The Academic Year, Modules and Credits
Registration | Student Effort Hours | Student Employment Hours | Attendance | Changing Modules
The academic year is divided into two consecutive fifteen-week semesters. Each semester consists of twelve teaching weeks followed by a three-week examination/assessment period. The Christmas and Easter vacations fall within the first and second semesters respectively and allow time for revision. There will be a reading week in each semester. In semester 1 it falls in Week 7 (7-11 November 2011) and in semester 2 it falls in Week 12 (14 - 18 May 2012).
The University of Sheffield operates a modular degree structure. Each module that you take has a number of credits attached to it and these credits are accumulated. In each year of a degree course you will take 120 credits. In order to qualify for a single or dual honours degree, you must accumulate a total of 360 credits.
| Registration |
Shortly after you receive confirmation of your place at the University of Sheffield, you will be required to complete an online departmental module choice form. These choices will form part of your student record, if however you change your mind about your choices, it will be possible for you to alter this during intro week. You will register for your Level Two modules in April or May before the end of the academic year.
| Student Effort Hours |
A notional learning hour is the length of learning time which, it is estimated, will be taken on average to achieve the learning outcomes attached to each module. The notional learning hours (or student effort hours) model adopted by this University allocates ten hours of learning to each credit in a module. So for every 20 credit module you take you will need to allocate 200 hours for learning. The learning hours include formal contact (lectures and seminars), assessment activity (essays and examinations), and your own independent study.
| Student Employment Hours |
Whilst we recognise that you may wish to undertake paid employment during your degree the University advice is that full-time students should not undertake paid employment in excess of 16 hours per week alongside their studies during term time.
| Attendance |
As a student, it is most important that you attend regularly all the lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions etc. that are listed in your timetable or that are communicated to you as the semester proceeds. It is only by attending all of the scheduled sessions you will be able to learn effectively, and it is for this reason that the Student Charter notes that students are expected "to attend throughout each semester, including the full examination period. This means turning up on time to all designated teaching sessions, tutorials, laboratory sessions and all assessment".
To help ensure that you make full use of the learning opportunities that are available, the department will be monitoring the attendance of students at twelve or more sessions throughout the year. The monitoring will be carried out using systems that have been developed by the University specifically to help departments identify and support students who are having difficulty with their study programme. Any repeated unexplained absences will be noted and may lead to an unsatisfactory progress report which in turn forms the first step towards exclusion from the University, should things not improve.
| Changing Modules |
If you wish to change any of your modules you may do so within the first three weeks of each semester. You will only be able to change your module if there is space on the module that you wish to take. To change your module you need to complete an Add/Drop form, these are available from the Student Service Information Desk and the History reception. You need to collect a form and then go to the relevant Departmental Offices. If you want to join another History module the staff here will check that there is space on the new module and that you are still fulfilling all of your degree requirements. The form will then be signed and you will need to submit this form to the SSiD.