Programme handbook

Assessment during the first two years will be based on coursework. Each course will have at least one formative assessment, and one or more summative assignments.

• Formative assessments: these include assessed discussion contributions, blogs, journals, group presentations, etc. You will receive formative feedback on these which will help you prepare your summative assessment(s).
• Summative assessments: these include longer assignments, e.g. essays, reports, or groupwork tasks to be submitted at the end of the course.

Each course will have different methods of assessment and assessment criteria, and the weight of each assessment will vary from course to course. Examples of types of assessment include written reviews of literature/critiques of scientific articles, continual assessment, problem solving and statistical analyses in scientific methodology, report writing, designing a poster, submission of a dissertation. Information on the various methods of assessment will be provided in individual course handbooks.

Online activities and etiquette 

Online activities refer to work that is a direct interaction with the course materials, for example through the discussion board or a personal blog. The types of activities assessment will vary between courses. Online activities can sometimes be formative assessments, as the course tutors will provide feedback on your discussion contributions or other activities throughout the course.

Discussion board contributions

We are often asked exactly what is expected from a contribution to the discussion board.

We are looking for contributions which:

• demonstrate critical thinking in answering questions and issues raised by your colleagues and course tutors
• raise new issues and questions to stimulate thinking and generate relevant discussion
• bring new material to the debate (including appropriate referencing)
• demonstrate an ability to engage positively and constructively with your colleagues whilst debating difficult and sometimes controversial issues
• show frequent and regular engagement with the course topics and discussions
• are expressed with tact and respect towards your colleagues and course tutors

Although we accept that not all of you will be familiar with the conventions of online discussion forums, please try to develop existing threads and respond to existing posts by students if you are developing the same topic, and only start a new thread if you are starting a new discussion topic. In this way, our discussions are easier for everyone to follow and generate genuine debate and, hopefully, lively exchanges.

It is important that we all adhere to recognised guidelines for engaging in online debates. We will not tolerate inappropriate language and personal insults, and abusive remarks have absolutely no place in this programme. Although we encourage you to engage in general chat - an opportunity to get to know your colleagues and those working in similar disciplines but in often widely differing circumstance - please remember that not everyone has the same sense of humour and a remark which might be acceptable in your own setting may not necessarily be so elsewhere. On the other hand, we also ask everyone to be tolerant of what others might say - sometimes it is possible to take offence where no offence was intended and we need to use these experiences to enhance our learning across what is a truly global community.

The common room, or general chat, discussion forums are provided as a means for you to relax in the company of your study colleagues - nothing in these forums is graded, so use these areas as you wish!

Assignments

The format of assignments will vary by course and full details will be issued in advance in the individual course planners.

Although the assessment criteria will often vary between assignments, there are three core criteria which are important for all your work at postgraduate level:

• Constructing academic discourse: Is the assignment produced with careful attention to the quality of the writing and the skilful expression of ideas?
• Knowledge and understanding of concepts:  Does the assignment show critical thinking and a critical engagement with the concepts and/or theories introduced in the course?
• Knowledge and use of the literature: Have the relevant key references been used? Have other relevant sources been drawn on and coherently integrated into the analysis?

With each assignment you will be provided with instructions detailing what is expected from you and what the assessment criteria are.

Graduate attributes, personal and professional skills

Within the work to be undertaken this programme will provide course participants with the opportunity to develop or further develop key graduate attributes:

• In-depth knowledge of specialist discipline
• Develop new understanding by exercising critical judgement and challenging knowledge
• Be a self-directed and curious learner
• Solve problems effectively taking ethical, professional and environmental issues into account
• Use information responsibly in a range of contexts
• Engage in reflective practice and self-development
• Collaborate with others, capitalising on their different thinking, experience and skills
• Communicate (written, oral, online) effectively, respectful of social and cultural diversity
• Application of numeracy
• Application of IT