ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is a set of values that we must apply to our academic work. It helps us learn how to use other people’s ideas when creating our own work.

We consider that breaches of academic integrity, which we call “academic misconduct”, fall into two broad categories: plagiarism and other types of misconduct.

• Plagiarism is the practice of presenting somebody else’s work and/or ideas as your own work without full acknowledgment.
• Academic misconduct is any act of direct cheating, including the purchase or commissioning of assessments that are prepared by others.

Breaches of academic integrity are serious offences and may lead to a disciplinary procedure, which is our formal way of dealing with unacceptable or improper behaviour. The LEarning Skills Team are here to support you and help you develop the skills needed to avoid plagiarism.

ACADEMIC WRITING

Academic writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. It has a formal tone and style, which you will begin to develop through your studies. Your academic writing should not be complex and does not require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

Each subject discipline will have certain writing conventions, vocabulary and methods of communication that you will become familiar with over the course of your degree. You will receive marking criteria for each assignment which will detail the expectations of your academic writing application and style to use as a guide.

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
An activity you undertake that is assigned an individual mark and comprises or contributes to an overall module mark, for example examinations, coursework, practicals and set exercises or other types of formally marked activities undertaken as part of a course.

ASSESSMENT WEIGHTING
Sometimes, your assessments will have different percentage weightings.  Therefore assessments that are awarded the same mark will contribute differently to your overall module mark. For example, you might have two assessments in a module, with one worth 30% of the overall module mark and the other worth 70%.

AWARD
Your achievement at the end of your course or studies. This could include a Certificate, Diploma, Degree or Master’s.

AWARD CLASSIFICATION
The grade that you will receive when you complete your course. The best classification is a First - for work that is exceptionally good, and has a grade of over 70%. The next classification is a 2.1 (two-one). This is the top half of a second class degree, and applies to work that has a grade of 60-69%. The next classification is a 2.2 (two-two). This is the lower half of a second class degree. The final classification is a third-class degree, for work with a grade between 40-49%. 

The classification is calculated using marks from your best 100 credits at Level 5 and your best 100 credits at Level 6. Level 5 accounts for 40% of your final mark and Level 6 accounts for 60% of your final mark.

For a Foundation Degree, a Certificate in Higher Education, a Diploma in Higher Education, or a Postgraduate Taught award you will receive either a Distinction, Merit or Pass if you pass. Other taught awards are not classified.

BLACKBOARD

This is the online space where your lecturers will post module and assessment information, as well as lecture, revision and other study materials. You may hear it described as the University’s Virtual Learning Environment or VLE.

BOARDS OF EXAMINERS
Formally convened bodies, comprising members of the University and one or more External Examiners that approve marks and decide on your course progression and achievements. There are two types of Boards of Examiners: Module Boards of Examiners, and Progression and Award Boards of Examiners.

CALENDAR DAYS
When our policies and procedures refer to 'calendar days', this includes weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays excluding Bank Holidays.  

COMPENSATION
If you do not achieve a module pass mark but you meet specific criteria, a Board of Examiners may confirm a Compensated Pass for a module, which allows you to pass a level of study and progress or achieve an award. Some courses and awards have approved Special Regulations that do not permit Compensation due to professional and/or employer requirements.

CONTRACT CHEATING
Contract cheating occurs when someone else writes all, or part, of your assessed work for you and you submit it as your own. Money does not need to change hands, and it includes work written by family and friends, as well as purchased services (such as from essay mills). Contract cheating is a very serious form of academic misconduct and can result in expulsion from the university.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
A statement of specific skills and knowledge that you will be able to demonstrate when you have successfully completed a course.

CORE MODULE
Core modules are modules students must take as part of an award.

CREDITS
A numerical value agreed across the Higher Education sector that indicates the amount of learning undertaken. Credits can also guide the number of hours of expected study, for example, 10 credits relate to a notional 100 hours of learning time. A module typically consists of 20 credits, 40 credits or occasionally 10 credits. Postgraduate Taught courses may also include modules of 60 credits.

CRITICAL THINKING
Questioning sources, information and the social world is one of the most important skills to acquire on your university journey, and will be an important skill to demonstrate when applying for employment. Critical thinking involves understanding what sources are telling you, and how they support or undermine the story or argument you are making within a piece of work. Critical thinking is not pointing out what is wrong with something, nor a disconnected set of observations about something. To be critical is to be able to appreciate strengths as well as weaknesses, and to see how a source fits into the bigger story.

DEFERRAL OF AN ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
A deferral refers to the postponement of an exam or time-constrained assessment to the next designated assessment period after the relevant Module Board (and in line with the Course’s academic calendar).

