JCM 2000 CORE ISSUES IN JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION

HANDBOOK FOR PART 2 JANUARY-APRIL 2011

MODULE CO-ORDINATOR: Paolo Gerbaudo

1. Introduction: What is Core Issues in Journalism and Communication about?

Welcome to JCM 2000, Core Issues in Journalism and Communication. When you first started studying on the JCM programme at Middlesex, you probably had a reasonable familiarity with journalism and a vague idea of what it is and what it does. Over the course of your first year, we hope, that understanding will have become a bit more concrete in two senses: firstly, you will have a more practical appreciation of the nuts and bolts of the journalists profession, of the journalists practice as (typically) a writer; secondly, you will have a broader knowledge base concerning the institutions of journalism, the fact that it is part of big business, that it is subject to particular kinds of legal framework, that it is a practice or set of practices governed by specific kinds of often problematic values. You should also, we hope, be starting to appreciate that journalism, as but one example of media communication, has a complex history and a complex, fluctuating place in the world. As the example of online journalism tends to suggest, our very sense of what journalism is changing rapidly, under the pressure of changes taking place elsewhere in society. JCM 2000 Core Issues in Journalism and Communication builds on the work which you did in your first year by getting you to think in a much broader, much more academic framework, about how to understand journalism and other forms of media communication. Remember that your degree is not a narrowly vocational introduction to how to be a journalist: it is about situating journalism in the world we live in today, about understanding journalism in a broader context or set of contexts, about trying to understand journalism as a practice or set of practices of media communication. What does this mean? Simply put, it means thinking about, developing a critical conceptual or theoretical framework for journalism and communication. It means developing a more academically informed account of what journalism is and what it does, as a complement to the more practical aspects of the profession you have studies so far. Core Issues in Journalism and Communication responds to this requirement by helping you to develop a conceptual framework and vocabulary for thinking more broadly about journalism and media communication more generally.

2. Aims and Objectives

JCM 2000 has three broad aims: to enable you to develop an understanding of journalism and communication which will allow you to produce a contextually and conceptually adequate framework within which to situate yourself as a developing practitioner. In other words, it encourages you to ask the question what is journalism (within the broader scheme of things)?

to encourage you to develop a set of speculative - but theoretically rigorous - tools to understand the critical implications of being a communications practitioner in the 21st century and the possibilities for creative change of which it is still susceptible to help you develop the independent research skills you will need to flourish in academic and vocational contexts and to appreciate the importance of thinking critically.

That all sounds very well, but what exactly do we mean? Well, weve already examined the first aim. The second might sound a bit more forbidding. Actually its very straightforward. Being a journalist and a media communications practitioner is highly dependent on the contexts in which you operate. To help you understand these contexts we need to develop a way of understanding them thats why we need a set of conceptual tools to help us think about them appropriately. No-one would disagree with the claim that whilst journalism is capable of some really fantastic achievements, it also appears fatally compromised by money, by its role in the pursuit of profit and hence by its uncritical reliance on clich, on sound bites and on sensationalism. So we need to start thinking about what new creative possibilities might still lurk unforeseen within media communication. The third aim is really about broadening out the kinds of skills we think you need both as a student and beyond. We think that being a media practitioner in the 21st century can and should be about thinking and working critically with information. Good journalists are characterized by their ability to be critical and sceptical about things they are told, about the information they receive, about the ideas people have. They are also people who are able to do thorough research, who can investigate an issue, seek out and work with a range of sources of information. But thinking critically and doing thorough research are skills that have to be cultivated. JCM 2000 tries to help you develop these skills.

