Bar Vocational Studies (Part-time) Programme Ass ess men t Regul ati ons 2020/21

1. DEFINITIONS & SCOPE OF REGULATIONS

1.1 In these Regulations (including the Annexes) unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions used in the Regulations have the meaning ascribed to them below:

(i) “the Programme” means the Bar Vocational Studies (Part-time) Programme.

(ii) “the Vocational Component” means the compulsory modules prescribed by the Bar Standards Board (“BSB”) in its Curriculum and Assessment Strategy for the vocational stage of training for the Bar of England and Wales which a student must satisfactorily complete to demonstrate the Competences outlined in the Professional Statement for Barristers to the extent required to be eligible for call to the Bar of England and Wales.

(iii) “the Specialist Practice Component” means the two elective modules from one of the areas of specialist practice specified in Annex C of these Regulations, which students must complete, in addition to the Vocational Component, if registered on the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies with specialism or the LLM in Bar Vocational Studies modules as specified in Regulation 3.2.

(iv) “a Clinical Elective Module” means any one of the following modules which may be undertaken as one of the elective modules in the Specialist Practice Component if it is included in an area of specialist practice specified in Annex C of these Regulations:

a. Free Representation Unit: Employment

b. Free Representation Unit: Social Security

c. Domestic Violence

(v) “a Clinical Elective Portfolio” means the assessment portfolio described in Regulation 7.3.

(vi) “the Dissertation Component” means the Dissertation module that a student who is registered on the LLM in Bar Vocational Studies must undertake in addition to the Vocational Component and the Specialist Practice Component.

(vii) “the Dissertation” has the meaning set out in Regulation 8.1.

1.2 These Regulations shall apply to students who enrol on the Programme starting in the academic year 2020/21. Any amendment to these Regulations will be notified to students in writing.

1.3 The Regulations applicable to any students resitting by virtue of these Regulations shall be the Regulations in force at the time of their resits.

2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ASSESSMENT BOARD

2.1 The Assessment Board for the Programme (“the Board”) shall comprise the following voting members:

(i) the President (ex officio); (ii) the Deputy President and Provost (ex officio);(iii) the Vice-Presidents (ex officio);(iv) the Dean of The City Law School (ex officio); (v) the Chair of the Board;(vi) the Assistant Dean, Professional Programmes of The City Law School; (vii) the Associate Dean Education of The City Law School;(viii) the Programme Director;(ix) the internal examiners; and(x) the external examiners.

2.2 The Chair of the Board (“the Chair”) shall be the Chair of the Board of Studies or his or her nominee.

2.3 The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be one third of the non ex officio voting members. If the Assessment Board is not quorate, it will not have the power to make decisions on final awards and must be arranged at the earliest opportunity and a report made to Student and Academic Services.

2.4 A member of staff must in good time disclose to the School Head of Academic Services any close acquaintanceship or family relationship they may have with a person registered as a student on the Programme or other situation that may give rise to a conflict of interest. Arrangements shall be made following such a disclosure to ensure that the member of staff does not mark any script or performance where there may be a conflict of interest. A member of staff shall not normally attend any meeting of the Board at which a close acquaintance or relative is to be considered by the Board, or where there may be a conflict of interest. Any member of the Board who considers himself or herself to be in such a position shall seek the advice of the Chair.

2.5 The Deputy President & Provost or his or her nominee, and a representative of the BSB may be present at each meeting of the Board.

2.6 The principal duties and powers of the Board shall be:

(i) to agree the marks and grades obtained by each student in the assessments and their overall profiles;

(ii) to consider complaints regarding assessment raised in accordance with the protocol implementing Regulation 5.2(iv);

(iii) to consider applications for extensions under Regulation 11 or to defer under Regulation 12;(iv) to consider Extenuating Circumstances applications in accordance with Regulation 14;(v) to determine the action to be taken where a student fails to complete some or all of the

requirements set out in these Regulations;(vi) to note the reports of panels constituted under Regulation 16 in respect of cheating,

plagiarism or other misconduct, including penalties imposed by panels under Regulation 16.10, and to impose penalties under Regulation 16.11;

(vii) to recommend to Senate:a. those who shall be certified as having completed the Programme (and their overall

grades) and who shall be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies or the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies (with specialism) or the LLM in Bar Vocational Studies and their classification;

b. those who shall be permitted to resit or resubmit any assessments in accordance with Regulations 5.12, 7.8 or 8.7; and

c. those who fail the Programme.(viii) to authorise the release of results to candidates and to interested parties;(ix) to consider issues of principle pertaining to the assessment process raised by voting

members; and(x) to report any recommendations concerning the assessment process to the Board of Studies.

2.7 The Board shall have a secretary whose duties shall include taking minutes of proceedings of the Board, and recording final grades and awards.

2.8 Subject to any directions given by the Board of Studies, the Board may from time to time delegate to sub-committees of the Board consisting of its members, or consisting of its members and others co- opted for the purpose, any of the powers conferred upon it by these Regulations, and may from time to time revoke any such delegation.

2.9 Without prejudice to Regulation 2.8, the Board may from time to time delegate to the Chair any of the powers conferred upon it by these Regulation and may from time to time revoke any such delegation.

2.10 If any issue before the Board is treated as a question of principle by the external examiners present at the time, the view of a majority of those external examiners on that issue shall prevail. All other issues shall be decided by a simple majority of those attending and voting at the meeting.

