Department of International Business

2009-10
course code: BUSI1360
course title: Professional Practice
course leader: Egle Dagilyte
Contents

1. INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE ................................................................. 3

2. CONTACT DETAILS AND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .............................................. 4
2.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .................................................................................................. 4
3. COURSE DETAILS .................................................................................................................... 5
3.1 AIMS .................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES ............................................................................................................. 5
3.3 LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................ 6
4.1 IF YOU ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS WITH WEBCT .............................................................................. 8
5. SESSION DETAILS ................................................................................................................... 9
6. READING ................................................................................................................................... 9
7. ASSESSMENT DETAILS ......................................................................................................... 10
7.1 SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 10
7.2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 10
7.3 RESIT ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 13
8. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION ................................................................................................. 13
8.1 PREPARING A PDF FILE FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION............................................................... 14
8.2 SUBMITTING AN ASSIGNMENT ONLINE ..................................................................................... 16
STEP 7:........................................................................................................................................... 18
STEP 8:........................................................................................................................................... 18
8.3 PLAGIARISM ......................................................................................................................... 19
8.4 VIEWING MARKS AND TUTOR’S FEEDBACK ................................................................................ 21
8.5 EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES ............................................................................................... 22
9. COURSE EVALUATION .............................................................................................................. 23
10. COMPLAINTS............................................................................................................................ 23
GENERIC ASSESSMENT CRITERIA – M LEVEL .......................................................................................... 24

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 2

1. Introduction to Professional Practice

Welcome to the Professional Practice course, which supports your

learning during your work placement.

This course aims to help you explore the practice of reflection and
maximise your self-potential through contemporary means of
interaction: blog, log and final reflective report. You will be able to
discuss your work and learning with your peers and learn not only from
your own, but also from others’ experience.

The Professional Practice course has been designed to enable to do the following:

 Be able to reflect on own personal learning experience and apply this knowledge to
a variety of situations;
 Critically review the extent to which local, national and/or international perspectives
of specific areas of practice influence their professional judgement;
 Maintain the use of computer moderated communications (CMC) to encourage
further collaboration;
 Be able to assimilate material from different contexts and apply to new situations;
 Critically evaluate and inter-relate knowledge acquired from a variety of sources;
 Be able to draw up a report which provides an objective overview of your learning
experience.

To get the maximum benefit from this course you need to regularly take part in the online
discussions. If you participate, you will be pleasantly surprised at how interesting and
valuable this topic can be to you.

One final note: this course is partly directed, partly self-determined, but the responsibility
lies with you to manage your own learning experience. The more you put into the process
the more you will benefit. I will be here to facilitate your learning and to guide and support
you should you need it.

I hope that you will enjoy this course, and wish you every success as you commence your
managerial career.

Egle Dagilyte

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 3

2. Contact Details and Roles and Responsibilities
Room Email address Phone number
Course Leader
Egle Dagilyte QA354 de31@gre.ac.uk 0208 331 9167
Admin Programme
Coordinator
Alex Kubit-Hope QM245 ka77@gre.ac.uk 0208 331 9840

2.1 Roles and responsibilities

Course leader
The course leader has overall responsibility for the course including its content, design and
assessments. You should contact your course leader during his/her office hours or by email if you
have questions relating to this course.

Placement Supervisor
You have an academic supervisor for the duration of your placement, who will review your
contributions to the course and assess your reflective reports. You should raise any administrative
or personal problems you may face with your placement supervisor in the first instance.

Programme Coordinator
The programme coordinator is responsible for the smooth administration of programmes within the
Department. You may contact the programme coordinator if you are have problems with Banner, if
your grades are incorrectly listed, if you have been absent from class through illness or if you have
encountered difficulties making an appointment with your course tutor or course leader.

Your Role
It is your responsibility to undertake all of the work requested of you in this course (i.e. assessment,
reading and Seminar preparation). To do well in courses it is often necessary to make sure you go
beyond the minimum instructions (in reading for example) and that you ask questions or seek
advice if you don’t understand readings, lecturers, Seminar exercises or assessment.