3. Module Outcomes
If you are successful on this module you can expect to be able to do a number of things as a result. You should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of basic theories and models of communication Critically analyse contemporary media discourses concerning the structure and function of journalism Place journalism and other forms of professional media writing within a broader cultural context of communication practices

Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of rigour and method in the development of knowledge Discern the logical structure of arguments and show how commonsense judgements are informed by tacit theoretical assumptions Apply media theoretical questions about communication (who says what to whom in what channel and with what effect) to contemporary media production Plan and carry out research using basic techniques (problem formulation, literature review, hypothesis testing) and structure their own research according to an iterative developmental cycle

4. Teaching and Learning Strategy

This course is practice-based, which means it uses a variety of methods to provide you with a hands-on experience. We will use materials you already have available to you and develop further tools throughout the course. Your Critical Journals (see below) act as an opportunity to assemble these into a portfolio to assist you not only in completing the assessed work for this course, but also with your third-year work and your professional practices in the future. These are some of the teaching and learning strategies that will be used in this course: Lectures: We will use lectures for some weeks, but for the most part, we will be running this module on the basis of workshops in which and for which you will be required to prepare and/or present work. Please consult the schedule for details. In-class Activities: We will use a variety of in-class activities making use of individual, peer, small group and full-class discussion and interaction. These may involve prompted discussions, developing answers to directed questions, developing debates, developing & delivering a lesson to your peers, presentations, or individual or group writing. You will be given assigned individual, peer or group work to undertake each week. Seminar activities are based on you doing and bringing this work with you. Please prepare for each class. Peer Learning: In keeping with the framework for learning and to help foster your out of class work, in the first seminar you will be choosing study groups. You will be expected to work with this group both in and outside of class (as directed) to discuss reading, brainstorm, conduct & compare research, share ideas and develop your third year project plans. Working in a group should provide you the support to work through difficult material but also to develop a collaborative environment that will benefit your research. It will also foster the team research practices that are vital to media and communication professions. 4

On certain weeks you will work with your study group rather than with your tutor instead of attending seminars, on these dates you will be expected to work in your group on tutor-assigned projects. You will also be expected to use your peer-group to get notes or materials if you miss a session. Materials: There is no reader for this course but all students must buy or have consistent access to The Craft of Research: 2nd Edition by W.C. Booth, G.G. Colomb & J.M. Williams (Chicago University Press, 2003) or a research handbook of your choosing (but must be approved by me). This is available in the library and can easily be purchased online. You will be expected to draw on the materials you used in the first semester and may be provided with other materials on a week to week basis. Because this is a course about independent research, you will be asked to find some of your own materials. You will be using this course to develop a portfolio of materials, tools and resources, as well as a journal of your engagement with these, to help you not only meet the assessment requirements for this class but more importantly to take forward with you to your final year research project and your work beyond the degree. Critical Journal: You will find it helpful to keep a Critical Journal made up of your notes from in and out of class work as well as assigned entries. You should bring this with you to every class and keep it up to date. You may be given directed entries as part of your in class and between class assignments. Your Critical Journal will be assessed as part of your Research Plan. As such it is up to you to keep up to date with entry requirements. DO NOT LEAVE THIS UNTIL THE END: doing so will make it difficult to produce final work to the expected standard. You will be provided with an updated entry list to help you ensure you are up-to-date. Your Critical Journal offers flexibility in how you choose to keep / present it (for instance you might do it as a scrapbook, binder with entries, notebook, etc.). You may include material beyond what is directed; anything you feel is relevant may be added. This is not simply to ensure you come prepared and able to participate: collecting, managing and developing research material is a vital aspect of independent research. As such, your Critical Journal forms a key method for good research practice. This will be discussed in more detail in class. You are expected to bring your journal with you every week. JCM 2000 is taught by means of sessions timetabled on Tuesdays. The lecture is at 11:30 to 12:30 at Warren Lecture Theatre. (please note that this lecture slot will only twice during the 2nd term) Seminar 1 is 12:30 to 14:30 in M003 (Mansion) Seminar 2 is 15:30-17:30 in M003 (Mansion). In addition to weekly attendance, students are expected to visit Oasisplus regularly. This handbook, the essay titles, various web links and important handouts will all be available for download on Oasisplus. In addition, we will use this virtual platform to plan sessions and to announce particular events or