2.11 The Board may recommend to the Board of Studies for approval by Senate such amendments to these Regulations as appear necessary from time to time.

2.12 The Chair shall sign off the results after the Board’s decisions are finalised. A list of candidates successfully completing the Vocational Component must be notified to the BSB and to the students’ Inns of Court.

3. THE PROGRAMME

3.1 The Programme comprises the following components:

(i) the Vocational Component;(ii) the Specialist Practice Component; and(iii) the Dissertation Component.

3.2 Students who enrol on the Programme must register on one of three award routes:

(i) the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies (which requires completion of the Vocational Component only);

(ii) the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies with specialism (which requires completion of the Vocational and Specialist Practice Components); or

(iii) the LLM in Bar Vocational Studies (which requires completion of the Vocational Component, the Specialist Practice Component and the Dissertation component).

3.3 Upon successful completion of their chosen award route students shall be eligible for the award specified in Regulation 3.2 for their chosen route.

3.4 Where a student is registered on the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies with specialism or the LLM in Bar Vocational Studies award routes, the award shall specify the specialist area of practice from which the elective modules were selected.

Final Award Classifications

3.5 Marks for the Professional Ethics assessment and the Legal Research assessment shall not be counted in calculating a student’s overall grade.

3.6 Subject to Regulation 3.5, (i) a student’s mark for each assessment shall be weighted based on the credits available for

that module shown in Annex A of these Regulations;(ii) the marks so ascertained shall be aggregated to give an overall percentage.

3.7 A student’s award shall be classified as follows:

(i) Distinction, if the overall percentage is at least 80%;(ii) Merit, if the overall percentage is at least 70% but less than 80%;(iii) Competent, if the overall percentage is at least 60% but less than 70%;

provided in all cases that the student has achieved grades of Competent in the Professional Ethics assessment and the Legal Research assessment and has passed all other assessments in all components of the route on which they are registered.

3.8 Subject to Regulation 18, students who fail without a further right of resit or resubmission one or more modules on the route for which they are registered shall be eligible for awards as follows:

(i) a student who fails the Dissertation Component may be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies (with specialism) if they have passed all modules in the Vocational and Specialist Practice Components;

(ii) a student who fails the Dissertation Component and the Specialist Practice Component may be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies if they have passed all modules in the Vocational Component;

(iii) a student who fails to complete any of the components but attains not less than 60 credits from any modules on the route they have chosen, calculated in accordance with Annex A of these Regulations, may be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Law Studies. This award does not satisfy the requirements of any legal regulatory body in the UK nor will it give a student any practising rights as a lawyer.

3.9 A student who does not fulfil the requirements of Regulations 3.7 or 3.8 shall be classified as Fail.

4. THE VOCATIONAL COMPONENT

4.1 The Vocational Component shall comprise 10 assessed modules as follows:

(i) Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution (“the Civil Test”);

(ii) Criminal Litigation, Evidence & Sentencing (“the Criminal Test”);(iii) Professional Ethics (“the Ethics Test”); (iv) Advocacy: Submissions;(v) Advocacy: Examination-in-Chief;(vi) Advocacy: Cross-Examination;(vii) Conference Skills;(viii) Drafting Skills;(ix) Opinion Writing; and(x) Legal Research.

4.2 The Civil and Criminal Tests shall be set and marked by the Central Examination Board (“CEB”) of the BSB, and the marks published by the CEB for each student shall be adopted by the Board.

4.3 The remaining 8 modules, as listed in Regulation 4.1, shall be set and marked by the City Law School as an Authorised Education and Training Organisation. Marking shall be in accordance with the BSB’s published common assessment criteria.

4.4 All modules shall be assessed in English.

4.5 Students are not permitted to wear, or have with them, any kind of wrist watch in any timed invigilated assessment.

The Civil and Criminal Tests

4.6 The Civil Test shall be divided into 2 parts, taken separately, as follows:

(i) Part 1 shall be a closed book examination lasting 2 hours comprising multiple choice and single best answer questions;

(ii) Part 2 shall be an open book examination lasting 2 hours comprising multiple choice and single best answer questions and may include rolling case scenarios. The permitted material for the examination will be The White Book.

4.7 The Criminal Test shall be a closed book examination lasting 3 hours, comprising multiple choice and single best answer questions and totalling 75 questions in all.

4.8 Questions in the Civil and Criminal Tests will be set by reference to the BSB’s published syllabuses.

The Ethics Test

4.9 The Ethics Test shall be a closed book examination lasting 2 hours, comprising multiple choice and single best answer questions and totalling 40 questions in all.

4.10 Questions in the Ethics Test shall be set by reference to the BSB’s published learning outcomes for the vocational component of training in Professional Ethics.

Skills Module Assessments

Drafting Skills

4.11 The Drafting Skills Module shall be assessed by an unseen written examination lasting 3 hours 30 minutes.

4.12 Prior to the examination, students will be given written notification of specific areas of legal or technical knowledge required for the assessment.

Other Skills Module Assessments

4.13 The skills module assessments listed in Regulation 4.14 shall be by seen exercises, issued to students in advance of the date of submission or performance.

