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School of Molecular Medical SciencesFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Queen's Medical Centre
Postgraduate Research Degree Handbook
A Guide for Staff and Students
September 2008
CONTENTS
SECTION PAGE
1 Preamble 3
2 Welcome from the Head of School 3
3 Key staff and contact details 4
4 Roles and responsibilities 5
5 Supervision, training, progression, assessmentand monitoring 7
6 The Portfolio 13
7 Facilities, resources and postgraduateactivities within the School 14
Summary calendar of events 15
Appendix I 16
Appendix II 17
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1. PREAMBLE
Please take the time to read through this handbook. It provides valuable information relating to your course of study; what is expected from you as a student, and what you can expect from the University, in terms of support, guidance and supervision. If after reading this booklet you are unsure about any aspect of your study, please contact your Postgraduate Student Advisor, whose details are listed later in this book. If you have any suggestions about how this booklet could be improved, please let your student representative or the Schooln Manager know!
2. WELCOME from the HEAD of SCHOOL........................................... PROFESSOR PAUL WILLIAMS
I would like to welcome you to the School of Molecular Medical Sciences (MOL) and hope you enjoy your time with us. The School aims to provide a stimulating environment in which to undertake postgraduate research and training. With the Graduate School, we offer you a comprehensive programme of generic training, particularly in the first year of your PhD, including a rigorous training in laboratory methods, encompassing a wide variety of skills, and some advanced molecular biology skills.
The School sits at the interface of basic and applied medical research, and one of our objectives is to make your stay both enjoyable and rewarding. We have a good record for the completion of higher degrees, and our School is one of the largest in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. We offer you many opportunities to meet other students, both in the School and throughout the University, at PhD away-days and postgraduate events organised by the Graduate School and the Research Committee. We will keep you informed of these events.
Our School delivers several highly successful and established taught masters courses. There may be opportunities for you to attend some of the lectures offered in these courses, if relevant. We continue to up-grade our teaching facilities and IT Suite, and offer you excellent facilities for your research.
I hope you have a very successful and enjoyable time with us.
Paul WilliamsHead, School of Molecular Medical Sciences
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3. KEY STAFF AND CONTACT DETAILS
Name Role Email Phone Ext.Prof Paul Williams Head of School [email protected] 15047 (CBS)Prof Jonathan Ball Director of Postgraduate Education [email protected] 30745 (QMC)Miss Karen Asher Postgraduate Research Administrator [email protected] 68304 (CBS)Dr Paddy Tighe Postgraduate Student Advisor (QMC site) [email protected] 30734(QMC)Dr Ian Spendlove Postgraduate Student Advisor (City Hospital site) [email protected] 31857 (NCH)Dr Miguel Camara Postgraduate Student Advisor (University Park
site)[email protected] 15036 (CBS)
Prof Richard James Director of Research and of the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation
[email protected] 67952 (CBS)
Mrs Jennie Phillips School Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) [email protected] 30770Mrs Diane Mitchell School Manager Diane [email protected] 67950 (CBS)
The Student Representative for:
University Park is: ………………………………………………. Email: …………………………………………………… Phone: …………………………
QMC is: ……………………………………………………………….. Email: …………………………………………………… Phone: …………………………
City Hospital is: ……………………………………………………. Email: …………………………………………………… Phone: …………………………
September 2008
4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Overview: The University has specific policies relating to research degrees, and these are described in the Quality Manual (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/quality-manual/research-students/index.htm). These guidelines offer flexibility to account for the demands and needs of the different degree programs, whilst at the same time a rigid framework to ensure that standards of support and assessment are maintained. Each student can expect to perform their work in an adequately equipped and supportive environment. Specific staff members within the School have various roles and responsibilities to ensure this, and these are described in the following sections.
Head of School:The Head of School is ultimately responsible for ensuring provision of a safe study environment that will facilitate the successful completion of research studies undertaken by students. They will ensure that students have access to adequate, pastoral support, supervision arrangements and facilities and that their progress is monitored and assessed appropriately.