schedule changes. It is therefore important that all students visit Oasisplus on a regular basis. If students have problems accessing the site, it is important that you get in touch with the Oasis support team ASAP to restore connection. Staff will assume that all information posted on Oasisplus will be available to the students. It is therefore the students responsibility to ensure that this is the case. Finally, please be sure to turn up to taught sessions promptly. Anyone arriving more than ten minutes late may not be allowed to join a session: lateness causes disruption and shows a lack of consideration for your fellow students as well as the module tutor. Be sure to turn off your mobile phone when in teaching sessions: ringing mobile phones are also disruptive and a source of distraction.

5. Instructor Details and Availability

JCM2000 is taught by Constantina Papoulias (Stan) in the first term and by Paolo Gerbaudo in the second. Paolo Gerbaudo is located in Repton Building. He can be reached via e-mail: p.gerbaudo@mdx.ac.uk. His office hours will be posted on his door and communicated in class.

6. Module Syllabus / Timetable of Sessions

NOTE: Students are advised to look on Oasis for announcements on a weekly basis to ensure that they do not miss a session. It is the students responsibility to be informed of these changes, as long as the lecturer publicises them promptly.

Week 13 January 25th

Introduction to the Second Term: What does it mean to Research? Reading for week 1: Wayne Booth The Craft of Research 2nd edition, (Chicago University Press, 2003) this text gives general advice on the nuts and bolts of independent research work, Chapter 1 Critical Journal Entry One: Read the introduction and first chapter of The Craft of Research (or your preferred research guidebook). Write a page minimum critical reflection. Do not simply summarise. 6

Ask yourself a) what have I learned about research? b) what questions or problems about research does the reading raise? c) what worries or anxieties does it suggest? Start think about possible research topics you would like to work on right now and possibly also for the dissertation next year. REMEMBER: Bring your CJ every week as your assignments form part of the next seminar.

Week 14 February 1st

Lecture: NO LECTURE Workshop: Finding researchable research topics: why study something and not something else? How do we turn interests into research topics? How do we know something is researchable or not? Reading for week 2: The Craft of Research, Chapter 2 Critical journal entry two: Continue to develop the list of possible ideas you started in class. Remember research ideas come from two places; research youve already done, and life around you. So: think back over your studies for moments when you were excited about something, or puzzled, or intriguedand spend a few days observing your field of study in action if you are an advertising student, look at advertisements, if you are a journalism student, read the paper. Whenever you notice something interesting or strange, ask if there is a possible research idea there. Brainstorm ideas until you have a list of at least five or six make these specific. Dont say magazines what about magazines is interesting? Choose at least three and develop them. Remember, we are practicing coming up with ideas, not committing to a project now. To develop each idea, examine it, imagine it, and ask: Why does this issue interest you? What do you know about it already? What would you like to find out? Where could you go to get more information? BE SPECIFIC. Dont say book about research, say chapter two in Jane Stokes book discusses how to analyse films. What problems might be involved exploring this issue?

IMAGINE this topic - If you were to do a project on this topic,what could your project look like? What could it involve?

We will refine ideas in the next class dont limit yourself right now.

Week 15 February 8th

Lecture: NO LECTURE Workshop: Testing research topics and narrowing them down. Is the topic you chose researchable? Readings: David Deacon, Michael Pickering, Peter Golding, Graham Murdock Researching Communications: A Practical Guide to Methods in Media and Cultural Analysis. 2nd ed. (Hodder Arnold, 2007), Chapter 2 Critical Journal Entry Three: Work on tracking materials for your research. Collect a series of cuttings related to your research and write reflections on them How would you use / analyse this material? Are you satisfied with the amount you were able to track down or are you concerned that there is not enough to analyse? Where else could you look for research material? Which alternative directions could you take in order to secure more or better material for your research?

