SCHOOL OF ARTS/ UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK 2016/17

The UK’s European university7

A PLACE TO INSPIRE / AN APPROACH TO CHALLENGE

CONTENTSWELCOME FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL 2

SCHOOL KEY CONTACTS 3

COMMUNICATIONS 3

FACILITIES AND RESOURCES 4

PROGRAMME AND MODULE INFORMATION 4

MODULE AVAILABILITY 4

MODULE REGISTRATION 5

MODULE AND DEGREE CHANGES 5

CHANGING SEMINAR GROUPS 5

SUSPENDING YOUR STUDIES/WITHDRAWING 5

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK 6

SCHOOL WIDE MARKING CRITERIA 7

SCHOOL WIDE GRADE DESCRIPTORS 9

FEEDBACK 11

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM 11

GENERAL STUDYING INFORMATION 12

HOW YOUR DEGREE RESULT IS CALCULATED 12

STUDY ABROAD AND PLACEMENT YEAR OPTIONS 12

STUDENT CHARTER AND UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS 12

SCHOOL OF ARTS STUDENT SUPPORT 13

APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS 18

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY 19

ACADEMIC ADVISORS 18

STUDENT REPRESENTATION 18

THINKING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE 20

HEALTH AND SAFETY 21

USEFUL LINKS 22

1

WELCOME FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL

Welcome to the University of Kent, if you are a new student in the School of Arts, and welcome back to those of you who are returning. You belong to an outward-looking, inclusive and highly engaged academic community. We are proud of our high teaching and research standards, and of what our graduates have achieved as a result of their commitment and contribution. We really hope that you will also take a genuine pride in being a member of this School, and we look forward to working with you as partners in continuing to develop Kent’s distinctive and innovative approach to the theory and practice of Drama, Film and History of Art.

This handbook provides you with essential information, guidelines, and advice which will help you through your time at University. We don’t expect you to memorise the content word for word but please check it through and keep it somewhere you can easily access it in future. From time to time policies and procedures will change. To ensure you have access to the most up-to-date information the School has created a ‘current students’ section on the website; see http://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/studentpages/index.html for further information.

Finally, whether as teachers and researchers, or as administrative and support staff, all of us within the School of Arts are committed to helping you get the very best from your time with us. If you experience problems or difficulties, please speak to us and we will do whatever we can to help you. On behalf of all academic and teaching staff in the School and all administrative and support colleagues, I hope that you have a highly rewarding, positive and engaging year.

Professor Martin Hammer (Head of School of Arts)

2

Martin Hammer Head Of School M.A.Hammer@kent.ac.uk

Nikki Denning Receptionist and PA to Head of School N.J.Denning@kent.ac.uk

Helen Czarnomski Undergraduate Programmes Co-ordinator (Drama) H.G.Czarnomski-8@kent.ac.uk

Jonathan Fryer Student Experience Manager J.M.Fryer@kent.ac.uk

Will Forrest Health & Safety / Technical Support Manager W.Forrest@kent.ac.uk

Emma Bowles Undergraduate Programmes Co-ordinator (Film and History of Art) E.Bowles@kent.ac.uk

Sue Sherwood Student Support Co-ordinator S.C.Sherwood@kent.ac.uk

Aimee Dash Student Support Coordinator (Student Success) A.Dash@kent.ac.uk

Jacqui Double Student Support Officer J.Double@kent.ac.uk

Jo Pennock Acting School Administration Manager J.R.Pennock@kent.ac.uk

Rosie Klich Head of Drama R.E.Klich@kent.ac.uk

Cecilia Sayad Head of Film C.Sayad@kent.ac.uk

Michael Newall Head of History of ArtM.B.Newall@kent.ac.uk

Lawrence Jackson Senior Tutor L.G.G.Jackson@kent.ac.uk

SCHOOL KEY CONTACTS

COMMUNICATIONSPlease use your Kent email throughout your time at University. A lot of email handling programs will enable you to add this account to your generic inbox, and mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops should be able to digest this easily. The University offers free Wi-Fi on campus using the Eduroam network. We only email to your University email so it is imperative that you check this often and hook it up to your devices where applicable to ensure you are not missing information that is crucial to your study.Documentation concerning IT and FAQs are available online: www.kent.ac.uk/itservices/email/The Student Guide is your essential guide to the Kent student experience, make sure you book mark this in your favourites!Don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter @UniKentArts and ‘Like’ us on Facebook!We also publish a regular student bulletin which will fill you in on happenings around the school.You can find us on our official website by following this link: www.kent.ac.uk/artsWe have a dedicated web page for current students, see www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-studentS

Calling all returning students!Make sure you attend the Welcome Back meeting on Wednesday 28th September. This is your opportunity to find out about improvements for the forthcoming academic year. For further details please consult your timetable.

FACILITIES & RESOURCESYour base at the University as an Arts student is the Jarman Building. Packed out with subject-specif-ic resources and state of the art technologies, this building houses your admin team, your academic staff, student support, two seminar rooms, a gallery, two large drama rehearsal studios with control rooms, a sound studio, a film studio, several edit suites, an open bank of PCs with a printer for student use, and social areas to take a load off or even study in!For more details on what resources are actually available to you specifically for your subject, see your subject handbook.For information regarding IT and Library services across campus, including the availability of PCs please see: www.kent.ac.uk/itservices/pcs/

PROGRAMME & MODULE INFORMATIONThe School of Arts offers the following Undergraduate Programmes:

Programme Title Owning SubjectBA Drama and Theatre (SH and JH) Drama and TheatreMDrama Drama and TheatreFilm (SH and JH) FilmArt History (SH and JH) History of ArtHistory and Philosophy of Art (SH and JH) History of ArtArt and Film History of ArtVisual and Performed Art History of Art

There is the opportunity to add a Year/ Term Abroad or Year in Industry to any of these programmes. If you are interested in doing so please speak to your Academic Adviser in the first instance.

