When to reference

You need to reference when: writing about someone else’s words and ideas; using a particular phrase; referring to specific information; talking about ideas from another person.

When you don’t need to reference

You do not need to reference common knowledge. This refers to facts, dates and information that can be found in a number of places and are undisputed. If in doubt about whether something is common knowledge, reference it!

Citing in-text

When you are referring to a source in the body of your assignment, you add an ‘in-text citation’. You need to put these in brackets and include information on the author and the date of publication: (Author, Date and page number if citing specific information). Some examples are below.

Bibliography

A complete list of the sources you have used within your assignment needs to be added at the end of the work. This information will contain an alphabetical list containing details of sources so anyone reading your bibliography would be able to easily find that source. The main principles of this information, whatever the source, are: Who, When, What, Where.

Secondary referencing

This is when you refer to a reference that another author has used. Do not do this unless you absolutely have to. It is always best to go to the original source, if you can find it. If you use another author’s interpretation of a source there is a danger the author has interpreted the original a certain way.

Quoting

This is one way of incorporating sources into your writing. Try to do this sparingly. Your marker is looking for your words. Good reasons to include quotes include: To back up the point you are making, it is a significant piece if information/detail, it is a well phrased extract that would lose meaning if rewritten. (Question whether the quotation has accuracy, authority, conciseness and unforgettable language.)

Paraphrase and summary

These are the more common ways of putting sources into your work: rewriting the original in your own words, but retaining the meaning. When you paraphrase the length of the words will be the same as the original. When you summarise the length of the words is shorter and more general and can contain a number of sources at once.

Self-plagiarism

If you submit a piece of work for more than one assessment, this is self-plagiarism as you would be gaining credit twice for one piece of effort.

Unfair Means – Plagiarism & Cheating

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Suspending Your Studies - ‘Intercalation’

An alternative to withdrawing from your programme of study might be to suspend your studies for a period of time - referred to as ‘intercalation’. This might enable you to resolve the difficulties which are affecting your studies, whether medical, personal or financial. Occasionally intercalation is also used to enable you to undertake some form of work experience not forming part of the programme of study.

In the first instance we recommend that you speak with a member of the senior academic staff for your pathway about suspending your studies.

Permission to intercalate requires the approval of the University on the recommendation of Leeds College of Music and must be supported by appropriate supporting documentation and details of the length of time requested, the reasons, and the last date you wish to attend the programme.

You must sign this documentation and return your student ID card. Please note that whilst you are suspended, you will not have access to the facilities provided to you by LCoM.

Intercalations will be granted for a maximum of one year, but can be renewed provided that each stage of the programme must be completed within 3 years, including any period of intercalation.

Leeds College of Music /the University also has the power to require a student to intercalate where a student is considered unfit to study by reason of posing a risk to him/herself or another. Please refer to our Fitness to Study policy and procedures which can be accessed via SPACE.

Repeating a Semester or Whole Year

In very special circumstances it may be appropriate to repeat a complete semester/trimester (including the teaching and assessment periods) or a complete year. The effect of this is that any (and all) credits gained during the period being repeated cannot be counted towards the programme of study in question (and they will not appear on your official transcript). You must note that a repeat period will only be approved where you can clearly establish written evidence of either medical circumstances, exceptional personal circumstances or, in some cases, disability-related concerns which have been so serious, they have had a significant effect on your ability to undertake your studies, and that they have lasted for a large part of the year. Requests to repeat will not be accepted in cases where a student has simply performed poorly and wants ‘a second chance’. In all cases you must submit a medical certificate or information from a reliable and verifiable source other than yourself. The above rules also apply to any request to reapply for the same programme of study. Applications to repeat are decided by the University’s Student Progress Committee on the recommendation of Leeds College of Music.

If over the course of the year you have concerns regarding your progress/achievement on the course due to significant personal/health reasons, you should speak to your Pathway Leader or the Exams Team for advice. Where appropriate, the relevant documentation can then be prepared for the University’s Student Progress Committee.

The following section explains possible solutions to problems which you may experience during your programme and study and which may mean that you are unable to complete your programme as originally planned. In all cases the emphasis is on getting advice from the appropriate person. You are reminded of the importance of discussing any problems you might be experiencing with appropriate staff.