It is also your responsibility to attend regularly or notify the programme coordinator if you are sick.
Please remember that although learning should be intellectually challenging it is important that
classes run smoothly so it is important not to be disruptive (e.g. chatting during classes, leaving
mobile phones on or being persistently late) and not to be impolite to other members of the class.

Finally, remember that your assessments should be your own work unless group work is allowed.
Plagiarism and similar forms of cheating will be punished and it is important not to engage in such
behaviour or to make it easy for other members of your class to cheat.

Please review the regulations governing suspected plagiarism and exam offences:
http://www.gre.ac.uk/students/affairs/rse/regs/documents/plagandeo2005-09-01_003.doc

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 4

3. Course Details

3.1 Aims
Recent debate on the effectiveness of management education has highlighted the paramount
importance of collective, multidisciplinary, reflective practice to management development and
autonomous integrity. Critical reflection on practice, including different technical, social and
economic influences drawn from a local, national and/or international perspective, is a valuable
resource which can be used to build on professional judgement, professional autonomy and
promote agents of change. Consequently, this course focuses on reflective practice within the
context of the professional role. The use of computer moderated communications (CMC) as a
distance learning medium in the course provides a flexible means to facilitate the individual's
learning experiences, enrich the collaborative nature of practice and broaden the dialogue between
these professionals.

This course aims to:

 Consolidate, in a practical context, advanced knowledge of organisations, their
management and the changing external context in which they operate;
 Enhance the application of knowledge and understanding of complex international business
& management issues, both systematically and creatively, to improve business and
management practice.
 Increase students' capacity to reflect on and learn from experience and thus be able to
integrate new knowledge with past experience and apply it to new situations
 Challenge students to question preconceptions and to remove subject and functional
boundaries so as to handle complex situations holistically
 Develop students' ability to analyse, synthesise and solve complex unstructured business
problems
 Build interpersonal skills so as to be able to interact effectively with a range of specialists
and to implement agreed solutions effectively and efficiently
 Practice leadership potential through critical reflection via self-management, managing
others, and the understanding of business.
 Develop a solid appreciation of lifelong learning skills and personal development so as to
be able to work with self-direction and originality and to contribute to business and society
at large.

3.2 Learning Outcomes

A. Knowledge and Understanding of:
 The impact of practical context on the understanding of organisations, their external context
and of how they are managed.
 The process of reflective practice
 Advanced conceptions of leadership Methods of problem-solving

B. Intellectual Skills:

B1. Breadth of Outlook

Critically analyse how scientific, practical, social or political contexts of practice can impact
on the advancement of their professional practice;

B2. Wisdom
Critically evaluate how the purposes and consequences of own acts (or omissions) can
constrain or promote autonomy;

B3. Personal Effectiveness

Collaborate with peers to clarify professional values, key practical and theoretical concerns

C. Subject Practical Skills:

 Negotiation skills
BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 5
  Leadership skills
 Problem-solving skills
 Change management skills

D. Transferable Skills

D1. Critical Thinking

 Use reflective skills to critically assess the nature, efficiency and effectiveness of current
knowledge for practice
 Apply an action inquiry approach to develop strategies for effecting change;
 Analytical skills

D2. Information Management

Use computer moderated communications as a resource for collaboration, accessing
advice and sharing experiences of reflective practice.

D3. Communication Skills

 Presentation skills
 Debating skills
 Negotiating and influencing skills
 Leadership skills

3.3 Learning and teaching activities

The course centres on reflection on a year’s (47 weeks full-time equivalent) period of managerial
work related to the previous pathway of studies, part of which may be undertaken during other
studies. Group work and case study analysis via E-mail conferences will be used to enable
participants to contribute, through computer moderated communications (CMC), to the learning
process and build on the collaborative and participative nature of the programme.

