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5. Tuition fees are payable for all programmes and are subject to review annually. Tuition fees for new and existing students are liable to increase each year as a result of review. For continuing students, any increase in the level of fee each year will be subject to a maximum percentage equivalent to the higher of the annual increase in the UK Retail Prices Index and 5%. Factors that will determine the need for, and extent of, any increase include any increase set or prescribed by regulatory bodies such as the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Government, Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and the UK Government, and/or��increases in the costs of delivering and administering the programme. Tuition fees for the forthcoming academic session are published on the QMU website well in advance of the start of that academic year. Details on tuition fees and other charges can be found on our website under Tuition Fees and Charges. All students who are continuing with their studies should review their fee rates prior to starting their next academic session. No student will be deemed to be fully matriculated until his or her tuition fees have been paid in full, or satisfactory evidence is produced that such fees will be paid by a sponsoring authority. No student will be permitted to attend a graduation ceremony, or to proceed to the next year of their programme until tuition fees for all preceding years have been paid in full. Failure to settle tuition fees by the due date may lead to a student being excluded from attendance at classes. Ensuring tuition fees are paid is the responsibility of the student and, in the event of a student’s sponsoring authority refusing or failing to make payment in full or in part, the student will be held personally liable for payment. Students will also be liable for any travel and accommodation costs incurred whilst on placement. Such costs may be paid by a sponsoring authority but should a sponsoring authority refuse or fail to do so, the student will be personally liable for such costs.

• confirm the decision of the Board of Examiners, on the grounds that the evidence presented did not support the case;
• provide the appellant with an additional first or second diet of examination, as the case may be, provided that, in upholding the appeal and granting an additional diet, the terms of the University’s Assessment Regulations are taking into consideration; or
• should it not be possible to provide an additional diet for the appealed result, to provide a suitable alternative as the Dean thinks fit and is reasonable in all the circumstances.

5.5��If a reconsideration of the student’s case gives rise to a change in the student’s progression this must be ratified, depending on how material the changes are, by:

6.1 ��If the appellant is dissatisfied with the decision at Stage 1, they may resubmit the appeal in the original or in a revised form to the University Secretary within 21 days of receipt of the response from the Dean of School.

6.2 ��The University Secretary will pass the appeal to the Deputy Principal, who, having considered the substance of the appeal and the previous attempts at resolution, will decide whether or not a prima facie case is established. If such a case is established, then the appeal will be referred to an Academic Appeals hearing.

6.3 ��Normally, an academic appeals hearing will be convened only where the Deputy Principal judges that:

• there has been demonstrably an irregularity in the proceedings at Stage 1;
• evidence has become available that it was not reasonable for the appellant to provide at��Stage 1.

6.4 ��If a prima facie case is judged not to have been established, the appeal shall fail and the student shall be duly informed in writing.

6.5 ��Exceptionally, where the Deputy Principal judges that the evidence provided at Stage 2 provides unequivocal evidence to support the academic appeal under the grounds set out in regulation 6.3, the Deputy Principal may uphold the appeal.

6.6 ��In determining under regulation 6.5 above, the Deputy Principal shall enjoy delegated powers to review a decision reached by a Board of Examiners equivalent to those provided to the Academic Appeals Committee under paragraph: 7.9 below.

3. Scope

• ensure operational effectiveness of services
• prevent a breach of the law, this policy, or other University policy
• investigate a suspected breach of the law, this policy, or other University policy
• monitor standards

Access to staff files, including electronic mail files, will not normally be given to another member of staff unless authorised by the appropriate line manager, Head of IT Services, or nominee, who will use their discretion, in consultation with a senior officer of the University, if appropriate. In such circumstances the Head of Subject or Division, or more senior line manager, will be informed and will normally be consulted prior to action being taken. Such access will normally only be granted in the following circumstances:

• where a breach of the law or a serious breach of this or another University policy is suspected;
• when a documented and lawful request from a law enforcement agency such as the police or security services has been received;
• on request from the relevant Head of Subject or Division, where the managers or co- workers of the individual require access to e-mail messages or files, which are records of a University activity and the individual is unable, e.g. through absence, to provide them.