4.14 Particular skills module assessments shall be as follows:

(i) Advocacy: Submissions: students shall be required to submit a written skeleton argument and later to perform a recorded time-limited oral application in relation to the same matter;

(ii) (1) Advocacy: Examination in Chief and (2) Advocacy: Cross Examination: students shall be required to perform a recorded time-limited demonstration of appropriate witness handling skills, with an actor taking the role of witness;

(iii) Conference Skills: students shall be required to perform a recorded time-limited demonstration of the skills of advising a lay client in a conference, with an actor taking the role of client;

(iv) Opinion Writing: students shall be required to submit Counsel’s Opinion in writing in accordance with Instructions to Counsel within 1 calendar week from the date of issue of the exercise;

(v) Legal Research: students shall be required to submit a written research note within 1 calendar week from the date of issue of the exercise, using the same assessment papers as those provided for the Opinion Writing module assessment.

Pervasive Skills

4.15 In any skills module assessment, in addition to the skill tested, a student may be required to demonstrate:

(i) knowledge and comprehension of Professional Ethics, Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Criminal Litigation, Evidence, Sentencing, Remedies, and relevant areas of substantive law;

(ii) competence in the skills of case preparation, case analysis, fact management and legal research.

Permitted Materials in Time-limited Skills Module Assessments

4.16 Students shall be entitled to take into any time-limited skills module assessment numerical calculators, but not any other kind of electronic, digital or telephonic device, or any device giving access to documents or information or which enables communication unless expressly authorised in writing in advance by the School for the particular assessment.

4.17 Students shall be permitted to take into any time-limited skills module assessment the following documentary material only:

(i) copies of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice, the White Book Service, The Jackson ADR Handbook, The City Law School manuals, The Modern Law of Evidence, A Practical Approach to Civil Procedure and any other materials of any kind provided for them by The City Law School for use on the Programme or in assessments;

(ii) any personal written or type-written annotations to such materials, whether made in classes or in private study and research and whether written on such materials or on separate sheets of paper;

(iii) any personal written or type-written work undertaken, or any photo-copies or printouts made, in preparation for any part of the Programme, including assessments;

(iv) any personal written or type-written research notes; and(v) English language and English language/foreign language dictionaries.

5. THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

5.1 Regulations 4.2 and 4.3 shall apply to the setting and marking of assessments.

5.2 For assessments to which Regulation 4.3 applies, the City Law School shall obtain approval by the Board of Studies for, and implement, formal protocols in relation to the following matters:

(i) setting, scrutiny and validation (including validation by an external examiner) of all assessment exercises;

(ii) marking of skills module assessments in accordance with the BSB’s published common assessment criteria;

(iii) moderation, re-marking and scrutiny of marks by an external examiner;(iv) investigation of complaints by students regarding the way in which an assessment was

conducted.

Assessment Pass Standard

5.3 Subject to Regulations 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6, a student shall pass an assessment by obtaining at least 60% of the available marks.

5.4 A standard setting process based on the overall difficulty of the questions (using a criterion-referenced standard setting technique) may be conducted by the CEB in order to determine the pass threshold for the Civil and Criminal Tests so the mark required to achieve the pass standard may differ between sittings.

5.5 For the avoidance of doubt, Parts 1 and 2 of the Civil Test together constitute a single assessment, and accordingly: (i) standard setting by the CEB shall be used to determine the pass threshold for the assessment as a whole only; (ii) a student who fails to attain an aggregated mark of at least 60% for the assessment as a whole, as ascertained after standard setting, shall be required to resit both Parts of the Civil Test.

5.6 A student who has gained sufficient marks in order to pass an assessment shall nevertheless fail an assessment if the submission or performance is found to contain a fatal flaw, which includes (but is not limited to):

(i) a significant and grave error of law or procedure;(ii) an error in legal or case analysis that is so clearly incorrect that it would put the interests of

the client(s) at risk;(iii) an error in legal or case analysis that is so clearly incorrect that it puts the barrister at risk of

liability for negligence or a disciplinary finding.

5.7 A student who fails one only of the linked Legal Research and Opinion Writing Skills assessments shall be required to resit only the failed assessment.

5.8 If a student fails to attain a pass mark in any assessment, the Board has no power to permit condonation or compensation in respect of such failure.

Assessment Grades

5.9 The grades available for the Ethics Test and the Legal Research assessment shall be Competent and Not Competent.

5.10 Subject to Regulation 5.9, the grades available for each assessment shall be Distinction, Merit, Competent and Not Competent.

5.11 Grade descriptors and the relationship between marks and grades are set out in Annex B of these Regulations.

Resitting Assessments

5.12 A student who has failed at the first attempt one or more of the assessments in the Vocational Component shall be entitled to 2 further attempts to pass the assessment(s) failed.

5.13 Subject to Regulation 12, a student eligible to resit shall be required to attempt all the assessments they have not passed at the first available opportunity.

5.14 Unless a specific decision is made by the Board, the content, form, duration and timing of any assessment that a student is required to resit shall be determined in accordance with the Assessment Regulations in force at the time the resit attempt is made.

5.15 A student who passes a resit assessment shall be awarded the minimum number of marks required to pass the assessment, irrespective of the standard attained, unless under these Regulations the resit is counted as a first attempt.

5.16 For the avoidance of doubt, a student who has passed an assessment shall not be entitled to resit that assessment under any circumstances.

6. COMPLETION OF THE VOCATIONAL COMPONENT

6.1 Subject to Regulation 6.3, the Board shall recommend that a student who has passed at a first attempt or in a resit each of the assessments comprising the Vocational Component be certified as eligible for Call to the Bar of England & Wales.

