Student Charter

This Charter was approved by the University Court on 23 June 1997.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the University of Dundee Student Charter. This document has been written in consultation with academic, academic related and support staff; and with the assistance of the Students' Association. The primary objective of this Charter is to outline your rights and responsibilities as a student at the University of Dundee; and to encourage you to obtain the maximum benefit from the range of the educational opportunities which we offer. This document explicitly defines the quality of the service which we believe that you, as a student, are entitled to expect; but it also allows us to express the standards which we, in return, will expect of you. Rights are relevant only in the context of responsibilities.

We believe that this Charter is an important statement of our commitment to the fostering of a university community within which we all have a role and a function to perform; within which we all have rights and responsibilities. This document is particularly directed towards undergraduate students although much of what it says is also applicable to graduate students. Graduate students should consult 'The Code of Practice for Postgraduate Students' for further and more specific information about their particular rights and responsibilities.

BEFORE YOU BECOME A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

We recognise that your relationship with the University will start many months before your enrolment here and we therefore aim to make these initial contacts as productive and as informative as possible.

• The University will undertake to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive and widely available Prospectus.
• We recognise that this Prospectus cannot answer all of your questions. We therefore provide a team of specialist staff dedicated to giving you further information about the University; its courses and entry requirements; and its facilities.
• We will provide opportunities on which you can visit us and obtain a first-hand experience of the University and its staff and students.
• A telephone service is generally available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. We operate a special Helpline to offer general advice and information about course vacancies after the Scottish Higher and GCE A level results are published in August. The special number for this service is widely publicised in the national press and, for part of this period, the line is staffed (in addition to normal working hours) in the evenings and at weekends.
• Your application through UCAS will be processed as rapidly as possible and with due care and attention. All complete and accurate applications which are received by UCAS on or before 15th December will be given equal treatment by the admissions staff at the University of Dundee.
• Every application will be considered in strict accordance with the University's Equal Opportunities Policy.
• We welcome applications from those with disabilities. The University has dedicated study centres for visually impaired and dyslexic students and is justifiably proud of its record in accommodating and integrating students with disabilities. If your disability is severe, you should write to the admissions office before submitting an application to the University so that we can assess the compatibility of our special needs resources on an individual specific basis for each student with a disability.
• We will operate special admissions procedures for mature and other non-traditional entry students. Your application as a mature student will be considered carefully and in a way which takes account of your whole career and of your opportunity for studying in the past and present.
• We will offer residential accommodation to all single entrant students. We will send you application forms; together with information about student accommodation provision in Dundee after you have formally accepted an unconditional offer of a place at the University. If you accept a place in University managed accommodation you must undertake to abide by such Regulations as the University and the individual Residence have determined and to pay Residence fees by their due date.
• Information about the City and the University of Dundee, and its Students Association will be sent to you before you begin your student life with us.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE AS A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

• We will provide a suitable induction period each September during which you will be given the chance to learn about the various educational, social and support facilities which the University provides.
• We will ensure that your programme of study is verified by a member of academic staff prior to matriculation.
• We will provide you with a Faculty Handbook in which you will find information about courses, procedures and Faculty regulations. You are required to retain this handbook and are expected to use it as a first source of information for any difficulty or query you might have.
• 'Matriculation' is the term which we use to describe the process by which you are registered as a student of the University. We will undertake to matriculate you as efficiently, quickly and courteously as possible. If you do not have a letter of award from a grant awarding body you may be expected to pay tuition fees in full at matriculation. You are expected to take responsibility for your financial well-being and actively to seek assistance from the appropriate sources. You should ensure that your grant application is submitted by the due date. You must settle any outstanding debts to the University before you will be allowed to matriculate into the next year of your degree programme.
• We will ensure that Residences Office staff are available, during office hours, to deal with your enquiries. Members of the Students' Association will staff additional 'Welcome Points' outwith office hours on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday prior to the start of Pre-Sessional Week.

WHILE YOU ARE A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

The University community exists within the wider community of the city of Dundee. We have responsibilities to you as a member of our community; but you, in turn, must respect your duties and responsibilities as a citizen of the University and of the local community. You are expected to be present throughout each academic term and, as a matriculated student of the University of Dundee, you are bound by the rules and regulations which the University has laid down. Illegal or anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated [University Ordinance 40; Student Discipline refers]

The University will, in its turn, undertake to provide you with a suitable learning environment and with a responsive student support network.

YOUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

• We will undertake to provide authoritative, research driven and up-to-date teaching. The University's approach to your study is built around a number of activities all of which involve staff-student interaction. You are expected to fulfil your side of this learning partnership. It is your responsibility to attend and to participate in timetabled classes; to produce assessed work by the due date; to notify academic and support staff of any difficulties which might hinder your fulfilment of these requirements and to supply a doctor's note where appropriate. You are expected to behave in an appropriate and considerate manner in all classes.
• We will ensure that you receive accurate information and guidance about your degree programme and your subject options; and that you are advised in advance about the means by which your course will be taught and assessed. You are expected to read and to retain the information which is contained in Faculty and Departmental Handbooks and in other relevant University publications; to check Faculty and Department notice boards regularly and to keep yourself generally informed about University matters.
• We will participate regularly in internal and external monitoring of our teaching quality. Information about our academic standards policy will be available to you via the University's Quality Assurance Framework Home Page and will be updated as required.
• We will, as far as possible, provide you with appropriate learning services (e.g. library and IT facilities) and offer you basic training in their use.
• We will, as far as is reasonably practical, provide premises which ensure the health and safety of all students. We will provide enough information at department level for all students to carry out their work with a proper awareness of health and safety issues. A pamphlet called 'Health and Safety Information' will be available to all students at matriculation.
• We will assign you a tutor and/or adviser of studies to whom you can turn for advice and study support during your period of study at the University.
• We will undertake to treat every student in accordance with the University's Equal Opportunities Policy. You, in your turn, are expected to treat all members of the University community with respect and with dignity; to act in a way which is not regarded as discriminatory or offensive; and to advance the objectives of the University's Equal Opportunities policy.
• We will, within the limits of current legislation, respect the confidential nature of your personal details, circumstances and academic records.
• We will provide you with regular opportunities for feedback through questionnaires and via Staff/Student liaison committees. We will ensure that your views and concerns about our academic processes and procedures are respected and treated with due seriousness. We will encourage your participation in our quest for research and teaching excellence and will regard collective student feedback as an integral part of our quality improvement processes. You are expected to take your involvement in the feedback process seriously and to complete questionnaires with candour and with objectivity. The success of student representation depends upon your commitment to constructive participation. You are responsible for informing yourself about the University's Academic Standards policy via the Home Page on the Web.
• We will operate a fair and efficient complaints and appeals procedure. Details of this appeals procedure are available on request from your Faculty Secretary and, in the unlikely event that your studies become liable to termination, these will be forwarded automatically to you. We will provide you with advice and assistance if you have any cause for academic appeal and to deal with your complaint in confidence and without fear of recrimination. The Students' Assessor on Senate is there to ensure that your interests are properly and equably served. Appeals are allowable only on grounds of bias, prejudice, procedural irregularity, administrative error or extenuating circumstances of which the examiners were unaware when their decision was taken.

YOUR STUDENT SUPPORT NETWORK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

Each of the student support services provides an information leaflet which significantly supplements these basic charter pledges.

• We will provide you with a general student advisory service as and when you have need of it. The Student Advisory Service is user friendly and is intended to contribute towards enhancing the quality of the whole student experience. The Service aims to enable you to overcome any difficulties you may encounter and should be used as a source of first advice on all issues for all students.
• Additional special provision (including language support) may be made available to students with disabilities and to international students.
• We will provide a Counselling Service. Experienced and trained counsellors are available to help you find ways of coping with a wide range of personal and academic difficulties. The service is confidential and independent of other University services and departments. The waiting time for appointments at busy periods of the year may be two or three weeks; but if you are in acute distress you can be seen very quickly by means of an emergency appointment system. Counselling is a shared process and we will therefore expect you to use the system responsibly and to tell the Service Secretary if, for any reason, you wish to cancel an appointment.
• The University Health Service is additional to the GP and hospital services in the City of Dundee. During term-time, a doctor and a nursing sister are available on weekdays by appointment. The service will undertake to refer you for specialist medical treatment (including psychiatric care) as appropriate. You are required to register with a local doctor and to respect and use the Health Services responsibly.
• We are aware that students live in increasingly straitened financial circumstances. We will provide information about your entitlement to financial assistance and advise you on financial matters. We will provide you with accurate and regularly updated information about student loans and ensure that, as far as possible, the University's Student Loans adviser is available to assist you with the application process. We will also undertake to provide clear and accurate publicity about the Access Fund and to administer the fund fairly, efficiently and expeditiously. Any application for financial help which you make through the University's auspices will be treated in the strictest confidence. You are responsible for providing us with full and accurate information for Student Loan and Access fund applications and for submitting the appropriate forms and documentation in good time.
• We will resource and staff a Careers Service. The University's Careers Advisers will keep you informed about the available careers facilities; provide access to careers guidance through group talks, computer assisted guidance packs and personal interviews; maintain links with both local and national employers; distribute information about job vacancies and graduate study; and provide advisers to answer your queries. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with careers facilities as early as possible in your University career.
• We will provide you with information about the childcare provision which exists at the University and in the City of Dundee.
• We will recognise and respect your spiritual needs. The University provides a Chaplaincy service which is open and available to all students regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs. Chaplains are also available to provide personal care and support to those of all faiths and of none.
• We will undertake to provide you with a well-equipped and properly managed Sports Centre and to inform you about the recreational, social, cultural and sporting facilities which are on offer within the University. You are encouraged to take advantage of these extra-curricular opportunities and to use the recreational facilities responsibly and with respect.

AS YOU LEAVE THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

• We will celebrate the successful conclusion of your undergraduate career with a dignified and traditional graduation ceremony.
• We will undertake to mark the successful completion of your course with an official Degree Certificate and with a transcript of your academic results on request.
• You must settle any outstanding debts to the University of Dundee prior to your graduation.

AFTER YOU LEAVE THE UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

Graduation does not mark the end of your association with the University of Dundee. Your status as a member of the University and of its Graduates Council is a privilege which you keep for the rest of your life. You can, moreover, continue to use Careers Office Services if you so wish. The University Alumni office exists for the sole purpose of maintaining a link with Dundee graduates and will undertake to keep you in touch with activities and developments at your alma mater. The relationship between the University and its graduates is, however, sustainable only if you keep us up-to-date with the details of your life. Remember to pass on your address to us as the future carries you onward into new opportunities and new beginnings.