Student Handbook - The School of Language, Linguistics and Film

Native speakers of Russian
Year 1 RUS/060N Russian I N (core)
RUS/070 Landmarks in Russian Literature (compulsory)
Year 2 RUS/212 Russian II N (core)
Final Year RUS/084N Russian III N (core)
2.2 THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Attendance
All students are expected to attend 100% of classes unless a very good reason is
given. The teaching which you receive and the discussions you take part in during classes
are a vital part of the learning process at Queen Mary. You will not be able to keep up with a
module for which you are missing classes by reading for it at other times. This is an
essential complement to class attendance, but not a substitute for it. Copying another
student’s notes will also not give you the deeper understanding of the issues discussed
which you gain from taking part in those discussions.
Of course, there are legitimate excuses for absence: illness, religious obligations,
bereavement, would be examples. But you do need to keep us informed of any reasons
(medical or personal) that will prevent you from attending a class or classes. You should
inform the teacher before the class that you are unable to attend, and give reasons. You
may be asked to submit a medical certificate or similar document to cover absences of more
than five days, or a series of shorter absences.
We are well aware that many students have to find employment to finance their university
studies. However, employment commitments will not be regarded as a sufficient excuse for
absence. If you have to work, you must harmonise your academic timetable with your work
commitments.
If your attendance is regarded as unsatisfactory, we may ultimately take steps to bar you,
that is de-register you, from that module. A student barred from a module is not permitted to
replace it with a new module: it remains on your transcript, and although you will receive any
marks for work submitted up to the point of your deregistration, it will inevitably be a fail
mark overall. If, as a result of de-registration, you are registered for fewer credits than you
require to progress to your next year of study, your enrolment is at risk of termination: that
is, you may be unable to continue as a student of the College.
We will always try to help students who are experiencing genuine problems, but we cannot
do so if you do not keep us informed of them. Of course, you may not want to discuss
personal matters with all of your teachers, but you must make sure that your Adviser is
aware of what is happening so that he or she can offer a generalised explanation on your
behalf. Even if your attendance is jeopardised by genuine problems, it is unreasonable to
delay informing us of these until you have already been deregistered from a module for nonattendance.
By that time, it may be too late to reinstate you.
Students must have permission from the Head of School to be absent from College during
term-time for anything other than medical or urgent personal reasons, and must provide a
valid reason for absence for such permission to be given.
With very few exceptions, all classes are timetabled for a full hour or multiples of an hour. By
a College-wide agreement, they actually run from five minutes past the hour until five
minutes to the next hour, to allow everybody to get from one venue to another. It is
extremely disruptive to teaching if students (or teachers) arrive late. If you do not arrive by
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