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The overall general aims of the course are:
• To establish at foundation level a core knowledge of the molecular biology of the cell;
• To establish knowledge of how cellular processes interact and inter-link to create a functional cell;
• To establish knowledge of how molecular interactions (e.g. protein-protein, nucleic acid-protein) contribute to and regulate cell activities and contribute to whole cell biology;
• To establish knowledge of how complex cell processes (e.g. cell division, transcription or translation) respond to, and are controlled by, the environment in which a cell is located;
• To obtain practical experience at first hand of some methods that are commonly applied in investigating the molecular biology of the cell.
Molecular Biology (MB3006) is a threaded course running for 12 weeks through the 1st half session of the academic year.
• The course is built around a series of lectures, which provide a starting point for understanding; is up to you to use this information as a basis for self-motivated learning and education.
• The topics covered in the lectures build on your knowledge of nucleic acid biochemistry, protein biochemistry and molecular genetics introduced at more elementary levels in year 1 (SM1501: The Cell) and at year 2 (particularly BI20M3 Molecular Biology of the Gene and BI25M7 Energy for Life). Similar topics taught at level 3 either go into more detail and/or cover material not dealt with in earlier courses. For this reason, you will be expected to be familiar with knowledge and concepts presented to you during level 1 and 2 courses; use Level 1 and 2 material as preparation for the MB3006 lectures.
The first part of the course deals with the basic biochemistry of genetic material, including an examination of DNA replication, including cell cycle, chromosome organisation, recombination and repair, and mobile genetic elements (transposons). We progress into the core central dogma by dealing with both prokaryotic and eukaryotic mechanisms for the transcription of DNA into RNA and the subsequent synthesis of proteins encoded in mRNA. The focus then moves first to protein molecules, dealing with protein processing, targeting and turnover, and then to cell biological aspects of protein trafficking, membrane transduction and cell signalling. The course concludes with a discussion of cell structure and cell death. Laboratory work, assignments and tutorials are designed to complement and extend the lecture topics. Additional learning opportunities are provided in the staged series of Workshops, which allow you the opportunity to actively employ your understanding of a topic in a workshop/small group learning environment.
Subject: Nucleic Acids: DNA replication & Repair, Chromosome
Organization
No. of lectures: 6
Lecturer: Prof A. Donaldson
The aim of these lectures is to investigate how cells organize their DNA within the cell nucleus, and replicate it during cell division to produce two new copies of the genome. Cellular processes to repair damaged DNA will also be covered.
• The mechanism of DNA replication will be discussed, covering the structure of the replication fork, how cells select sites of replication initiation, and how they control whether and when to replicate DNA
• The reaction mechanism catalysed by DNA polymerases causes difficulty in replicating the ends of linear DNA molecules. Various methods have evolved to solve this ‘end-replication problem’. The most common involves the use of an unusual reverse transcriptase, called telomerase
• We will discuss genome organization: introns, exons, satellites, repetitive DNA etc
• How is the huge amount of genomic DNA packaged to fit within the cell nucleus, and still keeping specific sequences accessible for transcription? We will discuss the structure of the nucleosome and higher levels of chromatin organization and packaging
• DNA is often damaged under normal environmental conditions. How can cells repair their genome and what are the consequences if they cannot?
Subject: Mobile DNA
No. of lectures: 2
Lecturer: Dr I Stansfield
The DNA complement and gross structure of the genome of an organism is not fixed, and genomes of a large number of species are populated by an array of mobile elements that propagate via a variety of mechanisms. Structures of mobile DNA elements, as well as overviews of mechanisms of DNA transfer and mobilisation will be described.
• Insertion sequences and transposons; structures, encoded functions, and mechanisms of excision, integration and transfer. IS10 and Tn10 will be used as examples;
• Retrotransposons; Drosophila and maize transposons, LINES and SINES as examples of human genome mobile elements
• Mobile genetic elements as agents of genome evolution
Subject: Growth and the cell cycle
No. of lectures: 4
Lecturer: Prof N Gow
The aim of these lectures is to examine the mechanisms that lead to the coordinated control of cell growth and cell division in bacteria and eukaryotes.