The Director of Postgraduate Education:The Director of Postgraduate Education has delegated responsibility for ensuring that the School’s taught and research higher degree programmes are of the highest quality and that they are administered, delivered and audited in line with best practice and are compliant with current University policies and regulations.
Postgraduate Research Administrator: The Postgraduate Research Administratorassists the Director of Postgraduate Education and has responsibility for administration issues related to postgraduate research, including admissions.
The Supervisor:The supervisor will assist and give guidance to the student during their research and write-up period. Preferably students will be assigned two supervisors, although this might not always be possible. The supervisor(s) should hold regular supervision meetings with the students, and a PGR Student Database record of at least 10 meetings per academic year should be lodged. The supervisor is also responsible for ensuring that their student has registered for each academic session.
Who is the School’s Postgraduate Student Advisor (SPSA) and what is their role?The University requires the School to have at least one full-time member of academic staff designated to act as an independent School Postgraduate Student Adviser (SPSA). The SPSA is available to offer independent and strictly confidential advice and support to research students. The School operates on different sites therefore the School has several SPSAs to reflect this. The main site at which you perform your research will dictate who your SPSA is. Contact details for the SPSA can be found in the table of key contacts on page 4 of this handbook. When the SPSA is the student’s supervisor or internal assessor then a different member of academic staff (e.g. SPSA for a different site) should take on the role of SPSA for that student.
When a research student requests a meeting with the SPSA on a serious matter the SPSA should make a careful record of the problem and the discussions (the record should be agreed with the student), including the outcome and any proposed course of action.
September 2008
Internal Examiner (Assessor):The Internal Assessor will be responsible for assessing the student's annual reports and viva voce examination (if required). They will also make formal recommendations jointly with the supervisor at Annual Review, and these recommendations will be recorded on the Annual Review Form via the PGR-Web. The internal assessor will usually act as internal examiner during the final examination of the thesis.
Is the postgraduate student advisor and internal assessor the same?No – although this has become a frequent misconception! The SPSA has an advisory and pastoral role, but no role in the assessment process.
MOL Research Postgraduate Group (MRPG):This committee is chaired by the Director of Postgraduate Education, and consists of the site Postgraduate Student Advisors (SPSA) and student representatives. This committee, which meets at least once a semester, reports directly to the School Management Group via the Director of Postgraduate Education. The group advise the Head of School and School Management Group on research student affairs. At least once a year, and usually at the end of each academic year, the staff members of the group are responsible for auditing documentation relating to student supervision, training and assessment and reporting any deficiencies to the Head of School.
How do students raise any concerns that they have about their studies?This will depend on the nature of their concerns. Very often, students benefit from an informal chat with the Molecular Microbiology Administrator! Specific worries about their research should be discussed with their supervisor(s). If there are concerns about the level of supervision received, then this should be discussed with the supervisor(s) or the SPSA. Any pastoral issues should be addressed to the SPSA. If a students concerns have not been addressed then they can arrange to see either the Director of Postgraduate Education or the Head of School. If the student wishes to make a formal complaint, then the University’s grievance procedure is described in the Quality Manual (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/quality-manual/appeals/complaints.htm).
The student representatives should be informed of issues or suggestions that are of more general interest (e.g. IT facilities, social facilities etc.). The student representative will then present these comments for consideration by the School Postgraduate Research Group, who will decide on the most appropriate course of action. The student representatives are responsible for ensuring that students are informed of this.