Week 16 February 15th

Lecture: NO LECTURE Workshop: Research Design What is your research question? What is your working hypothesis? What type of argument do you want to construct? Main reading: The Craft of Research, Part 2 8

Critical Journal Entry Four Read Part II of The Craft of Research (Asking Questions, Finding Answers Pgs 35 108). If you havent read the first part, as previously assigned, you must read that as well. Ensure you practice your critical note-keeping skills (see seminar and assignment from week III) while reading this. Look out for how Wayne & Booth talk about: method; methodology; reviewing literature and uses of sources; problems in organising materials. Make special note of anything that you feel will relate to our discussion in Week 6 about methods and methodology, bibliographies, and literature reviews. Pay careful attention to their discussion of how to develop a topic from an interest through to a good question with wider significance. Think about the design of your project. What are the problems with the logical connections you are trying to make? Where are you going to find the evidence to answer your research questions? Which sources, authors are you going to use to back up your theoretical framework? Write 2 paragraphs about your research design and write reflections on the 2 main problems you are encountering in developing it.

Week 17 February 22nd

Lecture: NO LECTURE Workshop: Annotated Bibliographies hand out and brief; make it part of the assignment Developing a sense of the field Sharing project ideas Critical Journal Entry Five Find and read three scholarly articles, book chapters or introductions in books that are related to your area of research. 1) Review what we discussed about critical reading and consider the note-taking methods we discussed 2) For each of the three texts you read, read critically. Enter in your journal your notes for these texts. Remember to track the reference, page numbers, quotations, and ideas or questions that arise. And remember to evaluate what you have read what is it about? Is it useful? Why or why not? How? Review your notes a few days after you have taken them. Are they useful? Are they clear? You should reflect on your reading practices and what does or doesnt work for you, and what you need to do. A successful CJ5 will clearly demonstrate methods, practices and principles of engaged reading that we discussed in class.

What should you read? This will depend on where you are with your research ideas. If you have begun to develop some ideas, areas of interest, or possible research directions then you need to take the next steps: Make sure you have run your idea(s) through the questions from CJ2, then do so. This will help you decide which ideas to pursue and which ones to drop i.e. it helps you identify if ideas are researchable. For a researchable idea to develop, you need to do some research. To find sources, use the subject-specific research databases (not only Google scholar!!) the library offers. Dont forget to look at courses you may have taken at Middlesex for reading suggestions. Re-visit the readings you did with Stan. Consult a textbook that introduces a student to the issues and problems in your subject area. Dont just look for sources about the subject area you could also look at sources that tell you how to do research in that area. If you have a lot of ideas and arent sure which one to concentrate on, either read things that in some way relate to all of them, or read one thing about each of three different ideas. Try to ensure at least one of your sources is about doing academic research in your area of studies If you have NOT begun to develop some ideas that are ready for preliminary research: Firstly, you need to go back to CJ II. Remember to look closely at life around you and be observant. Talk with someone in the course about the classes youve taken, the ideas that have been discussed, the examples of media that youve examined in class. Do any of these give you some ideas? No one is going to tell you what to research you must come up with ideas and the only way to do so is to do some research about what interests you. Regardless of whether you have an idea, you can start reading about doing research in your area of studies. So if you dont have any project ideas, find texts about how to do media studies, creative writing research, cultural studies, such as how to analyse a film, or a news article, or an image etc (whatever relates to your degree area), and / or texts that offer examples of analysis (for example, a case study of a brand, etc.).