Official ‘Programme Specifications’ which define what we do, what we offer, and what you can expect from your programme are held on the Faculty website. For further particulars please visit www.kent.ac.uk/humanities/studying/programmes

In addition, there are similar official documents for each module we offer, which state the correlation between module outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment activities. You can find official speci-fications for all current modules at www.kent.ac.uk/humanities/studying/modules

MODULE AVAILABILITYAfter the winter vacation you will be invited to attend the School of Arts Module Fair where information will be available on the modules running in the forthcoming academic year. You will have a few weeks to consider your options and plan the next stage of study. The Faculty of Humanities Undergraduate Office publishes online Programme Handbooks which can be viewed at www.kent.ac.uk/hsugo/handbooks/humanities-2.html From these, you can establish which modules are running, which you may take an interest in.

4

MODULE REGISTRATIONDuring the Spring Term you will be asked to complete Module Registration for the following academic year. Full instructions will be made available to all students at the Module Fair, there is also online advice and guidance, please see: www.kent.ac.uk/hsugo/omr/stage2.html

MODULE AND DEGREE CHANGESIf you would like to change modules you should contact the appropriate Undergraduate Programmes Coordinator in the first instance. Where possible we will try and accommodate your request but please note that some modules can only accept a limited number of students and therefore you may be placed on a waiting list.If you think you would like to change degree programmes you should contact your Academic Adviser in the first instance to discuss the options available to you. Your Academic Adviser will then put you in contact with the Student Experience Manager who will be able to guide you through the process.

CHANGING SEMINAR GROUPSIf you would like to change seminar groups you should contact the appropriate Undergraduate Programmes Coordinator in the first instance. Where possible we will try and accommodate your request but please note this may not always be possible owing to classroom sizes or timetable restrictions. If you need to change seminar groups it is always best to let us know at the earliest opportunity.

SUSPENDING YOUR STUDIES/WITHDRAWING

It is important that you seek help if you are experiencing problems with your studies or issues personally which are impacting on your work or wellbeing. You could talk to a seminar leader or module convenor, your academic advisor or Jacqui Double, the Student Support Officer. If you seek a period of intermission you are strongly advised to check the financial consequences with your sponsors and speaking with the Financial Aid Office or Kent Union Student Advice Centre will help you understand the financial implications of intermission. If you are considering suspending or withdrawing from your studies please make an appointment to see the School of Arts Student Support Officer, Jacqui Double. You will be offered guidance and support throughout the process. For further information please see www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/guidance/intermission_procedures.html.

SUSPENDING YOUR STUDIES/WITHDRAWING

SUBMITTING YOUR WORKThe deadlines for submitting written coursework will be published on the module Moodle page, these deadlines are non-negotiable. If you miss a deadline your work will not be accepted and you will auto-matically be awarded a mark of zero. If you have a serious medical or personal problem that causes you to miss a deadline or to submit your work late, you should apply for a concession – see the Stu-dent Support section for details of how to do this.

You MUST submit your work properly, in accordance with the following regulations:• All written coursework must be submitted electronically via Moodle. An automatic on-line receipt will be issued to you when you upload your essay which you must keep for your records. Sub mission of written coursework by email is not acceptable. We need you to submit your work via Moodle to allow us to put it through plagiarism detection software called Turnitin.

• All written coursework must include a completed cover sheet. Assignment cover sheets are available on every module Moodle page. The cover sheet should form the first page of any assignment you submit. Please ensure you accurately complete the cover sheet prior to submission.

• All written coursework must include the word count on the cover sheet. The word count refers to the body of the essay, including quotations and footnotes, but excluding essay title, bibliogra-phy and appendices. 10% deviation up or down is fine. (i.e. for a 2000 word essay the word count is expected to fall between 1800-2200 words), any more significant deviation is very likely to be penalized and result in a lower mark.

• Essays must be submitted before MIDDAY on the day of the deadline.

• All practical coursework which cannot be submitted electronically will need to be handed in at Jarman Reception before MIDDAY on the day of the deadline. You will be given a date-stamped receipt as proof of submission.

Please note it will state on the Module Moodle page if the work needs to be submitted in hard copy.

6

SCHOOL WIDE MARKING CRITERIA

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS (ESSAYS) Coursework is assessed in various forms of writing, including essays, dissertations, portfolios, reviews and reports. “Portfolio“ may refer to a range of quite different forms of submission, which will be assessed in different ways. To avoid confusion amongts the students we suggest to distinguish these different types of portfolios and consistently refer to them under different names. We are aware of:a) Portolios that contain and assemble a range of smaller pieces of creative and/or practical work: several drawings, theatre reviews, short film scripts etc.: we could call these creative portfoliob) Portfolios that assemble and document previous creative work and have the purpose of provid-ing critical analyise and self-reflection: we could call these reflective portfolioc) Portfolios that contain and assemble a range of smaller pieces of academic writing: we could call these research portfolio]

Reference to each will be made in the relevant sections below.