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5. SUPERVISION, TRAINING, PROGRESSION, ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING
The PGR Student Database: The School’s Postgraduate Research Student Web-database (PGR-Web) MUST be used to record and monitor supervision meetings, annual reviews, seminar attendance and portfolio development. This is a secure web-based database that has separate student and staff. Access to the database for each of these user- categories is:
Staff - https://phd3.nottingham.ac.uk
Student - https://phd4.nottingham.ac.uk
The School does not allow the use of hard copies of supervision, annual review or training record forms. The PGR-Web MUST be used by all staff and studnets at all times to record meetings, progression and training. Therefore, if you experience problems accessing the database please contact the Postgraduate Research Administrator at your earliest convenience. The database is used to:
1. Record supervision meetings,2. Record training acquisition / portfolio development 3. Seminar attendance4. Manage the annual review process, including upload of student reports and record of
the review decisions / recommendations
At the start of each academic year the IT Support Officer will provide a demonstration of the database and will be able to provide ongoing technical help and support (email: [email protected]). Students or staff who are unable to attend these should contact the IT Officer to make alternative arrangements for a demonstration.
Supervision, Skills training and Progression: The process adopted by the School for monitoring the progress of postgraduate research students is dictated by their degree programme. The majority of postgraduate research students in the School are enrolled on full-time PhD programmes and the relevant monitoring and assessment process adopted by the School is outlined in Figure 1. The section below highlights the assessment and monitoring system applicable to students registered on the 3-year PhD programme.
3 YEAR PhD PROGRAMME
SupervisionIt is expected that students will have regular meetings with their supervisors, who will offer academic and pastoral advice and guidance, as necessary. Training needs and portfolio development and identification of appropriate and relevant training courses should be agreed between the student and supervisor. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange supervision meetings at mutually agreeable and convenient times. As a minimum, there should be 10 database records of meetings between supervisor and student , although in reality there will be significantly more meetings than this! It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that sufficient progress meetings have been completed and are recorded on the PGR Student database.
Core and Generic Skills Training: Skills PortfolioAcquisition of discipline-specific and generic (transferable) skills is an important element of postgraduate study. This is achieved through a variety of routes, which include at-the-bench training and internal and external courses and workshops. Identification of training needs can be both student and supervisor driven and will take place as part of the formal supervision meetings. The School has also identified a set of skills that are deemed essential and it is expected that all students will be able to demonstrate competency within the timescale indicated in the School’s Core and Generic Skills programme. This programme forms the framework for portfolio development. It is accepted that students will have different starting points and existing proficiencies; therefore attendance at most of the
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training courses and workshops is not compulsory. However, a student must have an appropriate evidence indicator to show competence in the specific skill before this can be signed off by the supervisor.
Recent audit of PGR training showed that attendance at seminars by PGR students was sporadic - this is unacceptable! Therefore, ALL students MUST attend 10 seminars per year. Seminar attendance must be recorded on the PGR-Web.
End of Year 1 Assessment(Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web) Reports: Eight calendar months after commencing their studies, each postgraduate research student must submit two items for assessment: a research paper and a review article, both in a style appropriate for journal submission.
The Research Paper: will outline the background to their research, methodology (to be) used, results to date and expected future directions. The report should be prepared in the style expected for a submission to Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/misc/ifora.shtml#_Organization_of_the_Manuscript) or similar leading journal in their field. A declaration should be included immediately before the summary section stating that the work presented is entirely the author’s work, except where stated.
The report should be no more than 6,000 words (not including figure and table legends and references) and the abstract no longer than 300 words. Figures and tables should be embedded within the text and be supported by full legends. There is no limit on the number of citations, and evidence of thorough review of relevant literature is expected. Future directions / experimentation should be included in the discussion section.
The review article: should constitute a critical review of the current scientific literature and an appraisal of current ideas and thinking relevant to your chosen research project. Where possible primary references, i.e. recent journal articles rather than standard texts, should be used as the prime sources of information. The review article should be no grater than 5,000 words.
The review and the report should be uploaded to the PGR-Web by the date specified.
Viva voce examination: As part of the 1st year assessment, all students will be expected to attend a viva voce examination, which will be conducted by the nominated internal examiner (assessor). The examination will centre on the submitted report, although the examiner is entitled to ask questions of a wider more generic nature. Following the viva voce examination, the internal examiner and supervisor will complete the 1st Year Review and Registration Status Review forms. This must be completed by the end of the student’s tenth month of study.