The University sees student privacy as desirable but not as an absolute right, hence students should not expect to hold or pass information, which they would not wish to be seen by members of staff responsible for their academic work. In addition to when a breach of the law or of this policy is suspected, or when a documented and lawful request from a law enforcement agency such as the police or security services has been received, systems staff are also authorised to release the contents of a student's files, including electronic mail files, when required to by any member of staff who has a direct academic work-based reason for requiring such access.

After a student or member of staff leaves the University, files which are left behind on any computer system owned by the University, including servers and including electronic mail files, will be considered to be the property of the University. When leaving the University, staff should make arrangements to transfer to colleagues any e-mail or other computer- based information held under their account, as this will be closed on their departure.

7. Acceptable Use of ICT

University ICT and electronic resources are provided to facilitate your work as a member of the University community, specifically for educational, training, research or administrative purposes. Any other uses are a privilege and not a right and must never take priority over the needs of those who require the facilities for directed academic work.

The University does not block or filter keywords or search terms, nor does it prevent you from accessing specific sites. That does not mean however, that you can access or download pornographic or other offensive or objectionable material.

You should bear the following in mind:

• You must not share your QMU username and password with anyone else. This will result in your account being disabled immediately. For students, if your account has been disabled then you must appeal for its reinstatement. This must be done in the first instance to your Dean of School. There is no automatic reinstatement. Staff should contact Assist helpdesk.
• You must never use University ICT systems to alarm or inconvenience others.
• You must not display anything on your screen which is likely to cause offence or upset��other users. However, it is recognised that sometimes it is necessary to display material��which is medical in nature, in relation to some courses/modules.
• You must respect other people’s electronic privacy. In particular, you may not use your��QMU accounts to distribute spam and other chain emails.
• For your own security, you should be careful who you share your QMU email and other��contact details with.
• You must never pass off other people’s work as your own. The University produces a��guide to referencing, “Write and Cite” [ broken link] which is available online.
• You should not use data which is confidential or not already in the public domain in your��work without first consulting the author; there may be copyright or data protection��implications.
• You must not maliciously damage or interfere with any item of hardware.

Anyone found abusing QMU ICT systems will usually be cautioned in the first instance. Continued abuse will lead to your account being disabled. This means that you will be unable to access any of the networking and communications services. In cases of serious abuse, your account will be disabled immediately. Serious abuse includes the sharing of your username and password

All Users are advised that the University has a statutory obligation under the Counter- Terrorism and Security Act (2015) to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism’.

The Terrorism Act (2000) makes it an offence for an individual to collect or make a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism; or to possess a document or record containing information of that kind (eg a terrorist training manual). The Terrorism Act (2006) makes it an offence to disseminate terrorist publications in order to encourage others to engage in terrorism.

The Terrorism Act (2000) defines terrorism in section 1 of the Act as set out in the following

• You will ensure that all the requirements of the agreements, contracts and licences under which the Product is held by the Institution will be maintained. (Copies of the relevant agreements, contracts and licences may be seen by application to the School or Department which made the Product available).
• You will adhere to the regulations governing the use of any service involved in the provision of access to the product whether these services are controlled by this institution or by some other organisation.
• You will not remove or alter the Copyright Statement on any copies of the Product used by yourself.
• You will ensure the Security and Confidentiality of any copy released to yourself and will not make any further copies from it or knowingly permit others to do so, unless permitted to do so under the relevant licence.
• You will use the Product only for purposes defined and only on computer systems covered by the agreement, contract or licence.
• You will only incorporate the Product, or part thereof, in any work, program or article produced by yourself, where this is permitted by the licence or by "Fair Dealing".
• You will only incorporate some part or version of the Product in any work produced by yourself with the express permission of the Licensor or unless this is permitted under the Agreement.
• You will not reverse engineer or decompile the software products or attempt to do so unless this is explicitly permitted within the terms of the Agreement for the use of the Product.

You will return or destroy all copies of the Product at the end of the course/year/period of employment or when requested to do so.