In bacteria the regulation of cell division in relation to growth rate will examined and will include discussion of overlapping cell cycles and the regulation of the initiation of DNA replication and cytokinesis by the fts genes. The eukaryotic cell cycle will be illustrated mainly using examples of yeasts and will discuss regulation of entry in S (DNA synthesis) and M (mitosis) by the cyclin dependent kinase(s) (cdk) and the control of cdk's by cyclin synthesis and by phosphorylation. Regulation of the cell cycle by cell size and environmental factors will be discussed and the loss of control over the cell cycle mentioned in terms of carcinogenesis.
Subject: Transcription
No. of Lectures: 7
Lecturers: Dr C Munro (prokaryote transcription), Dr K Shennan (eukaryote transcription)
The aim of this series of lectures is to illustrate mechanisms by which prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells regulate gene expression primarily at the level of transcription. The basic principles of transcription will be described, emphasising the similarities and differences between the eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems, and highlighting the important events that contribute to the overall control of gene expression. The lectures on prokaryotic transcription regulation will also emphasis, through the use of specific examples, the integration of gene expression with the metabolism of the cell.
Introduction to transcription in prokaryotes
• Subunit structure of RNA polymerase (RNAP) enzyme.
• Promoter architecture.
• Interaction of the RNAP with promoter sequences.
• Role of sigma factor(s) in control of gene expression, discussion of sporulation in B.subtilis.
Regulated transcription: trans-acting factors
• Positive and negative control of gene expression, discussion of the lac operon (lacI, CAP) and catabolite repression: allosteric regulation and phosphorylation.
Regulated transcription: Two-component system
• Regulation of gene expression in response to nitrogen starvation. The role of the nitrogen sensor protein, the allosterically regulated uridyl transferase enzyme, in the control of transcription of genes that encode proteins involved in nitrogen assimilation.
Transcription termination
Intrinsic signals for termination
Rho-dependent termination
Anti-termination as a mechanism for regulating gene expression
Eukaryotic transcription: cis-acting elements & trans-acting factors
• Assembly of preinitiation complex.
Upstream promoter elements and enhancers.
Modular nature of transcription factors.
• Modulating gene expression
Inducible response elements: steroid hormone and heat shock.
Mechanisms of activation and repression.
Influence of chromatin structure on transcription initiation.
• Post-transcriptional processing
Addition of "caps and tails"
RNA degradation
Splicing of RNA: formation of spliceosomes; mechanism of splicing; alternate splicing
Subject: Translation
No. of lectures: 5
Lecturer: Dr I Stansfield
The aim of these lectures is to describe in detail the process of protein synthesis, whereby a messenger RNA is translated by the ribosome in the cytoplasmic compartment. The parallels and differences between eukaryote and prokaryote translation will be considered. As well as constituting a central component of the machinery of the cell, translation is also an important point at which control over gene expression is exerted at the post-transcriptional level in response to environmental and cell-cell signals; these control mechanisms will also be considered.
• Kozak's scanning hypothesis. Initiation of translation in prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes.
• Translation initiation factors. Key control points.
• Structural components of RNA that can affect translation and RNA degradation.
• Elongation; factors and mechanisms; the role of GTP; maintenance of the translational reading frame; the three site model of elongation.
• Termination; factors and mechanisms; molecular mimicry hypothesis; post-termination events and the closed loop model of eukaryote translation.
Functional RNAs in translation - tRNA and rRNA; ribosome structure and function - rRNA as a catalyst; ribosome biogenesis and rRNA processing; tRNAs - modification and charging; tRNA decoding, the genetic code and translational accuracy.
Subject: Proteins: folding, processing, targeting and turnover
No. of lectures: 4
Lecturer: Prof I McEwan
These lectures will consider the folding of newly-synthesised proteins, including the formation of disulphide bonds, correct folding and stabilisation being essential for biological activity. The emphasis will be on mechanisms common to prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with some information specific to prokaryotes.
