1. INTRODUCTION
Welcome – Head of School
2. COURSE INFORMATION
A) College Calendar
B) Programme Specification
C) Unit Specifications
D) Assessment Plan
E) HN Global
3. ASSESSMENT
A) Course Structure
B) RQF Pearson Higher National Qualifications
C) Your Qualification at HRUC
D) Learning and Assessment
E) Marking and Grading
F) Late Submission of Work
G) Assessment Boards
H) Overall Grade Calculation
I) Internal and External Monitoring
J) Academic Appeals (Against Assessment Decisions)
K) Academic Malpractice
4. HE STUDENT REPRESENTATION & ENGAGEMENT
A) Student Representatives
B) HE Student Representation Co-ordinator
C) Student Surveys
D) Tutorials
E) Complaints
F) Office of the Independent Adjudicator
5. RULES & RESPONSIBILITIES
A) Code of Conduct
B) Attendance and Punctuality
C) Equal Opportunity – a simple guide
D) Religious Observance
E) Learning Support for HE Students
F) Health & Safety
G) Safeguarding
6. HRUC STUDENT PORTAL, APP AND LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRES
7. STUDENT SUPPORT
A) The Student Support Team
B) Careers Guidance
8. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
APPENDIX 1 – STUDY GUIDE
A) How to Write Essays
B) General Presentation
C) Referencing Your Reading – Reference Lists & Bibliographies
APPENDIX 2 – EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES APPLICATION
APPENDIX 3 – GLOSSARY
1) INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Uxbridge College and the West London Institute of Technology as well as to your
course. This handbook is designed to give you a general overview of the College and the
School.
London continues to provide a wide range of fantastic employment opportunities, as major
construction projects near completion and new ones are announced. Choose Uxbridge and
allow us to motivate and support you throughout your programme of studies.
We hope that you will enjoy your time of study with us and that the course will provide a
stimulating experience – assisting both your personal development and future progression to
higher levels of study and employment in one of the most exciting and vibrant areas of
endeavour available.
Andrew Reeks
Head of School of Engineering, Construction &
the Built Environment, Technology and Innovation
2. COURSE INFORMATION
A) COLLEGE CALENDAR – 2023/24
HE Induction Day – Friday 27
th
September 2024
To view the College calendar for the academic year 24/25 please go to: www.hruc.ac.uk/calendar
The calendar is fixed and all students are reminded that holidays cannot be booked within the term
dates.
Location: Uxbridge Campus, Park Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1NQ.
B) Programme Specifications
Awarding Institution / Body
Pearson
Teaching Institution
HRUC-Uxbridge College (Uxbridge
Campus)
Final Award
BTEC Higher Nationals in Building
Services Engineering
(Electrical) (2023) - RQF
Language of Instruction
English
Language of Assessment
English
Mode
Full-time
Duration
32 Teaching weeks
Number of Hours / Week
15
Number of Days / Week
2
Total Qualification Time per year
1200 hours per year
Guided Learning
480 hours per year
Independent Study College and Home
720 hours per year
Programme Code, Frameworks, and Specification
The HNC offer at Uxbridge College provides a progression route for our level three learners
who wish to advance their knowledge and their career prospects in the Built Environment
Industry. It also allows direct entry from related employment, and to those seeking a career
in the technical side of Construction. Our links with local Construction employers (Group
Bywaters + Anders, AECOM, Arup, Atkins, CH2M, CIBSE, Clancy Consulting, Jacobs
Engineering, Mott MacDonald, Ruskin Air Management, Waterman Group, VES Andover Ltd,
Sanha UK Ltd, Frese Ltd) will benefit those who choose to study with us, as Industry related
site visits are carried out to further enhance and widen the range of activities to help you
successfully complete your qualification.
Uxbridge College which is part of the West London Institute of Technology is modern and
well-resourced and provides an excellent environment for learners with a team of industry
experienced lecturers to ensure your learning is relevant and up to date.
At Uxbridge College the units in Building Services Engineering (Electrical) programme are
designated according to Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications. They are aligned to the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland, and Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Subject Benchmark Statements. These
qualifications are part of the UK Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).
The Level 4 BTEC Higher National Certificate in Building Service Engineering programme offers
students a broad introduction to the subject area via a mandatory core of learning, as well as
units within general ‘pathways’, while allowing for the acquisition of skills and experience
through the selection of a further (Level 4) unit across a range of occupational sectors. This
effectively builds underpinning core skills, with general specialisation, preparing the student
for further specialisation at Level 5 and then further specialisation at Degree level at Brunel
university or other university.
HE Team Staff Qualifications, Experience and Expertise
The staff teaching team are there to help you achieve your potential on the course. If you have
any problems or issues that you want to discuss the first point of call is the tutor concerned. If
this is not appropriate you should discuss the matter with your personal tutor.
All staff, alongside their teaching hours with you, will operate office hours where you will be
able to sit down with them for any reason. These office hours will be advertised on MS Teams
once the term starts.
The Engineering, Construction & the Built Environment teaching team are based in staffroom
W114 and are contactable there when they are not teaching between 9am 5pm each weekday,
based on the College calendar.
All staff working on the HE courses are qualified with a teaching degree and have many years
of relevant industry experience.
The HE staff take part in frequent training sessions to ensure they have the most up-to-date
teaching and learning skills. Teaching methods are observed each year to ensure they are of the
highest quality. The subjects chosen for the HE course reflects the broad range of knowledge
achieved by our HE lecturing staff and will ensure learners develop the skills necessary to
progress to University or work.
Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Building
Services Engineering (Electrical)
Unit
Credit
Level
Unit 1: Construction Design Project (Pearson-set)
15
4
Unit 2: Construction Technology
15
4
Unit 4: The Construction Environment
15
4
Unit 6: Digital Applications for Construction Information
15
4
Unit 8: Mathematics for Construction
15
4
Unit 18: Principles of Electrical Design & Installation
15
4
Unit 20: Site Supervision & Operations
15
4
Unit 22: Scientific Principles for Building Services
15
4
Unit specification are given below to show the aims, Learning outcomes, and brief abstract
about each unit:
Unit 1
Construction Design Project (Pearson-set)
Introduction:
The success of any project relies on the development of a good design and the technical information to allow the
project to be built. The aim of this unit is to help students to appreciate and be aware of the design process and
the information required to communicate the design itself, specify and quantify materials, provide instructions
for the assembly and erection, and facilitate precise costing and project management.
Topics included in this unit are: project phases; construction drawing; detailing; Computer Aided Design (CAD);
Building Information Modelling (BIM); schedules; specifications; bills of quantities; information collaboration.
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to analyse scenarios, make decisions and produce
drawings and specifications to achieve appropriate, creative and innovative home design proposals.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Discuss the stages of a design process and the types of information required to communicate, share and
manage the project process
LO2 Explain the different types of construction information developed through the course of a project
LO3 Produce design propositions that address project requirements defined through feasibility stages
LO4 Present a construction information package, highlighting the coordination of information between different
project stakeholders to ensure accuracy.
Unit 2
Construction Technology
Introduction:
The basic principles of construction technology have not changed for hundreds of years. However, the materials
and techniques used to achieve these basic principles are constantly evolving to enable the construction industry
to deliver better quality buildings. Scarcity of resources and the continuing demand of more sophisticated clients,
end users and other stakeholder interests, are driving the construction industry to provide buildings that facilitate
enhanced environmental and energy performance, and greater flexibility. This is in response to ever-increasing
financial, environmental, legal and economic constraints.
This unit introduces the different technological concepts used to enable the construction of building elements,
from substructure to completion, by understanding the different functional characteristics and design
considerations that need to be borne in mind when selecting the most suitable technological solution.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Explain the terminology used in construction technology
LO2 Describe the different techniques used to construct a range of substructures and superstructures, including
their function and design selection criteria
LO3 Discuss different methods of dealing with site conditions to support building and infrastructure construction
LO4 Illustrate the supply and distribution of a range of building services and how they are accommodated within
the building.
Unit 4
The Construction Environment
Introduction:
Construction is a complex and dynamic sector of the local, regional, national and international economy. In many
countries it is a driving force in the growth of finance, property and employment. This also means that it has
considerable impact on many factors beyond its direct influence on the buildings and infrastructure that are
created and maintained.
The construction industry is one of the major contributors to CO2 emissions. Also, the way that buildings are
designed, constructed and maintained means they have an ongoing impact on the environment. Similarly, as a
major employer, the industry has an ongoing impact on the working conditions of those in the sector and the
way that people are educated, trained and supported through their careers.