Participants will also have access to their placement supervisor and course co-ordinator and will be
encouraged to use examples from practice and independent study of relevant texts to further
enhance this learning process. Individual learner's needs will be negotiated and facilitated through
the learning contract, delivered via e-mail.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 6

4. WebCT
WebCT is an internet accessible environment which assists in the management and teaching of
courses. It consists of an integrated set of educational tools for constructing and managing an
online course environment.

The Business School provides a WebCT site for each of its courses. This site provides the basic
information you might need (course outline, electronic submission, communication tools, contact
details etc) and in many cases staff utilise the site more fully.

If you are properly enrolled on a course you should automatically gain access to it and simply need
to log on using your Greenwich username and password in the manner describe below.

If you are having problems accessing Business School sites you are properly enrolled on please
email esupport@gre.ac.uk and explain what the problem is to them.

1. Go to the University of Greenwich web pages http://www.gre.ac.uk/

2. Click on ‘Student Portal’ at the bottom of the page

3. Log in using your gre username and password.

4. Click ‘My Learning’

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 7
 5. Now click ‘Visit My Courses’

6. All the courses you have been enrolled on should now be displayed.

Important: Ensure that you click ‘log out’ when you are ready to leave the WebCT
environment.

4.1 If you encounter problems with WebCT

If the course you are taking is not on your MyWebCT list, it suggests you are not correctly
registered on that course and that you need to see your personal tutor to ensure you are correctly
enrolled as soon as possible.

If you need help using WebCT please contact the e-Support Office by email: esupport@gre.ac.uk

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 8

5. Session Details
There are no formal sessions as such but students are expected to interact with other students’
blogs, regularly reading and providing constructive comments and referrals to supporting materials.
On the basis of research that suggests learning is deeper when undertaken collectively, this
engagement will be assessed as part of each student’s learning log.

6. Reading
Author Date Title Publisher
th
Handy, C. B. Understanding Organisations (4 ed.) Penguin
1993

Browne, M. N. 2000 Asking the Right Questions: a guide to critical Prentice Hall
th
and S. M. thinking (6 ed.)
Keeley
Boud, D. 1985 Turning experience into learning Kogan Page
Keogh and
Walker (eds.)
Dewey, J 1991 How We Think Prometheus Books

Schön, D. 1997 Educating the Reflective Practitioner Jossey-Bass

Moon, J. A. 1999 Reflection in Professional Development and Kogan Page

Learning: theory and practice

Weick, K. E. 1995 Sensemaking in Organisations Sage Publications

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 9

7. Assessment Details
7.1 Summary of assessment
Assessment Title Weight Pass Max Due Date Return Date
towards final Mark Length
grade (words)
Learning log – interim 2,000 3.5.10 23.5.10
assessment
(Header Sheet: 167160)

Reflective, interactive 2,500 3.5.10 23.5.10

blog – interim
assessment
(Header Sheet: 167161) 50%
overall
Learning log – final 30% 2,000 4.10.10 24.10.10
assessment
(Header Sheet: 167159)

Reflective, interactive 30% 2,500 4.10.10 24.10.10

blog – final
assessment
(Header Sheet: 167162)

Reflective Report 40% 5,000 4.10.10 24.10.10

(Header Sheet: 167163)

7.2 Detailed description of assessment

1. LEARNING LOG - it is about your industry, job and professional PRACTICE

LOG

Students will map steps in their learning, throughout the placement in an online log on WebCT open
only to themselves and the placement tutor. The logs will be assessed by tutors midway and at the
end of the year.

The log should include critical analysis and synthesis of the role and contribution of reflection to:

a) Development of practice:
i. Locally - in the company where you work
ii. Nationally - in the country where you work
iii. Internationally - of your industry worldwide
b) The individual's continuing professional development.

The headlines can be on a variety of aspects of your placement, including but not limited to:

 The development of your profession/position in the last 5 years

 Discussion of a recent article read in a professional magazine relating to the practice
 Assessment of your position in the organisation
 Whether the placement contributes to your future career prospects; if yes, how?
 How the industry where you work have changed recently
 Etc

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 10

You may find the information on the above in professional magazines (ask your manager if your
company subscribes to any; search journals by industry: hospitality, retail, HR, sales, etc), general
economic magazines (sometimes they issues or individual articles on a certain industry). It may be
a good idea to consult a librarian or GET advisors: http://www.gre.ac.uk/students/archive2/careers.