• Protein structure, with emphasis on the need for both stability and flexibility, so that the protein can undergo subtle conformational change and form larger functional assemblies.
• Folding pathways; chaperones
• How the cell deals with unwanted or misfolded proteins; the ubiquitin system and the proteasome
• Protein disulphide isomerases; protein folding and disulphide formation in the bacterial periplasm
Subject: Proteins – targeting and trafficking
No. of Lectures: 4
Lecturer: Dr K Shennan
The aim of this series of lectures is to illustrate how proteins are targeted to the correct cellular location to ensure the appropriate biological activity. The majority of the lectures will cover the eukaryotic secretory pathway where similarities to the secretion of proteins from prokaryotic cells will be highlighted. We will also briefly consider how nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial proteins become localised.
• Translocation of secretory proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – signal hypothesis. Parallels with bacterial protein secretion. Post-translational modifications within the ER – signal peptide cleavage, glycosylation and lipid modification.
• Forward transport to Golgi apparatus or retention in ER. Bi-directional transport between ER and Golgi.
• Post-translational modification in Golgi – further glycosylation, limited proteolysis (subtilisin family of endoproteases, carboxypeptidase), amidation
• Sorting at level of trans-Golgi network (TGN). Sorting to lysosomes (similarity to sorting to yeast vacuole), secretion or retention in Golgi.
• Exocytosis – vesicle flow between TGN and cell surface, SNARE hypothesis, docking and fusion. Endosomal pathway.
• Localisation to other cellular organelles.
Subject: Membranes and signal transduction
No. of Lectures: 3
Lecturer: Dr B Mueller
The aim of these lectures is to provide an outline of a variety of molecular signalling scenarios which living cells use to interact with their environment.
Higher eukaryotic signal transduction scenarios, membrane receptor molecules – G-protein coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases and downstream events, nuclear receptors and steroids. 2-component systems in microorganisms; chemotaxis, trans-membrane transporters.
Subject: Cell architecture
No. of Lectures: 3
Lecturer: Dr S Hoppler
The aim of these lectures is to illustrate the complex intracellular organisation of higher eukaryotic cells. We will consider the structure, biogenesis and brief function of organelles that are separate to the secretory pathway discussed previously, that is the nucleus, mitochondrion, chloroplast and peroxisome. We will also discuss the cytoskeleton and its role in maintaining cell shape and cell motility
• Nuclear organisation: nucleolus, nuclear membrane and nuclear pore complex
• Mitochondria and chloroplasts: overview of structures, consideration of evolutionary origin, organelle genome
• Actin filaments – organisation of cytosol, myosin – molecular motor; functions in muscle and non-muscle cells
• Microtubules and intermediate filaments, kinesin as a molecular motor, role in cilia and flagella movement
Subject: Growth and death; cell cycles and apoptosis
No. of lectures: 2
Lecturer: Dr J Pettitt
Apoptosis, programmed cell death (JP).
The aim of these lectures is to introduce you to mechanism and biological function of programmed cell death. The lectures will cover the following topics: Distinction between programmed cell death and necrotic cell death. Why does programmed cell death exist? Examples of programmed cell death in animals and plants. The molecular basis of apoptosis and its relationship to other cellular processes.
Class Practical
The practical will give you the opportunity to apply the knowledge and understanding gained in the course thus far. It comprises a series of in-lab sessions, followed by the production of a written report (see separate Practical Manual).
“Identification of bacteria containing either plasmid-borne or chromosomal reporter genes”
(Dr K Shennan)
The course will comprise a formal lecture course (as indicated in the Lecture Synopses above), which will include a series of practical Workshops, two written assessments, two computer assessments of course work, a tutorial and a practical course. All course work will be examined in the degree examination. The written assessments and the practical course will form the continuous assessment element of the course.
Tutorial
In addition to the general third year tutorial system that you will be following, there will be an additional, subject-specific tutorial in this course, which will give you the opportunity to get to grips with a topic in an informal discussion group, improving understanding.
• Students are provided with a strong, well-written scientific article. The article has been chosen specifically to present an important model that builds upon the DNA replication lectures presented at the beginning of this course.