Week 18 November 16th

READING WEEK NO LECTURE / NO WORKSHOPS

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During this week, students are expected to review the brainstorming done so far and to draft an outline of their proposed research project Critical Journal Entry Six: Reflect on the research ideas you have so far. Apply what you have learned from this reading to at least one of your ideas. Create a one page outline of a proposed research project using one of your ideas. This proposal will include: A suggested title The suggested research question or problem A suggested bibliography: This will be a list of relevant primary and secondary sources (what will you analyse (case study)? What materials will help you to analyse it?) BE SPECIFIC do not say books about x; name actual texts and sources. Each entry will be accompanied by 1 sentence about why it is useful or how you will use it. Suggested methods (how you will do it) Suggested methodology (theoretical underpinning or critical framework) Significance - Why you think this is relevant or important This outline will indicate: what you are doing; how you will do it; why you will do it this way; why it is worth doing. Ideally this idea will be something you are thinking of proposing for your final year research project; if it isnt, use this as a chance to practice and work through some ideas. A successful entry for CJ 6 will demonstrate: That you are well-informed about your ideas, thinking, and development as an independent researcher by staying up to date with the assignments That you have done the assigned reading That you are using critical note taking methods That you are critically thinking about your ideas and developing them That you are ready to hone an idea It will consist of your notes from reading, evidence that you have applied this to your ideas; your one page proposal.

Week 19 - 8th March

Lecture Work Placements (Jonquil Wilcock) Workshop Literature Review What is a Literature Review? How to get a sense of whats going on in your field Identifying appropriate methods for my research

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Reading for week 7: The craft of research, Chapter 5 Researching communication Critical Journal Entry Seven: 1. Find a research guide book or academic writing guidebook that discusses literature reviews. While reading, practice critical notetaking skills. As a result you should have a strong understanding of what a literature review is and how to find one. 2. Find a literature review. Ideally this will be related to your area of research but any subject is fine. Keeping in mind what you have read, print a copy of the Literature Review and write on it to identify for yourself what makes it a literature review. Your job is to pick it apart so that you clearly understand how to write one of your own when you do your assessment. A successful Critical Journal Entry 7 will include: Your critical notes from reading about Literature Reviews The copy of an example of a Literature Review with your comments written directly on it

Week 20 March 15th

Lecture Finding and using resources (Tom Cullis) Main reading: The Craft of Research, Chapter 6 Workshop: Methodologies: tools and protocols to gather data Qualitative versus Quantitative; Textual analysis, Interviews, Surveys, Observations, Content Analysis. When are we supposed to use any of these techniques. What are the different social sciences and humanities perspectives they stem from? Critical Journal Entry Eight: Write one page of reflections on the possible methods you could use for your research. Why did you choose say textual analysis or interviews? Why not other methods? Try to think about the limits or problems in using the chosen methods. What is that you cannot achieve using that method?

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Week 21 March 22nd

Lecture: no lecture this week Workshop Interpretation: how to make sense of data What do we do with our data once we have it? How can we interpret data? Critical Journal Entry Nine Write two paragraphs about how you are going to interpret your data. What are the possible interpretations you could develop? What are the problems you encounter at this stage.

Week 22 March 29th

Lecture: no lecture this week Workshop Review of research projects.

Week 23 April 5th

Lecture: there will be a separate recap lecture this week student interim submissions will be discussed and common problems identified. Workshop: Workshop hours will be dedicated to tutorials.

Week 24 April 26th

Independent study week. NO LECTURE / NO WORKSHOPS

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ASSESSMENT DEADLINES 1. Interim assessment deadline: December 14 (in-class submission) 2. Summative assessment deadline 1: (for the first part of this module) Wednesday January 26 by 4pm (submission to the Student office of parts 1 and 2 of yearly assessment.) 3. Summative assessment deadline 2: (for the second part of this module). Wednesday May 11 by 4pm