The points to consider for critical analysis of the role may be, including but not limited to:

 If you were employed in your organisation full-time, would you be carrying out your
tasks differently; why?
 Is there anything that could be improved as regards your position? Why? How?
 Is there anything that can be improved in your company to enhance productiveness/
work efficiency/ staff relations/ work ethics etc? Why? How?
 Etc

WEEKLY ENTRIES

Please review and edit your log regularly to ensure the critical reflection is preeminent. The entries
could be on one of the topics outlined above or anything else that critically assesses the industry
practice (e.g. retail, hospitality, sales, financial services, marketing etc – depending on the nature of
your placement) and your professional development.

INTERIM ASSESSMENT

Your interim submission will consist of edited highlights of the log half-way of your placement to
maximum word length of 2,000 words.

Do not forget to include word count at the end of your work. Harvard style for citation applies.
Bibliography list is required.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Your final submission will consist of edited highlights of the log that you have contributed since the
beginning of the programme to a maximum of 2,000 words.

This is similar to interim assessment, but the edited headlines should cover the whole period of your
placement.

Keep in mind the rules of research ethics while writing: you cannot provide the names of your
clients or staff (unless they give their permission in advance).

Do not forget to include word count at the end of your work. Harvard style for citation applies.
Bibliography list is required.

2. REFLECTIVE INTERACTIVE BLOG – it is about YOU and your experiences during

the placement

BLOG

Students will reflect on their learning and on the experience of their work placement on a blog on
WebCT open for other students to comment.

Blog is your reflection of personal and professional experiences during the placement. It is a public
personal diary, which can be read and commented by others. It should be engaging for readers. In
other words, try to show how it feels being in your shoes during the placement.

For more information on how to write your blog see

http://www.practicebasedlearning.org/resources/materials/docs/Reflection%20Work%20Based%20
Supervisors/page_10.htm

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 11

WEEKLY ENTRIES

You will have the opportunity to open a blog on WebCT. You will be expected to contribute to your
blog, every week. This will provide an opportunity to both reflect and interact with colleagues.

You can write as much as you feel like: from one sentence to a full story. The most important
task is to give a weekly insight on how you are finding your placement (and working) life. The
headlines can be on a variety of aspects of your placement, including but not limited to:

 The worst/best day at work

 The challenges faced and how you dealt with them
 Managing work and personal life (work/life balance)
 The people you met at work, especially those who inspired and motivated you
 Cultural differences at work
 Communication problems (English language, formal conversations on phone, writing emails)
and how you dealt with them
 Confidentiality at work
 Your reaction to others’ criticism of your work
 Etc

You can use this list for writing weekly entries, which will be the basis for your interim and final
assessments.

Here are some examples on what you could blog about:

 Reflective Learner (student blog)

http://www.polyu.edu.hk/assessment/student/blogD.html

 Placement blog of students at ProspectSoft

http://prospectsoft.blogspot.com/

 Law Degree Blog (dyslexic student video log)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBZ7272ZIz8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/dhatje#p/c/7A1CA922C4BF4017/10/cp_yILlYq1I

INTERIM ASSESSMENT

You will be expected to contribute to the blog until the end of the course. Contributions will be
assessed by tutors midway.

Your submission should be edited highlights of the blog (approx 2,500 words) half-way of your
placement.

Do not forget to include word count at the end of your work. Bibliography is not required.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Your final submission will consist of edited highlights of the blog that you have contributed since the
beginning of the programme to a maximum of 2,500 words.

This is similar to interim assessment, but the edited headlines should cover the whole period of your
placement.

Keep in mind the rules of research ethics while writing: you cannot provide the names of your
clients or staff (unless they give their permission in advance).