6.2 The City Law School shall at the earliest opportunity notify a student’s Inn of Court of the completion of the Vocational Component, in accordance with Regulation 2.12.

Time Limit for Completion

6.3 In order to be eligible for Call to the Bar, a student must complete the Vocational Component within 5 years of the date of enrolment on the Programme.

6.4 A student shall be barred from exercising any right to resit available under Regulation 5.12 or deferring a resit under Regulation 12 beyond the time limit in Regulation 6.3 above.

7. THE SPECIALIST PRACTICE COMPONENT

Assessment Process

7.1 Subject to Regulation 7.3, each module in the Specialist Practice Component shall be assessed by a seen exercise requiring demonstration of professional legal skills.

7.2 Assessment exercises and criteria to be used in marking shall be issued to students in advance of the date of submission or performance for each of the elective modules.

7.3 For assessment in a Clinical Elective Module a student shall be required to submit a portfolio which typically includes an analytical section and a reflective section.

7.4 The protocols set out in Regulation 5.2 shall apply to the Specialist Practice Component subject to the modification that marking shall be in accordance with approved criteria appropriate for the skill(s) tested by the assessment exercise.

Assessment Pass Standard and Grades

7.5 A student shall pass an elective module by obtaining at least 60% of the available marks.

7.6 The grades available for each elective module shall be Distinction, Merit, Competent and Not Competent.

7.7 Grade descriptors and the relationship between marks and grades are set out in Annex B of these Regulations.

Resitting Assessments

7.8 Subject to Regulations 7.9 and 7.10, Regulations 5.12 to 5.16 inclusive shall apply to students who fail an elective module assessment in the same manner as they apply to students who fail assessments in the Vocational Component.

7.9 If a student fails at the first attempt one of the Clinical Elective module assessments the student shall have two opportunities to resubmit the portfolio for the failed module.

7.10 Students must complete the specialist practice component within 5 years of the date of enrolment on the programme.

8 THE DISSERTATION COMPONENT

8.1 A student who undertakes the Dissertation Component shall submit by a specified date a 7,500-10,000-word dissertation based on independent research and critical reflection.

Assessment Process

8.2 Dissertations shall be marked in accordance with approved criteria issued to students in advance of the date of submission.

8.3 The protocols set out in Regulation 5.2(iii) and (iv) shall apply to the Dissertation Component.

Assessment Pass Standard and Grades

8.4 A student shall pass the Dissertation Component by obtaining at least 60% of the available marks for the Dissertation.

8.5 The grades available for the Dissertation Component shall be Distinction, Merit, Competent and Not Competent.

8.6 Grade descriptors and the relationship between marks and grades are set out in Annex D of these Regulations.

Resubmission of the Dissertation Component

8.7 Subject to Regulation 8.11, a student who has failed at first submission the Dissertation Component shall be entitled to one opportunity to resubmit the Dissertation. The resubmission shall be on the same topic as the first submission.

8.8 Subject to Regulation 12, a student eligible to resubmit shall be required to do so at the first available opportunity.

8.9 A student who passes the Dissertation Component on resubmission shall be awarded the minimum number of marks required to pass, irrespective of the standard attained, unless under these Regulations the resubmission is counted as a first submission.

8.10 For the avoidance of doubt, a student who has passed the Dissertation Component shall not be entitled to resubmit under any circumstances.

8.11 Students must complete the Dissertation component within 5 years of the date of enrolment on the programme.

GENERAL REGULATIONS

9. NON-ATTENDANCE, NON-SUBMISSION AND NON-COMPLIANCE

9.1 Subject to Regulations 12 and 14, a student who in relation to any assessment comprised in the Vocational or Specialist Practice Component, or the Dissertation Component:

(i) fails to attend for assessment on the required date, or(ii) fails to submit work on or before the required date, or(iii) submits work late,

shall be deemed to have failed that assessment with a mark of zero.

9.2 Subject to Regulation 11, work for any Component submitted late shall not be marked.

9.3 Written work submitted for a Vocational or Specialist Practice Component assessment must not exceed any stated word or page limit. Where this Regulation is breached, only the words or pages starting with the first page up to the word or page limit shall be marked.

9.4 Students shall not be permitted to re-submit or correct, amend, substitute or supplement work for an assessment in any component once it has been submitted.

10. BARS ON TAKING ASSESSMENTS

10.1 A student shall not be permitted to attempt any assessment comprised in the Vocational or Specialist Practice Components or to submit a Dissertation, whether as a first attempt or by resit or resubmission, at any time when he or she:

(i) is not a member of an Inn;(ii) is subject to a pending investigation into his or her conduct under Regulation 16; (iii) is treated as having failed the Programme under Regulation 16.11;(iv) has been required to withdraw from the Programme; or(v) has been expelled or suspended from City, University of London.

11. EXTENSION OF TIME

11.1 This Regulation applies without distinction to first attempts or submissions and to resit attempts or resubmissions.

11.2 The Board may grant a student an extension of time for a defined period not exceeding 7 days for submission of a seen written assessment or a written part of a seen assessment or submission of a Clinical Elective Module assessment or Dissertation if satisfied there is a good reason for allowing additional time.