Students’ written work (essay, research portfolios) will be assessed with regard to the following qualities.1. Research and Understanding: Students will be marked according to their ability• to identify and productively work with appropriate research sources, discriminating between primary and secondary sources;• to assess the reliability of source material; • to synthesize information while avoiding overdependence;• to demonstrate the independence of thought demonstrated in their approach.

2. Argument, Analysis and Structure: Students will be marked according to their ability• to present, sustain and conclude a complex argument based on a secure grasp of source data and to draw reasoned and logical conclusions;• to give their writing a clear and coherent structure;• to go beyond description to analysis;• to identify issues with precision;• to communicate clearly and with focused relevance, avoiding vague and unsupported generalities.

3. Writing and Presentation: Students will be marked according to their ability• to write clearly, succinctly and accurately• to adhere to academic conventions for formatting written work;• to adhere to standards of punctuation, spelling, and grammar;• to use accurate referencing according to the School’s referencing guidelines.

7

PRESENTATIONS1. Research and Understanding: Students will be marked according to their ability• to identify, and productively work with, appropriate research sources, discriminating between primary and secondary sources;• to assess the reliability of source material; • to synthesise information while avoiding overdependence;• to show originality in their approach.

2. Coherence and Structure: Students will be marked according to their ability• to present, sustain and conclude an argument, based on a secure grasp of source data, and to draw reasoned and logical conclusions;• to articulate their thoughts within a clear, coherent structure;• to go beyond description to analysis;• to identify issues with precision;• to communicate clearly and with focused relevance, avoiding vague and unsupported generalities.

3. Presentation: Students will be marked according to their ability• to adhere to academic conventions for research presentations (this may include articulacy, prepareness, engagement with the audience, appropriateness of tone and tempo etc.);• to make productive use of visual aids where appropriate;• to provide references where the intellectual properties of others (quotations, images etc.) are used.

CREATIVE PRACTICEPractical and creative work in the School of Arts comes in many forms: acting, filming, curating, editing, performing, directing, devising, design, scriptwriting, technical work, etc. It may be presented in differ-ent forms e.g. performances, screenings, exhibitions or creative portfolios. Depending on the nature of the practical or creative work being assessed, the criteria will be inflected differently; and in any particular project the relative importance of each criterion may be different. The level of achievement in each of the four areas differs depending on which year you are in, as indicated below. Your practical and creative work will be assessed with regard to the following qualities, as appropriate, which may be weighted differently according to discipline and module: 1. Ideas. Students will be assessed accoring to• the quality of practical and creative ideas behind the work; • the quality of imagination at work; • and possibly innovation and taking artistic risks.

2. Coherence: Students will be assessed accoring to• the coherence, organisation and structuring of the work, which should be appropriate to the aims of the project.

3. Understanding. Students will be assessed accoring to• The level of understanding as shown in the work. Depending on the particular project, this may include: an intellectual understanding of the work; an understanding of social, historical, cultural and/or performance context; awareness of relevant practitioners and/or theorists.

4. Skills: Students will be assessed accoring to • their demonstrable skills as appropriate to the project. These may include voice work, camera work, editing abilities, physical work, engagement with the audience, presence, improvisation, directing skills, craft skills, technical skills, modelling, computer aided design, creative writing skills, ability to adapt existing texts, etc. 8

SEMINAR PARTICIPATIONSeminar participation will be marked based on the quality and consistency of the students’ contribu-tions and preparations for seminars. This will be assessed by regular tasks, such as a logbook, reflec-tive portfolio or a regular short written response to a reading task. Seminar leader will look in particular for:

1. Quality of contributions: do the student’s contributions and/or responses to tasks demonstrate in-depth understanding, proactiveness and independence of thought?2. Consistency of Engagement: are the student’s contributions and/or responses to tasks of a continuously high standard?3. Groupwork: where appropriate, does the student demonstrate the ability to constructively work within a group, finding a balance between being too dominant or too passive. Does the student support others in achieving their goals?4. Development: do the student’s contributions and/or responses to tasks show that their abilities, skills and knowledge are developing and improving?

SCHOOL WIDE GRADE DESCRIPTORS

FIRST CLASS/DISTINCTION [72, 75, 78, 85, 95, 100]Marks in this category will be awarded for work that is excellent or even outstanding. In the lower range, the work will be very good in all aspects, and excellent in many, demonstrating deep knowledge, and a secure grasp of complex material. It will be intelligently and inventively framed as a coherent, sophisticated argument, effectively constructed, and eloquently presented. It will explore a range of appropriate material beyond that offered in classes, showing an awareness of problems and questions. In the upper range, the work will be of exceptional quality and will put forward complex and original ideas in the context of a clear and perceptive argument, deploying with rigour, responsiveness and confidence a wide range of resources and supporting material. The argument will be constructed with precision, displaying critical awareness, and advancing and/or challenging knowledge and understanding, and it will be excellently presented and communicated. The very best work in this cate-gory will demonstrate outstanding qualities in all aspects. It will show the excellence of written work that may be considered for publication and/or used in the professional context.

For practical and/or creative work first class marks will be awarded for work that is of excellent or even outstanding quality, imaginative, conceptually strong, engaging and sustained and fully articulated by making excellent use of considerable skills and strengths of the individual or the group.