Do not forget to include word count at the end of your work. Bibliography is not required.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 12

3. REFLECTIVE REPORT

Students will systematically apply theoretical understanding, critical analysis and personal synthesis
to their work placement experience. Maximum words: 5,000.

There are different theoretical models you can employ to reflect on your placement in the Report:

 Gibbs Reflective Cycle

 Johns Model for Structured Reflection
 Rolfe’s Framework for Reflexive Practice

In your Reflective Report you should provide some general information about your placement: the
company profile, your position, responsibilities, staff, etc.

You will not be able to describe everything that happened to you during your placement. It may be a
good idea to choose one or two situations. Explain why you want to describe this particular case
and provide necessary details about it. Tell about the difficulties faced. What caused them? How did
you manage those situations? What was the outcome?

Keep in mind the rules of research ethics while writing: you cannot provide the names of your
clients or staff in the Report (unless they give their permission in advance).

Do not forget to include word count at the end of your work. Harvard style for citation applies.
Bibliography list is required.

7.3 Resit Assessment

Your coursework and exam results will be reviewed by a Subject Assessment Panel (which looks at
the course) and a Progression and Award Board (which reviews your progress) and the
deliberations of these two committees will determine whether you have failed any coursework or
exams and whether you will be offered the chance to complete resits. Please note that there is no
automatic right to resits; whether these are offered depends on your overall progress.

If you have been notified that you have to complete coursework resits, check on your course’s
WebCT site where the details of the assessment task, submission dates and methods will be
explained.

8. Electronic Submission
Written coursework will only be accepted as a PDF electronic file submitted through the respective
course WebCT site by the coursework deadline. Submissions that do not meet the following
requirements may not be marked:

1. Submissions can be prepared using any software, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, but must
be saved as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file before submission. Software such as
Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat or CutePDF Writer can be used to compile the output of a wide
range of virtually anything that can be printed, including scanned images, preserving the format
you wish. CutePDF writer is freely available from www.cutepdf.com

2. Submissions to courses must include a Header Sheet from the coursework tracking system.
For group work, the ID numbers of all group members must be included on the Header Sheet.

3. Submissions must be in a single file. Multiple files will not be accepted. The last file submitted
will overwrite any earlier uploads.

4. A submitted file must be no larger than 5MB. Large file sizes normally arise because of the
inclusion of images, so review the necessity of these and use black and white and smaller .jpg
images where possible (We print in black and white so colour is unnecessary).

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 13

5. When naming files for submission, please use your last name and Banner ID number:
eg: Smith000033333

On submission you will be receive an electronic receipt. Please retain a copy of this receipt
as proof of submission of assignments. It is also strongly advisable to keep a copy of all
work submitted in case of any problems with WebCT or printing.

8.1 Preparing a PDF File for Electronic Submission

The most straightforward way to prepare a file for electronic submission is to create a single
Microsoft Word file and then save it as a PDF file.

8.1.1 Preparing a File from Word or Similar

The process of preparing an assignment in Word or similar word processing software for electronic
submission involves the following steps:
 Prepare the assignment on disk as a normal Word file.
 Copy and paste tables or figures from Excel or specialised software.
 Create a header sheet for the assignment on BannerWeb.
 Copy the header sheet from your web browser and paste it as the first page of your Word
file.
 Save or print the file as a PDF file.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 14

8.1.2 Generating and Inserting a Header Sheet for an Assignment
You can generate the relevant header sheet directly from the ‘My Learning’ tab of the student portal
with the following steps:

Click on the Coursework

Tracking System link.

Enter Header ID and

your Student ID.

Header Sheet Displayed:

1. Use Edit/Select All

2. Edit/Copy

3. Paste Header Sheet into the

Front of your Word Document

4. Adjust the width of tables and/or

margins so that the header sheet
fits on a single page

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 15

8.2 Submitting an Assignment Online
Step 1:

To submit your
assignment, click on
the submission link.

