3.1 Student Attendance and Participation

3.1.1 Attendance

All sessions are compulsory. Please refer to the teaching schedule. Full day classes normally take around six hours. If you start at 9:00 you will finish by 15:00 and if you will start at 12:00 you will finish by 18:00. Registers are taken for both the morning and the afternoon sessions and students will be asked to explain any unauthorised absence or persistent lateness.

To read the NTU Policy on Attendance please see: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/current_students/document_uploads/87311.pdf

The majority of our students engage well with their studies and as a team we aim to provide you with a stimulating Course that makes attendance and participation a pleasure rather than a chore. However, there are circumstances when we need to address issues of poor attendance and participation. The Joint MSc team have an Engagement and Attendance Policy which addresses all aspects of students' engagement with their studies. It is designed to:

· Identify and support students who are struggling to engage with their Courses;

· Engender a spirit of courtesy and regard for others;

· Enable the Course team to manage student non-attendance consistently and fairly.

Attendance is a key indicator of a student's engagement with their Course and it is expected that all students attend all scheduled activities unless there is a valid reason for them not to do so You are expected to prioritise tutor led teaching events (lectures, seminars, tutorials) and student led group/project work above all your other commitments.In a spirit of courtesy and regard for others, students must endeavour to notify all those concerned of unavoidable and exceptional absence in advance. In the first instance, if you cannot attend a taught session, you should contact the JOINT MSC EBF Administrators, to let them know the reason for your non-attendance and complete the relevant form. If your absence is likely to be more prolonged than a `one-off' occurrence, you should arrange a meeting with the Course Leader.

A record of student attendance is kept and regular non-attendance, unexplained absence, failure to keep appointments with members of staff and peers can have serious implications.

Induction

The work and activities completed during the induction period are a vital part of the Joint Masters Course. All students are required therefore to attend all parts of the induction.

3.1.3 Consequences of Poor Attendance and Engagement

Poor attendance and engagement can have serious consequences, both during your studies and once you have left university. For example:

§ It is a normal requirement for a Course team to accurately comment upon a student's attendance in references for employment, further study and voluntary work

§ Students who have failed to meet the intended learning outcomes for particular modules may not have the necessary pre-requisites to qualify for the next level of study or a particular choice of elective or dissertation/project topic

§ Additionally, where attendance is poor, the student's home institution will be informed.

It is perhaps not surprising that students who do not attend and engage with their studies are often those who tend to do less well in their assessed work. The Course team will use records of concern regarding a student's attendance and engagement to inform recommendations to the Examination Board. The team's recommendation may be based upon the extent to which a student, by virtue of their absence and lack of involvement with their studies, has not met the learning outcomes for a module or modules.

The Examination Board might decide not to compensate a module if key learning outcomes have not been met. Where a number of modules have been affected the Board may require the student to repeat the module, year or stage of their qualification. In exceptional circumstances the board may decide to fail and withdraw a student. The grounds for termination of studies are likely to include a combination of the following:

§ where a student has a serious level of absence across a range of modules and has missed a significant proportion of scheduled sessions;

§ the student has failed to submit or pass a number of assessment tasks across several modules;

§ the student has not responded to contact from the Course team over a significant period of time;

§ the student has made contact with the Course team but has not acted upon the advice given and/or any agreed actions.

3.2 Course Regulations

Expenses

Nottingham Business School will not be able to refund any expenses incurred on the Course. Whilst an initial printing allowance is given, once this is expended, further costs are to be borne by the student.

Newton

The Newton Building is a prestigious resources which are used extensively by the Nottingham Business School for management development activities. We therefore expect students to act professionally and appropriately whilst using this resource.

There will be occasions over Bank Holidays and the summer vacation period where availability of the buildings will be limited and you may be required to use learning resources located elsewhere in the University. It is your responsibility to check availability of the buildings. If in doubt, please check holiday opening times with staff.

University IT facilities are for academic use only. Using these facilities for anything other than this may contravene the University's Code of Conduct. Full details of the Code of Conduct are provided in the Student Handbook and students enrolling with the University agree to abide by this Code. We will treat inappropriate use of the Internet very seriously.

Whilst using the IT facilities in Newton, please ensure no food or drink is taken into any of the rooms. Students violating these rules may be subject to a penalty.

Printing

You will be allocated a small initial print quota. When this quota is exceeded you will be required to purchase any further printing quota. You will not be allocated any more later in the year.

It is important therefore that you manage this resource carefully. Do not print off what is not necessary. Format carefully to make best use of space: consider using a smaller font, printing double sides and avoid leaving lots of white space.

