University of Southampton Calendar 2008/9


University Calendar 2008/9 Section VIII : Academic Regulations - Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health Sciences

School	School of Health Sciences
Final Award	Diploma in Nursing
Programme(s)	Diploma in Nursing with Professional Registration on Part 1 of the Register of the Nursing and Midwifery Council
Last modified	August 2008

Reference should be made to the University's General Regulations found in Sections IV and V (Higher Degree Regulations) of the University Calendar.

Except where the School has been granted an opt-out by the University, the following academic regulations apply in addition to the General Regulations.

Admissions

Candidates for admission to the Diploma in Nursing Programme must normally satisfy the entry criteria as stipulated in the programme specification.

Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to specific health requirements (consistent with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act [1995]). Prospective students are required to inform the School of any health problems relevant to their future employment as a health professional. All students will be subject to an occupational health check.

Admission to, and continuation on, the programme is subject to consideration of any criminal convictions. The programme is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act [1986]. Prospective students are required to inform the School of all criminal convictions. All students will be subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Equality Statement
The School wishes to make places available to a wide range of people who will make a useful contribution to the study and practice of nursing. The University and the School are committed to a comprehensive policy of equal opportunities in which students are recruited on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the University. The aim of the policy is to ensure that no prospective or current students should receive less favourable treatment on any grounds that are not relevant to academic ability and attainment and state registration as a professional nurse.

The University's Disability Equality Scheme includes an Action Plan which identifies the steps that the University is taking to improve the opportunities available to disabled students. Applications from candidates with disabilities are always considered and assessment of their abilities and needs is undertaken sensitively.

Decisions are based on whether or not the applicant meets the admission criteria, whether the programme can be delivered to the applicant in a way that meets their requirements making reasonable adjustments if necessary and whether, at the end of the programme, the graduate would meet the competencies set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Accreditation of Prior Experiential/Certificated Learning (APEL/APCL)
APEL/APCL will be considered on a case by case basis in accordance with the University regulations for APCL.

The decisions about the equivalence of applicant’s learning will be informed with reference to the Diploma programme specifications and statements of learning outcomes.

Students completing the University of Southampton Foundation Degree in Health & Social Care by following the dedicated progression route are also awarded advanced standing of 120 credits at HE level 1 (APCL).

Students will be awarded a maximum grade of 40% for successful APEL and APCL claims.

Structure of Programme(s)

The programme leading to the degree of Diploma in Nursing shall be of three years' duration. The maximum period of registration shall normally be five years. This period of registration will incorporate periods of suspension or interruption of studies. In line with NMC regulations, the award must be completed within five years of the commencement date.

In year 1 students will study 120 credits at Level 1 (Certificate)
In year 2 students will study 80 credits at Level 2
In year 3 students will study 40 credits at Level 2 (Diploma)

The outline of the content of each module shall be specified in the Module Profiles and made available to students in the programme handbooks or in the 'Blackboard' environment.

Progression

In order to progress from one year of the award to the next, students must have successfully completed the appropriate examinations, assessments, coursework requirements and practice experience in the particular level of study and this is subject to progression regulations.

Year 1 Progression into Year 2
A student will normally progress to the next level of the award if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more in all assignments and a Pass in all Pass/Fail assessments and fulfils all module and practice experience completion requirements.

Year 1 Conditional Progression into Year 2
In line with NMC regulations (NMC QA/06/xx - agendum 14 April 2006), if a student has any outstanding assignments (modules and/or practice experience) in Year 1 (Level 1) they will be permitted conditional progression into Year 2 (Level 2). All outstanding Level 1 assignments (modules and/or practice experience) must be successfully completed and confirmed by the end of week 12 Year 2.

Year 2 Progression into Year 3
A student will normally progress to the next year of the award if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more in all assignments and a Pass in all Pass/Fail assessments and fulfils all module and practice experience completion requirements.

Year 2 Conditional Progression into Year 3
Students cannot normally progress from Year 2 to Year 3 with more than two modules or 40 credits outstanding. In the case of students having more than two modules or 40 credits outstanding, they will normally interrupt and re-submit/resit assessments off award.

Further Attempts/Second Attempts for Students Off Award
All assessments must be submitted and successfully achieve a pass outcome in order for students to return to the award at the start of the following academic year.

Transfers between Awards
The School operates a policy/process whereby students may request a transfer to another award. Transfers between academic awards are confined to specific points in the award journey and are governed by the award structure in the School.

Assessment

Level 1: The assessment tasks are structured and students are required to carry out specific instructions. All summative assessments are compulsory. Successful completion of these assessments is required to continue to level 2 of the programme subject to progression requirements.

Level 2: Students begin to take more responsibility for selecting and organising the material presented in the assessments. All summative assessments are compulsory.

Level 3: At Level 3 the students have more freedom in choosing the topics/areas which will be evaluated. All summative assessments are compulsory.