UPPER SECOND CLASS/ MERIT [62, 65, 68]Work marked in this category will demonstrate very good qualities, with a well-constructed, insightful argument that is appropriately informed by strong research, with an appropriate range of sources and analytical approaches. It shows a clear knowledge and an appropriate awareness of contexts, and is attentively and persuasively presented, showing some minor faults in language, spelling, and academic format. Work in the lower range of this category will still be very good, but with some aspects which are more typically found in Lower Second Class work. In contrast work in the upper range will include some first class aspects, but not consistently enough to warrant the higher category.

For practical and/or creative work upper second class marks will be awarded for work that is of very good quality, and in most aspects imaginative, conceptually strong, mostly engaging and sustained and articulated to a large extent by making very good use of considerable skills and strengths of the individual or the group.

LOWER SECOND CLASS/ PASS [52, 55, 58]Marks in this category will be awarded for clear and solid work that displays good qualities in all aspects, and is mostly satisfactory. The work will show some analytical understanding and some sound knowledge, while it may be somewhat restricted in being descriptive rather than analytical, relying on obvious sources and not engaging with more complex aspects. While properly presented, there may be a few faults in the presentation. Work in the lower range of this category will still be good, but with some aspects which are more typically found in Third Class work. In contrast work in the upper range will include some Upper Second Class aspects, but not consistently enough to warrant the higher category.

For practical and/or creative work lower second class marks will be awarded for work that is of good quality, and in many but not all aspects imaginative, conceptually sound. This work will be engaging in some parts but not sustained and articulated throughout. It will make good use of an appropriate range of skills and strengths of the individual or the group, but will also show some weaknesses and flaws in its execution.

THIRD CLASS/ PASS [42, 45, 48]Work marked in this category is satisfactory and adequately achieves some of the objectives. On the lower range of the scale, most aspects may only be poorly developed or the work will show consider-able flaws; at the upper end, there will be evidence of solid work in some regards. The work will show reasonable knowledge, but be presented lacking clarity, coherence or focus, demonstrating only a limit-ed analytical approach and a simple argument. It will lack proper supporting evidence, and may contain a number of errors in linguistic and academic standards. It may also be poorly presented, not adhering to conventions and/or grammar.

For practical and/or creative work third class marks will be awarded for work that is of adequate quali-ty, and only in some aspects imaginative and conceptually sound. This work will not be very engaging and will lack consistency and articulation. It will make satisfactory use of an appropriate range of skills and contain some strengths of the individual or the group, while showing considerable weaknesses and flaws in its execution.

FAIL [0, 10, 20, 32, 35, 38]Work marked in this category will not meet the objectives of the relevant assignment as detailed in the Module Handbook, and the qualifications appropriate for the relevant level of studies. The work may not engage with or misunderstand the topic, without a sufficiently developed argument, and contain inaccurate or unsophisticated knowledge, and/or omit vital aspects, demonstrating insufficient research and lacking academic investigation. It may also be under or over length, and be poorly presented, not adhering to conventions and/or grammar. In the upper range, there will be some but limited evidence of skills; whereas in the lower range the work will be very poor, showing minimal achievement with regards to the objectives and relevant level qualifications. A mark of 0 will be awarded for non-submission by the deadline, and possibly for work that has been found to contain plagiarism.

For practical and/or creative work a fail will be awarded for work that is of insuffient quality. It will lack imagination and be conceptually flawed and confused. This work will fail to engage, will be inconsistent and not adequately articulated. It will make unsatisfactory use of skills and will be marred by considerable weaknesses and flaws in its execution by the individual or the group.

10

FEEDBACKFor every piece of work you submit, you will receive written feedback via the Turnitin assessment link. This should tell you what was good about your work, the areas where it was less successful and suggestions about how to improve your work. It will always refer to the published Assessment Criteria. You should read this carefully; understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your work is an important part of the learning process, and it should help you to do better next time.If your Tutor has marked your work electronically you can access the feedback directly through Moodle. For instructions on how to review feedback through Grade Mark please see www.kent.ac.uk/elearning/turnitin/viewing-grademark.html For each module, you will receive one-to-one feedback for your work. In some cases, this will take the form of a short meeting (normally lasting about 15 minutes) in which you will meet with the lecturer in charge of your seminar group and discuss a piece of assessed written work which you have submitted. In more practical modules, you might get one-to-one feedback on your creative work from your work-shop leader as part of the ongoing, week-by-week class discussion. In both cases, one-to-one feed-back should help you to understand how to develop and improve your work.

AVOIDING PLAGIARISMAcademic integrity is the attitude of approaching your academic work honestly, by completing your own original work, attributing and acknowledging your sources when necessary and not relying on dishon-est means to gain advantage. • Plagiarism and cheating reduces the value of the work you hand in for assessment and the value of your time spent at university. • The University must keep records of plagiarism and may be required to include this information in employment or academic references.

Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s words, ideas or writings as your own without acknowl-edgement and is something you certainly want to avoid. You can avoid plagiarism by following good academic practice, which involves using correct academic referencing. The aim of referencing is to:• acknowledge your sources by using appropriate referencing.• demonstrate your reading and understanding of the relevant subject matter to the tutor.