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Exceptional circumstances are unexpected short-term personal difficulties, outside of your control, where you may be able to request a coursework extension or a further chance to take an exam or time-constrained assessment.

EXTENSION
An extension refers to an academic coursework deadline that has been moved to a later date in the same Semester/Trimester as which the relevant module is taught. The assessment is still submitted and marked in time to be considered at the relevant Module Board; the extended date cannot be beyond the relevant Board date. 

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Continuous assessment activities that take place before summative assessment and which are designed to monitor your progression and provide feedback in order to develop learning. These do not contribute to your module mark.

LEARNING SUPPORT PLAN (LSP)
A learning or placement support plan is tailor-made plan for any student with a recognised disability and/or long-term or serious medical or psychological condition. 

LECTURES
A lecture is a large-group teaching session that is run by a member of teaching staff or professional from your field. During a lecture, you will need to actively listen and engage with the information and make appropriate notes in order to build your understanding and prepare for assignments. Lectures are often recorded via ReCap (see definition below) and added to Blackboard so you can access them after they have been delivered live.

LEVEL OF STUDY [Applicable to ndergraduate students only]
A defined period of learning (typically one academic year for a full-time Undergraduate course), where you must meet specific learning criteria in order to achieve credits and progress through a course. Levels carry a specific number of credits (typically 120 credits). The period of learning and credit value may vary according to mode of study and course. Details are provided in the Course Handbook/Module Handbook and at the time of accepting your place on a course.

LIBRARYSEARCH
LibrarySearch enables you to search CCCU's library collections. You can see which books are available in the campus libraries, access digital full-text content and manage your library account.

MARKS
You will see two types of marks:

• Mark pre-penalties and caps: this is the original mark given by the marker, and entered and displayed on Blackboard. Please be aware that the mark for assessments in Blackboard is a provisional mark. If the assessment is subject to any late submission penalty or cap applied to reassessment the final mark held on your student record will be lower. All marks are provisional until they have been confirmed by a Board of Examiners.
• Final mark: this is the mark approved by a Board of Examiner, and published on your transcript.

In the UK, undergraduate degrees are classified - when you complete your whole award, you don’t just get a grade (for example, 65), you also get given a classification. The best classification is a First - for work that is exceptionally good, and has a grade of over 70%. The next classification is a 2.1 (two-one). This is the top half of a second class degree, and applies to work that has a grade of 60-69%. The next classification is a 2.2 (two-two). This is the lower half of a second class degree. The final classification is a third-class degree, for work with a grade between 40-49%.

MODULES
Each course consists of separate parts known as modules, which focus on specific topics and themes. Modules must be passed in order to gain credits and progress through a course and achieve an award and/or credits.

MODULE LEARNING OUTCOMES
The skills and knowledge that you will be able to demonstrate upon successful completion of a module. The module learning outcomes shape what is taught on the module and the formative and summative assessments of that module.

MYRECORD

MyRecord is where you can access and update information that the University holds about you and your studies. It's also where you will carry out tasks relating to your student record including registration/re-registration, module choice and changes to study.

MYTIMETABLE
MyTimetable is your individual personalised timetable.

NON-CREDIT BEARING MODULES
Modules or awards that do not accumulate credit.

OPTIONAL MODULE
Optional Modules are modules a student may select as part of the credits for an award.

PASS THRESHOLD
Pass threshold may refer to:

• The minimum mark needed to pass a module
• The minimum number of credits that you need to have passed to progress to the next level or achieve your target award.

At each level of study, you must normally achieve a pass (40% or greater*) in each of your modules in order to achieve 120 credits and gain an overall pass of a level. There are higher requirements at certain levels on an Integrated Master’s course.

PERSONAL ACADEMIC TUTOR (PAT)
A named member of your Course Team, who meets with you regularly and acts as an advisor regarding your academic support needs.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the practice of presenting and incorporating somebody else’s work and/or ideas into your work without full acknowledgment. See Academic Intergirty. 

PRACTICE COMPETENCIES / STANDARDS
The professional and/or regulatory requirements that students are expected to master as a part of their academic course to gain professional recognition of their learning. Competencies are integrated with the academic theory component of the award and are met through facilitation of learning and assessment, which typically takes place in an employment/practice learning environment (e.g. placement). In some cases, completion of a course that meets external professional and/or regulatory requirements will enable students to apply for registration with the relevant professional and/or statutory regulatory body.

PROFESSIONAL, STATUTORY AND REGULATORY BODY (PSRB)
Professional, statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs) set standards for, and regulate standards of entry into, particular professions. They are a diverse group that approves, recognises or accredits higher education course.