You need to plan ahead for your research printing requirements, so please do not waste paper by printing off anything which you may not need and take care to avoid unnecessary printing expenses during the teaching year.

NOW

You will be required to print off a variety of documents from NOW for your modules. Please ensure that you have these ready to bring to the teaching sessions when required.

3.3 Assessment Regulations and Criteria

3.3.1 Assessment Regulations

It is imperative that assessment briefs are adhered to. If the assignment's content or layout is specified or if word limits are stipulated, work that does not satisfy these requirements will be heavily penalised.

If in doubt always see the module leader for further clarification. Do not rely on any third party accounts of the assessment criteria. Other students' recollections and interpretations are not reliable. The only instructions to be followed are those provided by your module leader.

The NTU Common Assessment Regulations for Postgraduate Study can be found at the following web address: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/adq/document_uploads/quality_handbook/138195.pdf.

You are required to submit work of a quality that meets the demands of a Masters award. Therefore all work must be presented and referenced satisfactorily and must be written in clear English.

Students will be provided with guidance on referencing. All set work must be submitted whether or not it contributes to your final mark. Failure to submit any work will result in your final award being withheld.

The University's Code of Practice and Common Assessment Regulations for Postgraduate Awards will operate for this Course, except for any Course specific operation which is identified in this handbook.

All assessed marks contributing to a module or an award remain provisional until confirmed by a Board of Examiners

The minimum pass mark for a module - its module aggregate mark - is 50%.

Where a module contains more than one element, the student must normally achieve a minimum of 45% in each element and a minimum mark of 50% for the module as a whole.

A student who has not achieved the minimum module aggregate mark of 50% - and who has not been granted a compensated pass - has failed the module.

Provided the minimum module aggregate mark of 50% has been achieved, a mark from 45% to 49% inclusive in an element may be deemed a pass. In terms of compensation within modules, a Board may compensate a mark from 40% to 44% inclusive in an element provided the minimum module aggregate mark of 50% has been achieved.

In terms of compensation for complete modules a Board may compensate a module aggregate mark from 45% to 49% inclusive at its discretion. Normally a major project or dissertation will not be compensated.

Referral

Normally a student shall have a right following initial failure of a module to be reassessed on one further occasion to achieve a pass at a date fixed by the Course Leader, which may be in consultation with the Board of Examiners.

For reassessment in a module, a student will either undertake a referral in the failed element(s) of the module or an alternative assessment(s), or be required to retake the whole module at the next available opportunity, including the new module assessments, with or without further attendance, as determined by the Board. The maximum mark for a referred submission will be capped at 50%

Where a student is required to submit a referred piece of work, a copy of the original piece of work must be attached with the referred piece and the student must attach a statement explaining how the referred work has improved upon the original submission.

3.3.2 Common Marking Scheme

%

70 - 100 Distinction

60 - 69 Commendation

50 - 59 Pass

45 - 49 Marginal Fail

0 - 44 Fail

Any marks given during the year are provisional and are subject to confirmation by the final Examination Board.

3.3.3 Termination of studies

A Board is authorised to terminate a student's studies for the following reasons:

· the student has exhausted the total number of attempts allowed by the regulations

· the student has an overall poor record of performance, attendance, participation or commitment on the Course and the Board judges that there are no grounds to permit the undertaking of further remedial or retake modules.

3.3.4 Master's Degree: failure

Where a candidate for a Master's Degree has failed a module(s), a Examination Board may agree one of the following:

· allow a student's overall performance to compensate for module failure and award a Master's Degree provided the Board is confident that the Course outcomes have been satisfactorily achieved.

· allow a student to be reassessed in the failed modules for the Master's Degree.

· award a Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate if a student has achieved the requisite credits and met the award outcomes.

· require a student to withdraw from the Course with no further attempts

3.3.5 Award Classification Bands

Distinction: 70% or above

Although the classification of Masters awards does not follow the same pattern as an undergraduate degree, it is possible to demonstrate strong academic performance to potential employers by achieving a commendation or a distinction.

3.4 Assignment Processes & Regulations

3.4.1 Assignment Submission

Students must submit assignments on or before the due date indicated in the timetable/as advised by the module leader. It is the student's responsibility to provide work that is in suitable printable format and properly presented. The Course Administrators will not print assignments for the students nor will they read or comment on the assignments.

