Departmental study support

Teaching at York is done by academic experts who will introduce you to their academic subject areas, key discipline skills and concepts.  However, you are responsible for managing your time and your own general skills development. We will support you to develop your independent study skills.

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 skills support

Throughout your programme, module teaching teams will support you to develop your academic skills. Support will be aligned to develop the academic skills required for the type of assessment for each module (essay, presentation, examination, professional discussion). This support is complemented by the academic skills support offered by the University and is a good way to improve your academic standard.

To meet OFSTED requirements and compliance for professional programmes and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funding rules, there is a requirement for English and maths skills (functional skills) development to be embedded throughout your programme. This is provided in a number of different ways:

English skills

The University of York has selected NCFE Skills Builder platform as the e-learning provider for the delivery of functional skills training and assessment. Skills Builder offers a selection of online resources and services, which include: initial assessment & diagnostic reports which analyse strengths and weaknesses regarding your English skills; sets targets for your development; provides resources to support development (video tutorials; presentations; interactive tools); and keeps track of your progress, allowing you to compare results over the programme.

To use the platform, an account will be created for you at the start of your programme. You will be encouraged and supported to use Skills Builder throughout your programme and your progress will be reviewed at your Tripartite meetings by  your Academic Assessor and Personal Supervisor. You will have the opportunity to discuss your initial assessment & diagnostic report with your Academic Assessor and Personal Supervisor. Following this, your Personal Supervisor will support you with planning how you can use Skills Builder  and Departmental & University academic skills resources for the development of your English skills.

Alongside this, module teaching teams will provide learning opportunities and support throughout modular content to enable you to develop your English skills. In line with the Departmental Academic model of support, the module teams will provide formative and summative feedback on your module assessment, which will include feedback relating to the development of your English skills.

Maths support

The e-learning provider NCFE Skills Builder platform will be used for the delivery of functional skills training and assessment in relation to Maths skills development. You will also use the SafeMedicate platform for support and development of your maths skills.

You will be encouraged and supported to use Skills Builder throughout your programme and your progress will be reviewed at your Tripartite meetings by your Academic Assessor and Personal Supervisor. You will have the opportunity to discuss your initial assessment and diagnostic report with your personal Supervisor. Following this, your personal Supervisor will support you with planning how you can use Skills Builder and the UoY Maths Skills Centre for the development of your Maths skills. Alongside this, module teaching teams will offer learning opportunities and support to enable you to develop your Maths skills, as part of modular content and aligned to the specific practice and theoretical module learning outcomes.

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)
    
    

Feedback

Feedback is part of the Department’s overall model of academic support for UG students. The purpose of providing feedback to you on your progress in relation to formative and summative assessments is to facilitate improvement through reflection and promote learning. Feedback can also be a means of helping you to understand why you have been awarded a particular grade, especially in relation to summative assessment.

Feedback is the provision of either constructive comments or a model solution and is communicated through both verbally (via tutorials) and in writing (via written feedback comments and annotations). Where possible and appropriate, feedback will link explicitly with the Assessment Guideline and the Marking Criteria.

Both lecturers and students have certain responsibilities concerning learning and feedback.

A student’s responsibilities related to learning and feedback include:

• being a fully active participant in the learning dialogue between lecturer and student;

• planning their own learning, consciously reflecting on their needs as a learner and actively

• accessing the assistance, they need to improve, as necessary;

• being aware that it is their responsibility to take full advantage of all the learning and feedback opportunities provided to them.

A lecturer’s responsibilities related to learning and feedback include:

• providing a challenging, active learning environment;

• planning their teaching such that it is clear what is expected of students and what assistance is available to students to address student needs and support their learning;

• providing the best quality, most timely feedback possible on students’ work.
  
  

Assessment supervision for practice modules

The roles of Practice Supervisor, Practice Assessor and Academic Assessor are defined by the Nursing & Midwifery Council and are responsible for supporting and supervising your learning in all practice placement settings. You will have named persons for each of these roles allocated to you.

Practice Supervisor

Practice Supervisors are responsible for contributing to students’ education through monitoring and recording of students’ achievement of learning outcomes and professional values. Their feedback on the students conduct, proficiency and learning will inform decisions about a student’s progression made by the Practice Assessor. Students will work alongside a range of Practice Supervisors throughout their placement experiences.

Practice Assessor

Each student will be assigned a Practice Assessor during each practice learning placement. The Practice Assessor has an overview of the student’s placement progression and works in partnership with Practice Supervisors and other relevant individuals to confirm placement achievement. The Practice Assessor is responsible for assessing the students’ achievement of proficiencies across a Stage (Year) of the programme.

Academic Assessor

The Academic Assessor is a member of academic staff from the Midwifery Education Team who collates and confirms student achievement of proficiencies and programme outcomes. They work in partnership with the Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisors.

Acceptable support

The University defines academic support which is acceptable as: 

The identification and correction of errors related to: 

• Word usage (excluding specific terminology) 

• Spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, italics, abbreviations, headings, quotations, metrification, numbering, citations, referencing, tables, illustrations, footnotes and appendices 

The identification (but not correction) of issues related to: 

• Grammar and syntax 

• Clarity of expression 

• Voice and tone 

• Issues with logical sequencing and linkage between sentences and paragraphs 

• Ambiguity 

• Repetition 

For summative work, undertaking the following tasks for a student is inappropriate: 

• Adding or re-writing any of the student’s sentences or sections of work 

• Rearranging passages of text, sequences of code or sections of other material for the student 

• Reformatting the material for the student 

• Contributing additional material to the original

• Checking calculations or formulae 

• Rewriting formulae, equations or computer code 

• Re-labelling figures or diagrams 

Further information can be found in the University Assessment policies and procedures.