In this unit, students will explore the make-up and the impact of the construction industry on the environment
and society. By exploring the roles and relationships of individuals and organisations in the construction sector,
students will gain an overview of the organisational and the personal ways in which the sector works to continue
to improve the built environment and limit its impact on the environment, while maintaining economic
sustainability and growth.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Explore the development of the construction industry through the roles and relationships of the
professionals involved
LO2 Assess the impact of the construction industry
LO3 Discuss the ways in which the construction industry ensures quality, timely completion and safety
LO4 Examine the routes to employment and progression within the construction industry.
Unit 6 Digital Applications for
Construction Information
Introduction:
Achieving successful projects in the built environment requires a range of different types of information to
describe the project, quantify the materials, provide clear instructions for assembly and erection, and allow for
accurate costing and management. Throughout the process of design, construction and post-occupancy
management, information is critical.
Central to construction information is the production of construction drawings. These provide the geometric
definition of a project through the use of graphic conventions. Most other forms of construction information will
rely, to a greater or lesser degree, on reference to construction drawings. Therefore, the production of accurate
and clearly defined construction drawings is a critical part of the overall construction information package.
Digital applications play a key role in the production of construction drawings. They provide a way to manage
drawing information and make changes with greater efficiency and can be shared readily through a variety of
digital communication systems.
In this unit students will develop the skills to needed produce accurate and consistent construction information
using industry-standard software. On completion of the unit, students will be able to produce a construction
information package. Successful achievement of the unit, may also lead to vendor certification.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Discuss the key types of construction information that may be produced in support of construction projects
LO2 Demonstrate the use of project standards and their setup in digital applications
LO3 Generate construction information for a given project using industry-standard digital applications
LO4 Present a package of construction information, including drawings, schedules and specifications for a given
construction project.
Unit 8
Mathematics for Construction
Introduction:
The aim of this unit is to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the mathematical principles and
theories that underpin many aspects of construction technology, structures and materials. Students will be
introduced to mathematical methods and statistical techniques so that they can analyse and solve problems in a
construction engineering context.
Topics included in this unit are: trigonometry and algebraic mathematical techniques; matrices; statistical
techniques; differential and integral calculus; binomial and normal distribution; dimensional analysis; arithmetic
progressions; vector analysis.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to employ mathematical methods in a variety of
contextualised examples; use analytical and computational methods to evaluate and solve engineering construction
problems; interpret data using stat
istical techniques and apply calculus techniques. Students will gain crucial
employability skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, analysis, reasoning and data interpretation.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Use analytical and computational methods to solve construction-related problems
LO2 Investigate applications of statistical techniques to interpret, organise and present data by using appropriate
computer software packages
LO3 Illustrate the wide-
ranging uses of calculus within different construction disciplines by solving
problems of differential and integral calculus
LO4 Use mathematical methods to solve vector analysis, arithmetic progression and dimensional analysis
problems.
Unit 18
Principles of Electrical Design & Installation
Introduction:
While people have studied electricity since the 17th century and have had an awareness of the phenomenon as
early as the 3rd millennium BCE, it was the 20th century that saw the rapid expansion of electrical devices and
installation that has defined modern society. No longer limited to the presence of natural light, we are able to
work, play and enjoy activities at any time. The availability of electrical current, to almost any location, has also
led to a proliferation of devices that make many previously mundane tasks simple.
This unit aims to give students a broad understanding of electrical machines, distribution of electric energy and
lighting design basics. Students will develop the skills needed to design simple electrical and lighting installations
in compliance with relevant legislation and standards.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Discuss the fundamentals of electricity, magnetism, transformers and circuits
LO2 Analyse the performance, operation and control of AC and DC motors
LO3 Explain the different methods of electricity generation and distribution
LO4 Present a proposal for a non-domestic lighting installation in a given project.
Unit 20
Site Supervision & Operations
Introduction:
The construction of buildings and infrastructure involves many different types of work and many different
people. The skills required to successfully manage the diverse groups of people on a building site, and to
monitor and assess their work, is critical to both the success of the project and the safety of those working on
the project.
Topics covered in this unit include: reviewing construction information; monitoring quality; identifying and
notifying of defects; site safety regulations; health and safety regulations; people management; performance
management; site meetings; contractor and sub-contractor relations.
In this unit, students will develop the skills and techniques needed to manage the people and processes of a
building site, ensuring the quality of work, safe working practices and the interactions of different ‘trades’.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Review construction information to determine quality requirements
LO2 Illustrate the ways in which monitoring of construction projects ensures quality and safety
LO3 Explain the different stages in the management of a construction project
LO4 Discuss methods for assessing and improving the performance of site staff.
Unit 22
Scientific Principles for Building Services
Introduction:
Building services engineering is based on the application of scientific principles, requiring an understanding of
key mathematical formulae.
In this unit, students will develop an understanding of the scientific principles and mathematical concepts
necessary to design and specify building services plant and equipment. Covering areas such as heat transfer, fluid
flow, acoustics electrical networ
ks and control systems, students will consider the way in which scientific
principles underpin our understanding of the relationship between building services and human comfort.
By the end of this unit, students will have a grounding in the application of scientific principles in relation to the
design and specification of building services, and an understanding of how these services are employed to
support human activity with buildings.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
LO1 Calculate energy transfer rates in different building services contexts
LO2 Evaluate conditions of static and dynamic fluid flow to determine energy loss
LO3 Design electrical circuits for single-phase AC networks
LO4 Determine the effects of sound and vibration related to building services and human comfort.
Assessment plan for 2024-25
We plan to complete four units per semester, each unit is likely to involve one or more
assignments. As soon as we have a complete assessment plan, we will update this document.
Most of the units will be completed via written assignments, relevant practical assessments will
be planned within the unit.
3. ASSESSMENT
A) Course Structure
It is important you know the structure of your course as this affects the units that you will study and
how your grade is calculated.
The course you are on is a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) qualification. It is made up of
units, each at a set level and with a certain number of credits.
RQF Levels
There are 9 Levels ranging from Entry (the lowest) the 8 (the highest). The table below shows some
qualifications and their levels:
Level 8
Doctorates (e.g. PhD / DPhil)
Level 7
Master’s degrees (e.g. MA, MSc, MEng)
Postgraduate Certificates
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
Level 6
Bachelor’s degrees (e.g. BA, BSc, BEng)
Professional Graduate Certificate in Education
Graduate certificates and Certificates
Level 5
Pearson BTEC HND
Foundation Degrees (e.g. FdA, FdSc)
Certificates of Higher Education (Dip HE)
Level 4
Pearson BTEC HNC
Certificates of Higher Education (Cert HE)
Level 3
BTEC Nationals (e.g. Level 3 Foundation Diplomas, Diplomas, Extended
Diplomas)
Access to HE Diploma
A Levels / T levels / Level 3 NVQs
Level 2
BTEC Firsts (e.g. Level 2 Extended Certificates, Diplomas)
GCSEs (Grades 9 to 5 or A* to C)
Level 2 NVQs
Level 1
BTEC Level 1 Awards, Certificates, Diplomas
GCSEs (Grades 4 to 1 or D to G)
Entry Level
Entry Level (1, 2 and 3): Pearson BTEC Entry Level Awards, Certificates,
Diplomas
‘Higher Education’ refers to the courses that are on this list at levels 4 to 8.
RQF Units – credits and time
Each RQF qualifications is made up of units. On BTEC HNCs and HNDs most units are 15 credits in
size – some are larger and are a multiple of 15 (e.g. 30, 45) credits in size.
These units have been designed from a learning time perspective and are expressed in terms of Unit
Learning Hours (ULH). ULH represent the total hours that a student needs to achieve the required
learning outcomes, for a given Unit.
The ULH for a 15-credit unit is 150 – which includes 60 hours of Guided Learning and 90 hours of
independent study.
Guided Learning
This is when a tutor is with you, giving you specific guidance towards learning aims. This includes:
• lessons, lectures and tutorials in class, workshops or the LRC with a teacher
• live webinars or telephone tutorials led by a teacher
• E-learning supervised by a teacher
• work based learning supervised by a tutor
• Any supervised assessment activity (for instance exams with invigilators, or observation of
you making a presentation etc).
Guided Learning Hours are usually on your timetable and you are expected to attend 100% of
them.
Independent Study
For a 15 credit unit there are 90 unit learning hours that are not guided learning. This is the time you
are expected to spend on independent study - working on your own. This could be reading up on the
subject, conducting research, e-learning, watching podcasts / webinars, work based learning etc. It
also includes the time you spend completing work set by your teachers.
You can complete independent study anywhere – inside the college (e.g. in the LRC) or outside. If
you need to access specialist equipment, please talk to your teacher to help arrange it. Please note
that there may be some rooms or equipment that you are not permitted to use without supervision
(e.g. engineering workshops).
You can still communicate with teachers and other students during your independent study time,
but you will have to arrange this yourself. You should find out from your teachers when you can see
them in their office, or how best communicate with them outside timetabled classes (e.g. on
Microsoft Teams).
An important part of Higher Education is being organised. You need to attend all of your guided
learning and spend enough time on independent study to succeed.
