Departmental study support

The Department offers additional support to all its students with academic writing, calculation skills, referencing and other skills needed for studying successfully. This support is available throughout the academic year and can be accessed in a number of different ways.

Academic writing support

Throughout your programme, seminars on how to develop your academic writing skills will be offered aligned to your modules. These seminars complement the general support offered by the University and are a good way to improve your academic writing standard within a healthcare context.

Assessment supervision for theory modules

The module leader will be responsible for organising, through the module team, the provision of academic support regarding theoretical content and the assessment. Modules will include a timetabled assessment support lecture or seminar and an exemplar of a previous summative assessment will normally be available.

There will also be formative assessment opportunities scheduled throughout the academic year should students wish to submit a formative assessment and receive formative feedback to support preparation for the summative assessment.

Students also have the opportunity to submit questions about theoretical content or assessment details to the module leader via the Assessment Discussion Board on the VLE.

Prior to any academic support, you are advised to prepare questions and points to discuss in order to gain maximum benefit from the academic support.

Assessment

Each module you undertake on the programme has a formative assessment and a summative assessment. Formative assessments have a developmental purpose designed to help you learn more effectively by providing feedback on your performance and how it can be improved and/or maintained. Summative assessments are designed to evaluate the extent of your learning at the end of a module against the module learning outcomes.

Opportunities for assessment support, guidance and feedback will be provided throughout a module through the following:

• • • Assessment guidelines which outline the assessment task.

    • Posting questions about the module assessment on the module VLE discussion board.

    • Academic supervision session facilitated by the module leader or module team to discuss type of assessment, assessment guidelines and criteria for success.

    • Submission of a formative piece of work (appropriate to the assessment type) at a date specified on the programme assessment schedule and to receive feedback from a member of the module team.

    • If, following submission of your summative assignment, resubmission is required, a timetabled academic supervision session facilitated by the module leader will be available. This session will provide guidance on understanding feedback and preparing for resubmission.

    • Additional sources of academic support to develop academic skills are also available throughout your programme, including:

      • • Academic librarian sources of evidence sessions

        • Central University facilities for academic support (writing and maths centres)