Changing your Programme of Study

If you decide you would like change pathways then you would need to speak with your current Pathway Leader in the first instance and then with the Pathway Leader of the course you would like to transfer to.

If it is agreed that you can change, the necessary paperwork would need to be completed by you, both Pathway Leaders and your Course Administrator. For further information, speak to your Course Administrator or email HEAdmin@lcm.ac.uk.

Withdrawing from Leeds College of Music

If you are considering withdrawing from your course, we recommend first of all speaking with your Pathway Leader to discuss any issues or concerns relating to this decision. If you do decide that this is the correct option for you, you will need to complete and sign paperwork with your Course Administrator and return your student ID card. Please note that you will not have access to the facilities provided to you by LCoM once this paperwork has been completed.

One of the benefits of the credit accumulation system operated by the University/Leeds College of Music is that it is often possible to take any credits gained where you have not completed your programme and use them in the future, for example to resume your studies on the same programme or at another University. The University of Hull considers that credits have a maximum ‘shelf life’ of 9 years, although re-admission would depend on the specific programme of study in question, and therefore a shorter shelf life might apply.

You may also be entitled to an ‘interim award’ if you withdraw before completing the programme as follows:

• Successful completion of 60 credits (PG Cert) • Successful completion of 120 credits (PG Dip)

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

Possible Problems & Solutions

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Academic Discipline

Resit not Permitted

If you do not comply with the submission requirements for a module, the Module Board of Examiners is entitled to refuse you permission to be reassessed if you fail the module at the first attempt. This means that you do not get the credits for the module and as a result may not be able to progress further with your programme of study.

In cases of very serious/repeated non submission the conservatoire may seek the approval of the University to exclude you from assessment or to have your programme of study terminated. This will only be approved where you have been provided with written warnings as to your conduct and been given the opportunity a) to seek guidance (e.g. to resolve problems which may be causing the non attendance) and b) to improve your conduct.

Academic Appeals

The University and the conservatoire have a set of procedures governing your right to appeal against a decision about your academic progress.

It is important to be aware that you cannot appeal simply because you disagree with a decision of your department - for example to award 55 for a piece of work. You must be able to show that there has been some defect in the process by which that decision was made, such as not following procedures, bias or prejudice on the part of the examiner, or failure to consider relevant factors (such as mitigating circumstances).

In the first instance, after receiving formal notification of results a student with a concern or query should submit a Results Query which is attempted to be resolved informally. A student may be invited to a face-to-face meeting with a relevant member of academic staff.

Formal Appeals must be lodged within 14 days of you receiving notification of the decision against which you wish to appeal.

The University will allow students who have submitted an appeal to graduate and also allow students who have graduated to submit an appeal (provided they are within the 14 day window). The candidate will graduate with the classification awarded and, if the appeal is subsequently upheld, any change will result in a new award being made.

The full appeals procedure and policy is outlined in detail on the Student Information Pages on SPACE under Course Admin,

Exams & Assessment (HE).

University of Hull Student Progress Committee

Student Progress Committee is the University Committee which acts on behalf of the University Senate in awarding qualifications to students. It is also responsible for overseeing all matters of student progress. As indicated in the section on ‘Possible Problems and Solutions’ it deals with a range of matters such as repeat periods, University Warnings and terminations of programme, and is the final arbiter on the application and interpretation of University programmes regulations.

Financial Implications of Suspending/Repeating/Transferring/Withdrawing

If you decide to proceed with any of these scenarios, there will probably be financial implications in relation to both tuition fees and funding. It is imperative that you understand what these implications are before taking a final decision, as this can affect your future ability to return to study either at LCoM or elsewhere.

You can obtain further advice from the Student Fees and Funding staff in Student Services on the fourth floor, or contact them by email studentfunding@lcm.ac.uk or phone 0113 222 3508 / 222 3419.

Mitigating Circumstances

In a small number of cases, you may experience circumstances which affect your performance while undertaking an examination or other form of assessment. Boards of Examiners are empowered to take such circumstances into account if they consider that the circumstances have had a significant effect when determining your module marks or your overall degree classification. However, it is your responsibility to make the Board aware of such circumstances before the relevant Board of Examiners meets via the mitigating circumstances process. Appeals are very rarely allowed where evidence is raised after such a meeting when it was available before.

