TIMETABLES, APPOINTMENT OF LECTURERS AND EXAMINATION CALENDAR

Timetables, Appointment of Lectures and Examination Calendar

Student Guide 2020-2021

The Timetable contains the distribution of subjects over a period of time (four-month terms or a whole year) for each academic year, indicating study year and group, senior lecturers and all other lecturers per subject, as well as examination dates and the classrooms where the subject is to be taught. The periods within which the teaching timetable must be drawn up (generally between April and May of the previous year) are set out in the Academic Calendar and approved by the Governing Council. By designing the timetables within the specified periods, students are able to more easily choose and organise their academic year. The authorities of the centres shall appoint a lecturer who shall be in charge of organising the timetables and examination calendar for each curriculum or course. These timetables shall be approved by the centre board or a board to which this task has been delegated, and are final. Student representatives must be involved in setting the timetables and examination dates. Examination dates may only be changed for justifiable reasons (for example, due to a change in the Spanish university entrance examination dates), and until 15 days before the initially set date. In any case, modifications may only delay the start dates and must be published on the notice boards. If you have any doubts concerning these issues, please go to your centre’s secretary’s office. You may also obtain specific information from the centre’s webpage (web.ua.es/en/centres-departments-and-institutes.html) or more generally from the Information Service webpage: web.ua.es/es/oia/horarios-academicos/horario-de-clases-y-calendario-de-examenes.html

Group allocation and change

When degrees have morning and afternoon timetables in which the same subjects are taught, places are divided into two groups in such a way that they both contain a similar number of students. Students with the best entry marks and academic records will be given priority to choose groups based on their timetables and therefore, they are called to submit their registration documents based on their marks. Some centres allow students to request a group change if they have a good reason. There is an application deadline you may consult at your secretary’s office. Generally, circumstances that may justify a group change are the following: a clash with working hours, transport difficulties, federated or university sporting activities, need to take care of a family member, etc.

Teaching and lecturers

The departments are teaching units responsible for coordinating the teaching of their field of knowledge (Article 13 of Chapter 3 of Title 1 of the UA Statutes). Each sub ject taught as part of any degree course is integrated within a department which is responsible for appointing the teaching staff and ensuring that the staff fulfil all their teaching duties. Teaching is a right and a duty of the University’s teaching staff, which shall exercise academic freedom, with no restrictions other than those established in the Constitution and laws, and those derived from the studies planning carried out by the relevant University bodies (Art. 33.2 of Organic University Law and Art. 107 of Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 3 of the UA Statutes).

Administrative, academic and teaching matters Timetables, Appointment of Lectures and Examination Calendar

You may find out which department is in charge of teaching a specific subject by: - Asking at the secretary’s office of the centre where you are registered. - Access the page “Studies” (web.ua.es/en/estudia-ua/ study-options.html) of the web of the UA and select the corresponding studies.

Each department has an administration office from which you may obtain information about any issue related to the department’s classes or organisation. All departments have their own webpage with information about lecturers, studies, location, administration staff, useful links, etc. web.ua.es/en/centres-departments-and-institutes.html

The head of department and the Department Council are responsible for quality, and they must ensure that all the hours assigned to their department’s lecturers are taught (Section 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 2 of the UA Statutes). Consequently, if you wish to report any deficiency in this regard, you should inform these bodies.

Tutorials

The Governing Council shall establish teaching duties with regard to both actual teaching as well as tutorials and student attendance, in accordance with Art. 145.3 of the UA Statutes. This is applicable to all lecturers with the exception of those who also carry out an academic role University President, VicePresident, dean, head, etc), who shall be totally or partially exempt from teaching and tutorials (Art. 161.2). University of Alicante students have the right to receive help during their training through an effective guidance system (Art. 166.c). For subjects that involve work placements at companies or institutions, students are entitled to receive guidance, during the work placement period, from the University teaching staff and a professional who works at the company, institution or entity where the work placement takes place. Each lecturer’s tutorial timetables shall be published on the centre’s notice board, in accordance with the Order of 29 March 1983. You can also find information in each department secretary’s office, in each course description and in UA Cloud. In some cases, depending on the teaching staff, online tutoring sessions are offered (in addition to face-to-face sessions) through UA Cloud. Students registered at the University of Alicante may access the “Tutorial Action Programme” by applying for it when they complete their registration. Applications are made through UACloud or the application forms at the centres. Tutors will guide and support students in their personal academic and professional development, making their adaptation to the university social context easier.