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Quality Manual

Changes in 2026

This page contains a record of all changes made to the Quality Manual in 2026.

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August 2026

The following have been published ahead of coming into force for the 2026/27 academic session:

QSC Paper Submission

The process and guidance for submitting a paper to QSC has been updated to incorporate the university’s new paper standards and requirements.

How to submit a paper to the Quality and Standards Committee

QSC Terms of Reference 

QSC membership page has been updated to reflect the changes in Terms of Reference.

Quality and Standards Committee

Assessment overview and School responsibilities and Regulation on academic misconduct

Added a requirement for clear, assessment-specific information about the permitted use of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools to be provided for every element of summative assessment. The False Authorship section has also been updated to clarify what information students can expect and their responsibility to check it and seek clarification. These amendments improve the visibility and clarity of existing responsibilities; the definition of False Authorship is unchanged.

Assessment overview and school responsibilitiesRegulation on academic misconduct

Long-term conditions or disabilities affect students' ability to study and complete assessment 

Further amendment following consultation with the Investigation and Resolution Team in Student Registry and addition of relevant links.

Policy on long-term conditions or disabilities affecting students' ability to study and complete assessment

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Online (UoNO)

Following a change in university strategy, references to UoNO in various pages have been removed and the following pages have been archived:

  • The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Online (UoNO) Regulations (Index page)
  • UoN microcredential regulations
  • Credit-bearing microcredentials design and approval
  • ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Online Extenuating circumstances regulation
  • UoNO Verification Service

Extenuating cicumstances regulations

Update to the long-term conditions entry in the ‘examples of acceptable and unacceptable circumstances’ table to clarify that the late diagnosis of a long-term health condition or disability is an acceptable circumstance.

Extenuating circumstances regulations

Assessment Framework

Following the approval of the new Assessment Framework by the Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC), the Quality manual has been updated with a new Summative Assessment Regulation. All courses are required to be compliant with this by September 2027, which means changes will need to be submitted by the Autumn 2026 Curriculum update deadline. 

Summative Assessment Equivalencies Regulation

“Fit to sit” exam assessments

Where needed to satisfy Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body recommendations, Schools may impose an additional “fit to sit” requirement on an exam assessment. Under the “fit to sit” requirement, if a student attends an exam, they are declaring that they are fit to do so and an EC claim cannot subsequently be made. This requirement does not apply by default; students must be explicitly informed where this sub-category of exam applies (e.g. via the module handbook or Moodle) and reminded by the School prior to the relevant exam period.

Extenuating Circumstances

Marking and grading

A change has been made to the rounding section of the regulation to include rounding at the level of an element of assessment.

Marking and grading 

 

July 2026

Student Complaints Code of Practice and Academic Appeals Code of Practice

Addendums have been added to the Student Complaint Code of Practice and the Academic Appeals Code of Practice so that cases relating to industrial action can be processed efficiently, and reach fair and robust outcomes that comply with the university's published and approved codes of practice. 

Student Complaints Code of Practice

Academic Appeals Code of Practice

External Assessors

The restriction on appointment of external assessors for degree apprenticeship programmes have been amended to clarify that, subject to meeting the relevant requirements of the role and following the annual re-appointment process, they may be re-appointed for maximum four years, which can be extended by a year subject to approval of QSC.

External Assessors role

Applications for a restriction or embargo to be placed on a thesis

The procedure to request a thesis restriction has been amended to reflect current practice for QSC Requests.  

Applications for a restriction or embargo to be placed on a thesis

Glossary of Terms/List of Abbreviations

The glossary has been updated to clarify terms that are used interchangeably within the Quality Manual

Glossary of Terms/List of Abbreviations

 

 

June 2026

Independent Assessors

The restrictions on appointment of independent assessors for degree apprenticeship programmes have been amended to clarify that, subject to meeting the relevant requirements of the role and following the annual re-appointment process, there is no maximum to the number of times they may be re-appointed

Independent Assessors role

 

May 2026

UNM Student Staff Fora

Minor amendments made to the QM page as well as the guidance, template and terms of reference documents to reflect current practice following a restructure. These changes relate to the UoN Malaysia campus only.

UNM Student Staff Fora

PGR Medical Leave

Section 3.0 has been updated to reflect the UKRI Terms and Conditions effective from 1 October 2025. Medical absences of 7 days to 1 month are now at the student’s discretion; absences of 1 month or more require the formal VIS process. Students are required to discuss their circumstances with immediate supervisory team and record that in the supervisory meetings notes.

PGR Medical Leave

 

March 2026

UKVI Remote Delivery Policy

UKVI have published a new remote delivery policy as part of the student immigration sponsor duties which comes into effect on 7th April 2026. A new Quality Manual page on ‘Remote Delivery of teaching’ has been published detailing the UoN regulation and procedure to ensure compliance with the new policy and reduce future risk of non-compliance. Furthermore, updates to the Hybrid teaching page have also be made to reflect the new UKVI policy. 

Remote delivery of teaching

Hybrid teaching

Maximum period from initial registration for completion of studies

The “Maximum period from initial registration for completion of studies” page has been amended to include an exemption following the provision: 

“In addition a student is not allowed to take more than three years to complete teaching and assessment that would normally be completed within one year, whether full or part-time.”

The exemption applies to programmes delivered at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Ningbo China (UNNC), to ensure alignment with Chinese Ministry of Education regulations.

Maximum period from initial registration and on stage for completion of studies

 

January 2026

Extenuating Circumstances Procedure

Further to the recent change which were published as part of a refreshment of the EC Procedure to improve clarity, one of the changes to a previously ambiguous section regarding the timing of appealing ECs needed further edits. The updated procedure indicated that an appeal for an EC decision could not be submitted in advance of an Exam Board decision, but in some circumstances this could happen. 

EC procedure

Course and module design and approval

For the following pages terminology for a programme has been renamed as ‘course’ from academic year 2025/26 onwards. Additional changes listed below:

Course design development and approval

Updates reflect the temporary restriction on new course/programme creation, the updated approval process and restricted reasons for late change.

Course design, development and approval

New course by change

Updates reflect the temporary restriction on new course/programme creation, the updated approval process and restricted reasons for late change.

New course by change

Course specification guidance

As part of a regular review cycle, this page has been updated to comply with current formatting requirements and some corrections, clarifications and updates made to the content.

Course specification guidance

Changes to course and module specification

Changes to approval responsibilities.

As part of a regular review cycle, this page has been updated with some minor corrections and clarifications made to the content.

Changes to course and module specifications

Closing or suspending a course

As part of a regular review cycle, this page has been updated with some corrections and clarifications made to the content.

Closing or suspending a course

Module design and approval

As part of a regular review cycle, this page has been updated with some corrections and clarifications made to the content.

Module design and approval

Module specification guidance

As part of a regular review cycle, this page has been updated with some corrections, clarifications and updates made to the content.

Module specifications guidance

Annual review of curriculum

Updated the exceptional circumstances where a late change to curriculum may be permitted.

Annual review of curriculum

Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

Additional wording has been added to section 2.5.18 of the Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) to provide additional clarity that students must submit their thesis for examination after their period of registered study and before the conclusion of the Thesis-pending period and the consequences for not doing so. 

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

 
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This content was last modified on 13 August 2026

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