CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1.1 Course Outline 1 1.2 Introduction ...

• Meetings should be held at least once each semester but preferably twice;
• Issues raised at the Course Committee should be reasonably representative of the student
and/or staff group and not just of a minority;
• Urgent practical problems (e.g. access to IT facilities or teaching rooms) are to be raised with
the Course Leader and/or Head of Department in-between Course Committee meetings,
rather than delayed;
• issues raised at the meeting and decisions taken are recorded on an ‘action list', and draft
minutes or notes should be approved by the Chair and circulated within 3 weeks of the
meeting and the list of actions reported back to the next meeting as ‘Matters Arising'.
• The Course Committee is the forum for students and staff to present their views on the
operation and development of the course. As a formal Committee within the University's
Committee Structure, the Course Committee provides an important mechanism for the
collection and consideration of student feedback. The Terms of Reference and Composition of
the Course Committee are set out below. Any alternative mechanism approved for student-staff
consultation eg for part-time students, should accord with these Terms of Reference and
Composition.
Student Feedback
Where pieces of coursework are to be assessed before the final coursework deadline for the
semester, staff will endeavour to return a preliminary mark and feedback to students within three
weeks of the deadline date (unless that deadline is close to the final coursework deadline).
Students at Levels 5 and 6 will, however, be required to return the coursework to the staff team
before the final coursework deadline for review by the external examiner. It should also be noted
that marks are not confirmed until after the assessment board, when the marks are published to
students.
6.2 Personal Tutors
It is standard practice at the University that individual students have a personal tutor with whom
they can discuss both personal and academic problems. The personal tutor should be the first
point of contact for the student; the tutor may then refer the student on to the Course Leader or
other relevant departments, such as the counseling and advisory services or the students’ union
for further advice. Each student will be assigned a Personal Tutor on beginning the course. The
Personal Tutor will be a member of the course team.
The role of the Personal Tutor is to monitor progress through the course, offer advice and
encouragement, highlight problems, and determine jointly with the student any remedial action.
Note: This does not include subject specific problems relating to modules, which should be first
addressed to the relevant module leader.
The Personal Tutor is able to advise the student on suitable module choice and personal
development planning, particularly with respect to any modules taken from other courses. Each
student should have one personal tutorial session per semester and should book this with the
relevant tutor.
DPI_Hbook 21 ©University of Westminster