Total Qualification Time
If you add up all of the ULH on your qualification you get the Total Qualification Time (TQT). This is
an estimate of the amount expected to be required for a student to achieve the qualification.
Remember that this includes both guided learning and independent study.
The Total Qualification Time (TQT) for an HNC is 1,200 hours.
The total Guided Learning Hours are 480 hours - so you should be doing 720 hours of independent
study while working on your HNC.
If you progress onto an HND, that has another 1,200 hours TQT, made up of 480 GLH and 720
independent study.
B) RQF Pearson Higher National Qualifications (HNs)
Pearson publish specifications which give the details of the units available and the rules of how they
must be combined to make a valid qualification.
The Pearson BTEC Level 4 HNC is a Level 4 qualification made up of 120 credits.
• This is usually made up of 8 level 4 units, each worth 15 credits.
• There may be fewer units if some are worth more credit.
The Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND is a Level 5 qualification made up of 240 credits. This is made up of
the HNC (120 credits at level 4) and then 120 credits at level 5.
• The level 5 credits are usually spread over 7 units – 6 of 15 credits and one larger project
unit of 30 credits
C) Your qualification at HRUC
Your qualification has been designed by selecting units from the Pearson specification. Your
programme will include all the mandatory core and specialist units, and then a selection of optional
units. The optional units selected may have been chosen because:
• They match the strengths of HRUC (e.g. staff expertise, resources)
• To ensure you have a good range of knowledge to allow progression to a range of
employment or further study
• To enable you to apply for specific job roles once completed
• To meet entry requirements for university top-up degree programmes
• To meet the requirements of employers / sponsors of students
The combination of units chosen will provide you with the correct amount of credit and TQT, at the
correct level(s) to mean that successfully completing them will earn you the qualification.
Your tutors’ choice of units is outlined in section 1 and 2 of this handbook. If you think that different
optional units should be delivered, or a particular pathway, please talk to your tutor as soon as
possible. They may not be able to offer everything you want but we have changed programmes
before to include units requested by students – especially where these are required for progression
to employment or University.
D) Learning & Assessment
Information in the following pages includes extracts from HRUC policies on Assessment, Internal
Verification, Student Submission of Internally Assessed Work and Academic Malpractice. Full copies
of these policies are available if you require further information.
Units
Each unit on your qualification has a specification written by the awarding body. These are available
from the Pearson website and your tutors may make them available to you. Every unit specification
includes:
• The unit title and code number
• Unit type (e.g. core), level and credit value
• Introduction – a summary of the purpose, aims and focus of the unit, as well as highlighting
the key knowledge, skills and understanding gained while studying.
• Learning outcomes - this is a list of all you need to know, understand or be able to do to pass
the unit
• Essential content – identifies the key phrases or concepts for each learning outcome. Your
tutors use this to plan the teaching on your course and they will deliver all of this content to
you as part of your course.
• Assessment Criteria – these are statements of the evidence you need to produce. Each
learning outcome will have several criteria linked to it. Your tutors use criteria to create
assignments.
• Any additional evidence requirements that students will have to complete
• Recommended resources – suggested reading (including journals and websites) and links to
other related units.
This information cannot be changed by HRUC staff or students.
Your tutors use these unit specifications to complete a Scheme of Work, showing the topics you will
cover in every week of your programme. The Scheme of Work will closely match the unit content
and may indicate how it is to be delivered (e.g. classroom teaching, distance learning, lectures,
seminars, practical sessions, work experience etc).
Assessment of Units
Assessment checks that effective learning of the unit content has taken place.
Assessment on HN qualifications is mainly through the completion of assignments, designed by your
teachers.
Pearson may offer example assignments, which your teachers can adapt and use instead of writing
their own.
For one Core project unit of the HND, Pearson set a different theme each year. This does not mean
you will have to sit an exam. You will still be completing assignments - either written by your
teachers or suggested by Pearson.
Assignments
Assignment briefs for each unit will be issued to you while you are studying those units. This allows
you to get guidance on how to complete the assignments from your tutors while you are working on
the unit content they refer to.
Assignment briefs:
• Set you particular tasks or activities to do (e.g. an essay, presentation, project or
experiment) and tell you what evidence you need to produce (e.g. a written report, a
presentation to group, a completed product). These tasks or activities will be representative
of those undertaken in the vocational sector relevant to your programme. If you complete
the task or activity as required, you will have provided evidence that you have met one or
more assessment criteria.
• State the assessment criteria they are designed to assess. There are usually one, two or
three assignment briefs for each unit, with each assignment covering one or more
assessment criteria.
• May be broken down into separate Tasks requiring you to produce various different forms of
evidence
• Will cover all of the assessment criteria for one or more learning outcomes (i.e. you won’t
get separate assignment briefs for Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria – though there could
be different tasks).
It is important that you understand what evidence assignments are asking you to produce. To help
use the glossary of terms and evidence at the back of this handbook (Appendix 3).
Submission of Assignments
Assignment briefs will have a deadline for submission of the work. You must submit all of your
assignments by the submission dates given. Your teachers may have additional rules regarding
submission of assignments – for example a particular place where they must be by the deadline.
Make sure you know these rules. Failure to do so will affect your grades and possibly your
completion of the qualification.
Your tutors will give you further information and guidance on completing assignments during
timetabled sessions and often provide you with resources (e.g. through Teams, links to videos on
YouTube, reading lists etc) that will help you to do so.
Draft submission and feedback
To help you achieve the highest grade you can, your teachers will give you feedback on draft
assignments before the deadline.
Teachers will tell you when to bring in your drafts and when you will get feedback on them. For
every assignment you will get one opportunity to have your draft work looked at – for some longer
assignments you may be given a second opportunity.
The feedback on draft assignments will include general advice on how to progress your studies.
Feedback cannot give you advice on what you directly need to do to improve your assignment, or
state what grade your draft work would achieve.
For example comments might be that ‘your analysis of the research is not clear, you need to look at
it more critically’ and will not be “you need to write this to get a Merit….”
Please note that the deadline on the assignment brief does not change – you must complete any
actions identified by your tutor before the submission date.
NB: This is your only opportunity to use your teacher’s feedback to improve your work. Make sure
that you read it carefully and if you don’t understand it, ask.
If you do not bring in drafts when asked, teachers do not have to give you another opportunity to
do so, or provide you with any feedback before you submit the work.
Feedback is usually written so that you can refer back to it throughout the year, and use it to help
you improve any assignments that you are working on.
Turnitin
All written work that you submit must first have been uploaded to Turnitin – a piece of software that
has been developed to check student submissions for accurate referencing of sources. Work
uploaded to Turnitin will generate an ‘originality report’. This report will highlight occurrences of
other people’s work that has been used or quoted in your assignments and will give you an overall
‘originality’ percentage.
Although you must not plagiarise other people’s work, when writing assignments, it is good
academic practice to correctly use referenced sources to support your ideas. Referencing is expected
and necessary at this level of study. (See ‘Appendix 1 – Study Guide’ for more information.)
An originality report should show that you have correctly referenced all the sources used in your
work. It is recommended that you use Turnitin reports to check your assignments before they are
submitted for marking. If you check and find you have not correctly referenced all the sources used
in your work, you should update it and check again before submitting it for marking.
Any assignments submitted for marking that contains incorrect referencing or suspected cheating
will be dealt with under the College Academic Malpractice Policy (see section K for more details)
Turnitin can also indicate where work may have been generated by AI. Unacknowledged use of AI is
also malpractice.
When you submit work through MS Teams, it may be automatically checked by Turnitin.
Authentication
When you submit finished work for marking you must sign it to confirm that it is your own work and
has been completed according to the rules of the qualification.
If you submit work electronically (e.g. in Teams) when logged in to your college account, that is the
same as you signing a paper copy.
If you sign work which is not your own then you have committed academic malpractice, which HRUC
treats very seriously (see section K for more details).
E) Marking and Grading
Once your assignment has been submitted it will be marked and returned to you within 3 (working)
weeks. Marked assignments show you which assessment criteria you have met, which you haven’t
met, and why.
Marking and feedback will show where in your work, or how, you have met criteria. If not all criteria
have been met, feedback will state why you did not meet them.
This is because you may be able to submit the assignment again – see Resubmissions (below).
Feedback may give you advice on how you could improve future assignments.
Feedback must not tell you how you can improve your evidence to meet any criteria you haven’t
achieved.
When you have completed all the assignments for a unit and they have been marked you will receive
a unit grade. This reflects the highest level at which you have met all the assessment criteria in the
unit.
• To achieve a Pass you must have met all of the Pass criteria for the unit
• To achieve a Merit you must have met all of the Pass and all of the Merit criteria
• To achieve a Distinction you must have met all of the Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria
Units are provisionally graded Unclassified, Pass, Merit or Distinction. Grades are only confirmed at
the end of the academic year by the Assessment Board.
