PgDip teaching and assessment

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods will include lectures, student and tutor-led seminars, small group teaching and supervisions, guest speaker sessions, group discussions and workshops, practical sessions, transferable skills workshops, team building sessions, independent research, coursework projects, case studies, and an individual research project leading to a dissertation.

Each unit in the PgCert and PgDip years will be associated with a residential week which will be carried out in Cambridge. Students will be required to attend and engage in all the residential week sessions. Teaching outside the residential weeks will be supported by supervisions (normally online) and online resources.

Assessment

Residential week sessions

Attendance in all residential week sessions will be compulsory in principle, although a system of allowances will be in place to consider accommodating situations where this is not possible. The unit leader will confirm that students have attended and engaged in all the sessions.

Unit assessment

Units 4 to 6 will use summative assessment approaches designed to ensure experiential learning and work-based real-life relevance. The exact assessment method used will depend on the material in the unit, to match the different learning outcomes.

In Unit 6 the assessment will be in the form of a written report of between 3,000 and 4,000 words, in which the student will be required to demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of the topic areas covered in these units.In unit 6 (Healthcare systems innovation) the factors affecting research and commercial development of healthcare innovations will be considered in the report (K6), with the students being required to demonstrate the mindset and skills to follow through on a product business life cycle (S6).

Unit 4 (Patient and population health) will have a similar written report requirement of 3,000-4,000 words, where aspects of patient and public health will need to be addressed (K4), but will also include statistical or epidemiological analysis within the report (S4).

Unit 5 (Healthcare Technologies II) will be assessed using a set of short reports (three reports per unit, each of length 4 pages including figures and tables). This assessment method ensures that the range of separate topic areas in this unit is covered (K5) and that students can use their technical competence to identify scope for improvement in healthcare practice (S5).

These assessment methods and the marking structure will enable students with disparate backgrounds (e.g. engineering and medicine) to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes in a flexible way, taking advantage of their background skills and knowledge.

The PgCert, PgDip and MSt awards will be awarded either as 'Pass' or 'Distinction'. Students will be required to pass the PgCert to progress to the PgDip, and pass the PgDip to progress to the MSt. Students will exit with the highest of all awards achieved. Once awarded, a student holds that award until and unless they are readmitted to undertake the next component course in the stacked programme. On being readmitted, a student must surrender their award to the admitting body, who will arrange for delivery to the central Student Registry. Should a student subsequently fail or withdraw from the course, the Exam Board will authorise the restoration of the surrendered award. To obtain a Pass, students will be required to achieve the following components:

• mark of 60% or greater in each of units 1 to 3 (PgCert) or in each of units 1 to 6 (PgDip and MSt)
• mark of 60% or greater in the dissertation (MSt)

Cases of marginal failure (i.e. 55%-59%) in one unit may be redeemed by high performances (i.e. an average mark of over 70%) in the other units in that group, grouping units 1-3 and 4-6 together. Cases of marginal failure (i.e. 55%-59%) in the Dissertation may be redeemed by high performance in the units, i.e. a mark over 70% averaged over units 1 to 6. In cases where there has been marginal failure in one or more components, further assessment may be undertaken through an oral examination. The Board of Examiners will then use all available examination information, including the oral examination, to determine whether the candidate’s work is of the requisite standard to merit the PgCert, PgDip or MSt award. Students who achieve at least 75% averaged over the units (1 to 3 for PgCert, 1 to 6 for PgDip) and, for the MSt, at least 75% in the Dissertation, will be awarded a Distinction.

Allowances

Suitable allowances and adjustments will be applied in case of serious problems affecting study, including illness, bereavement and financial hardship.