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Note

This is a “living” document and although the information provided is correct as at the time of publication, the University might make amendments to its rules, regulations, policies and procedures as it sees fit with its continuous academic and business improvement plans. You will be informed of any amendments as they come into force and the Handbook will be updated accordingly. Copies are available in the library and registry.

Registrar’s Office

October 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.WELCOME FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR

2.UKH ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2016-17 AND KEY DATES

3.UKH UNDERGRADUATE FRAMEWORK

4.ASSESSMENT, PROGRESSION AND GRADUATION

4.1EXAMINATIONS’ REGULATIONS FOR CANDIDATES

4.2MARKING SCHEME

4.3ACADEMIC APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS...... 7

4.4PLAGIARISM

4.5SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK / ASSIGNMENTS

4.6ATTENDANCE POLICY

4.7PROGRESSION AND ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS

4.8RE-SIT EXAMINATION

4.9NON-CREDIT BEARING ENGLISH COMPOSITION-I AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION-II MODULES

4.10NON-CREDIT BEARING ENGLISH MODULES (SOPHOMORE RHETORIC AND FUNDAMENTAL OF ORAL COMMUNICATION)

5.MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

5.1MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

5.2ABSENCE FROM EXAMINATIONS / SUBMISSION OF ASSIGENMENTS

5.3ABSENCE AND CLASSES

5.4REPORTING MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

6.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION (IT-ADMIN)...... 20

7.LIBRARY SERVICES...... 21

7.1LIBRARY REGULATIONS

8.STUDENTS’ UNION

8.1MEMBERSHIP

9.STAFF-STUDENT LIAISON COMMITTEE

10.STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK

11.CODE OF CONDUCT

12.REGISTRAR’S OFFICE

13.CONTACT DETAILS

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1WELCOME FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR

Dear Students,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to UKH 2016-17 Academic Year. Last year the region was challenged by unsavoury enemy of Kurdistan and the civilized world. Your bravePeshmarga have stood tall in the face of aggression to humanity and they prevailed. Their name will forever be entrenched in the minds and the psyche of life and decency loving human beings worldwide.
To our new students I have this message: You are the threshold of a new experience with education at UKH. For most of you it will be a change from learning basic elements of knowledge, in a board range of subjects, into acquiring essential tools of how to access knowledge, understand and where to utilize and employ. This require from us providing all the necessary means in subjects, lecturers and teaching materials. On other hand it requires from you determination and focus. It common to have students with lesser exposer to certain topics that are essential to their normal progression. If you are accepted, you should discuss that with your course leaders to arrange for support learning programs. This is a two way approach, it can only succeed if it meets your needs face-on with determination and we will be there to help.

To our current UKH students: Your determination to study and success is an equal measure to that of your Peshmarga. You also stood to the challenge and didn’t allow the difficult circumstances to deter you from your objectives in your ambition and your future in Kurdistan, for that you have made your families proud and have honoured the name of Kurdistani students. This is indeed what was expected from you and you have delivered.

I would also like to let you know that this administration is compounding its effort to fulfil its obligation as the panicle academic establishment to provide all the necessary requirements to make 2016-17 another success. You’re academic and administrative staff have worked tirelessly to fill-in all the academic as well as your technical needs. We shall peruse this further into the new academic year to meet the standards we have pledged.

Dear students: I am sure you will certainly notice differences that will enable more coherent and settle progress. This been said, it will require from you to abide by academic standards and university directives to make it a working process. We will face difficulties, that is a fact, but we shall not ignore them. We will examine and find proper solutions to erase their effects when and wherever they arise.