Just completing your assignments doesn’t mean you will get a Pass (or better) for the unit.
You have to meet all of the Pass criteria to achieve a Pass – if you complete all assignments for a unit
but do not meet all the Pass criteria the unit will be graded as Unclassified.
If you do not complete all the assignments for a unit then you do not automatically get an
unclassified grade. You will instead have failed the unit (refer to Section H) for more detail.
If you don’t pass a unit, then you do not earn the credits associated with it and so may not achieve
the minimum amount of credit at the level required to achieve the HNC or HNC qualification.
Resubmission
If your work met all the Pass criteria contained in the assignment brief, you may not resubmit it to
get higher grades. You have only one opportunity to achieve Merit and Distinction grades.
If your work was submitted on time but did not meet all the Pass criteria contained in the
assignment brief, you will be expected to re-submit it.
You will be asked to re-do the assignment wherever possible, but you may have to complete a new
one – for example if the original assignment was an exam.
Resubmissions usually must be completed within 15 working days of getting feedback on your first
submission.
No further guidance or support can be given to you while you complete a resubmission and only
one resubmission per assignment is permitted.
If you need to resubmit any assignments for a unit, then your unit grade will be capped at a Pass.
If your resubmission still does not meet all Pass criteria, then the unit grade is Unclassified.
If your assignment was submitted late, you cannot resubmit it (See section F).
F) Late Submission of Work
Extensions to deadlines
If you know that you are going to be unable to meet the submission date, you must speak to your
teacher at least 3 working days before the deadline.
If you are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to accident, illness or severe emotional or
mental stress you should complete an extenuating circumstances application (see Appendix 2) and
submit it with supporting evidence (e.g. a Doctor’s letter).
Only the Head of School and Section Manager may give extensions to deadlines. These will only be
granted on an individual basis depending on the specific circumstances.
If you are given an extension to the deadline you have until this date to complete the assignment. If
your work is submitted by this date, it will be marked and graded as described in section E.
Missing deadlines
If you submit an assignment after the submission date without an agreed extension or an accepted
extenuating circumstances application, it will still be marked but:
• late work may not be marked at the same time as other students, and may take longer than
usual to come back to you
• feedback on late work may also be reduced
• no re-submission is permitted. If you don’t achieve a Pass (or higher) you have failed the
unit and possibly the whole course.
• may be capped at a Pass. This is so that students can’t achieve higher grades by taking
longer than others and submitting work late.
Note that if you submit work late you may not be able to achieve Merit or Distinction grades,
depending on the requirements of the assignment.
G) Assessment Boards
Assessment Boards take the final decisions on unit grades. This is to ensure that assessment is
conducted with rigour, probity and fairness across all HE programmes and is a requirement of
Pearson.
At Assessment Boards the team that delivered your qualification present the grades they have
awarded for every unit for every student to an independent panel. Students do not attend. The
panel examines the grades awarded in the light of internal and external monitoring reports. They
will then either ratify the grades awarded or, if there are doubts about the quality of assessment, ask
for further internal verification (IV) to confirm them. This means that unit grades could change
following assessment boards. If there are any changes you will be informed about them.
Where students do not have a Pass grade or better for one or more units the panel will ask for more
details. If there are valid extenuating circumstances (see section F), the panel could decide to give
students more time to complete their work or a resubmission opportunity. The panel will also decide
what conditions apply (e.g. new deadlines).
In exceptional circumstances, the panel can recommend that students repeat units they have not
passed the following year. The student would have to attend all lessons for repeated units and
complete all of the assignments again, and the grade is limited to a Pass. There would be additional
fees to pay for any repeated units and these will depend on the unit size and content.
The panel’s decisions on any further opportunities will depend on feedback from tutors on students’
ability, commitment to the course, timeliness of submitting assignments, and if they made use of
feedback opportunities.
If students do not have pass grades for one or more units and there are no valid extenuating
circumstances then the panel will confirm the student has not passed the unit(s).
Assessment Boards take place at least once a year, at the end of the academic year. Some courses
may have interim assessment boards to review progress during the academic year (e.g. at the end of
a semester).
Assessment Boards also decide on progression – for example from Semester 1 to Semester 2, from
HNC to HND or from the first year of a part-time course to the second year. Students will normally
only be able to progress if they have achieved at least a pass grade in all units due by the board
meeting.
If you know that you will not have achieved at least a Pass grade in all units by the Assessment
Board, you should write to your tutor explaining why, so that the board can consider this.
If you wish to progress but have not achieved at least a Pass grade in all units by the Assessment
Board, you should write to your tutor explaining why, so that the board can consider this.
Appeals against the decisions made by assessment boards can be made using the procedure for
appeals against assessment decisions. See Section J for more detail.
H) Overall Grade Calculation
Unit Grades confirmed by Assessment Boards are reported to Pearson. This may happen throughout
the year, as units are completed. Once all unit grades are reported to Pearson, they will then
produce a certificate and send it to the Examinations Department at HRUC. The certificate will be
posted to you as soon as possible. Qualifications have an overall grade of Pass, Merit or Distinction.
HNC
To achieve an HNC you need to have:
• Completed units with 120 credits at level 4
• Achieved at least a Pass grade in units with a total of 105 credits or more at Level 4
This means that you can still gain the overall qualification if you have:
• an Unclassified grade in one level 4, 15 credit unit
• at least a Pass grade in all the others.
HND
To achieve an HND you need to have:
• Completed units with 120 credits at level 4 (i.e. the HNC)
• Achieved at least a Pass grade in units with a total of 105 credits or more at Level 4
• Completed units with 120 credits at level 5
• Achieved at least a Pass grade in units with a total of 105 credits or more at Level 5
This means that you can still gain the overall qualification if you have:
• an Unclassified grade in one level 4, 15 credit unit
• an Unclassified grade in one level 5, 15 credit unit
• at least a Pass grade in all the others.
Unit and Qualification Points
If you have failed any unit (i.e. not got at least an unclassified grade), then you have not
completed it and will not have earned enough credits to complete the qualification.
Completed units are allocated points per credit - For the HND, only level 5 units earn points.
• Unclassified 0 points
• Pass 4 points
• Merit 6 points
• Distinction 8 points
So a 15 credit unit will total 0 points for U, 60 for P, 90 for M and 120 for D.
Points are totalled and the overall qualification grade awarded based on the following boundaries:
Pass 420-599 points
Merit 600-839 points
Distinction 840 points or more
Please note that Universities and Employers may have entry requirements that require you to
achieve high grades in specific units or even across all of your units.
I) Internal & External Monitoring
HRUC engages in numerous activities to maintain the standard of assessment on your qualifications
and to ensure that they meet national standards.
Internal Verification (IV) of Assignment Briefs
Before assignment briefs are issued to students they will be internally verified. An
Internal Verifier (a member of staff with specialist subject knowledge) will examine the assignment
briefs to ensure that:
• they enable students to achieve Awarding Body criteria
• they are fit for purpose
• the context is relevant to the students
• the guidelines and instructions are clear
• they do not discriminate against students as a result of gender, race, disability, sexuality, age
or faith group.
You may see a stamp, signature or date on assignment briefs to confirm they have been IVd.
IV of Assessment Decisions
A proportion of assessed work from your qualification will be internally verified. The internal verifier
(IV) – who must not be the person who assessed the work – will check that the assessment decisions
made are justifiable and that the written feedback and guidance given to you is appropriate. Work
must be internally verified from every assignment, every unit, and every assessor on the
qualification and from every grade (including unclassified and fail) The IV gives feedback to the
assessor about their assessment decisions – they do not communicate directly with students. This
process should be completed within the three-week turnaround for marking assignments and should
not delay the return of your marked work.
You may see a stamp, signature or date on marked work to confirm it has been IVd.
Standardisation
If different teachers mark work for the same unit (e.g. if there are two or more groups studying the
same unit with different teachers), they meet and complete marking exercises to ensure that they all
apply assessment criteria consistently and that their marking agrees with awarding organisation
requirements.
Standardisation meetings for teachers take place even where assessments or units are marked
entirely by one teacher, to ensure assessment is consistent across all units and qualifications.
External Examination
External Examiners are subject specialists, employed by the awarding organisation to make sure that
HRUC is running qualifications correctly. External Examiners visit the College annually to:
• ensure that the national standard of the qualifications is maintained
• check the accuracy and consistency of assessment decisions by sampling those made by your
tutors
• evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery of the qualification and of the assignment briefs
• examine HRUC’s commitment to maintaining and improving quality.
When they visit External Examiners will want to talk to students. You should be asked if you would
like to meet with them - although you are not required to. External Examiners will want to check
your understanding of the assessment and grading requirements and to ask you about the
assessment and resources on your qualification. External Examiners complete a report sent to both
the College and the awarding organisation which will contain any actions that we are required to
take. Copies of external examiner reports will be made available to students.