11.3 The Board shall consider an application for an extension of time under Regulation 11.2 only if the student has delivered a completed Extension Form, together with any supporting medical or other

documentation as appropriate, to The City Law School Office no later than 2 working days before the submission date.

11.4 The Board shall under no circumstances consider Extension Forms and/or supporting evidence delivered to the School Office later than 2 working days before the submission date.

11.5 When an application for an extension under Regulation 11.2 has been refused, the student shall submit the required work by the relevant submission date, and if the student fails to do so shall be treated as having failed the assessment under Regulation 9.1.

12. DEFERRAL

12.1 Except as indicated, this Regulation shall apply without distinction to first and resit attempts at any module in the Vocational or Specialist Practice Components and to submissions and resubmissions of the Dissertation.

12.2 If a student can establish, to the satisfaction of the Board, that there is a good reason which will prevent the student from attending one or more assessments or submitting work for one or more modules , the Board may permit the student to attend or to submit such work at a later assessment cycle, provided that, in the case of assessments for the Vocational Component, the period specified in Regulation 6.3 will not have expired on or before that time.

12.3 The Board shall consider an application for deferral only if the student has completed and delivered a Defer ra l Form to The City Law School Office no later than the applicable time limit, which shall be:

(i) where the application relates to deferral of assessments in the Vocational or Specialist Practice Components due to be taken between September and June, 21 calendar days before the first relevant assessment date, which shall be the date of issue of the exercise or instructions in the case of a seen or clinical elective module assessment and the date of the examination in the case of an unseen assessment.

(ii) where the application relates to deferral of assessments to be taken in July or August, 2 working days before the School’s published date for commencement of the Summer assessment cycle;

(iii) where the application relates to deferral of submission or resubmission of the Dissertation, 21 calendar days before the required date for submission.

12.4 The Board shall under no circumstances consider an application for deferral under Regulation 12.2 unless a completed Deferral Form has been delivered in accordance with the time limit.

12.5 Medical or other supporting evidence should be delivered to the City Law School Office at the same time as the Deferral Form or as soon as practicable afterwards. The Board may reject applications for lack of supporting evidence or where the evidence is incomplete.

12.6 For the avoidance of doubt, the Board, having considered an application under this Regulation, may grant in full or in part the deferral sought.

Effect of Deferral

12.7 When an application to defer an assessment under th is Regulation is granted, the student shall not be permitted to attempt or submit work for the relevant module(s) until the deferred date granted by the Board for the relevant assessment(s).

12.8 An attempt made in accordance with Regulation 12.7 shall be counted in the same manner as the attempt that has been deferred.

12.9 When, or to the extent that, an application under this Regulation has been refused, the student shall not be permitted to defer and shall be required to submit the relevant assessment(s) or to attend the relevant assessment(s) or to submit a Dissertation by or on the required date(s). A student who fails to do so shall, subject to Regulation 11.2, be treated as having failed by non-attendance or non-submission under Regulation 9.1.

13. FITNESS TO SIT

13.1 This Regulation applies to any attempt at an assessment.

13.2 At commencement of each unseen assessment or performance of each seen assessment or on

submission of written work for a seen assessment or dissertation, a student shall be required to declare in writing that at that time there are no reasons known to the student which would or might:

(i) affect his or her fitness to sit that assessment; and/or (ii) be relied upon as extenuating circumstances in an application under Regulation 14.

13.3 A student who refuses to provide such a declaration in writing shall be:

(i) prevented from taking the assessment at that time; and (ii) entitled to make an application regarding non-performance or non-submission under

Regulation 14. 13.4 For the avoidance of doubt,

(i) a refusal to provide such a declaration shall not alone be treated as an application for extenuating circumstances but may be relied upon in any application regarding non-performance or non-submission made in accordance with Regulation 14;

(ii) subject to Regulation 13.3(i), a student who attends or submits work for an assessment shall by so doing be deemed to have made a declaration of fitness.

13.5 Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the Board shall not consider an application under

Regulation 14 regarding impaired performance from a student who attends or submits work for an assessment. Examples of exceptional circumstances include (but are not limited to):

(i) acute illness that arises during a time-limited examination or performance; and (ii) a latent condition or disability which was in existence at a material time, but not apparent to

the student or diagnosed until after the date of the assessment, performance or submission.

14. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

14.1 Relief under this Regulation may be given in respect of all Components of the Programme but is subject to the time limit specified in Regulation 6.3 for assessments comprised in the Vocational Component.

14.2 Subject to Regulation 13, i f a student establishes to the satisfaction of the Board that there were extenuating circumstances which impaired performance in an assessment, or that there was some good reason which prevented him or her from attending or submitting work (on time or at all) for an assessment, the Board may set aside that attempt if the student would otherwise fail the assessment or be treated as having failed the assessment under these Regulations and permit the student to make that attempt at a later assessment cycle.

14.3 The Board shall consider any extenuating circumstances under Regulation 14.2 only if the student has submitted a completed Extenuating Circumstances Form:

(ii) within 7 days after the assessment date, ignoring any period of extension granted under Regulation 11; or

(ii) Subject to Regulation 14.4, if there are exceptional circumstances to justify the delay, more than 7 days after the assessment date.

14.4 The Board shall not normally consider applications under Regulation 14.2 if made after the date of release to the applicant of provisional or final results for the relevant assessment(s).

14.5 Extenuating Circumstances Forms delivered under Regulation 14.3 must state the full grounds of the application, and, where appropriate, explain any delay.