• Students will be asked to answer questions along the following lines:
1. Describe the question that the model addresses.
2. Summarise the model.
3. Address a few specific questions relating to the model.
4. Highlight any aspect(s) of the model that you don’t understand.
Tutorial topic: Errors during DNA replication: the problem for stem cells
Review article title; The Immortal strand hypothesis
Lead Tutor: Dr Ian Stansfield
Tutorial work is not assessed but attendance will be taken
It is essential that you prepare for the tutorial by reading the material provided so that you come to each tutorial prepared to answer the accompanying questions.
General aims of the tutorial program
All the tutorials are designed to complement the lecture material, allowing a more detailed discussion of specific aspects of the course.
A further aim is to encourage you to read papers critically and to discuss topics in small informal groups.
General learning outcome of the tutorial program
You will develop a greater understanding of specific parts of the course and an awareness of experimental techniques that are used in this type of research.
You will improve your ability to read research papers (review articles) and pick out the salient points rather than this being done for you in lectures. By contributing to the tutorial you will also improve your oral communication skills.
Tutorial MB3005
MB3005 TUTORIAL: ERRORS OF DNA REPLICATION
THE IMMORTAL STRAND HYPOTHESIS
The aim of this tutorial is to provide training in the close-reading and understanding of a scientific paper. In this particular case, the paper is a review article, and develops one area of work mentioned earlier in the course; the accuracy of DNA replication (Prof. Long’s lectures), as well as reinforcing the concept of semi-conservative replication of DNA, introduced at level 2 in the Molecular Biology of the Gene course.
Specific Learning Outcomes
You will develop a greater understanding of the concepts of the mechanism and accuracy of DNA replication.
The article used for this tutorial (the pdf file is provided on the course WebCT site) is:
Rando, T.A. (2007) The Immortal Strand Hypothesis: Segregation and Reconstruction. Cell 129; 1239-1243.
Approach
First, scan through the article to get the general sense of it – then read it more closely. Use textbook information to try and resolve the meaning of passages you don’t understand. A glance at a paper cited at the end of the article (several of which have short summaries attached) may also resolve a difficulty. Don’t worry too much about understanding fine detail, but you should be able to follow the logic of the authors’ presentation throughout the article.
While you are reading, notice how the authors arrange their presentation into discrete sections, often with sub-headings, and that the article forms a smooth, logical sequence that makes it relatively easy for the interested non-expert to follow. In this tutorial, we will deal with each sub-section at a time, making sure the broad message and conclusions of each one is understood.
The whole review article makes a relatively seamless ‘story’, leading from a scene-setting background, through current findings and thoughts, towards speculations about future work. A similar careful ordering of material and your thoughts is expected of you in essay writing, and, in fourth-year, in the composition of a research project thesis, so do learn from your reading of this review.
Now, look at the article again, and answer the following questions. Your answers are not handed in and marked, but you will need to be able to talk about the various points during the tutorial. It is therefore suggested that you make (rough) notes of your answers to help out in the tutorial, and for revision.
Do you understand the terminology? Before you move onto the questions, you probably need to spend a few minutes drafting a ‘Glossary of terms’ for yourself. The following terms, and perhaps others, you may not have come across or have forgotten their meaning.
chromatid / mitotic recombination / BrdU / pulse labelling / centrosome / kinetochore
Tutorial questions; these are organised according to the review sections;
Section; Introduction
1. What is a stem cell?
2. Why are stem cells at particular risk from replication-induced DNA mutations?
Section; The Immortal Strand Hypothesis
3. In your own words, what is the ‘Immortal Strand Hypothesis’?
Section; Implications of the Immortal Strand Hypothesis
4. How is the chemical compound BrdU used to study DNA replication and the immortal strand hypothesis?
5. What two explanations could account for the observation that stem cells are ‘long term label-retaining cells’?
Section; Evidence to support the Immortal Strand hypothesis
6. How is radioactive thymidine (3H-Td) used to study strand segregation of replicated DNA?
7. Why was mouse small intestine used as a source of tissue to study the immortal strand hypothesis?
8. What control experiments were carried out to prove that cells that were ‘long term label-retaining’ were also actively dividing?
