Student Handbook - Moodle Book

About the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

Welcome to the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. We hope that this year will prove a rewarding and enjoyable academic experience. This Handbook aims to give you the information you need in order to get the most out of your studies in the School. Please read it carefully, and bookmark it so that you can refer to it throughout the year. This is in your own interest. This information is intended to help you, but you are also expected to be aware of its contents. Teaching and administrative staff will be operating according to the procedures described here, and it will not be allowable to claim that you were unaware of the regulations, penalties, and so forth, that are set out in these pages. If you find any of the information in this book unclear, please do not hesitate to ask for guidance from any member of staff.

 

You will also need the School’s Directory of Modules which gives details of all modules on offer in the current session. A full listing of all the modules offered across the College is also available on the College website at www.qmul.ac.uk/modules.

 

Queen Mary uses its student records system, MySIS, to give students and staff online access to information about enrolment, module registration, timetables, assessment etc.  This system allows you access to your own information on record. Information on accessing and using MySIS will have been sent to you by the Academic Registry as part of the instructions for enrolling for this academic year.

 

One very general comment before we go into detail. Members of staff of the School are here to help and guide you. Rosine Smyrl is the Student Experience Manager. Her office is ArtsOne 103a. You can go to her for help, advice and support with any issues or problems. She can either help you herself, or will refer you to the appropriate service depending on the situation.  All students also have a personal Adviser, to help with academic issues, such as which modules to choose, and what to do if you’re having trouble understanding a class, or how to get started with an assignment. If you cannot see your Adviser, you may speak to another member of staff.  There is a Senior Tutor for each year of study, who can grant extensions on coursework if you have extenuating circumstances (illness or personal problems) that are causing delays to the completion of your coursework or make you miss a class test.  If you have queries or problems, we will listen to them attentively and consider them seriously. The university and the school have policies and procedures for just about any situation, and they are there to help you. There are time limits and deadlines for extenuating circumstances claims, so do not keep silent about difficulties that affect your ability to study effectively: the longer they go on, the worse they can get, and the less we may be able to do about them. 

 

About the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

The School’s aims, with regard to the undergraduate programmes of study we provide, or to which we contribute, are:

 

• to maintain a high quality, stimulating and congenial learning environment for all students of Catalan, Comparative Literature, European Studies, Film Studies, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Linguistics, Portuguese, and Russian;
• provide an intellectually challenging academic culture informed by innovative research and scholarship of national and international standing, and by proven excellence in teaching and research, with some of our departments belonging to the foremost research units in the UK;
• to make students aware of, and allow them to benefit from, appropriate interdisciplinary programmes and activities within the School, the Faculty of Arts, and the Humanities and Social Sciences Sector of the College;
• to ensure that the content of degree programmes and courses in all subjects reflects new and cutting edge research within the discipline, and the particular research expertise of members of staff;
• to provide language students with the highest possible degree of linguistic competence and confidence in written and spoken foreign language production;
• to enable students at undergraduate and postgraduate level to develop appropriate skills of critical thinking and judgement, and to undertake independent research;
• to enable students to develop as independent, reflective learners who accept responsibility for the management of their own learning and intellectual development;
• to assist students in the acquisition of a range of cognitive and transferable skills relevant to their intellectual, professional and personal development;
• to engage in a continuous process of curriculum innovation and development, sensitive to changes within the disciplines and the non-academic world;
• to support student learning through provision of appropriate teaching materials, including e-materials, through the delivery of the curriculum, and through appropriate structures of pastoral care;
• to draw on the wide range of resources that our London context provides for all disciplines taught in the School;
• to connect students, as appropriate, with our world-wide networks of research and exchange programmes by offering a host of events and contacts with affiliates from other (academic and non-academic) institutions, visiting academics, authors, filmmakers etc..

 

The School is responsible for delivering degree programmes in Modern Languages, Comparative Literature, Film Studies and Linguistics. You are first and foremost a student of the School (as far as your study of these subjects is concerned), and only secondly of a department or departments within it.  The members of the teaching staff are divided into various groups depending on the subjects they teach. In particular, there are a number of departments corresponding to the languages taught in the School: French, German, Iberian and Latin American Studies, and Russian; there are also the departments of Comparative Literature and Culture, of Linguistics, and of Film Studies. But members of staff co-operate across departments, so that members of the language departments, for example, contribute to modules in Comparative Literature. Overall responsibility for the School rests with the Head of School, who works in conjunction with the Chairs of the departments and other senior officers of the School.

 

The School has an excellent record in research and teaching, as shown by its consistently high performance in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), with strong evidence of national, international and world-class recognition in all its disciplines.  In the RAE 2008, the School’s scores for 3* and 4* were: French 55%, German 40%, Iberian and Latin American Studies 60%, Linguistics 80% and Russian 40%. The department of Film Studies will make its own submissions to REF in 2013, when we expect to be graded equally highly. These independent assessments show, we believe, that the School is well on the way to achieving its aims.

