Use of semester time and coursework deadlines

School guidance for staff for scheduling teaching delivery and coursework submission deadlines.

School Guidance for the use of Semester time

University Semester Dates

Examinations

For most courses with exam assessment, the exam is scheduled in the exam diet during which the course is taught (December for Semester 1 courses and April/May for Semester 2 and Full Year courses).  A few Semester 1 courses (all of them at Level 9-11) are examined in the April/May diet, as specified in the course descriptor.

University exam timetable

Teaching Delivery

Courses with exam assessment shall complete delivery of new material within the first ten weeks of the semester.

• For 10 point courses, lectures covering new material will normally take place in weeks 1-9, leaving week 10 for revision and the completion of practical work. 
• For 20 point courses, some new material can be covered in week 10, but lecturers should aim to keep this week light, keeping in mind that students will typically have many coursework deadlines. 
• Course Organisers of full-year courses that wish to deviate from the patterns above should discuss their plans and seek permission from the Director of Learning and Teaching  (DoLT). 
• Courses with coursework-only assessment may use week 11 to deliver new material if one or more of the earlier weeks is kept free from new material (e.g., to permit work on a coursework during that week). 

Coursework deadlines

Coursework deadlines should be set during standard working hours preferably at 12:00 Monday-Friday so that support is available if students are having difficulty with their submission. 

Clashes (and near-clashes) with other deadlines should be avoided:

• "Flexible Learning Week" occurs between weeks 5 and 6 of Semester 2. No deadlines should be set during this week or immediately afterwards (such as Monday or Tuesday of week 6) to allow students to participate in Flexible Learning activities. 
• The UG3 System Design Project deadline is normally week 11 of semester 2.
• The UG4 and MInf Project deadline is normally Thursday of week 11 of semester 2. 
• The IPP deadline for MSc students is normally Monday of Revision week of semester 2. 

For courses with exams, coursework deadlines shall be set no later than as follows:

• Semester 1 courses at Level 8-11: Friday of week 10 of S1 (for 10 point courses) or Friday of Week 11 of S1 (for 20 point courses). 
• Semester 2 and full-year courses at Level 9 and 10 (aimed at UG3 and UG4 students): Friday of week 9 of S2. This is to keep week 10 free for students to work on System Design Project or their UG4 project. 
• Semester 2 and full-year courses at Level 8 and 11: Friday of week 10 of S2 (for 10 point courses) or Friday of Week 11 of S2 (for 20 point courses).  
• Course Organisers of full-year courses may set coursework deadlines anytime in Semester 1, including the exam diet, as long as the very latest coursework can be submitted (including time for extensions and schedules of adjustments) is the end of Week 13. 
• Deadlines immediately following the winter break should be avoided, so that students can have a real break. 

For courses assessed entirely by coursework, deadlines shall be set no later than as follows: 

• Semester 1 courses: Thursday of week 2 of semester 2. 
• Semester 2 and full-year courses: Monday of Revision week of semester 2. Special permission can be requested for later deadlines (to be approved by DoLT), but Course Organisers must set the deadline early enough to return marks in time for the ITO exam board deadlines.
• Course Organisers of full-year courses may set coursework deadlines anytime in Semester 1, including the exam diet, as long as the very latest coursework can be submitted (including time for extensions and schedules of adjustments) is the end of Week 13. 
• Deadlines immediately following the winter break should be avoided, so that students can have a real break.