HE Learning Partnership Agreement 1516

Complaints, Appeals and Plagiarism You can expect us to:

• to respond to all complaints whether made in person, by telephone, by letter, by fax, or electronically • to respond to all complaints promptly, politely and, where appropriate, informally • to learn from complaints and use them to improve the quality of our service • for staff not to allow a complaint by a student to have any impact on the way that student is treated, marked or assessed • when a formal complaint is made, we will reply within ten working days from when we receive the complaint. If it is not possible to give a full reply within this time, we will issue an interim response, explaining what is being done to deal with the complaint • provide you with the knowledge and skills to be able to meet assessment requirements • provide access for all students to the Student Handbook • to ensure that decisions by the board are arrived at fairly and democratically and in accordance with the ‘Regulatory Framework for Undergraduate Awards’ • offer the opportunity to appeal any decisions made by the board.

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We expect you to:

• in the first instance, raise any concerns with your Tutor or Programme Leader • if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your concern, all City College Plymouth students are able to raise a formal complaint via Talkback talkback@cityplym.ac.uk • if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your concern, Plymouth University students are also able to raise a formal complaint via Plymouth University’s Complaints Office (CO) complaints@plymouth.ac.uk • hand in original work that has not been plagiarised • abide by assessment regulations or face penalties up to, and including, reduction of degree classification or recommendation to terminate studies • use referencing to show sources used to support your work.

Higher Education Learning Partnership Agreement 2015/16

BE PART OF IT

• Make the most out of your time at City College Plymouth • What you can expect from the College • What the College expects of you

Applications, Accepting a Place and Enrolment

“This Learning Partnership Agreement sets out how the College seeks to provide a quality service to you.

“It is a mission document and not intended to be subject to formal legal proceedings.

“We recognise that the College needs to continually change to meet the needs of its many client groups, and therefore this document may be updated throughout the year.”

Contents: Applications, Accepting a Place and Enrolment

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Finance 4 Teaching, Learning and Assessment 4 Personal Development and Employability 5 Student Services 6 Equality and Diversity 7 Complaints, Appeals and Plagiarism 8

You can expect us to:

• respond to all applications • give you current, clear and concise information about our courses before enrolment and help you choose the course that is most suitable for you • send you Joining Instructions which include term dates, instructions for enrolment and any other information that may be relevant • provide you with access to a Student Handbook including details of support services, programme quality information and module guides • provide you with a timetable in your first week at the College • provide you with an assessment schedule for the academic year.

Students and staff are expected to:

• behave in a polite, courteous and friendly manner • treat everyone fairly and with respect • take responsibility for their own actions • observe all health and safety regulations and safeguarding guidelines to ensure a safe learning environment • care for the physical environment of the College • abide by the College’s anti-bullying and no smoking policies.

We expect you to:

• provide accurate and complete information during the application process including any information about your health, disability or additional learning requirements • keep the College informed of any changes to your information including contact details • familiarise yourself with the Student Handbook, the virtual learning environment (Moodle) and module guides.

If you would find it easier to read this guide in a larger type or a different format, please call 01752 305300.

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Finance You can expect us to:

• provide you with accurate course costs and estimates of additional costs • provide you with payment options and deadlines • provide additional information and assistance if needed regarding student loans, grants and any other additional financial assistance available • confirm your attendance at the start of each semester with Student Finance England.

Personal Development and Employability We expect you to:

• provide accurate and complete information when applying for Student Funding • to attend classes on a regular basis • provide the necessary paperwork to activate your loan • notify the Higher Education Office should you need to process a ‘Change of Circumstance’.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment You can expect us to:

• use a variety of teaching methods within a variety of delivery styles to improve employability skills • provide staff who meet professional and academic standards, who are competent and knowledgeable within their area • ensure fair assessment of your work, returned with constructive feedback within 20 working days • provide encouragement and feedback on your progress and give advice on how you can improve • provide a clean, safe and stimulating learning environment • ensure that at the start of every module you are provided with a module guide containing assessment schedules and learning outcomes • utilise Moodle to facilitate learning.

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We expect you to:

• take responsibility for your own learning • attend all timetabled sessions and actively participate in all learning activities • sign all work as your own before handing in on/before the due date • make the most of all opportunities for skills development and use tutor contact time constructively • reflect on formative (on-going feedback used to monitor progress) and summative feedback (evaluative assessment such as a test, exam or assignment) to inform future learning.

You can expect us to:

• build employability and life skills into your course to ensure you have the best chances of progressing to further study and/or employment • offer you recreational and leisure activities so you can meet other students and develop personal skills • provide you with the opportunity to give feedback and involve you in the College’s decision making process (student representatives, student surveys, focus groups, Student Union etc.)

• provide access to advice services such as careers guidance • encourage students to be enterprising and entrepreneurial • provide access to theworkspace where you can gain help and support in ensuring that you leave College with not only your academic and vocational qualifications, but with those extra employability skills, such as presentation skills, self-confidence and an understanding of the real-world of work, that employers really want • provide you with the opportunity to join clubs and societies, volunteer, fundraise, learn study skills and gain work experience.

We expect you to:

• participate in election processes for student representation • provide feedback through a variety of mediums • recognise opportunities to enhance your employability prospects through programme related and extracurricular activities • engage with areas such as the workspace • identify gaps in your cv and actively try to overcome these gaps.

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Student Services You can expect us to:

• provide access to careers guidance • offer a free confidential Counselling Service with members of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists • offer a College Mediator service if you are feeling harassed, bullied or receiving unwanted attention and need to talk to someone • provide a free College shuttle bus between Plymouth city centre, the Kings Road campus and the Goschen Centre • offer access to onsite nurseries which are open all year round, except for Bank Holidays and the Christmas holiday • ensure a safe and secure environment for all of our students and the wider College community through our Safeguarding team • offer a chaplaincy service providing support, links to places of worship, information about faith and spiritual events, and quiet rooms • assist students with specific difficulties and disabilities • offer additional support with literacy (English), or numeracy (maths) via a team of specialist lecturers who can provide extra tuition • provide a Student Funding team for information, advice and guidance about a wide range of funding • provide a library and separate computing (study) areas • provide students studying with Plymouth University access to the main campus and all of its facilities.

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Equality and Diversity We expect you to:

• wear your student identity card at all times • respect College resources and use them responsibly • make effective use of facilities and services provided • ask for help if you need it • abide by policies such as the Code of Conduct and General Regulations for Students, Examination and Assessment Offences Policy and the Extenuating Circumstances Policy.

You can expect us to:

• offer advice during admissions and continually throughout your time at the College • encourage students to be part of an inclusive community in which everyone is treated respectfully and independently to ensure equality of opportunity • provide education in a diverse community • promote a culture of active, cooperative citizenship through involvement with our communities • embed equality and diversity into our curriculum • continue to provide training, support and guidance to enable our workforce to be confident in promoting equality and diversity and challenging unfair discrimination and harassment • make reasonable adjustments to help alleviate a substantial disadvantage • take appropriate and immediate action in the event of incidents of harassment, unfair discrimination or misbehaviour alerting or involving if necessary, senior College staff.

We expect you to:

• inform the College of your needs • tell us if your needs change • use language carefully, without swearing or inappropriate language, and not say rude, hurtful or disrespectful things about others • report any concerns you have for yourself or others • resolve differences and disagreements amicably (threatening or attacking anyone is a serious disciplinary offence).

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