11. Legal constraints

15.1 ��Know the rules

15.2 ��Keeping safe

15.3 ��What you should do if something unexpected happens

16. Recording of lectures

QMU recognises that from time to time students may wish to record lectures, seminars and tutorials for their own personal use to support their learning. As a matter of courtesy students should inform the lecturer prior to the commencement of the recording. If the student has not informed the lecturer, the lecturer may ask for the recording to be stopped.

5.1 ��The Admissions Policy is approved by the Student Experience Committee and any changes or updates will be approved by that committee. A full review of the policy in its entirety is undertaken every 5 years. The Head of Admissions and Recruitment is responsible for the operation of the policy and for its regular monitoring and review. The policy will be checked annually to ensure accuracy and to reflect any changes.

The definition of harassment in the Equality Act 2010 is wide. It is ‘where a person (A) engages in unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic and the conduct has the purpose or effect of:

(a) ��violating another person's (B's) dignity, or

(b) ��creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for B’

It should be noted that 'unwanted' does not mean that express objection has to be made, and a serious one-off incident can amount to harassment.

It is important to note that differences of personality traits or culture and the misinterpretation of social signals can mean that what is perceived as harassment by one person may not seem so to another. The defining feature, however, is that the behaviour is offensive or intimidating to the recipient, and as such would be regarded as harassment by any reasonable person. It would need to be considered that, if the purpose of the conduct was to violate the individual’s dignity or create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, then this is sufficient to establish harassment. However if harassment was not the purpose, but an individual argues that this was the effect of the conduct, the Equality Act says that in deciding whether conduct has that effect, consideration must be given to:

• the perception of the claimant;
• the other circumstances of the case; and
• whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have had that effect.

Forms of harassment involve offensive conduct or behaviour directed at a person’s racial origin, religion and beliefs (including non-belief), gender, disabilities, sexual orientation, age, family status (including their role as a carer or as a part-time worker, fixed term worker), marital status, political opinion, socio-economic status, or because they are a member of a trade union or similar associations or some other personal characteristic. It can also include the inappropriate use, or threat of use, of physical and mental power, authority or through social media.

With regard to religion and belief, it should be noted that there may be cultural differences which make some forms of behaviour generally regarded as acceptable by one group and unacceptable to another because such behaviour does not form part of the normal social interaction of that particular group.

All persons within the University should demonstrate respect for local and international cultures as well as each person’s learning needs. This refers to maintaining appropriate conduct in learning environments such as the library, lecture/seminar rooms and IT facilities as well as in Halls of Residence.

5. Summary procedure

2.1.3 Who Should Consent?

Only persons able to freely understand, question and refuse without fear of sanction or reprisal can give informed consent. For research involving participants who may lack the capacity for understanding and questioning, such as children, people with mental or intellectual difficulties, or people severely ill or heavily medicated, consent should be obtained from a parent, carer or other person serving in a responsible capacity AND from the participant themselves, to the extent that they are capable of understanding and offering consent. Ingenuity needs to be exercised in providing satisfactory consent procedures in such cases. Consent from the parent or carer alone is rarely adequate.

The freedom to refuse to participate in research is potentially threatened where there is a power imbalance between the prospective participant and the researcher, along with their perceived allies. For example, students may believe that refusing to participate in staff research will not count well for them when they are being educationally assessed. This can occur even if the researcher is not directly one of the student’s teachers. The two key methods of ensuring true refusal are:

5.0 ��INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR EXAMINATIONS

2.1 The University will seek information about character, health and disability prior to admitting students. Clear information about this will be published in the prospectus.

1.1 This procedure is not an alternative to disciplinary action, or other relevant University procedures or policies such as the Regulations Governing Discipline or Assessment Regulations. The University reserves the right to initiate other procedures where appropriate.

1.2 ��A student’s fitness to study may be considered despite the fact that other University processes have been invoked. Examples of other relevant procedures include:

• Failure to make satisfactory progress in academic studies (dealt with under the appropriate Assessment Regulations).
• Misconduct as normally defined by the University (dealt with under the Regulations Governing Discipline).

The University may refer the treatment of a student’s case out of one procedure to another to secure an appropriate response on the facts of the case but will not normally consider parallel procedures about the same substantive matter. The determination of which procedure should apply shall be made by the University Secretary.