On the date that the assignment is due, students will be required to submit their assessment to the Joint Masters Course (JOINT MSC EBF) Administrators on the designated day. It is the responsibility of the student to submit any work to the Course Administrator(s) and not that of any third party. Students are welcome to hand in assignments to the team before the deadline date. Late submission will be date/time stamped after deadline on the submission date.

Students may post their assignments to the JOINT MSC EBF Administrator. Posted assignments must be postmarked the same date as the deadline date; otherwise they will be considered late submissions. Submission of assignments by email is also required.

Any student posting completed assignments is advised to send them by recorded delivery. Assignments should be clearly addressed to Pam Catori, 9^th Floor, Newton Building, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU. A receipt will be forwarded to you to confirm that your assignment has been received. Please note that proof of posting is not proof of receipt.

Please note: that in recent years where students have posted their assignments it has taken up to 2 weeks for the assignments to be received, this delay means that there will also be a delay in releasing the marks.

We aim to return marked assignments within five weeks of submission. However, this may not always be possible if, for example, staff are teaching at remote sites or are unavailable on other university business or when an assignment deadline occurs before a holiday period. In such instances, the Course team will advise students of when to expect returned work.

A word count must be included at the end of your assignment. This count should not include your reference list or any Appendices.

Written assignments must not use the same material presented for the assessment of one module for the assessment of another.

As part of our policy on plagiarism, students at random may be asked for an electronic copy of any of their assessed work. You must therefore keep an electronic copy of all your work and be prepared to submit this if requested. Being asked to provide an electronic copy does not constitute any implication of plagiarism.

Planning & Referral work

Please note that careful time management for completion of referrals is essential. If you are required to complete a referral submission, then you must ensure that the work undertaken for this does not interfere with either:

- completion of other coursework

- attendance at classes

Failure to attend classes because of completion of work in another module is not acceptable behaviour. Such behaviour risks damaging any group work requirements and therefore other student's grades, and will compromise the likelihood of passing overall.

Please note: All students are required to keep hard copies and electronic copies of assignments to cover against loss of work. Never have a single copy of any work that you are undertaking. Technical problems or hardware/software constraints DO NOT constitute legitimate grounds for non- or late submission of assignments.

3.4.2 Presentation of Assignments

Formatting requirements

Submitted work must normally be presented anonymously in the following way:

· All submissions must be attached to a fully completed cover sheet which should include the module leader name, the assignment title, the date and your ID number not your name

· The work should be typed on one side of A4 paper using 1Ѕ line spacing

· A clear 12-point Verdana font should be used

· Pages must be numbered

· The text may be fully or left justified, with a left margin of 2.5 cm

· Pages should be bound or stapled together - individual pages should not be presented in separate plastic wallets

· All academic submission must include a reference list and use the Harvard referencing system must be employed

· Grammar, spelling and punctuation must be of an acceptable standard.

Standards of Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

Marks may be deducted for levels of spelling, grammar and punctuation which fall below the requirements of Masters Level study in impairing the understanding of the reader/marker You should always use the spell check facility on your word processor, but be aware that such Courses will not tell you if you are using commonly mis-spelt homonyms like `there' and `their', or `hear' and `here' in the right places. It can only tell you if words are spelt wrongly. You must ensure that you select the correct word according to the context in which the word is used.

Similarly, check the names of authors and places carefully - the Spell Check Course will not pick these up. Ensure that legislation is accurately cited and spelt correctly. A range of support is available from this University website: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/student_services/study_support/index.html If you need help with any aspects of your work - make use of this support.

3.4.3 Late Submission of Assignments

Please make sure that you are aware of and adhere to the stated deadlines, otherwise the assessment process becomes unnecessarily difficult. If you do not carefully manage your time you may feel stretched by the end of the Course. Regulations regarding late submissions and penalties follow the University Taught Postgraduate Courses: Common Assessment Regulations, section 7:

· Where a student is taking a first attempt at a module and submits assessed work after the 'official deadline' (specified time) indicated in the assessment plan, the work will be marked if submitted within ten working days of the 'official deadline'.

· Where a student is making a first attempt and submits assessed work by this second deadline (i.e. 10 working days after the official deadline), the maximum mark awarded will be 50%. Where the quality of the assessed work falls below the minimum acceptable level (i.e. 50%, a mark of 0 - 49% will be awarded as appropriate).

· Students who have been granted a 'time extension' (for the first attempt) will have the same second deadline (i.e. 10 working days after the agreed extended deadline).

· Where a student is making a first attempt at a module and submits work after the second deadline (i.e. 10 working days after the official deadline), a mark of zero (0%) will be awarded and examiners must only comment on the work for learning purposes and return it to the student with a zero mark.