Step 2:

You will see the assignments for this

course listed in blue.
The green date shows the start date, the
earliest, you can submit your
coursework.
The red date is the deadline. You must
submit your coursework on this day
before 3pm.

Step 3:

Click on the little

paper icon, to
upload your
coursework

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 16

Step 4:

As submission title, type

in your student number
(i.e.: 000123456)
Then click on Browse.

Step 5:

A browser window will

open, which lets you select
your coursework file in PDF
format.

Select your coursework file

and click Open.

Step 6:

Click on Submit.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 17

Step 7:

You will see a preview

of your coursework. If
this is the correct
work, click Yes,
submit

Step 8:

You have submitted

your coursework
successfully.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 18

8.3 Plagiarism
When you submit work for assessment, we expect this to be your own work and not the work of
others. It is very important that when you refer to the work of other people, either summarising their
ideas or quoting things they have said, that you clearly identify and acknowledge this.

If you do not clearly identify and acknowledge the work of other people that you refer to in an
assignment, we view this as misrepresentation; that you are trying to claim credit for work done
by others. This is a serious offence under the University’s regulations.

This most often occurs when students make use of online sources. Many students assemble
information by using copy and paste from websites into a document, then editing this. In using this
method, it is very easy to include direct passages from other people’s work and not properly identify
and acknowledge this.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 19

In the case illustrated above, the way to identify and acknowledge the large quote from the original
author would be to indent the copied material and to provide an in-text citation to the author:

There are two major views about the cause of the recent surge in oil and food prices. The first is that
this reflects changes in demand and supply conditions. The second is that it results from speculative
investments in commodity markets by pension and hedge funds.

Regulators and other officials have repeatedly said that surges in commodity prices are due
mainly to rising demand and other factors, such as the depreciating dollar, which is used to
price and trade commodities. However, some politicians and market observers believe the
flood of money into the market from big institutions is beginning to distort prices.

… Billionaire investor George Soros said that while rising oil prices are the result of a
number of fundamental changes in the market, investments in the futures market through
index funds are exaggerating price rises and creating a market bubble in oil and other
commodities.
(Chung, 2008, p.1)

On the other hand, demand and supply conditions have changed but perhaps not enough to explain
the rapid rise in prices over the last year.
The in-text citation (Chung, 2008, p.1) is a shorthand pointer to a full reference in the reference list
at the end of the assignment:

Reference List

Chung, J. (2008) Investors’ role in high prices played down. Financial Times, June 4, pp.1-2.
Available from: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0b705d78-31ad-11dd-b77c-0000779fd2ac.html (accessed
30.9.08).

Please note that all coursework submissions will be checked for plagiarism using the 'Turn it
in' software system. This systematically compares the text you submit against text available on the
internet and other student’s submissions at this and other Universities. Any matching passages
between the submission on the left and text already in existence are automatically highlighted:

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 20

The University Regulations governing suspected plagiarism and exams offences can be found
under ‘Rules and Regulations’ in the ‘My Learning’ tab on the student portal.

With section 1.1. of that document, plagiarism is defined as including, but is not limited to:
i) using published work without referencing (the most common);
ii) copying published work but with minor paraphrasing;
iii) copying coursework essays or allowing ones work to be copied;
iv) using work previously submitted for another award;
v) collaborating with any other person when the work is supposed to be individual;
vi) taking another person's computer file/program/designs/drawings;
vii) submitting another person’s work as one’s own;
viii) the use of unacknowledged material published on the web;
ix) purchase of model assignments from whatever source;
x) copying another student’s results.

Penalties for plagiarism vary but may include failure in the piece of work, failure in the course,
failure for the entire year of study, a lower degree classification or exclusion from the University.

To reduce the risk of the inclusion of unidentified or unattributed work you are strongly advised to:
 Avoid copying and pasting from online sources; read first and then write from memory or
make handwritten notes as you read.
 Make use of 'Document it', a free Microsoft Word plug-in that allows you to record and
manage citations, in accordance with the rules of correct referencing, available from
http://www.documentit.co.uk/download.php or Endnote Web available via the Web of
Knowledge database in the library’s electronic resources listings.
 Test your understanding of what is or is not plagiarism with the online Study Skills Course
Progression in Information Skills at the bottom of your ‘my courses’ list on the portal.