PROGRESSION
Process whereby you move through a course , progressing from one level of study to the next.

For all Undergraduate awards in order to progress to the next level your calculated overall average mark for the level must be 40% or greater. For an Integrated Master’s the pass mark for the award is 40% but in order to remain on the award and progress from Level 5 to 6, your calculated overall mark for Level 5 must be 50% or greater.

REASSESSMENT

If you fail an assessment activity you may be able to re-take it – this is known as reassessment. . Unless otherwise stated, this will normally involve submitting an improved form of your original work or taking another examination where you will complete different questions on the same subject. 

If you do not achieve an overall pass of a level of study, a Progression and Award Board of Examiners will offer you a set number of reassessment opportunities in line with the University’s Regulation and Credit Framework. 

Reassessment is capped at a pass mark. 

REASSESSMENT WITH ATTENDANCE (Applicable only to Undergraduate students)
A further attempt at completing and passing assessment activities, which requires you to undertake reassessment by attending (in the following year) those modules that you have not yet passed.

REFERENCING

It is important to acknowledge other people’s ideas when writing an academic assignment otherwise you can be accused of plagiarism. If you use someone else's work - including from an organisation or a webpage,in your assignments, you must acknowledge them by stating the original source or sources. Referencing means acknowledging your sources in the body of your work (citation) and providing the full detail of the source (reference list or bibliography). There are several referencing systems used within the university and you will need to apply the correct referencing system to all your assignments.

REFERRAL (REFERRED)
Where you are granted reassessment (by a Board of Examiners) because you have not passed an assessment activity, compulsory assessment or a module and you are eligible for reassessment.

REFLECTION
Reflection is a life-long learning tool that is useful for studying, working and living. It is based on the assumption that we can learn from our experiences. In your studies, you will need to be proactive and use the mental processes involved in remembering, evaluating and writing to create deeper understanding of our past experiences and behaviour, with the intention of changing, and improving future outcomes.

ROUNDED MARKS
Marks that are calculated to the nearest whole number. A number that is 0.5 or above will be rounded up. A number that is 0.499 or below will be rounded down.

SABBATICAL OFFICER (SAABS)

The full-time, representatives of the student body at the Students' Union, elected for the following academic year each spring.

SEMESTER
Some of the university’s courses operate on an academic calendar consisting of two semesters per academic year. A semester refers to either of the two periods into which an academic year is divided. 

SEMINARS
Depending on your course, you may have teaching sessions in small groups These may be called tutorials, supervision or seminars. This will vary by context, but you will usually be required to prepare in advance through reading or other preparatory activities. Seminars give you the opportunity to discuss course material with other students and a teacher to help explore and solidify your understanding of the subject.

SMARTCARD
Your smartcard is your personal University Student ID and allows you access to buildings and services on campus as well as enabling you to register for your lectures and classes.

STUDENTS' UNION
An independent charity that represents all the students organising course representation, competitive sports, clubs, societies, events and much more. 

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
A formally marked assessment activity, which evaluates your learning, contributes to module credits and leads to the achievement of a final grade.

TEMPORARY LEARNING AGREEMENT (TLA)
Temporary Learning Agreements are designed for medium to long term personal difficulties i.e. circumstances that affect you for more than 14 days and up to maximum of one academic year.

TRAIL AND PROGRESS (Applicable to undergraduate students only]
If you do not pass a module but you are eligible for further reassessment opportunities, a Progression and Award Board may grant you the opportunity to progress to the next level of study whilst undertaking reassessment for the module that has not been passed. Conditions apply.

Some courses and awards have approved Special Regulations that do not permit trail and progress due to professional and/or employer requirements.

TRANSCRIPTS
A transcript is the formal document you will receive at the completion of your academic course. It will only include marks confirmed by the appropriate Board of Examiners. A transcript may be required by prospective employers or educational institutions to which you are applying.

TRIMESTER
Some of the University’s courses operate on an academic calendar consisting of three trimesters per academic year. A trimester refers to any of the three periods into which an academic year is divided. 

TURNITIN
An application within Blackboard that enables you to digitally submit assignments for marking while also providing an originality report that can be used to help you identify where you have used sources and check you have correctly cited and referenced them within your work.

UNITIMETABLE
UniTimetables is the University's online timetabling system and allows you to view the teaching timetables for all modules and courses based at Canterbury and Medway campuses, including online classes but excluding placements.

WORKING DAYS
When our policies and procedures refer to 'working days', we mean Monday-Friday but excluding Bank Holiday and periods of University closure.