· Work which is submitted as a second attempt will only be considered for marking if it is handed in by the specified deadline (i.e. the 10 day rule does not apply).

Any student consistently submitting late work will be subject to further investigation.

3.4.4 Extension Requests

In exceptional cases of short-term difficulty (i.e. no greater than 4 weeks), an extension may be granted to submit work after the scheduled deadline. Please note that pressure of work or `running out of time' are not normally considered sufficient justification for an extension. It is your responsibility to foresee and plan for the pressures of the course, your work, and your personal life appropriately. Where students are authorised to submit work after the scheduled deadline they will not be penalised, provided it was submitted by the authorised extension date.

Requests for extension of the official deadline can only be made through an Extension Request Form, available online. Please note that neither verbal/email requests nor information provided verbally/via email to an academic or administrative member of staff will be accepted.

The Extension Request form must be received by the Course Administrator no later than five (5) days prior to the scheduled submission date, and must include valid reasons (examples include those listed in the Special Situations section, below) and documentary evidence.

Extensions can only be authorised by the Joint MSC EBF Course Leader not by individual supervisors, module lecturers or the administrative staff so please do not approach them for this purpose.

If authorised, only one extension will be granted. If you cannot meet the extension date and feel that your academic performance and progress is still being adversely affected, this will then be deemed a `Special Situation'. In addition, the Course Leader cannot authorise extensions when the request for an extension exceeds the normal length of the Course. In these cases, the paragraph on Special Situations below will apply.

3.4.5 Notification of Exceptional Circumstances (NEC)

Exceptional Circumstances occur when a student believes that their academic performance has been adversely influenced by factors lying beyond their reasonable control and which a Board of Examiners should take into account in determining his or her marks or grades. A student has the right to make a Board aware of exceptional circumstances. It is the responsibility of the student to make representations in writing to their Course leader within five working days of each affected piece of work regarding such situations.

The Panel does not normally recognise cases which are preventable by the individual student, such as:

Holidays

Financial problems

Routine balancing of work, university and personal activities

Voluntary changes of employment and/or house moves

Computing equipment problems with discs, machines, printers or viruses (students are expected to follow the good practice guide in the use of computers),

NEC forms submitted after the given deadline, or without applicable supporting evidence

Applicable supporting evidence which does not cover the date of the assessment

Any other circumstances which are deemed to have been within the individual's control.

The NEC panel will consider the submission and make a recommendation to the Examination Board, which has the final say in what action to take. Where the panel believes that the circumstances would have affected the course member's performance, the normal decision of a Board is to give him/her the opportunity to resubmit the work or retake the examination when the special situation has passed. The BoE does not impute marks that might have been obtained had the special situation not applied.

You should first contact your Course leader if you wish to make a submission to the NEC Panel, or if you require advice and guidance as to grounds, evidence required, etc. The Course Administrator will send you a NEC form with completion guidelines and submission deadline. If you then wish for further guidance on how to proceed in matters covered by the Exceptional Circumstances Regulations, you may contact the Student Support Services of the University or the Union of Students Advice Centre.

3.4.6 Academic Appeals Procedures

The Academic Appeals Procedures describe the ways in which students may make representation about decisions made by Boards of Examiners on their academic performance and progress. Following the notification of the results of Boards of Examiners, a student may ask for a reconsideration of the Board's decision on the following grounds:

· the student believes that one or more marks on their transcript or record of performance has been incorrectly recorded,

· there is additional material information which could not have previously been made available to the Notification of Exceptional Circumstances Panel (NEC) or the Board of Examiners,

· the NEC panel failed to properly evaluate the evidence of an exceptional circumstance provided to it.

Disagreement with the academic judgement of the Board of Examiners (for example, with regard to the confirmed assessment marks) does not constitute a reason to request reconsideration and will not be considered.

The procedures for academic appeals can be found at the following link:

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/current_students/resources/student_handbook/appeals/index.html

3.4.7 Generic Assessment Criteria

Tutors will take account of the following generic criteria when marking. Individual criteria for each module will be based broadly on these criteria but the emphasis may differ according to the requirements of the module. The module tutors will provide specific assessment criteria for each module. The following is intended as a guide only:

understanding and application of Course content

See Table 1 in the appendix.

What tutors are looking for

Your assignment will be assessed for its coherence and quality in directly addressing the question set. Generalised coverage will attract few marks whereas focus and critical review will attract high marks. At this level we are expecting critical analysis rather than description.