Section; Mechanistic considerations
9. What hypotheses are put forward to explain how the cell machinery can distinguish between the ‘immortal strand’ and newly-synthesised strand?
Data manipulation;
10. Assume a chromosome has 1 million base pairs, and has a base composition of 30% GC. In an experiment, a population of cells is labelled for the period of one cell division with radioactive thymidine.
(i) In any one cell, how many thymidine residues are incorporated into one of the two chromosomes produced during chromosome replication?
(ii) How many moles of thymidine residues are incorporated into one of the two chromosomes produced during chromosome replication? (Avogadro’s constant is 6.023 x 1023)
In the experiment described above, the cells are labelled during the time of the first cell division, then the label is removed. The cell population is then allowed to go through two further rounds of cell division and the cells harvested.
(iii) What will the ratio of labelled to unlabelled cells be in the harvested population?
(iv) What will the ratio of labelled to unlabelled individual chromosome strands be in the harvested population?
Each student should own a personal copy of at least one book from this list; the course cannot be studied satisfactorily from lecture notes alone.
Lodish H et al;. Molecular Cell Biology Freeman,5th edition (2003)
ISBN 0716743663
Books strongly recommended for reference and for further reading; on selected aspects of the course; Students taking the Biochemistry 3rd year courses and intending to proceed to Honours should consider buying some of these books during the year. These books supplement the information given in the book listed above, and will provide the basis of your professional Library
Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell
Garland, 4th edition (2002)
(£46.95)
ISBN 0815340729
[574.87 Alb 4]
Berg, Tymoczko & Stryer, Biochemistry
Freeman, 5th edition (2002)
(£36.99)
ISBN 0716746840
[574.192 Ber)
Nelson, D.L. and Cox, M.M., Lehninger:Principles of Biochemistry, Freeman, 4th edition (2004)
(£41.99)
ISBN 0716743396
Other relevant textbooks available in the library are:
Latchman, D., Gene Regulation: a eukaryotic perspective [574.873223 Lat]
Lindsay, D. A guide to Scientific Writing [501.49 Lin and SES808.02 Lin]
The University has strict regulations on plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism read the University guide on plagiarism at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing
Copying, or plagiarising, another person’s work, either from other students or published material in books or papers, and submitting it as your own for assessment is considered a form of cheating. This is considered by the University to be a serious offence and will be penalised according to the extent involved and whether it is decided there was an attempt at deliberate deception, or whether bad practice was involved. If you do use information or ideas obtained from textbooks or other published material you must give a precise reference to the source both at the appropriate point in your narrative and in a list of references at the end of your work. Direct quotations from published material should be indicated by quotation marks and referenced in the text as above.
TurnitinUK
TurnitinUK is an online service which compares student assignments with online sources including web pages, database of reference material, and content previously submitted by other users across the UK. The software makes no decision as to whether plagiarism has occurred; it is simply a tool which highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources thereby helping academic staff decide whether plagiarism has occurred.
As of Academic Year 2011/12, TurnitinUK will be accessed directly through MyAberdeen. Advice about avoiding plagiarism, the University’s Definition of Plagiarism, a Checklist for Students, Referencing and Citing guidance, and instructions for TurnitinUK, can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website: www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism
(a) In-course Assessment (40% of total)
This will be made up of marks from:
Coursework Value of Final Mark Date of hand in/sitting
Essay 1 6% Friday 21st October
Essay 2 12% Monday 28th November
Computer assessment 1 6% Friday 11th November
Computer assessment 2 6% Friday 9th December
Laboratory report 10% Monday 12th December
Assignments must be handed in as specified above. Failure to do so will result in loss of marks. If absent from the essay writing session, no marks will be awarded unless you can provide a written explanation and a medical certificate (see note above on “absence from classes on medical grounds”). If you miss an essay writing session with some good cause (e.g. illness), it will then be up to you, with the agreement of the course coordinator, to arrange another opportunity to write the essay under exam conditions supervised by your assigned third year tutor. You must have done this by the end of the semester 1 in which this course runs.
