EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Master of Arts - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 2002 offered by the Centre for Communication Technology

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5) and 31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated the following Regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 31 and 35 of the said Act:

Citation and interpretation

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Master of Arts - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 2002 - offered by the Centre for Communication Technology.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the Centre for Communication Technology;

"the Centre" means the Centre for Communication Technology;

"the Course" means the course leading to the Degree of Master of Arts -M.A. - offered by the Centre for Communication Technology; and

"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Arts - M.A. - offered by the Centre for Communication Technology.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall be applicable for courses starting in October 2002 or later.

Eligibility for the degree

3. To be eligible for the award of the Degree, students must:

(a) be registered as regular students in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University and satisfy the Admission Requirements laid down in regulation 4;

(b) complete the appropriate course of studies, obtain the number of credits as indicated in regulation 9, be approved in the dissertation and satisfy any other requirements prescribed in these regulations; and

(c) satisfy any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant statues, regulations and bye-laws of the University.

Admission Requirements

4. Subject to the conditions laid down in regulation 6, the Course shall be open to applicants in possession of one of the following qualifications:

(a) a Bachelor (Honours) degree with at least Second Class Honours in an area of study deemed by the Board relevant to that chosen for the Course; or

(b) a Bachelor of Arts degree with at least grade B in the principal area of study, which shall be an area of study deemed by the Board relevant to that chosen for the Course; or

(c) a degree from this or another university which the Board considers comparable to the degrees indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this regulation; or

(d) a degree or a relevant professional qualification recognised for the purpose by the Board together with a minimum of five years' experience in the area of study applied for and described in a portfolio that applicants are required to submit with their application; or

(e) a diploma in a relevant area obtained prior to 2003 and a minimum of eight years' experience in the area of study applied for and described in a portfolio that applicants are required to submit with their application.

5. The Board shall offer the Course in areas of study which fall under the competence of the Centre. It shall announce the areas of study and the mode of study in which they are offered before the beginning of each Course, after approval by Senate. The areas of study offered depend on the availability of resources and the number of students. Applicants shall be required to indicate their choice at the time of application.

6. (1) Applicants eligible for registration under paragraph (a) or its equivalent under paragraph (c) of regulation 4 may be required to satisfy any other conditions laid down by the Board after taking into consideration the relation of their previous studies to the proposed area of study in the Course and after examining the applicants' portfolio of experience.

(2) Applicants eligible for registration under paragraphs (d) and (e) of regulation 4 shall be required to satisfy any other conditions laid down by the Board (including following the Preparatory Course under paragraph (3) of this regulation), after taking into consideration the relation of their previous studies to the proposed area of study in the Course and after examining the applicants' portfolio of experience."

(3) In addition to satisfying any other special conditions laid down by the Board, applicants eligible for registration under paragraph (b) or its equivalent under paragraph (c) of regulation 4 shall be required to follow a Preparatory Course. The Preparatory Course extends over one year of full-time studies, at the end of which students shall be required to pass a qualifying examination at the standard of at least Second Class Honours. This examination shall normally be similar to all or part of the Final Examination of the Bachelor of Communications (Honours) course.

Preparatory Course

7. (1) During the Preparatory Course, students shall be required to register for study-units to which 60 credits are assigned. In order to successfully complete the Preparatory Course, students are required to obtain 60 credits.

(2) The result of the Preparatory Course shall take into account the students' performance in all the study-units according to the following weighting:

Synoptic study-units - 60%
Other study-units - 40%.

(3) The result shall be published in a list in alphabetical order showing the names of students who passed at the standard of at least Bachelor of Communications (Honours) Second Class.

Registration for the Course

8. Applicants wishing to register for the Course or for the Preparatory Course shall apply on the prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

Course Structure

9. The Course shall be offered in the following modes of study:

(a) taught study-units to which 56 credits are assigned and a synoptic study-unit to which 4 credits are assigned; or

(b) taught study-units to which 48 credits are assigned, a practicum to which 8 credits are assigned and a synoptic study-unit to which 4 credits are assigned; or

(c) taught study-units to which 40 credits are assigned, a dissertation or a project to which 16 credits are assigned and a synoptic study-unit to which 4 credits are assigned.