Academic Standards
The Academic Standards section of HRUC monitors the quality of the qualifications being delivered
and the effectiveness of strategies in place to raise standards and improve quality. It does this by
inspecting each department within the College every year and then making and monitoring
recommendations. Academic Standards are also responsible for managing the External Examination
process and monitoring the College’s work in meeting any action plans.
Higher Education Quality and Development Committee (HEQDC)
The HE Quality and Development Committee is part of HRUC’s Academic Board, which oversees the
development and quality monitoring of all programmes. Chaired by the Vice Principal of HRUC –
Uxbridge College, HEQDC meets at least once a term where it monitors all HE provision in the
college.
Key duties include:
• reviewing and assessing key performance indicators such as achievement, attendance and
punctuality on HE qualifications
• receiving reports (from Unit Review questionnaires, student surveys, External Examiners,
Academic Standards and Pearson) and monitoring the actions taken to address any issues
raised
• working to identify and address any common themes running across all HE qualifications.
Staff representatives from every higher education course attend HEDQC, as do Academic Standards
staff, the Head of Guidance & Information Services, the Head of Marketing and the HE student year
representatives. See the section on student representation and engagement for more information.
J) Academic Appeals (Against Assessment Decisions)
We take great care to ensure that work is marked fairly and within the national standard.
If you are unhappy about your marks please see your Tutor first – they will explain your grading
decision further. Remember, you are only awarded marks for results, not effort, and you must
ensure you have met all the assessment rules in this handbook.
If you are still unhappy about your grade, HRUC has a formal Appeals Against Assessment Decisions
Procedure. In simple terms it means that if you disagree with any of the assessment decisions that
have been made on your course (including those by the assessment board), you can appeal for the
decision to be changed. This does not necessarily mean that the assessment decision will be changed
but that someone will investigate for you and tell you the decision.
Appeals must be based on one or more of these reasons:
• the assessment procedures were not conducted in accordance with the requirements of the
Awarding Body, the College’s Higher Education Assessment Policy or in accordance with
College requirements
• the assessment was based on inadequate, incorrect or biased information
• your performance was adversely affected by illness or other circumstances which was for
good reasons unable to be made known to the assessor at the time of assessment against
which appeal is being made
• the assessment decision may seriously hinder full accreditation or progression.
If you are going to make a formal appeal you must do so as soon as possible after you get your result
and not more than 30 calendar days after you do so.
Appeals Procedure
Informal Procedure
I have an appeal. What can I do?
Talk to my course tutor, Course Team Leader / Section Manager / Assistant Head of School or Head
of School
Formal Procedure
If you are not satisfied with the decisions that were made in the informal stage
Write formally to the Assistant Principal for your course, stating your name, the name of the
assessor and course tutor, details of the assessment decision and why you think it is wrong.
Exceptions
There are certain circumstances under which the College Appeals Against Assessment Decisions
Procedure is superseded. Details of this are contained within the full policy (available on the policies
page of the HRUC website www.hruc.ac.uk/policies ).
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator
If you are still not satisfied after the formal appeal has been completed, you can complain to the
Office of the Independent Adjudicator – we will give you the details of how to do this. The OIA is an
independent body that runs the student complaints scheme for all organisations in England and
Wales delivering Higher Education. The OIA cannot re-mark the work or change the grade, but they
can make sure that College assessment and appeal procedures were carried out correctly and fairly.
K) Academic Malpractice
The College has an Academic Malpractice Policy which deals with all forms of cheating in assessment
(the full policy is available on request). Types of cheating include:
• directly copying or paraphrasing the work of others and presenting it as your own
(plagiarism)
• getting someone to produce all or part of your work (personation)
• working together with other students to produce work and submitting it as your own
individual work (collusion)
• copying another student’s work with or without permission
• knowingly allowing a student to copy your work
• resubmitting previously graded work
• using forbidden notes or books in producing work or tests
• presenting work downloaded from the internet/online sources as your own
• fabrication of results (including experiments, research, interviews, observations)
• deliberate destruction of another student’s work
• giving your work to another student so that they can copy from it.
• Using AI to produce research, reports, assignments etc
By signing work submitted for marking you are confirming that it has been completed according to
the rules of the qualification. It is important that you ask your tutor if you are not sure about any of
the rules as anyone caught cheating will face penalties as described in the College Academic
Malpractice Policy.
HRUC may use Turnitin and other software to look for evidence of academic malpractice in any of
your assignments.
Possible penalties include disqualification from units or even the entire qualification. This could
affect your ability to successfully complete your programme of study and could lead to exclusion
from the College.
4. HE STUDENT REPRESENTATION & ENGAGEMENT
HRUC believes that the best way of constantly improving our higher education courses is by
collecting and acting on student feedback. Student views are given the highest priority and so we
want to hear from you. There are several ways that you can get involved:
A. Student Representatives
Being a student representative is a great way to help improve the quality of higher education at
HRUC (and to improve your CV and UCAS personal statement).
i) Tutor Group Reps
Every HE group is asked to elect a Rep. The role of Tutor Group Reps is to collect the views (both
good and bad) of everyone in their group, discuss these with College staff and to feedback responses
to the group.
Tutor Group Reps’ contact details are supplied to Student Support so that they are included in whole
college (i.e. including FE students) activities - such as tutor group rep training events and student
council meetings.
Tutor Group Reps will be invited to meetings with the Head of School (with the Reps from all other
courses in the school)
After these meetings the Tutor Group Reps should share with their group the details of what was
said and any information they may have been given.
ii) HE Year Reps
The role of HE Year Reps is to collect the views of the HE Tutor Group Reps and to report them
formally at the HE Quality & Development Committee (held three times a year) to senior College
staff. They will then feedback to the HE Tutor Group Reps what was said at HEQDC.
For the summer term HE class rep meeting, the HE Year Reps prepare an annual report for
discussion and ratification.
HRUC recognises that this is a significant role and therefore formally recruits (and rewards) HE Year
Reps from the new first year students each October. HE Year Reps will usually continue in the role in
their second year.
NB: HE Year Reps do not have to be HE Tutor Group Reps too.
B. HE Student Representation Co-ordinator
The HE Co-ordinator is a member of staff who helps the HE Tutor Group and Year Reps in their roles.
The Co-ordinator can suggest discussion topics, provide an agenda and help arrange HE Rep
meetings, record student views, suggest formats for Reps’ reports, proofread the annual report and
help with presenting views at HEQDC.
The co-ordinator may also send important or interesting information out to HE Reps for them to
share with their group.
C. Student Surveys
Students will be invited to share their views and opinions of their course, tutors and the college
regularly. This includes:
i) Unit Reviews
Twice a year students will be asked to complete a review questionnaire. You will be asked to
evaluate the teaching and learning, assessment and feedback, resources and environment and the
content of the units you are studying. These results are presented at HEASC where your tutors will
be asked to comment and state what they are going to do to improve the course.
ii) Surveys
The HE Co-ordinator will send out surveys throughout the academic year – usually once per term –
asking for students to rate various aspects of the course and the college. To complete the survey
students need to be logged in to their college account.
iii) Graduate Outcomes
This is an external survey run on behalf of the government about 15 months after you finish any HE
qualification, to find out what have gone on to do. Results are published so prospective students can
see what they can go on to do.
The survey uses the contact detail you give to the college while you are here. Please ensure you
keep these details up to date.
iv) Pearson Annual Student Survey
Each year Pearson will ask all students around the world who are studying BTEC Higher National
Qualifications to complete a survey about their student experience. Results will help Pearson to
continue to develop these qualifications.
D. Tutorials
Your timetable may include tutorial and / or study skills sessions. These are to support and guide you
through your studies. This will include identifying and developing the higher-level skills needed on
your course and to succeed in employment or further study.
E. Complaints
At HRUC, we try to get things right every time but on occasion things may go wrong. If this happens,
we want to hear from you so that we can improve things.
If you have a complaint or concern you should first speak to your tutor. If you feel unable to do this
or are not satisfied with their response, you can make a formal complaint. To do so email your tutor,
[email protected], feedback@richmond.ac.uk or feedback@uxbridge.ac.uk .
If you need help with writing a complaint, please contact one of the Student Support Officers who
will be able to explain the process to you and help you complete it.
On receipt of your complaint, we will:
• acknowledge your complaint within five working days
• investigate your complaint and provide a written response by an appropriate manager.
When you complain please supply as much information as possible to help us investigate (e.g. date,
time, location, names / descriptions of people involved, what the problem was, what anyone
present said / did).
You can submit complaints anonymously, or as part of a group.
If you feel able to provide your contact details though we will be able to respond to you or ask for
more detail if required.
