Calendar 2017/18

Transfer from MPhil to MD/MS

These Regulations and associated Codes of Practice carry precedence over those of the Universities except where indicated.

Codes of Practice and Other Rules

Staff and students shall observe the requirements of the College Codes of Practice and such other rules as may be approved from time to time by the JARB.

The following qualifications may be awarded:

Joint Awards of the University of Exeter and University of Plymouth
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BM,BS)
Bachelor of Medical Science (exit qualification) (BMedSci (hons))
Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Master of Surgery (MS)

In the context of the academic regulations and Codes of Practice, a programme of study is defined as a taught or research programme offered by the College and operating under College structures, awarded by the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth.

The Universities shall maintain (subject to the revised terms set out in Part 2 of Schedule 4 of the Legal Agreement) a Joint Approval and Review Board ("JARB") to act on their behalf in the oversight of the Joint Programmes during the Teach Through Period.

The membership of the JARB shall comprise the following representatives from each University:

A Deputy Vice Chancellor 
The Dean of the Medical School
The senior lead for education in the Medical School
A senior member of academic staff nominated by the University, able to deal with postgraduate as well as undergraduate matters
The School Manager/Head of Administration or equivalent
A representative of the education enhancement/quality support team
The Director of Finance
A Joint Student

The Joint Approval and Review Board has the authority to co-opt such additional members as it believes are necessary and/or to invite individuals to attend specific meetings, including chairs and/or members of its sub-committees as appropriate. Such invited persons shall not have voting rights.

assure quality assurance procedures on behalf of the Universities , sufficient to address the requirements of the GMC and GDC;

oversee, monitor the delivery of, review and, where necessary, amend SLAs between the Universities relating to the delivery and resourcing of the Joint Awards during the Teach Through Period;

recommend to the Senate of Exeter and the Senate of Plymouth (or to committees acting on their behalf) approval of amendments to regulations or other matters as may be determined from time to time;

maintain oversight of and monitor academic quality and standards in relation to the Joint Programmes, through, inter alia, consideration of the outcome of internal and external academic reviews; the outcomes of programme monitoring; reports from the respective Deans in relation to the medical teach through; and audits of teaching quality and learning outcomes against national and professional benchmarks;

maintain oversight of the management of progression and awards on the Joint Programmes, including, inter alia, approving the appointment of external examiners, approving the composition and authorities of progression and award boards, and monitoring the delegation by the Universities of the approval of awards;

agree the information to be used by each University as part of the Key Information Sets for students for its own medical programmes in so far as that information relates to the history of PCMD;

keep under review its structure of sub-committees and groups, and the existing themed groups, so as to ensure that the committee structure necessary to secure effective governance of the Teach Through Period is not over-burdensome and continues to be appropriate for the ongoing level of activity.

PUPSMD Registry Services will provide the Secretary to JARB.

Any individual invited to attend all or part of a meeting of JARB shall not have voting rights.

The quorum for a meeting of JARB shall be seven members provided always that at least three members are present from each of the Universities.

All aspects of a programme of study shall be carried out in compliance with the Universities’ Diversity Policy. Students registered on a programme of study must comply with these Regulations and the College Code of Practice, approved by the Joint Approval and Review Board (JARB) and stated in the programme documentation.

Modes of Study for each programme are detailed in the Prospectus and Programme Specification.

360 Credits

The Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery together shall constitute a recognised medical qualification with the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom.

Recognised qualifications can only be taken as full time programmes.

Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Master of Philosophy (MPhil) with possible transfer to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Medicine (MD)¹ or Master of Surgery (MS)

Candidates successfully completing the degree of MPhil will have demonstrated:

(a) a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study, or area of professional practice;

(b) a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research or advanced scholarship;

• to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline; and
• to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

Candidates successfully completing the degree of PhD will have demonstrated:

(a) the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication;

(b) a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice;

(c) the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of changing circumstances;

(d) a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.

Candidates for PhD must integrate within their research an approved element of transferable skills training.

Degrees conferred under these Regulations will be joint awards of the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth.

All candidates shall normally have at least two and not normally more than three supervisors, one of whom shall be nominated as the Director of Studies for the candidate's programme. The appointment of supervisors shall be subject to the approval of the Chair of the Research Degrees Committee.

The Director of Studies must be an individual holding a formal staff contract with the one of the two Universities. If the Director holds an honorary contract, the second supervisor must hold a substantive contract with one of the two Universities.