(b) Written Examinations (60% of total)
Exams will be held in the January/February diet of examinations. The written examination paper (2 h 30 min. [2.5 h]) will be divided into 3 sections (A, B and C). You will be asked to answer one question from section A, one question from section B, and one additional question from either section. Sections A and B each have a choice of 3 essay questions. There is a single compulsory data-handling question in section C that you must answer.
Data handling questions; The data handling question in section C will be similar to the ones you will have practiced in the course workshops. There will also be data handling questions on the MyAberdeen Blackboard site to enable you to practice, and get feedback through the provision of model answers.
Examination Results
The results will be posted on the student portals approximately two weeks after the examination. The criteria used in marking examination questions are given on the following page of the manual. Similar considerations apply to marking your other assessed written work.
Oral Examinations
May be arranged for a few students who fall close to the borderlines of Pass/Fail or possibly the Honours entry standard. The list of students for oral examination will drawn up, and students contacted by email, as soon as possible after the written exam, and the oral examinations will be held shortly thereafter. Each exam will last for 15-20 minutes and will normally be conducted by the Course Co-ordinator and another member of staff who taught on the course. Any aspect of the course may be discussed. Subjects on which a student did not perform well in the exam may also be covered. The outcome of this oral examination will be posted on the student portal.
Important Notes
Students are responsible for checking whether they will be required for an oral examination by regularly monitoring their University email in the days following the written examination.
Students should also note that candidates asked to attend for oral examination, but failing to do so, will be assigned their pre-oral (failing) CAS assessment. For the August re-sit exam it is therefore important that you do not plan to take a holiday in the weeks immediately after the exam unless you can be certain that you will not be required to attend an oral examination – check that you are not to be called for oral before booking holiday/absenting yourself from University.
Requirements for passing the course
The total assessment of the course, recorded as a single CAS mark, is based on two elements of the course as follows: Continuous assessment marks contributing 40% of the total and the written examination contributing 60%. To achieve an overall pass for the course you MUST obtain a CAS score of 9 or better for the entire course.
If you are absent from one or more practical classes these will be discounted from the total mark spreadsheet ONLY if a medical certificate or acceptable self-certification form has been submitted. If your reason for absence is unacceptable or if you do not submit an ABSENCE FROM CLASSES FORM you will be awarded a zero mark for each practical missed.
The re-sit examination will be based on the written paper as above and the previous continuous assessment marks achieved during the course. If you are absent with good cause from all continuous assessment components of the course, you will be required to sit an extra examination at the end of the course based upon the material taught in the continuous assessment course components.
Honours Entry Criteria
The criteria for entering the Honours classes in Molecular and Cell Biology are:
• achievement of a CAS mark of 12 or more for all four 30 credit courses at Level 3; and
• no outstanding courses at Levels 1 and 2.
The Chairs of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Genetics try to welcome as many students as possible into the Honours year, but it must be recognised that it will only benefit the more able students. In addition to the general rules for Honours entry published in the University Calendar, a CAS mark of 12 or better in each 3rd year module is taken as a reasonable sign that the student has reached an appropriate standard for acceptance into the Honours year. Exceptions can be made if there is a good reason, and a mixture of excellent results and one or two slightly poorer ones may sometimes be acceptable.
External Examiners
The external examiner plays a major, over-seeing role in the setting and marking of the written examination, in decisions about candidates to be entered for oral examination, in oral examinations themselves, and in the ultimate decisions about awards of passes and of CAS marks. He/she also has a strong input into the format and content of the course itself. With regard to the written examination papers the external examiner will check for a sensible balance of questions, that they reflect the course content, that they are written in good English and that they are "do-able" i.e. questions should be neither too difficult or too easy. The external examiner may wish to meet informally with the class representatives.