7. Assessment
The assessment for 2nd term comprises two elements: 1. A literature review of 2,000 words including a research diary covering term (30%) 2. A research/project plan of 2,000 words (30%) 3. A portfolio of cuttings (ungraded) This portfolio will consist in a minimum of 12 cuttings gathered throughout the year. The word 'cuttings' refers to newspaper or online news articles, blog entries and other material related to journalism. Your collection of cuttings should demonstrate either - materials collected in response to our weekly discussions of particular approaches to journalism and communication in the first term (i.e. discussions of the role of journalism in a democracy, developments in the deregulation of media ownership - Murdoch's BSkyB bid, changes in BBC funding - current developments in online journalism, or representations of a particular issue across different media). This means you collect at most one or two cuttings related to each session. - materials collected in response to ONE current development in UK journalism. This means that you identify one particular issue, and then collect a range of materials engaging with different aspects of this issue. In either case, you are required to write a brief account of why you have collected these (no less than 500 words)

The final deadline for submission is

MAY 11th

Submit according to guidelines below and ensure you use cover sheet provided in addition to any coversheets that may be required by the School Office.

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8. Assessment Criteria
Assessment criteria provide us with a yardstick to assess how good (or bad) your work is. They provide you with an important indicator of the kinds of things that we are looking for in your work and for this reason are extremely important. Please take the time to read through these criteria and be sure you understand them. Your work should offer: 1. Evidence of a good understanding of theoretical material and issues covered on module and ability to apply ideas to contemporary media communication 2. Evidence of reading going beyond set texts 3. High quality and appropriate use of empirical research material this includes the cuttings (see below) which must accompany your submitted work 4. Evidence of ability to structure and articulate arguments in writing in clear, logical manner 5. Careful copy-editing and attention to presentation, made evident in correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and other aspects of orthography 6. Proper use of references/citations and bibliography The module tutor can explain these criteria to you in more detail later in the semester if you do not fully understand them.

10. Learning Resources

Weekly Readings There are a number of important and useful resources you can and should draw on in order to be successful on this module. Obviously, in the first instance, there are the readings we are providing in the module reader. Reading these is really the barest minimum of work you can do for the module. Each week we also indicate further readings which you should endeavour to do in order to develop a fuller understanding of a topic. Note though that these readings only scratch the surface of the topics we are covering on the module, so you should consider trying to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the topics we cover by following up references suggested by the module tutor, or in readings you do, or by reading around. We will explain what we mean by reading around as the module develops.

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Obviously the module tutor and your fellow students are going to be useful resources the tutor will be able to direct you to particularly helpful material, will guide you in developing a good understanding of material and steer you away from fruitless paths of enquiry. Please be sure to share material and ideas amongst yourselves it isnt really in anyones interests to keep ideas to yourself. Cuttings Your cuttings folder, which we mentioned earlier, is going to be particularly useful. One of the advantages of studying journalism is that it is really relatively easy to find material to analyse, critically dissect, discuss and so on. You should all be reading a variety of newspapers, magazines and (serious) websites on a regular basis and asking yourself critical questions about the material you read or watch. If you arent, now is the time to start, and to give you a bit of a boost in this regard, we want you to collect cuttings each week. (What we mean by this word = literal cuttings from a newspaper or a magazine, print-outs from blogs, video clips and radio snippets, notes that you might be making about current events and so on). At the outset, these cuttings might be about anything. However, as the module develops, we would like you to be more directed in how you gather material, so each week we might ask you to find a cutting which relates to a reading or an issue we have discussed in the lectures or seminars. Why do we want you to do this? There are a number of reasons. Firstly, as budding journalists or media communicators, you really owe it to yourself to have a good working knowledge of the kinds of things people are writing about (and how) in todays media. Secondly, the kind of theory we look at on the module only becomes valuable if you can find ways of applying it to addressing whats going on in journalism now. Applying a theory by interpreting or analysing empirical material, is not a skill you can develop overnight but it is a skill which will make your work stand out if you can acquire it. Working with cuttings is one way to help you start to develop your analytic skills. Thirdly, and more practically, good essays depend on good examples asking you to keep a cuttings folder is one way of helping you find examples. Set texts You need two books for the second part which prepare you for your third year dissertation/placement work, and give you research skills specific to journalism and communication, while also teaching you the basics of independent study and research in general. The two books you need to buy will therefore help you through your third year and will give you extensive and detailed accounts of different methodologies, as well as showing you strategies for the successful undertaking of independent study. The books are: Wayne Booth The Craft of Research 2nd edition, (Chicago University Press, 2003) this text gives general advice on the nuts and bolts of independent research