Using another person’s work in a way which may mislead or deceive your reader is plagiarism, whether you deliberately intend to deceive or not. • Correct referencing will help you avoid accusations of plagiarism in your work. The correct format for referencing depends on the style recommended by your department or lecturer. Check with your tutor or lecturer and use the referencing style guides• If you read, study or use any other work in your assignment, you must clearly show who wrote the original work. This is called referencing and correct referencing will help you to avoid accusations of plagiarism.• You must reference exact quotations, summaries and paraphrases of source material. For fur-ther information see Working with text-based sources

The University does not accept plagiarism or duplication of material and imposes severe penalties if it occurs in coursework, dissertations, projects, examinations and theses. Suspected cases of plagiarism are reported to the Senior Tutor in the School of Arts and your mark will be withheld until further investi-gation has taken place. Further information on improving your academic and study skills can be found at www.kent.ac.uk/ai/students/

GENERAL STUDYING INFORMATIONThe School Of Arts belongs to the Faculty of Humanities. The Faculty has an Undergraduate Office which provides support and advice on a range of issues. For more information please see: www.kent.ac.uk/humanities/undergraduate

HOW YOUR DEGREE RESULT IS CALCULATED

To learn how we work out your degree result, please seewww.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/credit-framework/creditinfo.html#classification

STUDY ABROAD AND PLACEMENT YEAR OPTIONSThe School Of Arts gives you the opportunity to study abroad and/or to take a year in industry. To find out more about the Placement Year please visit: www.kent.ac.uk/humanities/studying/placementTo find out where in the world you can study during a term or year abroad please visit:www.kent.ac.uk/goabroad/ If you are in Stage 2 and would like to find out more about either of these options there will be an information session taking place at 1pm on Wednesday of Week 2 (8th October) in Jarman 1.

STUDENT CHARTER AND UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS

The Student Charter specifically addresses the needs and expectations of student members of the University and, in doing so, it also refers to the activities of staff and to the obligations students and staff have to each other. For the purposes of this Charter a student is defined as an individual who is registered on a programme of study normally leading, if successfully completed, to the award of a qualification of the University.The Charter relates both to the University’s academic activities and to non-academic matters whichmay affect students.You can read the Student Charter and other regulations for students at www.kent.ac.uk/regulations

12

SCHOOL OF ARTS STUDENT SUPPORTWe may all need help from time to time with our studies or wider life and for lots of different reasons, some large and others small. Your help within the School Of Arts starts with the Student Support Team, made up of the Student Support Officer and Student Support Coordinators and found in the Jarman Building. The team are friendly, non-judgemental and confidential and are there to help you, involve teaching staff in your support where agreed with you or to direct you to a more specialist service for whatever problems life or your studies throw at you.

The Student Support Officer is available to you in a drop-in session on Monday and Wednesday 12-3pm or Thursday 10am-1pm during the term or by appointment outside these times or out of term. The Student Support Coordinators are available to answer queries throughout the working day, between 8.30 am (Monday – Wednesday) or 9am (Thursday and Friday) to 5pm in and out of term.

It may be that you have received support with your studies when in school or college and know you have a disability or on-going condition that we can support you with. If this is the case, you are expect-ed to register with either Student Support (https://www.kent.ac.uk/studentsupport/) or Student Wellbe-ing (https://www.kent.ac.uk/studentwellbeing/), making up the Student Support and Wellbeing Team (SSW). They will write an Inclusive learning Plan (ILP) which will detail the support and reasonable ad-justments that the School of Arts and other University Services should make to assist with your learn-ing. This is formally agreed with the Student Support Officer on behalf of the School of Arts and shared with the teaching staff on each module you take through the Student Data System (SDS) to ensure support is ongoing throughout your degree.

However, it may only be whilst you are here at University that you consider you have some need for support or adjustment which has not been previously identified or you did not act on when younger. If this is the case, Student Support and Wellbeing offer screening services and appointments to identify any specific issues, help you apply for any necessary support funding and begin the process of creat-ing an Inclusive Learning Plan. The Student Support team in the School of Arts fully understand this process and can guide you through it if you have any concern that this may apply to you.

We can also help with support for your academic work. Perhaps you find essay writing difficult or hav-en’t submitted written work for a while. Maybe you feel uncomfortable giving presentations in class or have been unwell and it has impacted on your weekly reading or seminar diary. We will endeavour to help make adjustments within the School of Arts where this is possible and academically acceptable. Typically this will be through referral to some wider on-campus support (for example the Student Learn-ing Advisory Service) or through the Concession system described below. .

For more information please see www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/supportYou’d be surprised how many students wish they had come to see us sooner: don’t struggle on alone when someone is waiting to help.

13

THE CONCESSIONS SYSTEMThe Concession System is the process we use in the School of Arts to support you when something has impacted your coursework or other assessments whilst you study. It can allow us to take an action at the time of the problem (for example, rescheduling an in-class assessment or agreeing an extension to a submission of coursework deadline) or it can be a way to look back after the fact to some serious circumstance that impacted your work during the academic year.

The Concessions System is described fully by the University of Kent in Annex 9 of The Credit Frame-work. Students experiencing exceptional circumstances, who fail to attend or perform to their best in examinations or fail to submit or perform to their best in coursework are able to ask for concessionary action to be taken at the time or after the fact. Such requests are only ever considered if due procedure has been followed; forms completed as necessary and strong supporting evidence of the concession provided to the Student Support Office in the School of Arts or the Humanities and Social Sciences Undergraduate Office (HSUGO).

A Faculty Concession is used when you fail to submit coursework or attend an assessment, if you fail to attend an exam or when your overall performance has been affected by concessionary factors. The Student Support Officer can guide you through any application for Faculty Concession and offer ad-vice on evidence or necessary information by request. You will need to complete a Faculty Concession Form, available electronically or in hard copy and submitted to Student Support in the School of Arts prior to the deadline, usually at least 1 week in advance of Exam Boards.