End of Year 2 Assessment(Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web)
Written report and poster presentation: Twenty months after commencing postgraduate study, each student will be required to produce a poster (A1 size) for presentation at the School Postgraduate Research Day. A copy (A4 or electronic) of this poster, together with an updated version of the year 1 research paper (6,000 word), updated to contain research progress made during year 2, should be submitted via PGR-Web. The internal examiner and supervisor will complete the 2nd Year Review and Registration Status Review online via the PGR-Web by the end of their 22nd calendar month of study
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End of Year 3 AssessmentOral presentation: Before the end of their final year of study, each student will be expected to make an oral presentation of their research findings at the School Postgraduate Research Day. This will not be formally assessed, although it is anticipated that both the internal examiner and supervisor will provide the student with formative feedback.
Skills portfolio, supervision record and seminar attendance audit in all yearsThe portfolio programme prescribes the expected skills acquisition to be achieved by the end of the research degree programme. This is accessible via the PGR-Web. An audit of the portfolio, supervision meeting records and seminar attendance will be a key part of each end of year assessment.
ASSESSMENT OUTCOMESThe internal examiner’s and supervisor’s reports, training portfolio record and supervision records will be reviewed by the Postgraduate Research Group at their annual review meeting (or by the Director of PG Education). Based on this information, they will determine whether or not each student’s progress is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
Satisfactory assessment: Those students who successfully complete an end of year assessment will have their degree registration confirmed and will be allowed to register for the next year of study.
Unsatisfactory assessment: If a student’s performance in an annual assessment or general progress throughout the year is deemed unsatisfactory then this is recorded on the online annual review form. Also, if a student has failed to meet the necessary skills acquisition (as stated in the Portfolio programme and evidenced by the Portfolio record) or failed to complete the necessary supervision meeting records or seminar attendance, then this student will be asked to attend a review meeting with the SPSA and the Head of School and / or Director of Postgraduate Education. The supervisor may also be asked to attend. The purpose of this meeting is to explain to the student why their performance is deemed unsatisfactory and to decide the most appropriate course of action. The possible outcomes are:
1. Agreement of an action plan, which both supervisor and student must agree on and sign up to
2. Downgrading the current degree registration (e.g. PhD to MPhil)3. Termination of studies
Where an action plan is deemed the most suitable solution then this plan must include a date by which the student’s progress is re-assessed and how it will be assessed.
PART-TIME and NEW ROUTE PhD PROGRAMMES
SupervisionSupervision requirements are essentially identical to those outlined for the full time 3 year PhD programme described above except that, as a minimum, there should be 6 database records of meetings between supervisor and student.
Core and Generic Skills Training: Skills PortfolioSee relevant section in the 3 year PhD programme above. (NB. the taught components of the new route PhD comprise part of the training and skills portfolio)
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End of Year 1 Assessment(Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web)
Report: Eight calendar months after commencing their studies, each postgraduate research student must submit a 1,000 word report outlining the background to their research, methodology (to be used), results to date and expected future directions. They must also upload a separate report outlining progress (modules, credit weighting and examination results) on the taught element of their degree programme. The reports should be submitted on-line to the PGR-Web. The internal examiner and supervisor will complete the online annual review form. This must be completed within 11 months of the student commencing their postgraduate research.
End of Year 2 Assessment (Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web)
This will be identical format to the 1st year assessment for the full time 3 year PhD programme (i.e. report and viva voce examination) described above.
End of Year 3 Assessment(Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web)
This will be identical format to the 2nd year assessment for the full time 3 year PhD programme (i.e. poster and report) described above.
End of Year 4 Assessment(Deadline dates for each stage of the review process will be indicated on PGR-Web)
This will be identical format to the 3rd year assessment for the full time 3 year PhD programme (i.e. poster and report) described above
Skills Portfolio and Supervision Record Audit (All Years)The portfolio programme prescribes the expected skills acquisition to be achieved by the end of the research degree. An audit of this record and supervision meeting records will be a key part of each end of year assessment.