F. Office of the Independent Adjudicator
If you are not satisfied with our response to a complaint you can complain to the Office of the
Independent Adjudicator – we will give you the details of how to do this. The OIA is an independent
body that runs the student complaints scheme for all organisations in England and Wales delivering
Higher Education.
5. RULES & RESPONSIBILITIES
A) Code of Conduct
This Student Code of Conduct applies to all students of the College.
Students are required to abide by the Code of Conduct and College Rules and Regulations
HRUC expects all students to:
• Help to maintain a pleasant environment for everyone.
• Show respect for others and uphold the Equality & Diversity Policy.
• Devote time on the College premises to the purposes of learning and activities which
promote learning or personal development.
• Be polite and behave in a manner which will not cause offence to others.
• Show respect for property and possessions and equipment. Students will be liable for any
damage for which they are responsible.
• Uphold the good reputation of the College, either on site or off site.
• Follow health & safety and evacuation procedures, this includes any rules around Social
Distancing, washing your hands, using sanitiser and/or wearing face coverings
• Wear and display a College ID card and colour coded lanyard at all times, and never lend an
ID to anyone else. Staff are authorised to examine identity cards on request. Any visitors to
the College Campuses must be approved by a member of staff, must sign in and out at
Reception and be escorted by a member of staff.
• Observe the College no smoking rule which applies indoors and outdoors in all areas of the
College (except designated outdoor places).
• Conform to the College’s policy on the use of Information Technology Facilities.
• Dress appropriately for undertaking College activities and observe the no hats and hoods
rule. The College cannot accept liability for loss or damage to personal clothing or property,
which occurs on College premises or during any organised College activity.
• Commit to attending all classes. The College reserves the right to terminate a student’s
enrolment if attendance falls below 80% or they do not attend for a period of 4 weeks or
more without good reason. Any action taken against a student will be in accordance with the
College’s Student Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.
• To provide accurate personal information. Students must notify the College if they change
address. Employed students sponsored by their employer must notify any change of
employer. Students under 19 years of age must notify the College of the name, address and
telephone number of parents/guardians.
• Use of college digital facilities, wifi, PCs etc and use of personal devices while on campus
must meet expected behaviour standards as must student engagement with other students
while online e.g. on social media.
The College will not tolerate:
• Acts of vandalism, spitting and dropping litter.
• Bullying, threatening or abusive behaviour, whether verbal or physical or via electronic
means such as text messaging, e-mails or online forums.
• Harassment in any shape or form.
• Swearing or language that is offensive to others.
• Fighting or any form of loud or aggressive behaviour.
• Any form of criminal activity.
• Attempts to convert individuals to religious faiths or political causes.
• Use of the premises to promote a political or religious cause.
• Use, intent to supply, possession, or being under the influence of drugs and illegal
substances.
• Possession and / or misuse of alcohol during the College day.
• Possession of a knife or dangerous weapon.
• Use of mobile telephones, personal music systems or other electronic equipment in class,
unless approved by the teacher.
• Eating or drinking in non-designated areas of the College.
• Unauthorised use of hardware, software, student email or data belonging to or used by the
College.
• Rudeness or aggressive behaviour to any member of the College, or persistent failure to
comply with reasonable staff requests.
• Action which is likely to promote or increase the potential for disruption to the College, its
students, staff or property.
• Any activity which is likely to bring the College’s name into disrepute.
The College takes its responsibility within the local community very seriously and therefore
all the above apply both inside and outside of the College grounds.
The College will exercise random searches on its grounds to prevent harmful or illegal
items from entering the college buildings, for example but not limited to, using metal detectors.
Those found in breach of this code will be subject to disciplinary action, which may lead to
exclusion from the College.
The Code of Conduct is designed to be cross-referenced to other College policies and
procedures, in particular the Equality and Diversity Policy, Student Attendance and
Punctuality Policy, College Complaints Procedure, Student Rules and Regulations and
Student Disciplinary Policy & Procedure.
B) Attendance & Punctuality
HRUC expects every student to attend every timetabled session of their course and to be ready to
begin work at the scheduled start of each timetabled class, in order to benefit from the prompt start
time and the maximum learning time, as well as to prepare the student for the world of work, or
higher-level studies. The expectation is 100% punctuality and attendance.
As part of the same process, there will be an undertaking on the part of HRUC to ensure all learning
activities start promptly, run for their scheduled learning time and alternative arrangements are put
in place when a lecturer has an absence (planned or unplanned).
All students are required to arrive on time for all classes and other scheduled activities including
those arranged remotely. Persistent lateness and absenteeism are unacceptable.
Only in certain exceptional circumstances, where prior agreement has been made with the Head of
School, students may be granted absence. In the case of illness, students must report their absence
before the commencement of their scheduled class to the Attendance Coordinator/Department.
Please note that holidays may not be taken during timetabled study periods, as this is highly
disruptive to student achievement.
Attendance Coordinators/Tutors are responsible for the general welfare of all students within the
school. They will contact students, and parents/guardians when appropriate, whenever they are
absent and students may request to see them with any general problems or queries that they may
have.
The Attendance Coordinators/Tutors are there to assist students, they will act as a focal point for
contact when students have difficulties, where possible we will assist students or attempt to put you
in contact with someone who can help.
The Attendance Coordinators/Tutors are responsible with the rest of the teaching team for student
attendance and achievement, and these will be monitored as an ongoing process.
Poor attendance could ultimately lead to withdrawal from the College
It is the students’ responsibility to make sure they understand their timetable and they know where
and when their classes will take place. Students who miss a significant number of lectures normally
obtain poor end of year results. Picking up a set of notes after the lecture or copying somebody
else’s lecture notes is a poor substitute for actually attending a lecture and absorbing its content.
If you are absent for periods of longer than three days please notify your tutor, and in the case of
illness you should obtain a medical certificate where appropriate, particularly if you wish the illness
to be considered as an extenuating circumstance in respect of coursework or examinations.
C) Equal Opportunity – a Simple Guide
You will hear the phrase ‘equal opportunities’ many times at College, and throughout your life. It’s
an important phrase for us and for you, so please take a moment to read this section.
HRUC has a written ‘Equality and Diversity policy’ about equal opportunities, which is available on
the policies page of the HRUC Internet site (www.hruc.ac.uk/policies). Its message is that:
• All learners are equally important to us
• All learners need different sorts of help
• We will give whatever help we can to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to
achieve their qualifications and reach their goals.
We encourage and expect respect between all students, staff and visitors to the College. We refuse
to allow discrimination (unfair treatment) against anyone because of their age, gender, ethnic origin,
disability, sexuality, gender reassignment, or faith. We welcome and celebrate the diversity of
students and staff in the College.
Please help us make sure everyone at HRUC feels valued, and no-one is discriminated against. Treat
staff, students, visitors and neighbours with respect. Do not allow yourself to get involved in any
form of bullying or harassment, including name calling and insults. If you feel that you are not being
treated fairly and with respect, or if you think that discrimination is taking place, please let a tutor,
someone in Student Support or any other member of staff know.
D) Religious Observance
Our Statement on Religious Diversity states:
HRUC:
1. Promotes itself as a secular college and respects equally different religions, faiths, and cultures.
2. Expects everyone to adhere to the Equality & Diversity policy.
3. Expects regular course attendance from all its students as outlined in the Attendance &
Punctuality Policy.
4. Recognises a variety of religious festivals throughout the year.
5. As curriculum planning and student success take priority in HRUC, HRUC asks that
requests for exceptional leave for essential religious obligations are made by students, in
writing to their Head of School, at least one week in advance. Two days authorised
absence is allocated for each academic year.
6. Delegates authority to Assistant Principals to grant permission to students to take
exceptional leave.
7. Requires Assistant Principals to ensure that the student’s exceptional leave is recorded
and logged in their office.
8. Provides a variety of meals in Refectories, including vegetarian options, in order to
reflect cultural diversity.
9. Endeavours to arrange refectory opening times which are sensitive to the religious
obligations of users.
10. Provides where possible facilities for faith observance and ensures that a variety of
means are used to publicise this provision (see quiet/prayer room below).
11. Expects all users to respect College resources where they are used for faith observance.
12. Provides the facility for staff to take annual leave, the exigencies of the service
permitting, in order to fulfil their religious obligations.
Quiet/Prayer room
A Quiet/Prayer room is made available at certain times of the day when timetabling and room
utilisation allow. The primary purpose of HRUC is education and therefore HRUC cannot
guarantee this availability. This room can be used as a ‘quiet’ space by people of all faith
groups, beliefs, genders and for those whom religion has no particular significance in their lives.
The room may equally be used as a quiet space for people to sit and contemplate, to pray or to
take a few moments to de-stress from a busy day.
HRUC will publicise the regular times and days of this room. If a student wishes to use a room
outside of these times then he/she can request a room from the main reception.