Course Duration

10. (1) The Course shall extend over twelve months of full-time study or their equivalent in part-time study.

(2) The Board may allow students to extend their studies by not more than six months.

(3) All students, whether full-time or part-time, shall be required to
register at the beginning of each academic year.

Catalogue of Study-Units

11. The Board shall draw up a programme of studies for the Course. The catalogue shall indicate the code, title, description and type of each study-unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are compulsory, concurrent or pre-requisites for other study-units and the methods of teaching and assessment. The catalogue shall be approved by Senate, on the recommendation of the Board, and shall be published before the beginning of each Course.

Progress and Assessment

12. (1) Study-units shall be assessed at the end of the semester in which they were held.

(2) Results for the assessment of all components of the Course shall be published as a percentage mark and grade as indicated in the table below:

Mark Range Grade

80% -100%     A
70% - 79%      B
55% - 69%      C
45% - 54%      D
0 - 44%           F

Both the percentage mark and the grade shall be recorded in the students' academic record. However, only the percentage mark shall be used for the purpose of calculating the final classification of the Degree.

(3) Students who fail in any study-unit shall be allowed a supplementary assessment. Such a supplementary assessment shall normally have the same mode of assessment as the corresponding first assessment. A supplementary assessment shall be held in a scheduled examination session (normally in September). In the case of assignments, the supplementary assessment shall be made by arrangement with the lecturer concerned. In the supplementary assessment, the maximum marks and grade that may be awarded shall be 45% - grade D.

(4) If unsuccessful in the supplementary assessment, students may not continue the Course, except in special circumstances and the permission of Senate.

(5) Students shall not be allowed to be re-assessed for a study-unit if they have already been awarded credit/s for it.

Practicum

13. A practicum is a work experience designed to complement and enhance a student's academic study with actual workplace practice. Assessment will be undertaken by a member of the academic staff after consultation with the assigned workplace supervisor. Assessment criteria will cover both practical relevance and academic rigour.

Dissertation

14. (1) Students registering for the mode of study where a dissertation is required shall submit the title and a research proposal for the dissertation for the approval of the Board within a time stipulated by the Board. The research proposal should be as detailed as possible to enable the Board to properly assess its suitability.

(2) Dissertations shall be either a record of original work or an ordered and critical expression of existing data with regard to a particular subject, and must satisfy the Centre as regards language and literary presentation.

(3) The dissertation shall be between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length.

(4) No dissertation shall be accepted which is identical in substance to a dissertation already submitted for a degree in this or any other University. However, students shall not be precluded from incorporating such previous dissertation work as may be necessary to the presentation and fuller understanding of their exposition, provided that the nature and extent of such incorporation are clearly indicated in the dissertation itself.

(5) The Board shall appoint a supervisor for each student. Students shall be required to report regularly, as required by their supervisor. Supervisors may refer to the Board students whose work they consider unsatisfactory and shall refer for the approval of the Board any substantial modification in the title or content of the dissertation. No dissertation may be submitted to the Board of Examiners without a certificate, signed by the supervisor, confirming the work's originality and conformity with these regulations.

(6) The dissertation shall include a declaration signed by the students that it is their own original work.

(7) The Board of Examiners may require students to take a viva voce examination on their dissertation and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls.

15. Students whose dissertation is found unsatisfactory may be allowed by the Board, on the recommendation of the Board of Examiners, to re-submit it in a revised form, within a period of up to six months from the day on which it is referred back to them.

16. Each dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners, composed of at least three members, one of whom shall normally be an external examiner from another university.

17. Dissertations or projects shall meet the criteria established by the Board for this purpose.

Final result

18. (1) The final result will take into consideration all components of the Course which shall be weighted according to the number of credits and levels assigned to each. The weighting shall be indicated in the catalogue published before the commencement of each Course.

(2) To be awarded the Degree, students must obtain a pass mark in all components of the Course as listed in regulation 9.

(3) The names of students who qualify for the award of the Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order classified as follows:

Passed with Distinction
Passed.