The University does not normally consider medical certificates for long-standing controlled conditions, or self-limiting illnesses, as mitigation for impaired performance. Affected students are expected to have had the benefit of experience, medical knowledge or help to control the condition, and should have registered with the University of Kent’s Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW) and have in place an Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) which will have identified measures to support their studies.

The School of Arts also has an established process to apply for Coursework Extensions due to strong mitigating factors or as an adjustment stated in a student’s Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP). Any student experiencing exceptional problems beyond normal difficulties can apply for an extension to the original due date of their coursework submission, though they should consider the clear circumstances below which are expressly not considered concessionary (taken from the University of Kent Credit Frame-work: Annex 9: Concessions Applications and Appeals against Recommendations of Boards of Exam-iners):

o Completing coursework too late and missing deadlines because of computer or transport difficulties. o Losing work not backed up on computer disk. o Failure to make alternative travel plans in the face of known disruptions. o Normal employment commitments. o Failing to read an examination timetable correctly.

Application for an Extension to a coursework deadline must be made in person and/or in writing BE-FORE the deadline set for that submission. Typically we expect the request to be made before 5pm on the preceding working day except in unavoidable crisis circumstances. This allows us time to process your request and inform administrative and teaching staff that your work will be submitted at a later date before noon as per your usual submission arrangements. Typically we ask students to complete an electronic form with necessary information to process your application and we will confirm your extension by email, copying in your Module Convenor, Seminar Leader and Subject Coordinator. An extension is only confirmed when this confirmation email is received. In some cases the Student Sup-port Officer will need to see you personally to assess your request for a submission deadline extension. 14

Circumstances where a student can request a Coursework Extension may include having an Individual Learning Plan that states flexibility to deadlines as a requirement; a temporary illness or incapacitat-ing medical condition (supported by robust medical evidence); or having suffered the death or serious illness of a parent or very close family member. This is not an exhaustive list and each request will be assessed individually. Other reasons may also be given but would need to be supported by evidence. The Student Support Officer or Coordinator can help you identify what evidence you can provide. If in doubt, come and ask in one of the Student Support drop-in sessions.

We do not grant extensions after the noon submission deadline for coursework has passed. A submis-sion uploaded only a few minutes after the noon deadline will still be flagged as late in the same way that a submission hours late will be flagged on Moodle. The School of Arts will particularly not tolerate on-going repeat late submissions and will regard this as a ‘non-submission’ and award a mark of 0. Students are monitored for non-submissions of coursework through the Academic Diligence Procedure. All students with non-submissions are referred to the School of Arts Senior Tutor. If we are alerted in Student Support to a late submission after the deadline, your work may be marked if submitted within 5 days of the deadline to allow feedback to be given to support improvement on your next submissions but no mark will be given unless you are able to successfully apply for Faculty Concession and provide robust evidence which will be assessed at the end of the academic year through the Exam Board.

All enquiries about adjustments to in-class presentations and other coursework, including practical assessments, should be made to the Student Support Officer in person. Any such requests for adjust-ment will be processed in the same way as for an extension, including a formal request in writing and supported by an ILP requirement or robust evidence. Any such adjustments will be confirmed by email to the Module Convenor and Seminar Leader and will only be agreed where a student is experiencing exceptional circumstances or has an ILP.

The Concessionary Process is managed and agreed by the Student Support Team. Individual requests for concession cannot be agreed by academic staff, seminar leaders or lecturers though they are con-sulted by Student Support as part of the process. In this way we ensure parity of adjustment across the School of Arts, individual assessment of each case and fair handling of all your requests for conces-sion.

For more information about the concessions process please consult the Faculty of Humanities website www.kent.ac.uk/humanities/undergraduate

15

ATTENDANCEIn general, the School of Arts expects its students to abide by the following from the Student Charter:• To pursue diligently such studies as are required of you by those assigned to teach you. This

includes reading material and undertaking prescribed learning activities, including attending lec-tures, tutorials, seminars, classes and other opportunities provided for learning

• To fulfil the academic requirements of your programme of study, including preparation for classes and seminars, the submission of work by published deadlines, and attendance at examinations

• To be diligent in your attendance and punctuality and to notify the University when you have to be absent through illness or other good reason

Our aim is to help ensure that you gain the most possible from your studies with us.

For this academic year, the School of Arts will be complying with the Academic Diligence Procedure set out by the senate and applied to all Faculties across the University of Kent. The process can be found here www.kent.ac.uk/fso/procedures/academic-diligence

Academic Diligence is the expectation on students to attend every timetabled session provided for their modules and to submit all assessments associated with their modules. Any student found to miss a whole week of their timetabled sessions or to fail to submit coursework or attend an examination will be contacted by Student Support with an appointment for the following week to see the Senior Tutor, Lawrence Jackson. If, within that week, the student contacts Student Support and offers a reasonable explanation and evidence for this absence the meeting will be cancelled, unless the Senior Tutor feels the meeting will still be useful.

In the School of Arts, support is managed by the Student Support Officer in conjunction with academic staff. The Academic Diligence Procedure, which includes issues with Non-submission of Coursework and Attendance problems, is managed by the School of Arts Senior Tutor. In our experience, issues with attendance or engagement may be caused by an on-going support issue or by a problem with academic discipline for the student. Any student being seen under the Senior Tutor Academic Diligence Process who is thought to have a support issue would be introduced to the Student Support Officer for advice and referral to specialised wider services on-campus.