The management of this quiet/prayer room will be through an oversight committee existing
of the Head of Security and Assistant Principal. The oversight committee will be responsible
for managing the appropriate use of this facility and for dealing with any issues arising.
The room should be a safe space for all users. This means that everyone has a duty to respect
other users and to ensure the environment remains welcoming to people of all faiths, beliefs,
genders, and for those whom religion has no particular significance in their lives.
The oversight committee reserves the right to refuse entry or cease any activity if it believes
there is likelihood of a breach of this respect or HRUC’s code of conduct.
E) Learning Support for HE Students
The College welcomes students with disabilities and / or learning difficulties. Students may be able
to get support with their studies if they have a:
• long-term health condition
• mental health condition
• specific learning difficulty, e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia
To get this support you must apply for and be granted Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). DSA is a
grant that covers the additional study related costs that you will incur because of your disability or
specific learning difficulty. DSA is not means tested and doesn’t have to be repaid.
Applications for DSA can take several weeks so if you have not already applied, you must do as soon
as possible. However, you can apply for DSA even if you have already started your course.
You can get information about DSA - and an application form - from the DSA website. Use the links
below:
DSA Website -
www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas
DSA Application Form - www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas/how-to-claim
Please read this information carefully as it gives details of the evidence of your disability or specific
learning difficulty that you will need to supply when you apply.
Please speak to the Information Centre for further information about applying for DSA.
When you are granted DSA you will receive a Notification of Entitlement, stating the support they
will pay for. DSA may help with the costs of:
• specialist equipment, e.g. a computer if you need one because of your disability
• non-medical helpers, e.g. Note Taker, Communication Support Worker, Proof Reader
• extra travel because of your disability
• 1:1 specialist study skills support
• other disability-related costs of studying.
If you haven’t already, please discuss your needs with your tutor as soon as possible. Your tutor may
need time to put arrangements in place for you.
For information about Learning Support please contact the Learning Support Team.
F) Health & Safety
The full policy is available on the policies page of the HRUC website (www.hruc.ac.uk/policies) . It
states that:
Students will receive health & safety induction training when they start their course.
Students will ensure that:
• They follow reasonable instructions given in the interests of health & safety.
• They take reasonable care for their own health & safety when undertaking college
activities, as well as the health & safety of others who may be affected by what they do.
• They follow the health & safety rules which apply to their attendance at the college and
the safety measures of any other company whose premises they may visit as part of their
education / work experience.
• They do not misuse anything that has been provided in the interests of health & safety (for
example, propping open a fire door with a fire extinguisher, sounding the fire alarm system
for malicious purposed, removing guards from machines, or blocking a fire escape route
with rubbish or equipment etc).
• That they report anything that might present a danger to either themselves or anybody else.
• Avoid placing other people at risk, either by what they do or do not do.
If a student fails to discharge their health & safety responsibilities, disciplinary action may be taken.
G) Safeguarding
We want all students at College to feel safe.
Please speak with your tutor or a member of the College’s Safeguarding Team if you are worried
about issues such as:
• Physical, Mental or Sexual abuse
• Self-harm
• Bullying (including online)
• Domestic violence
• Forced marriage
• Sexual harrassment
• Extremism/ Radicalisation / Terrorism.
You can contact a member of the Student Support Team:
At Uxbridge Campus Room A011 (situated off the Mall) or telephone 01895 853380
At Hayes Campus the Student Lounge (situated off the Refectory) or telephone 01895 853643
At Harrow on the Hill Campus Student Services are just between Reception and the Refectory
At Harrow Weald Campus, Student Services are by Reception
At Richmond Campus Student Services are in G32.
Please report any hate crimes or concerns you may have about another student displaying extremist
views.
Confidentiality
All information about you and your personal life is treated with complete confidence at all times.
If exceptional circumstances arise that give us good grounds for believing that you will cause harm to
yourself or others, then it is possible we may need to share information with someone else. In such
circumstances we would talk to you first.
Safeguarding…… Everyone’s Responsibility
6. HRUC STUDENT PORTAL, APP AND LEARNING RESOURCE
CENTRES
Once you have enrolled as a student you will be able to access the HRUC Student Portal and be able
to use the HRUC Student App.
The student portal is where you can find your timetable, access Microsoft Teams, your OneDrive and
your College email account, view your grades and attendance.
Everyone in the College will have an Office 365 Account.
This gives you access to One Drive to store your files.
You can also access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook for your email and more.
You will have access to your work 24/7 - at College or at Home.
You can download Office at home too from your College Office Account.
The Portal is also where you can find out about College facilities. We have a Learning & Resource
Centre (library) on each site and this is where you can look up their opening times, events and
resources available to you – including databases and journals – for your course.
Open access areas are available for students to use so that you are able to access a PC outside of
timetabled lessons.
The opening times for the areas are generally the same as the College opening times.
By using PCs at the College you are agreeing to our acceptable use policy. This explains how we
expect you to use college systems and also how to behave when in the open access areas.
If you do not follow these rules, warnings will be issued which can result in a ban from the open
access areas for a period of time.
We advise all students to take regular breaks when working at a PC for health and safety reasons. As
a result, students can only use a PC for a maximum of 3 hours at which point they will be required to
take a 15-minute break.
7. STUDENT SUPPORT
A) The Student Support Team
The Student Support Team are here to help with any problem or difficulty that might have an
effect on your learning or success at College. The problem does not have to be directly linked to
your studies to have an effect on your happiness or success at College. This could include any
safeguarding issues, mental health, drugs & alcohol issues, general & sexual health, domestic
violence, housing or benefit issues plus many more.
Whatever the issue, the Student Support team will do their best to help you and, where
appropriate, find the best professional help available e.g. we can refer to counselling services or
specialist agencies.
There is a Student Support team available on every College campus.
B) Careers Guidance
HRUC is committed to helping individuals achieve their full potential.
We provide student-centred and impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) to all learners at
the College who want to find out more about their career options or continuing education.
There is an Information Centre on every College campus.
8. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
The full policy is available is on the policies page of the HRUC internet (www.hruc.ac.uk/policies).
This states how breaches of the College’s academic rules or Code of Conduct will be dealt with.
Note that failure to follow College rules may result in suspension or even exclusion from the college.
APPENDIX 1 – STUDY GUIDE
A) How to Write Essays
Writing an essay is important for you for a number of reasons:
1. It gives you the chance to research a project in depth
2. It helps you to focus your thinking on a topic.
The plan
A plan is essential for good essay writing. The type of plan and the amount of detail you include is
your personal choice. The plan is important because:
• your ideas and resources are brought together and displayed before you
• your plan gives an outline and shape to your essay
• you can establish a line of argument in the plan
• your plan can prevent errors, repetition and unnecessary waffle
• using a plan enables you to produce your essay much quicker
• with a plan, you can concentrate on expressing ideas and writing with confidence, before
committing yourself to the final details.
Points to consider in the plan:
1. use plenty of space - it will be easier to read follow and add to
2. plan in pencil with a rubber - you can then rearrange and correct
3. leave a margin - still more notes can be added
4. analyse the questions - this leads to a line of argument
5. state the line of argument - this gives a direction to the essay and helps with the introduction
6. separate out the main idea or areas of knowledge and make them subheadings - they may provide
paragraphs
7. fill in any facts, figures, quotations, comments, ideas which fit subheadings - these form main
body of essay
8. keep your notes at hand - you need them to look up details
9. use text books - to check notes and to get extra information.
The introduction
The introduction introduces the essay or argument. It should be a statement of intent, wherein you
say how you are going to proceed. It is important to you, the writer, because it gives direction. It is
also important to the reader and for the impression it first gives.
The introduction should give the following information:
1. an assessment of the topic – to show that you are aware of what you are going to discuss
2. a line of argument, theme or idea – outline how you intend to proceed
3. a transition to the start of the argument – smoothly linked to the first paragraph.
• Do not use your best or most important points in the introduction
• Do not start with an answer to the question.
You might also consider writing your introduction to a pattern, for example, about two sentences for
each of the three points suggested above.
Structuring the essay
To begin with you must think in paragraphs. Some people suggest the six paragraph rule – that you
should be able to find six areas to discuss (this can be expanded to seven, eight etc depending on
required length of the essay).
Selecting information
You should have at your disposal more facts and knowledge than you need to answer any particular
essay. It is important to be selective, and to use only relevant information. A few things can help:
1. reading/lots of research
2. discussing ideas and points with others
3. thinking and note-taking as ideas come to you.
For each piece of information, you choose to use, you must be sure why you are using it.
Logical argument
Information must be used in a logical way. Every idea, comment and observation must be supported
by evidence (facts or reasons). Giving reasons and evidence leads to building up a logical argument.
Where there are opposing pieces of information or a conflict of view, express them both. It is your
duty to do justice to all sides of the argument.