Assessment Process and OutcomesThese are identical to those described for the 3 year PhD programme
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Figure 1: Flowchart describing the process of full time PhD student monitoring, assessment and progression. (The preferred route is highlighted in black, alternate routes in red.)
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MRes DEGREE PROGRAMME
This is a one year programme consisting of two elements:
20 credits of non-assessed generic training. 160 credits of assessed work (up to 40 credits of taught modules and/or up to 140 credits
of research)
SupervisionSupervision requirements are essentially identical to those outlined for the full time 3 year PhD programme described above except that, as a minimum, there should be 6 database records of meetings between supervisor and student
Core and Generic Skills Training: Skills PortfolioA student registered for an MRes degree will be expected to keep a portfolio that will provide evidence of the requisite generic and taught skills acquisition. The non-assessed and assessed training courses should be chosen by the student in consultation with the supervisor(s) and should have a clear relevance to the general area of research.
Assessment
The student is required to undertake, and pass, all course work assessments and examinations associated with any subject specific taught modules taken. A report recording the taught and assessed components should be uploaded to the PGR-Web. The generic training courses will not be assessed. However, candidates need to record attendance in their report and on the Training Portfolio section of the PGR-Web.
The research project will be assessed by a dissertation of a maximum of 30,000 words. The dissertation will be examined by an external and one internal examiner. The student might be required to attend viva voce examination. The examiners should also be provided with a copy of the students Training Portfolio record, so that they are aware of the proportion of the student’s overall studies that the project represents, giving due regard to the sum of any taught modules undertaken.
The dissertation and Research Training Portfolio should be submitted via the School’s Postgraduate Research Administrator 11 calendar months following registration (22 months for part-time students). The Postgraduate Research Administrator will be responsible for arranging examination of the dissertation and Portfolio. The two examiners will then be responsible for determining whether or not the candidate has reached an overall standard worthy of the degree. In the event of a failure re-examination will be permitted in accordance with the degree regulations.
The entire assessment procedure, including the submission and examination of the dissertation, should be completed within one year for full time and within an equivalent period for part time students.
DM DEGREE PROGRAMME
The supervision, training and portfolio development and assessment methods are the same as those for the 3 year full-time PhD or 4-year part-time PhD programmes, described above.
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THE PORTFOLIO
The School of Molecular Medical Sciences is committed to providing its postgraduate research (PGR) students with the opportunity to gain essential and desirable generic and transferable skills training, in addition to acquiring leading edge discipline-specific skills and knowledge. To enable the student to benefit fully from the training and education available, the School has adopted a reflective portfolio approach to identifying training and skills needs and then meeting this need (where possible) by provision or access to the most appropriate training courses, workshops, “at-the-bench” instruction or placement. Details of some of the courses available, and how to reserve a place, can be found at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/events/training/index.php.
PLEASE NOTE, we do not operate a credit system, and no elements of either training course are compulsory. Instead, you are expected to demonstrate acquisition of the core compulsory skills as detailed on the School’s Postgraduate Research Student Database.
The School recognises that you will have different levels of baseline skills and understanding compared to others in your cohort and that you will have a unique training requirement. For this reason, your participation on the majority of courses is not mandatory. However, we do expect students to take advantage of the training on offer within the School, Faculty and University (Graduate School). Therefore, all PGR students registered in MOL will regularly reflect on their skills training acquisition and needs and review this with their supervisor during the requisite supervision meetings. There will also be an opportunity to review this with their internal assessor during the annual review process. Where a training need has been identified you will be expected to make the necessary efforts to enrol and participate on an appropriate course, workshop, placement etc. as appropriate.