The Student Support Office monitors your weekly attendance at timetabled sessions for each of your modules and will contact you if your attendance or non-submission of coursework gives cause for concern. They also monitor individual student attendance percentages in weeks 4, 8 and 12 (autumn term) and weeks 16, 20 and 24 (spring term), reacting to attendance that falls below 75% at that time. If you have an Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) or if you have already seen or contacted Student Support and told us of an on-going issue impacting your work or attendance, you will be offered a meeting with the Student Support Officer in the first instance. We may seek collaboration with Student Support and Wellbeing to understand what further actions could be taken by the student, the School of Arts or the wider Support Services to better facilitate your attending (further information on registering with the Student Support and Wellbeing Services can be found at www.kent.ac.uk/student/support-and-wellbe-ing/). This may include your attendance and attainment being monitored through the Support to Study Procedure if the Student Support Officer and Senior Tutor feel your attendance issues are impacting on your academic progress or practical group work.

Student Support also encourages academic staff to refer students if they feel concerned about their attendance, behaviour or engagement with their timetabled sessions or assessments on the module. In such cases Student Support will contact the student directly and offer an appointment, hopefully be-fore the Academic Diligence process identifies an issue. Students are welcome to refer themselves to Student Support and let us know if they feel there is an on-going issue we should be aware of. Student Support may suggest other on-campus services which could help or, with your permission, would let teaching staff know if your engagement may continue to be impacted. 16

The Academic Diligence Procedure using the monitoring tools set out above, includes 3 separate stag-es involving the Senior Tutor, Head of School and Dean of Humanities for students who have on-going and unchanging issues with attendance and non- submission of assessments. At each stage there is the opportunity to meet the required attendance and submission standards expected by the School of Arts and halt the procedure. Stage 3 would include a recommendation from the Head of School to the Dean of Faculty that a student be withdrawn from their studies. There is the opportunity to appeal at stage 2 and 3 of the procedure as well as every opportunity to take up wider on-campus support to improve Academic Diligence at any point.

Attendance levels will impact your attainment on our modules in the School of Arts and so may also impact on any Scholarships or requests for Study Abroad that you wish to apply for. Most references from employers now specifically ask for attendance levels to be given. The amount of absence on your record can only be adjusted by requesting absence is authorised.

We will only authorise absence with medical or other strong evidence. You should consider authorising absence if:• you are absent for a whole week for legitimate reasons (see below)• your absence directly impacts an assessment or group work• you are already under scrutiny for attendance with the Senior Tutor in the School of Arts under the

Academic Diligence Procedure

When recording attendance at timetabled classes, you will be either marked present or absent. If you are absent but believe you have a legitimate reason for not attending, then you can apply for the ab-sence to be recoded as an authorised absence. An authorised absence will be recorded if the student’s reason fits within one of the categories set out in the table below and the student provides timely and credible evidence for their absence. Timeliness will be defined as within 5 working days of the absence. Credibility of the evidence will be judged by the authenticity, detail and legitimacy of the provider of the evidence.

Medical, Bereavement, Personal• We use medical letters from GPs or the on-campus Nursing Services for evidence of illness (please

only request medical evidence if unwell for more than 3 days and you have seen the appropriate medical service whilst you remain ill).

• We use Death Certificates, Order of Service etc. for bereavement when wishing to attend the funer-al (if this impacts an assessment you should plan to see Student Support Officer prior to the dead-line in these cases).

• Other personal issues requiring evidence can be advised by meeting with the Student Support Of-ficer.

Interview • Students, particularly Final Year, may be required to attend job interviews/assessment centres for

post-graduation employment. Formal letters on headed notepaper requesting attendance at in-terview will be needed to authorise such absences. We will call to check using named contacts in letters.

Other• Decided on an individual basis, you will need to see Student Support Officer for direction and ev-

idence which may be produced if you feel you have legitimate reasons for other absence to be authorised.

Tier 4 Visa students should also note that the University is obliged to monitor and report your attend-ance, and that failure to attend lectures and seminars could result in your being reported to the UK Borders Agency. This could ultimately affect your right to remain in the UK. For further information see www.kent.ac.uk/studentimmigration/during-your-studies/visa-responsibilities

17

OTHER SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN THE UNIVERSITYWe have a lot of supporting services, systems and documents designed to make your time with us as pleasant and rewarding as possible. Why not take a look here to get the ball rolling: www.kent.ac.uk/student/support-and-wellbeing/

APPEALS AND COMPLAINTSTo find out how to make an official complaint or appeal please see the Procedures section on the School of Arts website: www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/school-proceduresThere is also general University guidance available at www.kent.ac.uk/fso/appeals

To let us know of your absence through illness or other good reason, you can email the Support team using the address below or complete the School of Arts Absence Form (available at www.kent.ac.uk/arts/studentsupport) which should be sent to artsstudentsupport@kent.ac.uk within a week of the missed session/s.

Please note, you are expected to arrive at your timetabled session in a timely manner and ready to par-ticipate fully in the session. Late arrival disrupts the staff members leading the session, other students taking part in the session and your own engagement with that session. If you arrive at your timetabled sessions over 15 minutes late, you will be marked as absent and asked to contact Student Support. You should let us know as soon as possible if your timetable makes timely movement between ses-sions problematic or if your Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) has requirements for timetabling or movement between sessions that we can better support

You are expected to inform the University if you are going to be off-campus for any length of time. This is particularly important if the absence from the campus leads you to miss a submission deadline due to internet connectivity issues as this may not be covered by our Concessionary Process (see above)You can see a summary of your Attendance Record on the Student Guide. This displays as a percent-age of attendance or can give you details of individual sessions missed. If you feel this record is incor-rect or have any concerns about your attendance do please contact Student Support (artsstudentsupport@kent.ac.uk).