Each candidate is required to re-register at the beginning of each academic year until receipt of the examiners’ final decision.

An application for transfer to the degree of PhD should be made not earlier than one year after initial registration, but before the end of the second year of registration in the case of full-time candidates and before the end of the third year for part-time candidates. The transfer is retrospective to the date of initial registration.

Submission / Examination

At least three months prior to submission of a thesis, each candidate’s Director of Studies shall submit a nomination of examiner’s form to the Research Degrees Committee which shall include details of examiners experience in research degree examining and areas of research.

When submitting a thesis for examination, each candidate shall include an undertaking:

(a) that the thesis is written in English;

(b) that all the material in the thesis or dissertation which is not the candidate's own has been identified; and

(c) that the thesis or dissertation does not include any material previously submitted and approved for the award of a degree except as expressly permitted by the Chair of the Research Degrees Committee.

The candidate will be examined viva voce. All the approved examiners must be present. The viva voce will be conducted in English.

Prior to the viva voce examination, each examiner should submit a written preliminary report on the thesis.

Where the appointed examiners are unable to reach agreement, provision will be made for the appointment of an additional external examiner whose judgement shall be final. 

Following completion of the examination the examiners will make one of the following recommendations:

(a) that the degree be awarded;

(b) that the degree be awarded subject to minor corrections and/or amendments being made to the thesis or dissertation, normally within three months of notification, to the satisfaction of the examiners;

(c) That the degree be awarded subject to the student making major amendments to the thesis (as specified in the accompanying report) normally within a maximum of nine months of notification, and to the satisfaction (confirmed in writing) of the following internal and/or external examiner(s):

(d) that the candidate be permitted to resubmit for the degree and be re-examined on one further occasion with or without a further viva voce examination, by a specified date and with or without further research;

(e) that, in the case of a PhD examination, the degree be not awarded but that the degree of MPhil be awarded subject to the presentation of the thesis amended to the satisfaction of the examiners.

(f) that the degree be not awarded and the candidate be not permitted to be re-examined.

A candidate who fails to submit a corrected or revised thesis or dissertation by the date determined by the examiners will normally be regarded as having failed the examination and the recommendations of the examiners shall lapse.

Candidates may register for the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Master of Surgery (MS). They may also under prescribed conditions register initially for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil)² with possible, later transfer to the degree of MD or MS. Candidates may transfer to the degree of PhD upon successful completion of the process described in section 6.4.

Candidates successfully completing the degree of MD/MS will have demonstrated:

(a) the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication;

(b) a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice;

(c) the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of changing circumstances;

(d) a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.

Candidates who do not already hold an appropriate Masters award may be required to undertake training in order to gain competence in research methodologies.

All candidates shall normally have at least two and not normally more than three supervisors, one of whom shall be nominated as the Director of Studies for the candidate's programme. The appointment of supervisors shall be subject to the approval of the Chair of the Research Degrees Committee.

At least three months prior to the submission of a thesis for examination, a candidate’s Director of Studies must submit a nomination of examiner’s form which will include details of the examiners’ experience in research degree examining and areas of research.

When submitting a thesis for examination each candidate will include an undertaking:

(a) that all the material in the thesis which is not the candidate's own has been identified; and

(b) that the thesis does not include any material previously submitted and approved for the award of a degree except as expressly permitted by the Chair of the Research Degrees Committee.

Submissions for the degree of MD/MS may include papers by the candidate that have been published or have been accepted for publication. Such papers should relate directly to the candidate's approved field of study.

Examination arrangements for each candidate are subject to the approval of the Research Degrees Committee. Arrangements that differ from these Regulations and their associated procedures must be approved in each case on the recommendation of the Committee by the Chair of the Joint Approval and Review Board of the two Universities.

Candidates will be examined by at least two examiners of whom at least one must be an external examiner. No examiner, unless there are exceptional circumstances, shall have acted as supervisor of the candidate.

The candidate will be examined viva voce. All the approved examiners will be present. The viva voce will be conducted in English.

Prior to the viva voce examination, each examiner should submit a written preliminary report on the thesis.

After the viva voce examination the examiners will report on the thesis and the viva voce examination. Where they are not in agreement, separate reports and recommendations will be submitted to the College.