The marking criteria are based on the University level descriptors which have been developed further by the School into marking grids for both assignments and examinations. These are available to students prior to submission.

The pass mark for each module will be 40% for all levels. Students must meet the pass criteria in both academic and practice experience to pass overall.

The assessments are graded as:

1st attempt - Pass/Refer/Defer
2nd attempt - Pass/Fail/Defer

A student will normally be allowed to resit/re-submit failed assessments as a first attempt if he/she has special circumstances declared to the Examination Board as outlined in the 'Assessment Rules and Regulations', 'General Rules and Regulations' and 'Introduction to Assessment' in the student handbook (also available on Blackboard).

Module Referral and Retrieval
The criteria for module assessment referral are:

Failure to achieve a Pass/Fail assessment.
Where an assessment comprises of two or more components the minimum pass mark for one part must be 35%.
In order to meet NMC requirements in drug calculations, specified assignments in Year 1 and Year 3 must achieve 100% pass mark for this component.
Non-attendance or late arrival more than half an hour after the start of an examination/presentation, or is required to leave the examination room.
Submission of an assignment 24 hours or more after the published deadline.

A student who submits an assessment up to 24 hours late will have the assessment marked as a first attempt but this will normally accrue a maximum mark of 40%.

On successful completion of re-submitted/resat module assessments, a student will normally progress onto the next year of the programme if he/she achieves a mark of 40% or more or a pass on all the resit assessments. The student may only carry a maximum mark of 40% for a graded re-submitted/resat assessment.

Practice Experience Referral and Retrieval
A student will normally be required to retrieve a referred practice experience assessment on one further occasion if he/she refers a Pass/Fail practice experience assessment.

A student will normally be required to retrieve a practice experience by:

developing a retrieval action plan in partnership with a mentor, academic tutor and, if necessary, the Student Placement Learning Advisor (SPLA);
re-submitting the retrieval action plan documentation to be implemented within a set four-week practice period immediately following the summative practice assessment points at the end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3;
in Year 1, meeting NMC requirements for completion of all assessment within 12 weeks of completing the common foundation year and entering the branch component of the award;
undertaking a new experience if a significant number (33%) of proficiencies have been referred, and submitting a completely new assessment of practice documentation.

A student completing Practice Experience 6 of the award (final practice experience), if referred, will normally:

undertake a new experience during an agreed period of extended time;
re-submit the assessment of practice documents 6-8 weeks after commencing the additonal placement.

A student's registration will normally be terminated following resit/retrieval assessments if he/she:

achieves a mark of 39 or below on a re-submitted/resit attempt;
fails a Pass/Fail assessment on a re-submission/resit;
does not attend or is more than half an hour late for a resit examination or is requested to leave the examination room;
submits a written further attempt assessment more than 24 hours after the stated deadline.

A student whose registration would normally be terminated will receive formal notification of this by letter from the School. This will provide details of the University's Reviews and Appeals procedure should the student wish to request a review of this decision.

Award of Qualification(s)

In order to qualify for the award of Diploma in Nursing candidates must:

have satisfied the entry requirements as set out in the programme specifications;
have undertaken all the levels of the curriculum as appropriate to each award and passed all the required assessments (theory and practice);
have completed satisfactorily all practice assessment, practice experience and other coursework as required;
have met all the NMC requirements for progression;
have met the NMC requirements of 2300 hours of academic study and 2300 hours of practice experience;
for Adult branch students, to have met the NMC requiments of the EU77/453/EEC directive;
be judged as of good health and good character and worthy of admission to the NMC register.

Students who are successful at Level 1 assessments but are unable to complete the full award shall be eligible for the exit award of a Certificate in Health Studies.

Students who are successful at Level 2 assessments but are unable to complete the full award shall be eligible for the exit award of a Diploma in Health Studies.

Any student who has achieved academically the full requirements for the award for which they are registered but has not met the good health or good character and conduct requirements for professional registration will not be granted the award but will be eligible for a Diploma in Health Studies. The award cannot be named 'Nursing' as the term 'Nursing' is a title protected under the Health Act (1999) for those who are fully qualified and registered as nurses.

Any student who experiences grave or terminal illness/injury which prevents them from continuing on their programme of study and achieving qualification may be eligible for a posthumous or aegrotat qualification named either Certificate in Health Studies or Diploma in Health Studies. The award cannot be named 'Nursing' as the term 'Nursing' is a title protected under the Health Act (1999) for whose who are fully qualified and registered as nurses.

Placements/Study Abroad/Exchange/Fieldwork

Practice experience forms an integral part of the programme and students are required to pass in order to be awarded a Diploma in Nursing.

Other

These regulations may be revised during the student's period of registration in accordance with the procedures approved by Senate.

SOBS	School of Biological Sciences
SOHS Index	School of Health Sciences
Medicine	School of Medicine
Psychology	School of Psychology