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2UKH ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2015-16 AND KEY DATES

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Date Key Academic Dates

30 Aug. -03 Sept. 2015 Re-sit Exam Academic Year14-15

03 Sept. 2015Staff Induction Day

16-17 Sept. 2015Re-sit Exam Boards

01 Oct. 2015Students' Induction Day

04 Oct. 2015First Day of Semester 1

29 Oct. 2015UKH Graduation Ceremony

22-26 Nov. 2015 Midterm Exams of Semester 1

20-24 Dec. 2015 Teaching Break

31 Jan.-11 Feb. 2016 Final Exams for Semester 1

11 Feb. 2016 Last Day of Semester 1

14-18 Feb. 2016 Marking

21-25 Feb. 2016Interim Exams Boards of Semester 1

28 Feb. 2016First Day of Semester 2

17-21 Apr. 2016 Midterm Exams of Semester 2

12-23 June 2016Final Exam for Semester 2

23 June 2016Last Day of Semester 2

10-14 July 2016Final Exam Boards for Semester 2

04-08 Sept. 2016 Re-sit Exams academic year 15-16

Date UKH recognised Holidays

23-24 Sept. 2015 Eid -al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifices)

24 Dec. 2015 Christmas & Prophet Mohammed’s birthday

27-31 Dec. 2015 Winter Break

03 Jan. 2016 Public Holiday - New Year

21 Mar. 2016 Newruz

27 Mar. 2016 Public Holiday - Easter

01 May 2016 Public Holiday- Labour Day

07-09July 2016 Eid-al-Fiter (Ramadan)

24 July - 18 Aug. 2016 Summer Break

3UKH UNDERGRADUATE FRAMEWORK

Undergraduate (UG) programmes at UKH typically consist of 4 years as shown in Figure 3.1. However if a student comes into the UG programme through the foundation programme route, it may take 5 years to graduate as shown in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.1. Structure of UKH 4-Year UG Programmes

Figure 3.2. Structure of UKH 5-Year UG Programmes

Students who achieve a minimum score of 45 in the Pearson Test of English, pass the UKH School Entrance Test, have the required high school score and a successful interview may be accepted directly into UG Year 1 of a 4-year, 480 credit academic programme. The minimum English Entrance level to the Foundation Year is 30 in the Pearson Test of English and a successful interview. The Foundation Year concentrates on developing English language (both general and academic), academic study skills and mathematical skills. After the successful completion of the Foundation Year, students may be accepted to UKH undergraduate programmes, subject to achieving a minimum of 45 in the PTE and 50% in both of the Foundation Mathematics modules.The academic year 2013-2014 was the conversion year from UKH’s previous programme structure, special arrangements were in place to ensure no student was disadvantaged. To enable students who had successfully completed Access Year 2 of the previous structure, UKH will phase out the three year; 360 credit programme structure over the next one year. At the same time, the new 4 year structure will be phased in. This means that for this academic year, the programme structure will be:

Academic Year 2015-16 / Academic Year 2016-17
Foundation / Foundation
UG1 (480) / UG1 (480)
UG2 (480) / UG2 (480)
UG3 (480) / UG3 (480)
UG3 (360) / UG4 (480)

It should be stressed that both the 3-year and the 4-year programmes are equally recognised and can be awarded with honours. The change in structure has been introduced to ensure students receive the best possible academic provision in achieving the rigorous standards required the UKH.

4ASSESSMENT, PROGRESSIONAND GRADUATION

Assessment and feedback are fundamental parts of the student learning experience. In addition to providing an indication of the final achievement of students on academic programmes, it also provides information that guides both students and academic staff in the ongoing improvement of learning and teaching. To contribute usefully in both of these areas, it is important that assessment:

  1. is fair, in that students are entitled to parity of treatment and comparable assessment demands in modules of equal level and credit.
  2. is reliable, in that assessment decisions are made consistently throughout the University.
  3. is valid, in that the assessment relates to the intended learning outcomes of the modules studied.
  4. is transparent, in that it is clear to students, staff and examiners the criteria and methods by which students' work is being judged. This is particularly important for the purpose of determining the "reasonableness" of any adjustments to the design and conduct of the assessment.
  5. recognises and respects equality and diversity.