18

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITYThe University of Kent is committed to the creation and support of a balanced, inclusive and diverse community which is open and accessible to all students, staff, visitors and members of the public. Find out more about this at www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/school-procedures

ACADEMIC ADVISORSEvery School of Arts undergraduate student is assigned an Academic Adviser when they enter their first year. Your Academic Adviser will remain the same throughout your time at Kent, and is there to support your academic needs and development.

The Academic Advisers scheme aims to: • support the academic and professional development of undergraduate students• encourage students in developing their independent learning and personal planning skills• raise awareness of the opportunities available to students for developing graduate attributes and skills at the University of Kent.

For further information about the scheme please see www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/undergraduates

You can find out who your academic adviser is by checking SDS and looking under ‘my details’ and ‘tutor’. You’ll find your advisors email address here too.

STUDENT REPRESENTATION

There is student representation at all levels of University life. Every student will have a course repre-sentative who is elected to listen to the views of course mates and discuss them with staff at School consultative meetings. There are elected student representatives who sit on Faculty and University wide committees as well as full time Sabbatical Officers who represent students’ needs on issues such as academic, welfare and social matters at University, local and national level. All representatives are elected in elections which take place either in October or March so YOU can decide who represents your needs! For more information on student representation and how to get involved visit www.kentunion.co.uk/representationThe list of School of Arts Reps for 2016-17 is available at www.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/undergraduates

COURSE REPS

19

THINKING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE There is so much you can do whilst at University to help you prepare for your future. We want you to be in a good position to face the demands of a tough economic environment. Our courses and volunteering opportunities allow you to develop transferable skills and many of our degrees include a work placement or year abroad. We have an excellent Careers and Employability Service and our reward schemes enable you to consolidate and test your skills. With MyFolio, building your own online portfolio can help you reflect and prove your worth to employers. For more information please visit www.kent.ac.uk/employability/

With over 80 students applying for each graduate job in 2011, it is more important than ever for students to develop and showcase their wide range of skills to employers. On the Employability Points scheme, students are awarded points for engaging in extracurricular activities, depending on level of engagement and commitment. The points lead to prizes ranging from vouchers and corporate activities to work experience, training, and internships. All rewards are carefully selected based on their ability to incentivise students to reflect on their experience and develop themselves, so not only are students enhancing their skills through the activities, but the rewards themselves are increasing their long term employability opportunities. For more information see www.kent.ac.uk/employabilitypoints

Kent Extra is a means of enhancing the Kent student experience through providing additional learning opportunities outside the confines of credit-bearing modules or any specific degree discipline. Kent Extra courses are non-credit bearing, however, students will be eligible for Kent Extra ‘Miles’, rather than credits which can appear on the Higher Education Achievement Record. For more information see www.kent.ac.uk/extra

For more information about School activities aimed at helping you prepare for the future please see: www.kent.ac.uk/arts/whychooseus/employability

20

MYFOLIOMyFolio is Kent’s electronic portfolio tool, used to guide your learning, improve your personal develop-ment and enhance your employability. You can record your progress at university by creating a profile, uploading content, writing a journal, reflecting on your learning, recording your achievements and mak-ing plans for your academic, professional and personal development. This can be shared with peers and tutors internally as well as the outside world, depending on your requirements.

MyFolio is available to all students during their study time, as well as up to 1 year after graduation. All content you create can be re-used and exported for use in other ePortfolio systems. MyFolio can help you:

• Improve your learning • Showcase your achievements • Develop your skills • Increase your employability

Find out more about My Folio at https://myfolio.kent.ac.uk/myfolio/ or access it via Moodle.

HEALTH & SAFETY The School of Arts, and the University as a whole, take the welfare of students and staff very seriously. In support of this the University has a clear and rigorous policy concerning Health & Safety which is regularly reviewed and revised, and which involves both the routine assessment of health & safety risks in the working (teaching and learning) environment, and the prompt reporting of any accident or hazard.

However, health & safety issues are most definitely not simply the responsibility of committees and officers of the University. ‘Health & Safety’ affects us all, and we must all share in the responsibility to think about our safety and that of others. Every member of the University, including staff and students, has a legal duty of care for their own and others’ safety. Students are asked to be aware of their route to safety should the need to evacuate a building during a fire drill or an emergency situation arise, paying attention to special procedures summarised in the red and white permanent notices prominently displayed in all University buildings. (School of Arts teaching staff are automatically appointed Fire Marshalls in the event of a fire or fire drill.)

Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Learn about those responsibilities atwww.kent.ac.uk/arts/current-students/school-procedures

21

USEFUL LINKS

IT SERVICES www.kent.ac.uk/itservices/

CREDIT FRAMEWORK www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/credit-framework

EXAMS OFFICE http://www.kent.ac.uk/student-records/exams

FINANCE OFFICE www.kent.ac.uk/finance-student

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND VALIDATION www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa

STUDENT LEARNING ADVISORY SERVICE (SLAS) www.kent.ac.uk/learning

STUDENT RECORDSwww.kent.ac.uk/student-records

STUDENT’S UNION www.kentunion.co.uk

UNIT FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING & TEACHING (UELT)www.kent.ac.uk/uelt

MEDICAL CENTRE www.umckent.co.uk

22