14.6 Medical or other supporting evidence should be delivered to the City Law School Office at the same time as the Extenuating Circumstances Form, or as soon as practicable afterwards. The Board may reject applications for lack of supporting evidence or where the evidence is incomplete.

15. DISABILITY AND SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFERENCES

15.1 Students with disabilities or specific learning differences must notify the School at the earliest possible time, and preferably before registration for the Programme, of any disability or specific learning difference that may affect their ability to undertake or perform in assessments and/or which may require reasonable adjustments to the arrangements for any of the assessments. Students must provide written evidence, including medical evidence, of their condition to the School for this purpose.

15.2 Arrangements shall be made in cases where reasonable adjustments are required in accordance with

the University’s written policy on disabilities and specific learning differences, and, where appropriate, in consultation with the BSB. Adjustments may include (but are not limited to) additional or alternative facilities, extra time, or modifications to the assessment.

15.3 No adjustment shall be made where a disability or specific learning difference is notified to the School without giving reasonable notice before the assessment. What amounts to a reasonable time is a question of fact depending on the circumstances of the case, any inquiries that may be needed by the School, and the nature of the adjustments proposed or required. Applications must comply with any deadlines for particular assessments which have been published or notified by the School.

16. CHEATING, PLAGIARISM AND OTHER MISCONDUCT

16.1 Cheating includes:

(i) copying, stealing, appropriation or use of the work of another;(ii) attempting to copy, steal or appropriate or use the work of another;(iii) permitting or assisting another to copy, appropriate or use one’s own work;(iv) taking into the Ethics Test, the Civil Test or the Criminal Test any materials or aids, except

as permitted by Regulation 4.6;(v) taking into or using in any time-limited skills module assessment any materials or aids or

electrical or mechanical devices other than those permitted by Regulations 4.16 and 4.17; (vi) fabrication of data in any assessment;(vii) any form of impersonation; and(viii) using, attempting to use, assisting another to use or attempting to assist another to use any

other unfair, improper or dishonest method to gain advantage in any part of the formal assessment process.

16.2 Plagiarism includes:

(i) presenting work which has been copied or paraphrased from the work of another without attribution or as if it were one’s own work;

(ii) permitting or assisting another to present work which has been copied or paraphrased from one’s own work without attribution or as if it were that other’s work;

(iii) discussing with any other person any seen assessment prior to submission of the work or performance; and

(iv) giving to or receiving from any other person assistance of any kind in the preparation of any seen assessment.

16.3 Misconduct includes:

(i) conduct in an assessment centre which, in the opinion of the chief invigilator, invigilator or other official appointed to control the conduct of students in such a centre, is such as to cause disturbance to other students or to affect the proper running of the assessment;

(ii) communicating or attempting to communicate with any other student during an assessment supervised by an invigilator;

(iii) removal from an assessment centre of any multiple-choice question or single-best-answer question test paper, test answer sheet or answer book;

(iv) writing in or attaching to any written work submitted, any answer sheet or any answer book, or recording on any video or disc, any message or appeal to an examiner;

(v) the theft or concealment of any book which is the property of The City Law School or of City, University of London, or the theft, defacement or removal of any page from any such book;

(vi) damage to, or the theft or concealment of, any device on which information may be stored or recorded, computer or computer equipment which is the property of The City Law School or of City, University of London, or the corruption or deletion of any data stored in or on any such property; and

(vii) attending or submitting work for any assessment when ineligible to do so under theseRegulations.

16.4 An examiner, chief invigilator, invigilator or other official (as described in Regulation 16.3) shall report without delay his or her suspicions of cheating, plagiarism or misconduct, together with any relevant evidence, to the Director of Assessments.

16.5 Pursuant to Regulation 16.4 the Director of Assessments shall order an enquiry by a disciplinary panel if he or she considers that there is a case to answer. Such an order shall be deemed to extend to any

other assessment taken by the student.

16.6 Pending an enquiry into any allegation of cheating, plagiarism or misconduct by a student, the student’s name may be withheld from publication in any Pass List.

16.7 A disciplinary panel shall conduct an enquiry to determine whether the allegations can be proved on a balance of probabilities.

16.8 In conducting an enquiry under Regulation 16.7:

(i) the disciplinary panel shall give the student information on the nature of the suspicions being investigated, which may be amended;

(ii) the disciplinary panel shall give the student information concerning how the enquiry is to be conducted;

(iii) the student shall be provided with the relevant examiner’s report, scripts and any other relevant materials;

(iv) the student shall be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the suspicions being investigated;

(v) students shall provide the disciplinary panel on request with all documents (meaning anything in or on which information of any description is recorded, including electronic documents and data, copies and different versions of documents) and/or information relevant to the enquiry;

(vi) the disciplinary panel has complete discretion on whether any, and if so what, questions should be put to or answered by the student and/or any other persons, including when and in what form this should be done;

(vii) the strict rules of evidence shall not apply;(viii) the disciplinary panel has complete discretion over whether and to what extent the panel

should itself take the initiative in ascertaining the facts and matters under investigation;(ix) the disciplinary panel may draw adverse inferences from any failure by a student to

respond to questions, requests for information, or requests for documents or data;(x) not less than 5 business days’ notice of any hearing shall be given to the student;(xi) a hearing may proceed, and findings may be made, in the absence of the student,

provided that notice of the hearing was transmitted to the student in accordance with this Regulation;

(xii) communications with the student shall be deemed to be effective on the second business day after transmission if transmitted to the last known home or email address of the student as held by the University; and

(xiii) for the purposes of this Regulation business days means any day except Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

16.9 If any allegation of cheating, plagiarism or misconduct is proved on a balance of probabilities:

(i) the findings of the panel shall be reported to the Benchers of the student’s Inn for such disciplinary action as they may think appropriate (including reference to the Inns’ Conduct Committee) and shall also be notified to the BSB; and

(ii) subject to Regulation 16.10, the disciplinary panel shall report its findings to the Board together with a recommendation on the appropriate penalty or penalties.