We expect to see evidence of wider reading, including books, journal articles for more up-to-date research-related material and other information sources. Although you may find the Internet useful, do not attempt to directly use any of the information as this represents plagiarism. The material provided to you in the teaching sessions represents merely a `jump-off point' for your own personal learning. Students must perform all their own reading, research, organisation and critical analysis of the material employed.

3.4.8 Plagiarism

What is it?

· Copying a paper from a source text without proper acknowledgment.

· Submitting another students work without that student's knowledge or a paper that a peer has written for you.

· Copying materials from a source text, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotation marks.

· Paraphrasing materials from a source text without appropriate documentation.

The University Definition

`Plagiarism occurs where a student incorporates another person's work by unacknowledged quotation, paraphrase, imitation or other device in any work submitted for progression towards or for the completion of an award in a way which suggests it is the student's original work'.

Why is it Wrong?

Using someone else's words or ideas without attribution will constitute grounds for failed assignments or investigation. It is not fair to those students who do not cheat and who write their own assessments. Plagiarism is not acceptable and will be treated as a serious breach of University regulations.

You will receive a session on Plagiarism during the induction. If you do not understand any part of it, please ensure that you seek clarification. Plagiarism is cheating and ignorance will not excuse a violation of University regulations.

Intentional plagiarism is deliberate copying or use of another's work without credit. Unintentional plagiarism can result from failing to seriously apply citation standards, from low quality research and sloppy note-taking, or from "cutting and pasting" of electronic sources.

The University confers wide powers on the Examination Board to examine possible cases of cheating and plagiarism and deal with them. An on-line plagiarism detection system will be in use. You may be asked to submit an electronic copy of any or all of your assessments. Using words, ideas, or any work by someone else without giving proper credit is plagiarism. Any time you use information from a source, you must cite it. All sources must be cited in full and all details of primary data collection, for example in your dissertation, must be provided.

You may be requested to authenticate the authorship of a submitted written assignment by means of a viva. Having previous experience of any other research context can in no circumstances be considered an excuse for plagiarism. You may be required to complete an authentication form for any of your written assignments. Do not attempt to submit work that you have not written yourself.

3.5 Key Contact Details and Personal Tutors

During your time with us you may find that there are times when you need help and advice of either an academic or a non-academic nature. It is important that you get any problems sorted out quickly. Please feel free to consult any member of the Joint Masters team. If you wish to see the Course Leader please arrange a meeting through the JOINT MSC EBF administrator.

· If you require assistance of an academic nature or on a particular module, you should take it up with the module leader initially. For urgent queries you should consult with the JOINT MSC EBF Administrators, and they can arrange any meetings that may be required.

· In addition to this there are a number of formal help and advisory services available centrally within the University. Details of these are provided during induction and can be found in Section 4 below.

Initial enquiries should be directed to:

The Joint Masters Administrator

(located on the 9th Floor of the Newton Building)

Pam Catori

Tel: 0115 848 8015

Fax: 0115 848 8150

e-mail: nbs.ipeteam@ntu.ac.uk

Newton Link Lounge (7th Floor of the Newton Building)

Drop-in Sessions:

Monday 12.30pm to 13.30pm

Wednesday 12.30pm to 13.30pm

Friday 12.30pm to 13.30pm

otherwise contact via email.

Appointments to be requested by email.

In this area there are telephones that can be used to contact members of staff.

You can arrange appointments for more serious concerns with academic focus:

Dr Emil Helienek - Course Leader

(located on the 7th Floor of the Newton Building)

Tel : 0115 848 8695

Fax : 0115 848 8150

e-mail: emil.helienek@ntu.ac.uk

Module Leaders for 2013-14

Contemporary Issues in International Strategic Management (CIISM)

Module Leader: Dr Emil Helienek

Finance & Accounting for Business Strategy (FABS)

Module Leader: Mr Rakesh Khosla

(located on the 6^th Floor of the Newton Building)

Tel: 0115 848 3843 - e-mail: rakesh.khosla@ntu.ac.uk

Human Resource Management in International Organisations (HRMIO)

Module Leader: Ms Cindy Wang-cowham

(located on the 7^th Floor of the Newton Building)

Tel: 0115 848 6889 - e-mail: cindy.wangcowham@ntu.ac.uk

Information Management & Systems Strategy (IMSS)

Module Leader: Mr Karl Knox

(located on the 7^th Floor of the Newton Building)

Tel: 0115 848 2418 - E-mail: karl.knox@ntu.ac.uk