4.1EXAMINATIONS’ regulations for candidates

Examination regulations for students are given as follows:

  1. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that he/she notes the date, time and location of all examinations for their modules. These are published by the Registrar’s Office and displayed on notice boards in the Administration Building and on Academic Department notice boards.
  2. Candidates will not be allowed to enter the examination venue without either a UKH Student ID Card or other UKH official photo-identification including the name of the candidate in English.
  3. Candidates are not permitted to leave the examination room until half an hour after the start of the examination. No candidate is permitted to enter the examination room more than half an hour after the start of the examination.
  4. Candidates in breach of the examination regulations may be asked by the invigilators to leave the examination room.
  5. Except when prevented by medical reasons or other sufficient cause, a candidate who fails to be present for an examination will be recorded as failed in that part of the examination. Misreading of the examination timetable is not regarded as ‘sufficient cause’. Candidates who are unable to attend an examination must report the circumstances to the Registrar’s Office at the earliest opportunity.
  6. Unless there is a permission specially given, candidates are forbidden to take into the examination room, books, papers, calculators, information storage and retrieval devices, devices which emit noise, and any case or bag in which such items can be carried. Candidates are forbidden to pass any items, including calculators, or to communicate with one another in any way during examinations.
  7. Candidates may consult the invigilators if a printing or other error in a paper is suspected.
  8. Candidates may not leave the examination room during the last fifteen minutes of the examination to avoid disturbing other candidates who are completing their papers.

4.2MARKING SCHEME

The University uses a standard marking protocol. When work is returned to students, it may have a numerical (percentage mark) or literal (alphabetic) grade attached to it. These are referenced to a standard classification as follows:

GRADE / CLASSIFICATION
80-100 / Excellent
70 -79 / Very Good
60 - 69 / Good
55 - 59 / Medium
50 - 54 / Acceptable
0 - 49 / Fail

NB Decimal places above or below 5 will be rounded to the higher or lower full mark. For example, a mark of 54.5 will be rounded to 55, whereas a mark of 54.4 will be rounded to 54. UKH has a policy NOT to condone “near-pass fails”, so the only adjustment to marks awarded by the original marker(s) will be the automatic rounding outlined above.

4.3ACADEMIC APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS

Definition of academic appeal

An academic appeal is a request by a student for a review of a decision taken by the University on student progression, assessment and awards. This may include the review of an Examination Board’s decision or a mitigating circumstances decision.

Reasons and Grounds for an Academic Appeal

Academic Appeals against Examination Board decisions may be made only on the following grounds and for the following reasons:

  1. That a student’s performance in an assessment suffered through illness or other factors that the student was unable, or for valid, evidenced and attested reasons unwilling, to inform the Examination Board about through the University’s mitigating circumstances procedures before the Board reached its decision.
  2. That there has been a significant administrative error in the management of the assessment for the student making the Appeal, which has had a significant material effect upon the conduct of, or the reporting of the outcomes of the assessment(s).
  3. That some unforeseen irregularity has occurred which has materially affected the outcomes of the Assessment.
  4. That the Examination Board has failed to consider material circumstances relating to the delivery of a programme, which have adversely affected a student’s performance in assessment. These grounds will only be deemed acceptable if:
  1. the circumstances have been the subject of the Student Complaints procedure
  2. the case of the Student Complaint has been upheld
  3. steps have not been taken (by the Examination Board or through other means within the University) to mitigate the effects of the circumstances.

An Academic Appeal may also be made against a penalty which has been imposed for Academic Misconduct in accordance with the procedures for handling suspected cases of Academic Misconduct.

Normally such an appeal may only be made on the following grounds:

  1. That there is new and relevant, acceptable evidence, which the student was demonstrably, and for exceptional and extenuating reasons, unable to present to the formal meeting of the Academic Misconduct disciplinary committee .
  2. That the procedures for the consideration and investigation of Academic Misconduct were not complied with, and carried out in such a way that it might cause reasonable doubt as to whether the result would have been different had they been complied with.
  3. That there is documented evidence of prejudice or bias on the part of one or more members of an Academic Misconduct disciplinary committee.
  4. That the penalty imposed exceeds the regulatory penalties listed elsewhere in this document.