16.10 If a student admits an allegation of breach of Regulations 16.1, 16.2 and/or 16.3 to a disciplinary panel on first being notified of the allegation and accepts the disciplinary panel’s proposed penalties under Regulations 16.9(i) and 16.11, such proposed penalties shall take effect immediately.

16.11 On a finding of cheating, plagiarism or misconduct either the disciplinary panel under Regulation 16.10 or the Board on a report under Regulation 16.9(ii) may impose any one or more of the following penalties upon the student (in addition to reporting the matter to the Benchers of the student’s Inn and the BSB under Regulation 16.9(i)):

(i) treating the student as having failed the Programme;(ii) a reduction of the total marks in the formal assessment process and/or overall grade; (iii) a reduction of any mark and/or grade awarded for the assessment in question;(iv) treating the student as having failed to attend or having failed to submit work for the

assessment in question, and capping any resit in the assessment at a bare pass;(v) a formal warning that further offences will be treated less leniently and that the offence will

be recorded in the student’s academic record.

16.12 Where a penalty is imposed under Regulation 16.11(i), the student shall be deemed to have failed all Components of the Programme without any right of resit, resubmission or appeal under these

Regulations, except as provided under Regulations 16.16 and 16.17.

16.13 Where a penalty is imposed under Regulation 16.11(i), the penalty shall take account of the stage that the student has reached on the Programme and in the assessment process and may take any of the following forms:

(i) requiring the student to withdraw from the components of the Programme for which the student has registered, thereby rendering the student ineligible to attend any further classes, timetabled activities or supervision, or to make attempts at all future assessments comprised in any such component;

(ii) refusing to recommend the student for an award under Regulation 3.3 or 6.1; when the student would otherwise be eligible for such a recommendation;

(iii) refusing to notify the student’s Inn of completion of the Vocational Component under Regulation 6.2, when the student would otherwise be eligible for such notification;

(iv) refusing the student permission to make further attempts at any part of the assessment process, which he or she would otherwise be eligible and required to make.

16.14 The disciplinary panel shall report its findings and any penalty imposed or recommended penalty to the Board at the earliest opportunity.

16.15 There is no right of appeal against any penalty or penalties accepted by the student under Regulation 16.10.

16.16 Subject to Regulations 16.15 and 16.17, a student may appeal against a finding under Regulation 16 by using the procedure under City, University of London’s Senate Regulation 20 (“Senate Regulation 20”).

16.17 At Stage 1 of the Senate Regulation 20 process, the only possible outcomes of Initial Scrutiny are:

(i) returned with an opportunity for the student to resubmit the appeal within 14 calendar days;(ii) rejected because the form was incomplete, incorrect, not accompanied by supporting

evidence, or did not demonstrate grounds of appeal; or(iii) referred for consideration by a School Appeal Panel.

17. CLERICAL CHECK OF MARKS

17.1 Students wishing to seek a clerical check of their mark or marks for an assessment in any component of the Programme to ensure that the marks have been calculated correctly shall do so in accordance with the procedures laid down by Senate, which shall be notified to each student with the marks.

17.2 Students wishing to seek an enhanced clerical check of any mark or marks for the Civil Test or the Criminal Test shall do so in accordance with the procedures laid down by the CEB of the BSB.

18. APPEALS

18.1 Subject to Regulation 18.2, appeals will be considered under Senate Regulation 20.

18.2 Rights of appeal are subject to Regulation 6.3 in so far as they concern the Vocational Component and shall not be exercised outside the time limit for completion of the Vocational Component.

ANNEX A: ALLOCATION OF CREDITS

VOCATIONAL COMPONENT

ASSESSMENT CREDITS

ADVOCACY: SUBMISSIONS (seen) 10 CREDITS

ADVOCACY: EXAMINATION IN CHIEF 10 CREDITS

ADVOCACY: CROSS EXAMINATION 10 CREDITS

CIVIL LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION 20 CREDITS

CRIMINAL LITIGATION, SENTENCING & CRIMINAL EVIDENCE 15 CREDITS

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 10 CREDITS

OPINION WRITING 15 CREDITS

LEGAL RESEARCH 5 CREDITS

DRAFTING - 15 CREDITS

CONFERENCE SKILLS 10 CREDITS

VOCATIONAL COMPONENT TOTAL 120 CREDITS

SPECIALIST PRACTICE COMPONENT

ASSESSMENT CREDITS

ELECTIVE MODULE 1 15 CREDITS

ELECTIVE MODULE 2 15 CREDITS

SPECIALIST PRACTICE COMPONENT TOTAL 30 CREDITS

DISSERTATION COMPONENT

ASSESSMENT CREDITS

DISSERTATION 30 CREDITS

DISSERTATION COMPONENT TOTAL 30 CREDITS

ANNEX B: GRADE DESCRIPTORS FOR VOCATIONAL COMPONENT AND ELECTIVE MODULE ASSESSMENTS AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKS AND GRADES

Grading Descriptor Required % Code

Distinction Additionally to Merit, demonstrates very high level knowledge and skills - with imagination, originality or flair, based on proficiency in all the learning outcomes, and providing realistic professional advice or performance Work is comprehensively and very well researched, and argued.