The portfolio will be completed online via the School’s PGR-Web. This details a list of generic and subject-specific core and optional skills, against which you will claim competency by uploading supporting evidence, or more usually, evidences (e.g. course attendance certificates, work exemplifying the use / acquisition of the relevant skill etc.) that describe how the relevant skills have been acquired. The portfolio can then be reviewed during each supervision meeting and the student’s skills progression discussed and career development plan updated. The portfolio will help in CV writing, and can also be used during annual reviews and interviews etc. to demonstrate to assessors and prospective employers etc. skills acquired by them either before or during their research studies.
Whilst we expect students to take advantage of training and education offered locally this may not adequately meet all training needs. Therefore, participation on external courses, workshops and conferences is encouraged, although you will have to discuss with your supervisor ways in which participation at an external event can be funded.
Finally, it is expected that ALL students registered within the School will show competency in the entire core skills listed and described as “Generic Skills”. ALL students must have acquired these skills by the end of Year 2 (Year 3 for research programs greater than 3 years in length). A formal audit of the acquisition of training and skills will be carried out during each annual review.
We trust that you will benefit from the skills training available to you during your studies, and that the process of portfolio development will be a positive experience and help you develop reflective practice. However, if you have any comments to make on how the portfolio can be improved then please let your respective student representative or student advisor know!
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FACILITIES, RESOURCES AND POSTGRADUATE ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE SCHOOL
Facilities:The School does not have dedicated postgraduate social facilities, but coffee and tea making and canteen facilities etc. are available at each site. The School has a dedicated teaching facility located on A Floor, West Block, QMC site, which has a postgraduate student IT suite and several seminar and meeting/tutorial rooms that are available on a booking basis. If you wish to book any rooms, please contact the teaching facility co-coordinator based at QMC.
Resources:The School has well-equipped laboratories. Students requiring access to specialist equipment that is not available within their individual research group should direct their request to the relevant research group leader. Students have direct on-line access to a variety of electronic journals, as well as direct access to books, journals and periodicals in the University’s libraries.
The student portal is a very important means of communication and source of information. The School has set up a dedicated postgraduate research group, available to all postgraduate research students and academic staff. Notices of seminars, meetings etc. are posted here. In addition, internet links and files relevant to postgraduate research and study are also posted here. To access the Postgraduate Research Group, open the portal homepage (http://my.nottingham.ac.uk/cp/home/loginf) using any internet browser, look for the groups icon located in the top right hand corner of the title bar, click on groups then select the link for the Postgraduate Research Group.
School Postgraduate Research Day:This is scheduled to take place in either June or July each year, and all PGR students are expected to attend. This is a combined social and study event, during which current research degree students formally present their research findings to peers and staff within the School. Seminars and Research meetings:Various seminars and meetings are arranged at research group, Institute, School and Faculty level. You MUST attend at least 12 seminars per year (6 for PT students).
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Summary calendar of events/assessments for full-time PhD students (the timing of these activities will vary according to degree and registration status)
Month Activity Information for Molecular Microbiology Administrator
Month 1 – 3
Registration Agreement of research programme with
supervisor(s) Student to start attending PG courses and
seminars
Check student has registered Ensure student has received
School handbook, and relevant safety advice.
Month 3
Nomination of internal assessor for 1st year report (annual review on progress)
Academic member of staff – not the student’s supervisor or previously closely associated with the student’s studies.
Month8
Student submits 1st annual report on-line to the PGR-Web
Viva to be held with internal assessor (optional for MPhil students).
Proformas to be completed by student, internal assessor and supervisor
Month 10
The internal examiner and supervisor will complete the 1st year Review and Registration Status forms
Either i. confirm current registrationii. Action plan agreed iii. Alter PhD registration to
MPhiliv. Termination of studies
Month 20
Student submits (A4) poster together with updated version of the year 1 research paper to PGR-Web
Month 22
The internal examiner and supervisor will complete the 2nd year Review and Registration Status Review online via the PGR-Web.
