The University of Sheffield
Taught Programmes Office

University Regulations

The University Regulations are published on an annual basis as part of the University Calendar.

General University Regulations

The General University Regulations apply to all students in all Faculties. They include Regulations referring to Admission, Registration and Fees matters, Attendance, Health Requirements etc. They may be found at the beginning of Part II of the University Calendar. They also appear in the Appendix to the Academic Diary & Student Handbook, an A5 diary produced annually by Student Services for use by students and staff.

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Other General Regulations

These include General Regulations for First Degrees, Higher Degrees, Examinations, Student Progress, Student Discipline, Academic Appeals and Fitness to Practise. They may be found at the beginning of Part II of the University Calendar. They also appear in the Appendix to the Academic Diary & Student Handbook, an A5 diary produced annually by Student Services for use by students and staff.

Student Services has prepared a set of Staff Notes on the General Regulations, which are intended as a user-friendly 'way in' to the Regulations and may be of particular interest to new staff. These may be found within the 'Rough Guide to University Regulations' on the University website.

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Programme Regulations

Programme Regulations may be found in Part II of the University Calendar. Any General Regulations relating to programmes of study in particular Faculties are listed first. These are followed by Regulations relating to specific programmes of study in individual academic departments or schools. Programmes of study will be listed in order of degree programme code.

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Special Regulations ("Notwithstanding" Regulations)

In certain cases, your department may wish to make a recommendation in relation to a particular student which is contrary, either to the General Regulations or to the Programme Regulations for the degree programme the student is studying on. Special Regulations are necessary in these circumstances and you should consult with the Taught Programmes Office about any proposed cases in the first instance.

Examples might include recommendations that a particular student be exempted from modules which are normally core to the degree programme, or that a student be permitted to proceed to the next level of study with insufficient credits etc. Faculty Officers will need to give consideration to the circumstances and any resulting Special Regulation needs to be approved by the Vice Chancellor (in practice the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching acts on the Vice Chancellor's behalf in these matters).

In most cases it is likely that departments will wish to seek advice on the appropriateness of their recommendation in advance from the Taught Programmes Office, and it is certainly important that special arrangements which are counter to Regulations are not agreed with the student before formal approval has been given. Alongside this, a careful written record should always be retained of any special arrangements (which would normally be copied to the student concerned) in case of future difficulties or confusions.

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Precedents for "Special" Cases

The Taught Programmes Office is often contacted by academic departments for guidance on how best to deal with a variety of 'special' cases involving students, where an issue has arisen which may not have been experienced within the department before.

Taught Programmes Office staff are always very willing to provide advice on non-standard student cases. A range of special cases have arisen across the various Faculties in recent years, including for example students who have:

-been permitted to make 'non-standard' choice of modules
-been exceptionally permitted to proceed to the next level of their degree programme notwithstanding University Regulations
-been allowed to graduate with fewer than 200 credits passed at Levels 2 and 3
-been re-admitted following an earlier withdrawal from the University
-been awarded aegrotat credit

Departments are encouraged to contact the appropriate Faculty contact in the Taught Programmes Office should they be presented with an unusual case of this sort, so that decisions can be taken in the light of any relevant precedents and in order to ensure as far as possible that such students are treated in a consistent way throughout the University.

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