First and Second Class Merit Certificates
First and Second Class Merit Certificates are normally awarded to students achieving CAS scores (collated from course work and written examination marks of 18-20 and 15-17 inclusive, respectively (see the CAS descriptors). Award of the certificates is made by the Registry on receipt of the CAS marks from the School, and the award is entered in student records. No "certificates" as such are actually distributed.
Prof Nuala Booth
Prof Anne Donaldson
Prof Neil Gow
Prof Stefan Hoppler
Prof Iain McEwan
Dr Berndt Mueller
Dr Jonathan Pettitt
Dr Kath Shennan
Prof Ian Stansfield
Dr Carol Munro
Attendance is required at all lectures, tutorials and practical classes. Attendance is recorded at lectures, tutorials and practicals. Practical Reports must be handed in by the deadlines set out in the timetable. Failure to attend classes and/or failure to submit Practical Reports by the specified deadlines may lead to the School reporting you to the Senate Office by recording a ‘C6’ on your student record, and in the case of repeated non-attendance, the refusal of a class certificate (see ‘Monitoring Student Attendance’ below).
Study Agreement
The School of Medical Sciences, and I as course Co-ordinator, would appreciate you confirming your commitment to studying on this course, and affirming your intention to work hard and attend all taught elements of the course, except where illness and other good cause occasionally prevent this. For this reason we would appreciate you reading and signing a ‘Study Agreement’ before you begin the course. A copy of this is attached at the end of the manual for your records.
We value student’s opinions in regard to enhancing the quality of teaching and its delivery; therefore in conjunction with the Students Association we support the operation of a Class representative system.
The students within each course, year, or programme elect representatives by the end of the fourth week of teaching within each half-session. In this course we operate a system of course representatives. Any students registered within a course that wishes to represent a given group of students can stand for election as a class representative. You will be informed when the elections for class representative will take place.
What will it involve?
It will involve speaking to your fellow students about the course you represent. This can include any comments that they may have. You will attend a Staff Student Liaison Committee and you should represent the views and concerns of the students within this meeting. As a representative you will also be able to contribute to the agenda. You then feedback to the students after this meeting with any actions that are being taken.
Training
Training for class representatives will be run by the Students Association. Training will take place in the fourth or fifth week of teaching each semester. For more information about the Class representative system visit www.ausa.org.uk or email the VP Education & Employability vped@abdn.ac.uk
The University operates a system for monitoring students' progress to identify students who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course and who may be at risk of losing their class certificate. If the Course Co-ordinator has concerns about your attendance and/or performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact their office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for absence, the Registry will either deal directly with your case or will refer you to your Adviser of Studies or a relevant Support Service. This system is operated to provide support for students who may be experiencing difficulties with their studies. Students are required to attend such meetings with their Adviser of Studies in accordance with General Regulation 8.
Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system. You will be asked to meet your Adviser if any of the following criteria apply for this course:-
‘either (i) if you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks or 25% of the course (whichever is less) without good cause being reported;
or (ii) if you are absent from two small group teaching sessions (e.g. tutorial, laboratory class) without good cause;
or (iii) if you fail to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course assessment by the stated deadline'
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter), you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course concerned and will accordingly be ineligible to take the end-of-course assessment or to enter for the resit. The Registry will write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the course you will require to meet with the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee.
A class certificate is defined as “a certificate confirming that a candidate has attended and duly performed the work prescribed for a course”. The period of validity for a class certificate is limited to the academic year in which it is awarded and the academic year immediately following. Hence, candidates have a maximum of four opportunities to take the end-of-course assessment without re-attendance i.e. the normal (January or May) diet and the August resit diet in the year in which the course is taken and the year immediately following.
Students who have been reported as ‘at risk’ through the system for monitoring students’ progress due to their failure to satisfy the minimum criteria (as outlined above) may be refused a class certificate. If you are refused a class certificate, you will receive a letter from the Registry (e-mail in term-time) notifying you of this decision. Students who are refused a class certificate are withdrawn from the course and cannot take the prescribed degree assessment in the current session, nor are eligible to be re-assessed next session, unless and until they qualify for the award of a class certificate by taking the course again in the next session.