A student may not submit an Academic Appeal:

  1. Against the academic judgment of their examiners; students cannot therefore challenge their marks other than by requesting a re-marking of the paper (subject to a fee). The higher score between the original and the remarked score will be respected.
  2. In order to improve their mark, or to be reassessed in, or re-attempt a module in which they have already achieved a passing score.

Reasons and Grounds for the Rejection of an Academic Appeal

The Academic Appeal constitutes a disagreement with the academic judgment of a duly constituted Examination Board. An Academic Appeal will be rejected without further recourse to the University’s Academic Appeals procedures and without further consideration of the Academic Appeal for any of the following reasons:

  1. The Academic Appeal is judged to be, or upon investigation and consideration found to be:
  2. frivolous or malicious;
  3. identified as a part of any deliberate pattern of constructive destabilisation of an assessment procedure or structure;
  4. Part of collusion on the part of student(s), or others to gain an advantage in any way, or in any aspect(s) of assessment whatsoever.
  5. There is no right of student Academic Appeal against the academic judgment and/or decisions of a duly constituted Examination Board.
  6. The student did not understand or was not aware of, the published assessment regulations and assessment procedures for a module, or the assessed components or elements within a module, or within their programme of study.
  7. The Academic Appeal is on grounds that poor teaching, supervision or guidance affected academic performance. In such circumstances, a student should submit a formal complaint in accordance with the University’s student complaints procedure.
  8. That no approved form of written evidence has been submitted to support an application that academic performance was adversely affected by factors covered by the University’s mitigating circumstances procedures.
  9. The student was not aware of any UKH regulations which subsequently impacted on the academic results of the student.
  10. The Academic Appeal concerns a long-standing health problem of which the student was aware at registration and has not disclosed to the University and/or for which special assessment arrangements have already been made and provided for in the assessment of the student.
  11. The student was subject to a disturbance or illness during an assessment or examination and that there is no valid reason for it not to have been brought to the attention of the examination invigilator or Mitigating Circumstances Committee and/or the Examination Board before it met.
  12. The student(s) had changed physical address, or e-mail address, or other form of communication contact details had been changed without informing Registrar Office (RO), resulting in assessment information being sent to an out-of-date contact address of whatever form.
  13. The student had failed to provide an adequate email address, or had failed to maintain the use of a University allocated email address or had failed to ensure that they had adequate access to emailed or web-based assessment information or to any paper based distribution arrangements whatsoever as approved and used by the University.
  14. The student had failed to attend scheduled assessment briefings at which assessment requirements and arrangements for the conduct of assessments had been outlined and details distributed; or had failed to attend scheduled classes, or other teaching sessions or forms of programme delivery at which assessment requirements and details had been distributed; or had failed to engage with the provision of, and requirements for, the distribution of on-line assessment requirements.
  15. The RO receives the Academic Appeal later than five working days from the date of the results being formally published and communicated to the student. The formal publication and communication of the Examination Board decision will be deemed to be the formal communication of results using e-mail directly to the student’s agreed e-mail address, or the notification of the results via the End of Semester Grade Report or the end of Programme Transcript. The agreed e-mail address shall be required to be that which is lodged with RO.
  16. Should an Academic Appeal arise following the due process of the procedures for handling suspected cases of academic misconduct, it will normally be rejected.

The Timetable for Submitting and Making an Academic Appeal

Academic Appeals will normally only be considered if RO receives the Academic Appeal no later than 5 working days from the date of the results being published and communicated to the student. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the Academic Appeal is submitted to, and received by RO on time and according to the requirements indicated in these Academic Regulations.

Any submission, which is outside of these required timetables, will only be considered in the case of exceptional and acceptable circumstances and for exceptional reasons and in circumstances where a submission within the time limit was proved to be impossible. Acceptable written and certified evidence demonstrating this impossibility will be required to be provided with the submission. Any such exceptional submission which is outside of the stipulated timescales and timetables is not required to be accepted by the University and may be rejected without further consideration. In this event, the Academic Appeal will be rejected and considered to be closed.