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Student Alternative record 2021/22 - Further guidance on returning postgraduate students to the Student Alternative Record

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Student Alternative record 2021/22 - Further guidance on returning postgraduate students to the Student Alternative Record

Version 1.0 Produced 2021-09-10

There are parts of postgraduate provision which can vary from undergraduate provision. Providers need to be mindful of this when returning postgraduates to ensure they are accurately reflected in the Student Alternative return.

We have highlighted some areas where there are differences and advised how providers need to record these.

InstancePeriod.MODE

Students who are actively “writing-up” their research should have this recorded as their mode of study, using either code 43 – writing up, previously full-time or 44 – writing up, previously part-time. 'Writing-up' is generally associated with research students as this period can vary greatly between students. Students on taught masters courses should not typically have their mode changed to “writing-up” as they usually have a formal writing up period in which to complete their dissertation. Their mode should therefore remain as 01 – full-time or 31 – part-time. Any change to show mode as writing-up for taught masters students would be expected only after the completion of the 12 month registration period.

Instance.ENDDATE

An ENDDATE should be recorded when a student completes an instance. Completion is defined as being the point at which the taught or structured part of the instance, including any planned exam periods or any formal writing-up period, is completed. Hence for students studying on a taught Masters, the ENDDATE will be the point at which they complete their dissertation. As the writing-up period for research students is much more flexible, we advise that the ENDDATE should reflect the date on which the student’s award is approved by the provider’s academic board.

Course.COURSEAIM

A number of course aims have been added so that providers can reflect the postgraduate aim of the course. L99 - Research-based higher degree where the student may ultimately study at levels D or L, can be used for beginning research students who either have not yet specifically registered for a masters or doctorate degree or are registered on a programme where there is an expectation that a high proportion of students will change their qualification aim between masters and doctoral awards. Typically students recorded against this code will be on programmes described as "MPhil with possibility to transfer to PhD", such students may formally be aiming for a research masters but should be coded L99 where the normal pattern is that they will progress to a PhD.

Instance.INTENTLEV

If a student is coded with course aim L99, then the Instance.INTENTLEV field needs to be returned.

Examples

Student A is studying an MA in International Marketing. The course starts in September 2018, is full-time, and the dissertation deadline is 10 September 2018.

The data fields would be completed as follows:

  • InstancePeriod.MODE = 01, Full-time according to funding council definitions.
  • Instance.ENDDATE = 2018-09-10 – the student has a formal writing-up period in which to complete their dissertation, and so the Instance.ENDDATE reflects the end of this period.
  • Course.COURSEAIM = M00 - Masters degree obtained typically by a combination of coursework and thesis/dissertation, that does not meet the criteria for a research-based higher degree.

Student B is studying an MSc in International development. The course starts in October 2017, is full-time, and the dissertation deadline is 30 September 2018. The student decides to undertake an 8 week voluntary placement in Uganda over the summer, to enrich their understanding of their dissertation topic. The provider subsequently provides them with an extension for their dissertation of 10 December 2018.

In the first instance period InstancePeriod.MODE = 01, Full-time according to funding council definitions. Course.COURSEAIM = M00 - Masters degree obtained typically by a combination of coursework and thesis/dissertation, that does not meet the criteria for a research-based higher degree

Given the student has an extension to write-up their dissertation, which goes beyond the 12 month registration period, the student will need a second instance period. The second instance period should commence at the end of the typical registration period, so 2018-09-30.

Instance.ENDDATE = 2018-12-10 – the student has a formal writing-up period in which to complete their dissertation, and so the Instance.ENDDATE reflects the end of this period.

Instance.SPLENGTH remains as 1, as the expected length of the course is 1 year.

Student C has started studying for an MRes/PhD in Organisational Behaviour. They have not yet formally registered for the PhD, though there is the expectation that many students will go onto study a PhD and the student has indicated they would ideally aim to complete a PhD.

  • Course.COURSEAIM = L99 - Research-based higher degree where the student may ultimately study at levels D or L, since there is a high expectation that the student will go onto study a PhD.
  • As Course.COURSEAIM = L99, Instance.INTENTLEV needs to be completed. Instance.INTENTLEV = 01 - Student has indicated an intention to study at level D, since the student has indicated they would ideally aim to complete a PhD.

Once the student has registered for a Masters or PhD, the Course.COURSEAIM will need to be updated and Instance.INTENTLEV will not need to be returned.

Student D started studying a part-time PhD in Theology in January 2010. They moved to writing-up their thesis on 2 March 2014. They are awarded their PhD by the provider’s academic board on 13 June 2016.

As the writing-up period for research students is much more flexible, the Instance.ENDDATE should reflect the date on which the student’s award is approved by the provider’s academic board. Instance.ENDDATE therefore = 2016-06-13; the end date of the second instance period would also equal this date.


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