1.3 ��The identified serious concern(s) may relate to the presence of a diagnosed illness or disability but this procedure may also be used when there is no diagnosed illness or disability, or no notification of such a diagnosis.

1.4 ��The Fitness to Study Procedure consists of three levels. Depending on the individual circumstances, this procedure may be invoked at any of the three levels.

1.5 ��If the student has been given permission for deferral of studies (leave of absence), it will ordinarily be more appropriate for the Fitness to Study Procedure to be considered once the student returns to study.

1.6 ��The principles of this policy and procedure apply to all registered students in all locations on and off campus, both in the UK and overseas.

1.7 ��If a concern regarding fitness to study arises whilst the student is on placement, the University may discuss and consider alternative arrangements with the placement provider. If it is not possible for alternative arrangements to be made, the student’s placement may be withdrawn and deferral or other adjustments considered.

1.8 ��All matters dealt with under this Procedure will be dealt with according to the individual circumstances. Whilst the University anticipates that such cases will be exceptional, it reserves the right at any level of this Procedure to vary the process it follows in dealing with a matter in the interests of fairness and/or health and safety (for example, in crisis situations, or where it is concerned that a student’s attendance at a meeting would be unduly stressful, or where the student is in hospital).

Queen Margaret University will adopt the operating methodology recommended by the United KingdomHealth and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA) – Plan /Do / Check / Act, to ensure robust leadership and operational control.

In the following model highlighting leadership responsibility, it is likely that an individual may have multiple responsibilities participating at the strategic level and enabling at the operational level reflectingtheir particular role within the University. Each role descriptor has elements of Plan / Do / Check / Act and these have been aligned to allow a targeted, proportionate and efficient approach to robust, sensible, risk control.

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4 Staff and Student’s Responsibilities for Intellectual Property

4.10 ��It is the responsibility of the owners of mains-powered equipment e.g. laptops, to have it tested for electrical safety, and their use is conditional upon the owners' acceptance of responsibility for damage to University property caused by their equipment. No floor boxes are to be used, only the designated extension units provided by the University. The University accepts no responsibility for such equipment or for data stored.

4.11 ��The University accepts no responsibility for loss or theft of, or damage to, personal belongings left anywhere in the LRC.

4.12 ��No book or other item of LRC stock may be removed from the LRC unless it has been issued via the Self Service facility or at the Helpdesk.

4.13 ��The LRC has electronic security systems to prevent the unauthorised removal of LRC materials. Users must comply with the requirements of their operation.

4.14 ��Library Services and Helpdesk staff can ask that bags, briefcases and all other containers be opened, to check for LRC materials being taken out of the LRC, whether or not the security system has been activated.

4.15 ��Users must leave the LRC immediately on hearing the fire alarm or when required to do so in any emergency. LRC users must comply with directions given by Fire Wardens and Fire Marshals.

2.3 Under extraordinary operating conditions

If the Business Continuity Group or equivalent declares that extraordinary conditions exist, then these principles may be adapted to allow for appropriate adjustments to be made that ensure teaching provisions are met. Any adjustments made should be appropriate and proportionate to the prevailing conditions (e.g. the choice to opt-in may be removed if face to face on campus delivery of lecture materials is not possible) to ensure that teaching can take place:

2.3.1 The opt-in approach may be temporarily removed in circumstances whereby it might impede the delivery of teaching e.g. where online teaching is the only option available.

2.3.2 The range of events that are categorised as being appropriate for lecture capture may be broadened if the prevailing circumstances demand it.

2.3.3 Guidance on what may be recorded (video/audio/screen) may be adapted where appropriate.

2.3.4 Content may be held for longer than two academic years, if the prevailing circumstances demand it. An important purpose of that retention is to enable staff who have recorded their lectures to access, use or repurpose their recordings in subsequent academic sessions.

2.3.5 Advice to students on the proper use of the service should be appropriate to the prevailing circumstances.

2.3.6 Any aspects of the policy that have been adapted due to extraordinary operating conditions are time limited; the Business Continuity Group must agree and announce an expiry date for any adapted policy articles.