The Award of University Certificates

APPENDIX A

UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

THE AWARD OF UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATES

(Meeting of Senate, 12 June 1991)

1. DEFINITION

"Certificates" in this context means certificates of academic performance or certificates of attendance for any course which is not included in the Regulations for a specific University qualification.

2. PREAMBLE

The basic principles and procedures to be adopted for certificable courses were approved by the Senatus at its meeting on 14 June 1989. They were as follows:

(1) "The Senatus is ultimately responsible for all undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education courses for which certificates of academic performance are awarded. In the case of courses other than degrees and postgraduate diplomas, this responsibility is devolved upon School Boards. Certificates should be signed by the Dean.

(2) The responsibility for courses for which certificates of attendance are issued is also devolved upon School Boards, which have the right to delegate responsibility to designated officers. Certificates should be signed by the programme leader.

(3) Courses which are not certificate-bearing are the responsibility of units. These include a multitude of lectures, seminars and other events.

(4) Courses involving more than one School are handled by whichever School Board is most appropriate."

3. PROCEDURES

(1) Certificates of Attendance

.1 Courses which attract a certificate of attendance will normally be short courses of a vocational nature and will not include any personal grading of performance or formal assessment procedures.

.2 There is a standard University format for certificates of attendance which includes the following information: course title, duration, dates of attendance, responsible department, and date. These certificates should be signed by the appropriate Dean of School or programme leader.

.3 In order to satisfy the criterion of responsibility, basic details should be presented to the relevant Dean annually for inclusion in a list of "recognised" courses to be approved by the School Board. In the case of courses in the Centre for Continuing Education, which are not the direct responsibility of a particular School, the responsible person for the purposes of recognition will be the Head of Continuing Education.

.4 In the case of the Centre for Medical Education, the certification of programmes which qualify in terms of the Postgraduate Educational Allowances will be the responsibility of the Director.

(2) Certificates of Performance

.1 Courses for which certificates of performance are issued should be subject to the same procedures for approval as any Degree or Diploma course. Therefore curriculum content, procedures for assessment and teaching arrangements should be submitted to the appropriate Faculty Board for approval.

.2 In the case of Diploma or Degree programmes where discrete modules are available to candidates on a non-graduating basis or as part of continuing professional development, assessment methods should be as rigorous as those which pertain to graduating students. This is particularly important in areas like the MBA where credit accumulation is envisaged as a future development.

.3 There is a standard University format for certificates of academic performance which includes the following information: course title, duration, dates of attendance, type of assessment, mode of study, responsible School, grade achieved and date. These certificates should be signed by the appropriate Dean.