8.4 Viewing Marks and Tutor’s Feedback

A summary of the major strengths and weaknesses of each assignment for the class as a whole will
be posted on the course leader’s discussion board on the course WebCT site and there will be
some discussion of this in one of the classes. You will also receive individual feedback and a mark
for your own assignment as follows.

From the day of the return date listed for each coursework
assignment in the Summary of Assessment above, you will be
able to view the mark awarded and the tutor’s comments by
clicking on the submission point on the WebCT home page and
then clicking on the Apple icon – a red Apple indicates
feedback is available.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 21

8.5 Extenuating circumstances
The following section must be read in conjunction with the University regulations on extenuating
circumstances which can be found in Appendix C of the Academic Regulations for Taught Awards
under the ‘My Learning’ tab of the student portal.

8.5.1 How extenuating circumstances works

The University acknowledges that at times matters beyond a student’s control will impact upon their
performance. Examples of such matters include a new illness, death in a family, injury or suffering
violence. The matters the University is most concerned with are those that either impair a student’s
performance or interfere with a student completing assessment within a give timeframe.

The University has a mechanism called ‘extenuating circumstances’, which is overseen by

committees within each School of studies, that receives applications by students who have
experienced matters beyond their control which have impacted upon their performance or ability to
complete assessment.

To make a claim, a student needs to complete an extenuating circumstances form (available from
the web address in the section above), attach relevant evidence and submit the form at the earliest
instance that it is clear that the matter will impair their performance. The evidence must (normally)
not just describe the matter but also indicate the level of impact it has had on the student.

The appropriate school committee will then review the claim and evidence and either accept the
claim or reject it and the secretary of the committee will notify the student accordingly.

To protect students’ privacy, the proceedings of this committee are made anonymous by the
committee chair or secretary so that staff taking part in the panel do not know which student is
making the claim. The proceedings of the committee are confidential and only the committee’s
decision will be made public – never the details of the claim.

Regardless of whether a claim is accepted or rejected, the Progression and Award Board will be
advised that a claim was made, in addition, the decision of the extenuating circumstances
committee will be announced so that a student’s performance can be considered in light of the
matters that may have affected them.

8.5.2 Failing to meet a deadline

The University does not allow extensions to coursework deadlines. Any coursework that is
submitted late without the submission of an extenuating circumstances claim will receive a ‘0’ grade.

In general, students with a reason for missing a deadline where that reason can be described as
unexpected, uncontrollable and where the reason can be suitably evidenced, may apply for
extenuating circumstances and may submit their coursework online up to two weeks after the
deadline.

The decision as to whether the submitted coursework will be marked or not depends upon
the outcome of the Extenuating Circumstances Committee’s deliberations.

Students who take this route should note that:

 If a matter has arisen that will affect their likely ability to meet a deadline they must claim for
extenuating circumstances at the earliest instance of this matter being known.
 If a minor problem was experienced in submitting the work, the Extenuating Circumstances
committee is more likely to be favourable if the work is submitted at the next available
opportunity (i.e. the working next day);
 IT and computer failure is not considered ‘unforeseen’ and therefore is not usually grounds
for extenuation (please keep backups);
 Problems uploading a file onto WebCT will usually only be accepted as a valid if the source
of the problem is with the University server. In acknowledgement that WebCT is a new
environment to most users, a single failure to submit per year with WebCT will usually be
accepted by the Extenuating Circumstances Committee but any subsequent failure will
usually be declined.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 22

  If a mistake is made and the wrong file is uploaded, WebCT will allow you to change it but if
you notice a problem once the deadline has passed the submitted document will be the one
sent for marking (even if it is the wrong version or the wrong document).