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work David Deacon, Michael Pickering, Peter Golding, Graham Murdock Researching Communications: A Practical Guide to Methods in Media and Cultural Analysis. 2nd ed. (Hodder Arnold, 2007) This text presents different methods for research in the field of media and communication.

A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM
At Middlesex, plagiarism carries a heavy penalty. We believe that resorting to plagiarism shows contempt for other students hard work and integrity and for this reason we have a no tolerance policy on this practice. If you are not sure about what constitutes plagiarism please talk to a member of your teaching team or a member of the ELLS team as soon as possible. The following passages from Middlesex University regulations highlight our definition of plagiarism: (see www.mdx.ac.uk/regulations/ ) F2 Examples of academic misconduct

F2.3 The presentation by the student as their own work of a body of material (written, visual or oral) which is wholly or partially the work of another, either in concept or expression, or which is a direct copy: Note: The work presented for assessment must be the candidates own, or the work of a project group as requested by the tutor. Plagiarism is the representation of another persons published or unpublished work as the candidates own by unacknowledged quotation. It is not an offence if the material is acknowledged by the candidate as the work of another through the accurate use of quotation marks and the provision of detailed references and a full bibliography, although the Assessment Board will not expect work to rely heavily on direct quotations. F2.4 Copying the work of another student (see F2.3 above). F2.11 Including any material which is identical or substantially similar to the students own material which has already been submitted for any other assessment within the University or elsewhere (self-plagiarism).

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2010/2011 Academic Calendar - Undergraduate September starters September 2010 10 (9am) Summer School and August reassessment module results published 14 Programme Progression Committees 16 (9am) Progression decisions published 17 School Assessment Boards 28 (5pm) Final qualification results published October 4 11 New student induction week commences Teaching starts for autumn term

November 1-5 Students Current Programme Review week December 17 Last day of teaching in the autumn term

December/January 18-3 University closed for Christmas vacation 20-7 Christmas vacation January 2011 3 University re-opens after Christmas 10 Teaching starts for winter term March 21-25 April 11-25 21-25 May 2 3-24 11 (4pm) 30 Students programme planning and confirmation week Easter Vacation University premises closed during Easter vacation Bank holiday University closed Spring term examinations Final coursework deadline - last coursework deadline to be set no later than this date. Bank holiday University closed

June 22 Last date for Subject Assessment Boards 27 (12 noon) Publication of module results 29-30 Programme Progression Committees

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July 5 7 (5pm) 8 18-22 25 August 29 30/8-9/11 September 2 5 (4pm) 20 23 (9am) 27 29 30 October 7

Last date for School Assessment Boards Publication of progression decisions Final qualification results published Graduation Ceremonies for 2010/11 graduates Main Summer School begins Bank holiday University closed Deferred /reassessment examinations (all students) Summer School ends Final deferred/reassessment coursework deadline (all students) Last date for Subject Assessment Boards Publication of module results Programme Progression Committees Publication of progression decisions School Assessment Boards Final qualification results published

Student attendance dates 4 October 17 December (New students) 11 October 17 December (Returning students) 10 January 2011 8 April 2011 26 April 2011 1July 2011 Learning Framework Term dates 4 October 17 December 2010 Autumn term new students (11 weeks) 11 October 17 December 2010 Autumn term continuing students (10 weeks) 10 January 8 April 2011 Winter term (13 weeks) 25 April 22 July 2011 Spring term (13 weeks) 25 July 7 October 2011 Summer term (11 weeks)

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