The University/Leeds College of Music refer to this as “mitigating” (sometimes known as “extenuating”) circumstances, and has established a procedure to enable you to inform departments of such circumstances. Applications for mitigating circumstances must be submitted no later than 7 days after the examination or assessment deadline. Where an application is refused you will be awarded zero for the ‘event’ in question (i.e. examination or piece of coursework). The Module Board will then determine the overall mark for the module taking into account any other assessment events. The Exams team are able to give advice in this area or you can access information on this application process on the Student Information Pages on SPACE. This information can be found under Course Admin, Exams & Assessment (HE) http://space.lcm.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=36.

Possible Problems & SolutionsPossible Problems & Solutions

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LCoM adheres to the Joint information Systems Committee (jisc) Records Retention policy which can be accessed via this link

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/generalpublications/2002/recordssrlstructure.aspx

In accordance with the requirements of the University, Leeds College of Music has in place a complaints procedure, enabling you to make a complaint if you have cause for concern about any aspect of Leeds College of Music’s provision to you as a student. Complaints should be resolvable within the conservatoire.

As a student on a programme leading to an award of the University of Hull you have a final right of challenge to the University but only where you can demonstrate that the partner institution has not considered your complaint in accordance with its published procedures. The University will not reconsider the merits of the complaint. Leeds College of Music is responsible for providing you with information about your rights. However, you can also obtain information from the University by going to: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/administration/policy_register/quality_handbook/section_e.aspx and clicking on ‘Complaints’.

LCoM has a Student Complaints Policy, which can be accessed on SPACE and also on the LCoM website http://www.lcm.ac.uk/About-Us/General-Regulations-and-Resources.aspx. A timely meeting with, for example, a full time permanent member of academic staff, may lead to a quick and simple solution in many cases. Moreover, the conservatoire provides various opportunities for students to give their views and share their concerns. These include representation on Academic Council and the conservatoire’s Board. Internal questionnaires also capture opinions, which are acted upon. The Student-Staff Forum is held every term and is an important opportunity for student representatives and staff to discuss conservatoire issues: if you have an issue you wish to raise you should get in touch with your course’s student rep. You can find information about course reps and other Students’ Union officers on the LCoM SU website http://lcomsu.co.uk/. These mechanisms for listening to the student body also ask for positive feedback and any suggestions for improvement.

Students are encouraged to seek advice from the Student Services Unit if they need advice on the Complaints Policy and Procedure.

Student Services seeks to assist you to make the very best of your time at LCoM. We achieve this through the services we offer and also through information on SPACE.

We provide a range of services which are summarised below, but if you are unsure whether we can help you please call in to our offices on the fourth floor and we will be happy to advise you.

• Fees and Funding

• Accommodation

• Health and Wellbeing

• Counselling

• Welfare

• Safeguarding

• Learning Support

• Disability Support

• Careers and Employability

• Equality and Diversity

• International Wellbeing

• Alexander Technique Further information on all of the above can be found on SPACE.

Please note:

You are strongly encouraged to declare any learning support needs or disabilities. You can do this at enrolment on your enrolment form or by making an appointment to speak with Student Services on the fourth floor.

If you are an international student who requires a UK Visa to study at LCoM, you must familiarise yourself with your immigration responsibilities. More information and useful links can be found on our website via this link http://www.lcm.ac.uk/International.

COMPLAINTS BY STUDENTS

GENERAL REGULATIONS

SUPPORT SERVICES

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Please be aware that as a student you have both rights and obligations in respect of your fellow students, members of staff, and others who come into contact with Leeds College of Music. The conservatoire has a set of general regulations governing the conduct of students, as well as specific policies and procedures governing such matters as freedom of speech, freedom from harassment and data protection. These set out both your rights and your duties (to fellow students, staff and others). The general regulations are available on Space.

A comprehensive list of the conservatoire’s regulations is available on SPACE.

DISCLAIMER Whilst Leeds College Of Music has tried to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document at the time of publication. We wish to underline that the programme is reviewed and updated on a regular basis and so the information given may be subject to alteration.

Version 2. September 2014

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Leeds College Of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7PD

Telephone: +44 (0)113 222 3400

www.lcm.ac.uk

Version 02, September 2014