80-100% D

Merit Additionally to Competent, demonstrates high level awareness and understanding of the knowledge and skills required, such as the ability to identify and debate critical issues or problems, ability to solve non-routine problems, ability to adapt and apply ideas to new situations, and ability to invent and evaluate new ideas to a standard of competence such that a client could reasonably rely on.

70-79.9% M

Competent Work is satisfactory and accurate with few errors or omissions, and is of a standard that demonstrates an ability to perform the sort of tasks appropriate to pupillage. Has attained the specified learning outcomes of the course (in terms of knowledge of fundamental concepts and performance of skills). Demonstrates sufficient quality to be considered satisfactory and competent in terms of fitness to progress to the pupillage stage of training. Able, with the additional training and supervision in pupillage, to represent lay clients/members of the public.

60-69.9% C

NotCompetent

Does not satisfy the threshold requirements of the course. Work is inarticulate and of poor standard, faulty and badly expressed. The candidate is assessed as not capable of producing work on which a prospective client could rely.

0-59.9% NC

NB: The above table is subject to compliance with Regulation 5.6

ANNEX C: LIST OF ELECTIVE MODULES FOR THE SPECIALIST PRACTICE COMPONENT

Students must take two modules from the list for their specialist component, save that they may only take one of the Clinical Elective modules, indicated with an asterisk (*).

Advanced Advocacy Skills 1. Advanced Criminal Advocacy 2. Advanced Civil Advocacy 3. Free Representation Unit: Employment* 4. Free Representation Unit: Social Security* 5. Domestic Violence*.

Advanced Criminal Practice 1. Crown Court Practice 2. Fraud & Economic Crime 3. Advanced Criminal Advocacy

Commercial Chancery Practice 1. Commercial Property 2. Company & Insolvency

Corporate Law and Practice 1. Company & Insolvency 2. Fraud & Economic Crime

Employment Law and Practice 1. Employment Law & Practice 2. Employment Tribunal Advocacy & Practice 3. Free Representation Unit: Employment*

Family Law and Practice 1. Family Law 2. Family Dispute Resolution 3. Domestic Violence*.

International Dispute Resolution 1. International Commercial Arbitration 2. International ADR

International Commercial Trade and Dispute Resolution 1. International Commercial Trade 2. International Commercial Arbitration

Advanced Civil Litigation 1. Clinical & Professional Negligence 2. Advanced Civil Advocacy

Social Justice and Public Law 1. Judicial Review 2. Mental Capacity & the Court of Protection 3. Free Representation Unit: Employment* 4. Free Representation Unit: Social Security* 5. Domestic Violence*.

ANNEX D: GRADE DESCRIPTORS FOR DISSERTATION AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKS AND GRADES

Grade Percentage/ Marks

Comment

Distinction 80 - 100% Candidate shows clear evidence of wide independent reading and thinking, and an ability to reach clear, appropriate and, where relevant, innovative conclusions. The dissertation should demonstrate excellent analytical ability and powers of critical evaluation. It should also demonstrate an ability to identify clearly key issues and themes, an excellent understanding of the relevant principles and authorities and provide logical argument and be a well-structured piece of work. There should be good use of examples to illustrate points and justify arguments, with superior understanding. Highest marks will go to work showing understanding of the needs and demands of professional legal practice.

Merit 70% - 79% Candidate shows evidence of appropriate independent reading and thinking and an ability to reach clear and appropriate conclusions. The dissertation should demonstrate analytical and evaluative ability. It should also demonstrate an ability to identify the key issues, and a good understanding of the relevant principles and authorities, with logical argument and be a well organised piece of work. There should be use of examples to demonstrate points and to justify arguments. An appreciation of the needs and demands of professional legal practice should be shown.

Competent 60 - 69% Candidate shows evidence of some independent reading and thinking and an ability to reach appropriate conclusions. The dissertation should demonstrate some analytical and evaluative ability. It should also demonstrate an ability to identify key issues adequately, and an understanding of relevant principles and authorities. There should be sufficient ability to argue logically within organised work. There should be some use of examples, and no key misunderstandings of the needs and demands of professional legal practice.

Not Competent 50% - 59% Candidate shows little evidence of independent reading or thinking and has failed to reach clear or justified conclusions. The dissertation may be descriptive, but with a lack of clear analytical or evaluative ability. There may be some identification of key issues but only partial understanding of the relevant principles and authorities and/or a failure to develop arguments and/or illustrate points.

40% - 49% Candidate may have identified some relevant issues but fails to demonstrate understanding of the relevant principles and authorities, and fails to use argument to reach conclusions. Answer displays major gaps in knowledge and/or understanding. Answer shows a failure to grasp the demands and needs of professional legal practice. Weak presentation, inaccuracies and/or irrelevant material may also characterise work in this range.

0% - 39% Answer is incomplete or incorrect to a significant extent, even if the candidate displays some understanding of the general subject.