Either i. confirm current registrationii. Action plan agreed iii. Alter PhD registration to
MPhiliv. Termination of studies
Month 24-26
Discuss composition of PhD thesis with supervisor(s)
Month 30-48
Write PhD thesis and submit to Medical Faculty
Appointment of examiners The viva voce examination Recommendation by examiners to award or
re-submit Graduation
Notification to submit form 1 internal & 1 external, form
to be completed
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APPENDIX 1: Sources of support for students
Pathways ProjectAn on-line resource developed to help students gain relevant general academic skills and training.http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pathways/
As part of this there is a site dedicated to helping International students adjust to the UK and to University life. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pathways/international_route_1
Centre for English Language Education Provision of English language training and support to international students.Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/cele/Tel: 0115 9514405
ChaplaincyTo provide advice and support to all members of the University community. Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chaplains/Tel: 0115 951 3930
Counselling ServiceCounselling offers a service to talk in confidence about problems that concern you.Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/counselling/Tel: 0115 9513695
International OfficePractical advice and support for all students whose home is outside the UK.Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/international/Tel: 0115 9515247
IT Supporthttp://www.nottingham.ac.uk/is/
Office for Disability IssuesThis office provides advice and support to students with a disability or long term chronic illness. Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/disability/Tel: 0115 9515766
Student ServicesProvides help and advice to students primarily in the area of financial support e.g. council tax exemption. Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/student-support/Tel: 0115 9515992/5108
Student Union Web address: http://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/postgrad/
Quality ManualA source on information for research students on supervision and monitoring of progress, annual reviews and appointment of examiners. Web address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/quality-manual/
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APPENDIX II
Services for students who have a disability, dyslexia and/or a long-term medical condition
The University of Nottingham is committed to promoting access for students who have a disability, dyslexia and/or a long-term medical condition. Services provided aim to enable students to fulfil the inherent requirements of the course as independently as possible.
The University’s Disability Plan for Students:2005-07, Disability Statement and [dis]Ability Directory, which lists all the provision available at the University, can be accessed from the Disability Policy Advisory Unit:HREF="http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/disability"What we need you to do ….It is your responsibility to ensure that the University is aware of your individual requirements. If you have a disability, specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) or long-term medical condition, you are urged to inform the School’s Disability Liaison Officer (see below) and/or your personal tutor. The School has a Disability Disclosure and Confidentiality Policy through which you can choose what level of disclosure you wish to authorise. You will be asked to sign a Disability Disclosure Form that either requests that information concerning your circumstances remains confidential between yourself and the staff member to whom you disclose or that authorises staff to share information on a need to know basis, in order to extend support to you. (Please see appendix for copies of these documents). Letting us know what you might need at an early stage will help us to help you. What we can offer you …..Once you contact your DLO or personal tutor you will be referred to Academic Support – with your permission as stated above. Academic Support, in Student Services, includes the Disability and Dyslexia Support teams, and offers a range of academic and practical support for all students. It incorporates a recognised ASSESSMENT Centre for those who wish to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances, carrying out the assessments required by your LEA or funding body. Academic Support is also responsible for making recommendations for alternative arrangements such as those required in examinations, assessments and for timetabling. Assistance can also be given with regard to queries about adapted accommodation and University provision of accessible transport.Contact details are: Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3710Fax: +44 (0) 115 951 4376 Minicom: +44 (0) 115 951 4378email: [email protected]: www.nottingham.ac.uk/asSchool Disability Liaison Officer (DLO)The DLO for the School of Molecular Medical Sciences is Mrs Jennie Phillips (Tel: 0115 823 0770, internal 30770, Fax 0115 823 0759, email: [email protected]). Students’ UnionThe Students' Union Students with Disabilities Association exists to represent the interests of students with disabilities at The University of Nottingham. Its aims are to promote equality of opportunity and to ensure that students with disabilities can participate in all aspects of University life. The association also provides information, support and advice as well as organising a range of social, sporting and other activities during the year. If you would like further information, want to join or get involved please contact us at:Tel: +44 (0) 115 846 8771Ext: 68771 (internal) email: [email protected]
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