B) General Presentation
All work must be submitted with a cover sheet. If submitting assignments on paper ensure they at
are in a transparent protective cover. Do not insert each page of the essay in a plastic pocket.
Typing - all essays should be word-processed. Always prepare two copies – keeping one for yourself
in hard copy as well as electronically.
Sequence - the essay should have a cover sheet, main body of writing which should include an
introduction, argument/discussion, conclusion, appendices (extra things and illustrations) and a
reference list/ bibliography.
Pagination - page numbers should begin on the first page (not cover sheet) of the text, following the
preface (if used) and continue to the end of the work. They should be placed at the bottom of the
page.
Headings - section and chapter headings (in bold text) should always begin on a new page – you can
use subheadings to introduce new topics and these should also be identified in bold text.
Subsections should be differentiated from the main text by using extra spacing.
Illustrations - must be captioned and numbered. They may be placed throughout the text or placed
at the end of the essay. They must be good quality and they should be preferably scanned in to your
essay, but if that is not possible then they must be good photocopies, neatly trimmed and spray
mounted. A list of illustrations must be included with your work with references to source.
C) Referencing Your Reading – Reference Lists & Bibliographies:
What’s the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
The reference list is used to cite all the items you have made direct reference to in your text (by the
author’s name and year of publication). The list is organised alphabetically by the names of the
authors (or originators) of the work.
During the course of your reading you may have used material for extending your knowledge of the
subject, but from which you do not make specific reference.
A bibliography lists all these items, again alphabetically by author. This is generally included after the
reference list. Both may also contain research evidence taken from electronic material such as the
Internet.
(the above paragraph is taken from: Bucks and Chilterns University handbook (2006) who
acknowledge Learning Resources Services, University of Northampton).
Where do you put it?
The reference list and bibliography should come at the very end of the essay. Essays without
references and bibliographies will be considered incomplete, and in some cases will not be marked.
The reason for the harsh stance is because of the danger of PLAGIARISM (see section 4 Part K)
Academic malpractice.
All essays must include a bibliography as well as a reference list.
How do you compile them?
Keep a list of the full bibliographical details of every work consulted during your research. Prepare a
notebook in alphabetical order so that you can add new items without any trouble. Make a note of
which you have directly used in your text and those you have not so that you can separate them
later.
The Harvard Method
The preferred system for referencing is the Harvard Method which is thought to be more student
friendly. The Harvard Method is sometimes known as the “author/date” system. In it a work is
referred to by its author’s name, year of publication and page number in the text in brackets, while
its full reference appears only once in a reference list or bibliography at the end of the essay. The
need for footnotes is therefore not necessary.
EXAMPLE
Bayley, S, (1991) Taste, London, Faber and Faber
Note: Book or journal titles should be underlined or italicised.
The order is: Author, surname/first name, date, title, place, publisher.
Periodical entry:
Periodical entries must give exact references to journal issue numbers and page numbers.
Jones, Lynn (1987) “Literature Review” in British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50, 9 September,
308
If more than one book by an author appears in the bibliography these should be listed in order of
publication (earliest first).
Citation of electronic sources – the Internet
The most important thing to remember when using any electronic source is that it is ephemeral by
nature. That means that the source may not be there when a revisit is made. The date is therefore
necessary at the end of the citation. These can be placed alongside your book lists.
EXAMPLE
References:
Bayley, S, (1991) Taste, London, Faber and Faber
Lifelong Learning Uk. (2008) New Overarching Professional Standards for Teachers, Tutors and
Trainers in the Lifelong Learning Sector. [Online]
Available from:<http://www.standardsverificationuk.org/documents/
professional_standards_for_itts_020107.pdf> [accessed 4th October 2008].
Bibliography:
Keeley-Browne, L (2007) Training to Teach in the Learning and Skills Sector, Harlow, Essex, Pearson
Education Ltd.
APPENDIX 2 – EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES
APPLICATION
To apply for an extension to an assignment deadline, you must make a request in writing (e.g. email)
to your tutor. Your application should be made as soon as you know you will need an extension and
no later than 5 working days after the deadline date.
Applications made after this will only be considered at the discretion of the Head of School under
exceptional circumstances.
When you apply you must make sure you include all of the following information
Student Name:…………………………………………… Student ID: …………………….......
Programme of Study: ………………………………… Year: ………….
Assignment/assessment (s) affected by claimed extenuating circumstances
Unit
Number
Unit Title
Tutor
Assignment /
Assessment Title
Deadline
Reason for the claimed extenuating circumstances
(Please give a brief overview of the reasons)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
Additional evidence supplied
(e.g.: medical certificate, solicitor’s letter, copy of death certificate, police report)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
Please note: It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all documentation to support their
claim is attached to their application.
APPENDIX 3 – GLOSSARY
Glossary of terms used for assignments. This is a summary of the key terms used to define the
requirements within units.
Analyse
Present the outcome of methodical and detailed
examination either:
● breaking down a theme, topic or situation in order to
interpret and study the interrelationships between the
parts and/or
● of information or data to interpret and study key trends
and interrelationships.
Analysis can be through activity, practice, written or verbal
presentation
Apply
Put into operation or use. Use relevant
skills/knowledge/understanding appropriate to context
Arrange
Organise or make plans
Assess
Offer a reasoned judgement of the standard/quality of a
situation or a skill informed by relevant facts
Calculate
Generate a numerical answer with workings shown
Compare
Identify the main factors relating to two or more
items/situations or aspects of a subject that is extended to
explain the similarities, differences, advantages and
disadvantages. This is used to show depth of knowledge
through selection of
characteristics
Compose
Create or make up or form
Communicate
Convey ideas or information to others
Create/construct
Skills to make or do something, for example, a display or set
of accounts
Critically analyse
Separate information into components and identify
characteristics with depth to the justification
Critically evaluate
Make a judgement taking into account different factors and
using available knowledge/experience/evidence where the
judgement is supported in depth
Define
State the nature, scope or meaning
Describe
Give an account, including all the relevant characteristics,
qualities
and events
Discuss
Consider different aspects of a theme or topic, how they
interrelate, and the extent to which they are important
Demonstrate
Show knowledge and understanding
Design
Plan and present ideas to show the
layout/function/workings/object/system/process
Develop
Grow or progress a plan, ideas, skills and understanding
Differentiate
Recognise or determine what makes something different
Discuss
Give an account that addresses a range of ideas and
arguments
Evaluate
Work draws on varied information, themes or concepts to
consider aspects, such as:
● strengths or weaknesses
● advantages or disadvantages
● alternative actions
● relevance or significance.
Students’ inquiries should lead to a supported judgement
showing relationship to its context. This will often be in a
conclusion. Evidence will often be written but could be
through presentation or activity
Explain
To give an account of the purposes or reasons
Explore
Skills and/or knowledge involving practical research or
testing
Identify
Indicate the main features or purpose of something by
recognising it and/or being able to discern and understand
facts or qualities
Illustrate
Make clear by using examples or provide diagrams
Indicate
Point out, show
Interpret
State the meaning, purpose or qualities of something
through the use of images, words or other expression
Investigate
Conduct an inquiry or study into something to discover and
examine facts and information
Justify
Learners give reasons or evidence to:
● support an opinion
● prove something is right or reasonable
Outline
Set out the main points/characteristics
Plan
Consider, set out and communicate what is to be done
Produce
To bring into existence
Reconstruct
To assemble again/reorganise/form an impression
Report
Adhere to protocols, codes and conventions where findings
or judgements are set down in an objective way
Review
Make a formal assessment of work produced. The
assessment allows learners to:
● appraise existing information or prior events
● reconsider information with the intention of making
changes, if necessary.
Show how
Demonstrate the application of certain
methods/theories/concepts
Stage and manage
Organisation and management skills, for example, running
an event or a business pitch
State
Express
Suggest
Give possible alternatives, produce an idea, put forward, for
example, an idea or plan, for consideration
Undertake/carry out
Use a range of skills to perform a task, research or activity.
This is the summary of the type of evidence you may be
asked to produce
Case study
A specific example to which all students must select and
apply knowledge
Project
A large scale activity requiring self-direction of selection of
outcome, planning, research, exploration, outcome and
review
Independent research
An analysis of substantive research organised by the
student from secondary sources and, if applicable, primary
sources
Written task or report
Individual completion of a task in a work-related format, for
example, a report, marketing communication, set of
instructions, giving information
Simulated activity/role play
A multi-faceted activity mimicking realistic work situations
Team task
Students work together to show skills in defining and
structuring activity as a team
Presentation
Oral or through demonstration
Production of
plan/business plan
Students produce a plan as an outcome related to a given
or limited task
Reflective journal
Completion of a journal from work experience, detailing
skills acquired for employability
Poster/leaflet
Documents providing well-presented information for a
given purpose