 

Contacting staff in the School

All academic staff set aside office hours during term-time when they are available without appointment to see students. These hours are displayed on their office doors. You should, where possible, use these hours to see Module Organisers with queries about your modules, or your Adviser about any matter you wish to discuss. If you cannot see a member of staff during his or her office hours, it is often easiest to contact staff by email to arrange an alternative time. Email addresses, as well as telephone numbers and office locations for all staff are listed on the website.

 

The School’s Student Office is room 1.08, on the first floor of the Arts One Building. The office is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm during term-time.

 

There is a School postbox in the Gallery Area on the first floor of the Arts One Building which is emptied at least once daily, the last time at 4 pm. You should use this to post any messages for members of staff. Do NOT put work or any other messages under office doors as they may go missing. The postbox is kept locked, so your message is safe once it has been posted in there, and will be delivered straight to the staff pigeonholes which are in a secure room.

 

Contacting you

When you enrol for your first year, you will be registered with the College’s IT Services, and receive a username (with password). As well as allowing you to make full use of IT facilities, the internet and College intranet, and giving you access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform, QMPlus, this will give you access to your College email address. This is vital as this is the email address we will use to contact you throughout your studies. Please note that you can forward messages automatically from your College account to any other email address if you prefer (such as hotmail etc.). You should consult the IT Services Helpdesk staff for advice on this. The Helpdesk is in the Queens Building, on the 2^nd floor, in W207

 

We may contact you in one of a number of ways: either individually or as part of a group; via your College email; via the noticeboards or QMPlus pages relevant to your subject area, or a particular module; via the School’s LCD screens; via the student pigeonholes. On occasion, we may need to write to you at either your home or term-time address, or contact you by phone. You must ensure that you keep your personal details up to date on MySIS. You must check your email regularly, and the noticeboards, screens and pigeonholes every time you are in College – we will expect that you have received any information passed on in these ways, so it is your responsibility to make sure that you do.

 

Any mail that is sent to you at the College, or messages from staff, will be placed in the student pigeonholes, located in the Gallery area on the first floor of the Arts One Building. You can also use these pigeonholes to leave notes for fellow students. Do not leave coursework or messages there for staff: you should use the postbox described above.

 

Each module offered in the School will have a QMPlus page which the module organiser will use to make material available for you to download.  You must be properly registered for the module to access the page. You can log into QMPlus at http://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/

 

The School has two LCD screens which show identical information.  One is located outside the main administration office, Arts One 108, and the other in the Gallery Area on the first floor of the Arts One Building.  These screens will be used to display general information about the School, such as forthcoming events, and also for urgent messages. 

 

There is a noticeboard for each department.  The noticeboard for Film Studies is located outside the Hitchcock Cinema (Arts One G19).  The noticeboards for Comparative Literature and Culture, French, German, Iberian and Latin American Studies, Linguistics, and Russian are located in the Gallery Area on the first floor.

 

Email etiquette in the School

The School has implemented the following guidelines for email use which apply to staff AND students in the School:

 

• All email communications must take place using the College email system (staff must use their named College email addresses and students must use their College email addresses).
• Staff must activate the signature function on their email and include further contact details (phone number, office and office hours).
• Students must be sure to include their full name and student id number in every message and a clear description of any query.
• Staff and students must check their email every working day (please note Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays are not working days) during the teaching and examination terms.
• Staff and students will reply to emails within three working days of receipt during the teaching and examination terms.
• If the query is a complex one that can’t be dealt with within three days then staff and students must acknowledge receipt of the email and give an estimated time in which a response will be likely.
• If absent from College for longer than three days staff and students should set an ‘autoreply’ message and where appropriate give contact details for someone who can deal with queries on their behalf. 
• Emails should not be used to find out information that is readily available in the student handbook and/or university web pages (you must search first, email second).
• Emails should be written in a suitable and polite register and should not use slang or informal abbreviations.
• Involved and complicated queries are often best dealt with face to face in office hours and a member of staff may suggest that you come to see them rather than respond by email.

 

Your Queen Mary ID card

You will receive a photo-ID card upon enrolment. This card is very important, and must be carried at all times on campus. If you do not produce your card on request, you may be removed from the building, or from campus.

 

The card shows your Student Number. You must take your card into all examinations, and display it on your table for inspection. You will also need to copy the Student Number onto your paper.

 

The card also serves as your library card, and as an access card for certain buildings. Many buildings have security points at which you must show your card, and others require you to scan your card to release the doors.  Students in the School have card access to the rear and side doors of the Arts One Building from 8 am – 6 pm Monday to Friday.

 

It is vital that you keep your card safe and with you at all times on campus. If you lose your card, or if your card is stolen, you must go to the Student Enquiry Centre to report it. Any found cards are taken there, so they may have your card already. A fee will be charged to replace lost ID Cards.

The above is a broad introduction, to give you a general idea of what is involved in your degree. But you will need more precise information, which is given below.