If you wish to appeal against the decision to refuse a class certificate should do so in writing to the Head of School within fourteen days of the date of the letter/e-mail notifying you of the decision. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you have the right to lodge an appeal with the relevant Director of Undergraduate Programmes within fourteen days of the date you are informed of the Head of School’s decision.
You will receive a University e-mail account when you register with the University Computing Centre. The University will normally use e-mail to communicate with you during term-time. These e-mails will be sent to your University e-mail account, which you can access using Webmail.
It is your responsibility;
• to check your e-mail on a regular (at least weekly) basis
• to tidy the contents of your e-mail inbox to ensure that it does not go over quota (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/email/mailquota.hti for guidance on managing your e-mail quota).
NB. You should note that failure to check your e-mail or failure to receive e-mail due to being over quota or due to non-delivery of an e-mail forwarded to a non-University e-mail account would not be accepted as a ground for appeal (for further information on appeals procedures, please refer to http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x17.hti)
[If you already have a non-University e-mail account that you use for personal correspondence, it is possible to set up automatic forwarding of messages from your University e-mail account to your personal e-mail address (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/local/mail.forward/) but, should you do so, it is your responsibility to ensure that this is done correctly. The University takes no responsibility for delivery of e-mails to non-University accounts.]
- Requirements for the Award of an Honours Degree
All students who are admitted to an Honours programme, in or after 2004/05, are required to achieve 480 credit points, including at least 180 at levels 3 and 4, of which at least 90 must be at level 4 in order to graduate with an Honours degree. This is in order to ensure that Honours degrees are awarded in compliance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This is a common national Framework for all awards in Scotland. Further information is available at http://www.scqf.org.uk/.
Accordingly, students failing to meet this credit requirement at the first attempt will require to make up this credit shortfall before graduating. Normally, only the first attempt at an assessment is permitted to contribute towards degree classification and hence students failing to meet this credit requirement at the first attempt are required to resit for credit accumulation purposes only. General Regulation 21, as outlined below, sets out the procedures available to enable students to make up this credit shortfall.
In the case of a candidate who has failed to complete satisfactorily an element of Honours degree assessment at the time prescribed by Regulation 9.3, then the appropriate procedure from (a) to (e) below shall apply:
a) If, but only if, the failure is on account of illness or other good cause, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, and shall be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
b) If the failure is the result of absence or non-submission for any other cause, the candidate shall be awarded zero for the assessment concerned and shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
c) For courses at level 4 and above only, if the candidate has completed the assessment but been awarded a mark on the Common Assessment Scale between 6 and 8 inclusive, they shall be awarded the same amount of unnamed specific credit, not exceeding 30 credit points in total, at level 1.
d) If the candidate has completed the assessment, but the course is at level 3, or the course is at level 4 or above and the mark awarded on the Common Assessment Scale is less than 6, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification. Alternatively, for courses at level 4 and above only, such candidates may elect to attend and submit themselves for assessment in another course or courses of equivalent credit value, which may be at any level.
e) If any of options (a), (b) or (d) above would normally apply, but medical advice indicates that it would be unreasonable to require a candidate to appear for assessment on a subsequent occasion, and if the candidate’s past record provides sufficient evidence that they would have obtained Honours, the examiners may recommend the award of an Aegrotat degree, but only after obtaining the consent of the candidate. The award of an Aegrotat degree will debar candidates from counting towards Honours degree assessment any result achieved thereafter.
Notes (i) For courses at level 4 and above, the timing and format of the assessment required under any of sub-sections (a), (b) or (d) above shall be determined by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School.
(ii) The options to achieve or be awarded credit under (b), (c) and (d) above shall not be available to candidates who have accumulated less than 90 credit points at level 4 or who have failed to complete satisfactorily the assessment for a course which, on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School, has been prescribed by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) as compulsory for the award of a degree with Honours. Such candidates will be able to qualify for a non-Honours degree only.
Further guidance is also available in the Guidance Note for Students who either Fail, or who Fail to Attend or Complete, an Element of Prescribed Degree Assessment which can be accessed at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x6.pdf
