Academic Manual 2024-25

The 2024-25 Academic Manual will be published in full on 1 September 2024.

This year, there will be very few major changes as we gear up to review the Academic Manual in its entirety over the next couple of years. Colleagues should not anticipate having to update much in the way of local sources of information or operation.

Some of the bigger changes are outlined below. In most cases, there will be additional, more detailed communications to follow.

Delayed Assessment Scheme

Education Committee has approved the introduction of the new Delayed Assessment Scheme which will replace the extenuating circumstances self-certification process from this September.

Each student has three permits, which they can use for pre-approved mitigation on three separate assessments within the academic year. Unlike self-certification, this is not an application process – students have the right to use their permit for any eligible assessment.

The Delayed Assessment Scheme is based on two guiding principles:

1. Empowering students to take control of their own workload management and removing short term anxiety in a limited number of circumstances.
2. Removing the significant administrative overhead that came with self-certification and rebuilding the status of evidenced extenuating circumstances.

For coursework style assessments, including dissertations, students could get a five working day extension. For exams and other set piece assessments, a deferral to the next normal occasion will be available. Students will not be able to use a Delayed Assessment Permit for group work.

Sign up to find out more at our Town Hall on Wednesday 18 September.

Introducing Student Partnership Committees

Building on the work done last year to radically reduce the centrally mandated business being pushed into our Staff-Student Committees (SSCCs), Council has now approved changing their name to Student Partnership Committees (SPCs). From September all departments will be expected to run at least one Student Partnership Committee covering all the department's UG and PGT programmes. This committee should meet 3 times a year and report to the Department Education Committee. Equivalent committees also need to be run for PGR students.

The Students’ Union, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Provost Education and Student Experience and Education Services will issue updated guidance and support resources for SPC Chairs and elected student Academic Representatives before the start of the year.

Changes to Taught Programme Withdrawal Procedures

Following the work done to enhance the withdrawal experience in Portico, two changes have been made to our regulations to improve the efficiency of the process:

1. Faculty approval for a withdrawal is no longer required. Faculties will continue to retain access to applications and will have the ability to run reports on withdrawals in their departments, but the final approval will be with the Department.
2. There is now a service level standard of ten days between an application being made and approval being given. This is to give students clarity on the length of time they should expect to wait for a response.

Changes to External Examining

For 2024-25, Education Committee has approved the following changes to the external examining regulations:

1. It has been confirmed that external examiners are responsible for providing assurance of standards at programme, and not individual module level.
2. The previous rule that external examiners must not have collaborated with staff or students on a programme in the last five years has been replaced. Exam Board Chairs are now responsible for assuring themselves that potential conflicts of interest have been identified and mitigated. 

For more information about these and other changes, please refer to the Recent Changes section of the Academic Manual, which has been updated for 2024-25. 

Contact details for further information: apqs@ucl.ac.uk