Following completion of the examination the examiners will make one of the following recommendations:

(a) that the degree be awarded;

(b) that the degree be awarded subject to minor corrections and/or amendments being made to the thesis, normally within three weeks of notification, to the satisfaction of the examiners;

(c) That the degree be awarded subject to the student making major amendments to the thesis (as specified in the accompanying report) normally within a maximum of nine months of notification, and to the satisfaction (confirmed in writing) of the following internal and/or external examiner(s):

(d) that the candidate be permitted to resubmit for the degree and be re-examined on one further occasion with or without a further viva voce examination, by a specified date and with or without further research;

(e) that the MD/MS degree be not awarded but that the degree of MPhil be awarded subject to the presentation of the thesis amended to the satisfaction of the examiners;

(f) that the degree be not awarded and the candidate be not permitted to be re-examined.

Students are required to register at the time of their admission to a programme of study and annually thereafter. Only students who have registered and paid any tuition fee required are entitled to tuition and access to any College and other academic and NHS facilities and assessments relevant to the programme.

Where continuing students have a debt to the College or one of the Universities they must clear the debt or reach an agreement for payment with the College Secretary before they will be allowed to re-register and continue their studies.

The minimum duration of the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree is five years. Under normal circumstances, a student must satisfactorily complete all assessments and examinations within seven years to qualify for the award of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.

Retrospective registration may be permitted but only in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of JARB.

In exceptional circumstances, for example as a result of a serious illness or other difficult personal circumstance, a student may be permitted to interrupt their studies and temporarily withdraw from a programme. The period of interruption shall not normally exceed one academic year. Permission to temporarily interrupt studies shall require the approval of the Chair of the appropriate Progress and Award Board. Under normal circumstances, a student on a programme leading to a Recognised Qualification may be permitted to resume their programme of study from the beginning of the academic year only, subject to demonstrable clinical competencies and knowledge.

A student who wishes to withdraw from their programme of study must notify the College in writing of their intention to do so as soon as the decision is made. Failure to notify promptly may mean a liability for tuition fees, residence fees or repayment of a student loan. A student considering withdrawal should seek advice and support from their academic tutor, personal tutor or equivalent, or relevant student support service.

A student may submit an appeal against a decision of a Progress and Award Board which affects his/her academic progress or right to an award. Appeals must be made in line with the procedures set out in the Code of Practice.

Appeals will only be considered to have preliminary grounds where the student can provide evidence that:

• Assessments were not conducted in accordance with the current Assessment Regulations

and/or

• Some other demonstrable material irregularity related to the conduct of an assessment or an Assessment Panel or Board has occurred.

Extenuating circumstances (whether relating to College issues, personal or medical problems or any other issue) which are not submitted to the College by the due date may be considered as grounds for appeal only in the most exceptional circumstances (for instance where the student was unable to disclose the circumstances in advance because of a medical condition). Since the College permits the submission of extenuating circumstances under confidential cover, the fact that a student did not wish to disclose personal information will not normally be considered as an exceptional circumstance.

The following do not constitute grounds for appeal:

• dissatisfaction with the academic judgement of one or more examiners or assessors or of the Assessment Board;
• dissatisfaction with the formative assessment of work ;
• dissatisfaction with programme delivery, access to facilities or other relevant provision (which may form the basis of a complaint but not an appeal).

The submission of an appeal will not be to the further detriment of a student’s academic position.

Procedure³

In the event of a candidate's decease the JARB, on the recommendation of the Award Board, may award, and/or cause to be conferred, a degree, diploma or certificate post obitum, provided that:

(a) for first degrees in instances where the candidate has died before completion of the required examinations, the Award Board has consequently considered the candidate's academic record including coursework and performance in previous examinations in the College and is satisfied that, had the student taken the examination or assessment, the student would have passed.

On the recommendation of the Progress and Award Board concerned, students on programmes other than the BMBS, who are prevented by illness or exceptional personal circumstances from taking a deferred assessment at any stage may request that an Aegrotat pass or, at the final stage, the award of an unclassified Aegrotat degree be considered. This can only be processed if the Progress and Award Board concerned has submitted a written report to the JARB certifying:

(a) that it is satisfied that the candidate's absence from the deferred assessment was justified by reason of illness or exceptional personal circumstances, and that the evidence received had included a medical certificate or other appropriate documentation attesting to the candidate's absence submitted to the Head of Registry Services;