To take this option, submit an extenuating circumstances claim form and the late assignment to the
‘Late Submissions’ area of the course WebCT site. This area will be available for the two weeks
following the coursework deadline. You will need to scan the extenuating circumstances claim form
and any supporting evidence to create a PDF file for this submission.

8.5.3 If the WebCT site for your course is not listed under ‘my courses’
If you are unable to submit your coursework because the WebCT for the course is not listed under
‘My Courses’ on the portal, please bring this to the attention of your Personal Tutor at the earliest
opportunity. Your Personal Tutor will then organise the addition of the course to your course
schedule and advise you when you are able to submit.

If you have a coursework due and you cannot gain access to the WebCT site within two weeks
following the due date, you may submit a hardcopy extenuating circumstances claim to the
Business School Office.

9. Course Evaluation
We value student feedback on our courses highly. This provides quality assurance and contributes
to our continuous improvement processes. At the end of the course you will be asked to complete a
course evaluation on the WebCT site.

10. Complaints
If you have a problem about which you wish to complain that relates to this course, please raise it
with the staff member concerned i.e. if you have a problem with something occurring in seminars
talk to your tutor, but if it is a wider problem related to the operation of the course, talk to the course
leader.

If you feel unable to approach the staff member concerned yourself or the problem impacts on a
number of students you can contact your student representative and ask them to pursue the issue
on your behalf.

If, after discussing the matter with the staff member concerned you feel that the problem has not
been resolved you may take the problem to your programme leader.

If this does not resolve the issue, you should follow the complaints procedure outlined in the
Postgraduate Students Handbook.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 23

Generic Assessment Criteria – M Level
Note these criteria are general guidelines for essay, reports, projects & dissertations. Where the
emphasis given to various aspects, eg the importance of research, varies with the nature of the
work, this will be explained in assessment specific criteria.

Marking
Scale Interpretation Criteria
0-100
As below plus:
Able to express an original reasoned argument in a lucid manner by
reviewing and critiquing a wide range of material. Original, critical thinking
Work of exceptional
based on outstanding insight, knowledge and understanding of material.
80+ quality (Excellent
Material contributes to current understanding and is of potentially
work)
publishable quality in terms of presentation and content
Wide reaching research showing breadth and depth of sources.

As below plus:
Contains accurate, relevant material, demonstrates understanding of
complex subject matter and is able to view it in a wider context. Shows
originality and confidence in analysing and criticising assumptions, is aware
Work of exceptional
of the limits of knowledge. Likely to add new insights to the topic and
70-79 quality (Outstanding
approaches the quality of published material.
work)
Evidence of extensive research, uses and presents references effectively
Outstanding quality in terms of organisation, structure, use and flow of
language, grammar, spelling, format, presentation, diagrams, tables etc.

As below plus:
Clear, balanced coherent critical & rigorous analysis of the subject matter.
Work of very good Detailed understanding of knowledge and theory expressed with clarity.
65-69
quality Extensive use of relevant and current literature to view topic in perspective,
analyse context and develop new explanations and theories.

As below plus:
Detailed review and grasp of pertinent issues & a critical contextual overview
Work of good of the literature. Thorough knowledge of theory and methods and uses this
55-65
quality to underpin arguments and conclusions.
Confidence in understanding and using literature.

Demonstrates grasp of key concepts & an ability to develop & support an

argument in a predominately descriptive way with valid conclusions draw
from the research.
Work of satisfactory Familiarity with key literature which is cited and presented according to
50-55
standard convention.
Logical and clear structure, well organised with good use of language and
supporting material.

Some knowledge of relevant concepts & literature but significant gaps in

understanding and/or knowledge. Little attempt at evaluation, conclusions
Compensatable fail vague, ambiguous and not based on researched material. Limited or
40-49
inappropriate research. Deficits in length, structure, presentation and/or
prose.

No serious attempt to address the question or problem, and/or manifests a

serious misunderstanding of the requirements of the assignment. Acutely
0-39 Failure
deficient in all aspects.

BUSI1360 Professional Practice 2009-10 24