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This is a discussion document
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General Assembly

GA96-P4

Subject: Structure of the Academic Year

Origin: Semesterisation Review Group

1. INTRODUCTION

The Semesterisation Review Group has considered the many constructive comments made by members of the University in regard to the current structure of the semesterised academic year, and has sought to identify possible modifications to that structure which might alleviate most of the concerns raised.

Two basic assumptions have been made:-

(i)
That the Undergraduate Academic Year will continue to be of thirty weeks' duration;
(ii)
That Undergraduate Programmes will continue to be modular, with teaching and learning in blocks of twelve weeks' duration.
Within those parameters there are two major issues to be addressed:-
(i)
The pattern of the thirty week Undergraduate Academic Year;
(ii)
The mapping of the Academic Year onto the Calendar.

2. PATTERN OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR

Three principal models within which modular programmes are conducted in the UK are outlined below. The distribution of teaching and learning (T) and assessment (A) is also given for each model. 
PATTERN 1            2 x 15 week semesters                                             
                                                                                       
                     12 weeks T + 3 weeks A; 12 weeks T + 3 weeks A                    
                                                                                       
                                                                                       
PATTERN 2            1 x 14 week semester; 1 x 16 week semester (or 13 + 17)           
                                                                                       
                     12 weeks T + 2 weeks A; 12 weeks T + 4 weeks A                    
                     (12 + 1; 12 + 5)                                                  
                                                                                       
PATTERN 3            12 weeks' teaching and learning (First Semester modules) + 12     
                     weeks' teaching and learning (Second Semester modules) + 6        
                     weeks' assessment

3. THE CALENDAR

There is no consistent mapping of any of the three patterns of Academic Year outlined above onto the Calendar. All three can be mapped onto a traditional 3 x 10 week term structure. Similarly all can be mapped onto three terms of asymmetric length , or can themselves form the basis of two semesters for attendance purposes. The University currently uses Pattern 1 mapped onto residential terms of 11 weeks (Autumn), 11 weeks (Spring) and 8 weeks (Summer).

4. DISCUSSION

4.1 Timing of Asssessment

A primary issue to be addressed is that of whether assessment should necessarily continue to precede the next teaching period. If this were felt still to be a pedagogical imperative, Pattern 3 above would fall.

In discussing this issue the Group noted a number of concerns related to the current pattern:

(i)
That the impact on academic staff of two examination periods in the Academic Year was said to be deleterious, and to have an adverse effect on research output;
(ii)
That the intervention of the Christmas vacation between Semester One teaching and assessment periods was undesirable;
(iii)
That the lack of any break between semesters imposed an additional burden on staff in terms of marking examinations in an unreasonably short timescale and prevented students from receiving feedback prior to the beginning of Semester Two;
(iv)
That the week immediately following the Christmas vacation and preceding the assessment period was used inconsistently, leading to variable attendance by students.
The Group acknowledges all the concerns outlined above, and its proposals at Paragraph 5 below seek to address them. Nonetheless the Group, strongly supported by the Students' Union representative, generally feels that modularisation can only work satisfactorily if assessment takes place immediately after the delivery of the module. The Group reaffirms the importance of students getting feedback through formative assessment during the course of the Academic Year. It is essential that there should be a formal mechanism to evaluate whether or not students have achieved the learning objectives stated in module specifications, and this is made much more difficult by deferring assessment.

4.2 Equal Length Semesters

The adoption of two fifteen-week Semesters with a break at Christmas would entail starting the Academic Year on the first or second Monday in September. The time available to complete the admissions process following the publication of `A' level results would be less than three working weeks, and the recruitment of students through clearing, the admission of international students, as well as the organisation of resits and subsequent arrangements for the readmission of successful resit students, could all suffer. Furthermore, the consequent pressures on staff and students are felt to be unacceptable.

The Group considered the case for a staggered start, with freshers arriving one or two weeks into the first fifteen week semester, but felt that the social and financial implications for Halls of Residence were such that the idea should be rejected.

Accordingly the Group feels that two equal length Semesters with an inter-semester break at Christmas cannot be achieved in the foreseeable future.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to meet the concerns identified above, viz:-

it is recommended that the University adopt a version of Pattern 2 above with two asymmetric semesters, the first of fourteen weeks' duration, and the second of sixteen weeks' duration, with the first Semester being completed before Christmas; furthermore in order to reduce the burden of assessment on academic staff, current policy that formal written examinations at the end of Semester One be kept to a minimum should be reaffirmed and all Module and Programme Boards should be held towards the end of Semester Two. Provisional grades awarded in Semester One Assessments should be made known to students by Module Organisers on an informal basis by a given date at the start of Semester Two. The holding of Module Boards at the end of Semester One and the subsequent formal publication of results is not essential provided that proper feedback is made available to students.

6. IMPLEMENTATION

The Group has taken advice from the Director of the Residential Organisation, the Senior Assistant Registrar (Student Office) and from Wardens about bringing forward the start of the Academic Year. Any move to introduce a 14 week pre-Christmas semester in the Academic Year in 1997 would necessitate either cancelling a major 1,500-bed conference booking over the weekend 19-21 September, in which case the consequent loss of income and goodwill would have an adverse effect on the Residential Organisation's financial position necessitating an increase in hall fees, or engaging a substantial army of cleaners to ensure rooms were available to students within a few hours of that conference ending. The professional opinion of the Director of the Residential Organisation is that this would be extremely difficult. Hence any move to introduce a 14 week pre-Christmas semester should preferably be made in 1998/99, giving the Organisation more time to adjust its conference marketing strategy, and also allowing planning for Summer 1997 examinations and reexaminations to continue in accordance with the current timetable. However a twelve week Autumn Term and a longer Christmas Vacation could be introduced in 1997/98, thereby alleviating some of the concerns of members of the University.

Under these proposals the structure of the Academic Year for 1997/98 and 1998/99 could be as follows:-

1997/98 

SEMESTER ONE:     12 weeks' teaching and learning       29 September - 19 December            
                             [4 WEEK CHRISTMAS VACATION]                                         
                   3 weeks' assessment                  19 January   -  6 February            
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
SEMESTER TWO:      7 weeks' teaching and learning        9 February  - 27 March               
                           [3 WEEK EASTER VACATION]                                                 
                   5 weeks' teaching and learning       20 April     - 22 May                 
                   3 weeks' assessment                  25 May       - 12 June

The start and finish dates of the Academic Year would remain unchanged from those currently published.

1998/99 

SEMESTER ONE:     12 weeks' teaching and learning       14 September -  4 December            
                   2 weeks' assessment                   7 December  - 18 December            
                           [4 WEEK CHRISTMAS VACATION]                                      
                                                                                            
                                                                                            
SEMESTER TWO:     12 weeks' teaching and learning       18 January   - 26 March               
                           [3 WEEK EASTER VACATION]                                         
                                      and                19 April    - 30 April                
                                                                                            
                    4 weeks' assessment                  3 May       - 28 May

Ideally all Programme and Module Boards would take place by the end of Semester Two, thereby enabling viva voce examinations to be held whilst students were still in residence.

7. ACTION

Senate is invited to approve the Review Group's recommendations outlined above, and to invite Teaching and Learning Committee to bring forward detailed proposals, including a calendar for subsequent years, to its next meeting.

[Agenda]

Author - David Wolfe

Date - 13 November 1996

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