Detailed Study Rules for students studying Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of SWPS The following detailed study rules are being introduced in accordance with 39 of the Study Regulations. They include the rules for students starting their studies in the 2012/13 academic year (modular curriculum) and for all students together, i.e., those who: (1) started their studies in the 2012/2013 academic year and (2) those who are continuing to study in the 2nd 5th years. Part I: Principles of organization and gaining credits for modules for students starting their studies in the 2012/13 academic year. 1.1. The module is the basic teaching unit in the new curriculum, i.e. modules apply to students starting to study in the 2012/2013 academic year. 2. The module is defined by its name, the number of ECTS points, the number of hours and the name of the coordinator. 3. The module consists of constituent components, as defined by the subject, form of activity (e.g., lecture, seminar, exercises, workshops, e-learning, dissertation) and the number of hours of the individual forms of activity. 4. The modules are implemented by semester. 5. The effects of the education are the same for full-time and part-time modules. 6. The descriptions of the modules are published as their syllabuses. 7. The coordinator is responsible for substantive and formal supervision. 2.1. A module is counted towards the grade. A 6-level scale of grades is applicable, i.e. from 2 through 3; 3.5; 4; 4.5; to 5. The condition for passing the module is the receipt of a pass mark of 3 to 5. The receipt of a 2 results in the failure of the module. 2. The basis for including the module in the final assessment is the sum of points, from 0 to 100, obtained by the student for the individual requirements for passing the module. 3. The rules for converting the sum of points for the whole of the module into the final grade are as follows: 0 59 points 2 (inadequate); 60-67 points 3 (adequate); 68-75 points 3.5 (adequate plus); 76-83 points 4 (good); 84-91 points 4.5 (good plus); 92-100 points 5 (very good). 4. In order to pass a module, all of its elements need to be passed with the minimum required number of points, which the coordinator sets. 5. If an element of passing the module is a test, the student is obliged to take the test at the specified time. 6. The failure to pass a module means the need to repeat the whole module. Part II: Enrolments for classes 3.1. 2nd - 5th year students from the Faculty of Psychology are required to individually enrol for classes through the Virtual University. 2. Enrolments to some of the classes may be made by the employees of the deanery at the Faculty of Psychology. These classes take on the status of activated and cannot be individually changed. 3. 1st year students are enrolled to all classes by the deanery s employees. 4. It may only be possible to enrol for certain classes on condition that other classes are passed previously. 1
4.1. The condition for proceeding to enrol for a given year of study is to satisfy the classification conditions specified for that year and, in the case of candidates to SWPS, the condition for enrolling is the submission of all the required documents. 2. Enrolments can be divided into stages over time. The right to enrol at every stage depends on the arithmetic mean calculated from all assessments from the credits and examinations achieved by the student in the two previous semesters. 3. Students with a VIS title have the right of priority in enrolment. 4. Students repeating a year of studies or returning from leave are entitled to enrol by their average calculated in accordance with the rule specified in clause 2 at the end of the last full year of study. 5. In the case of students, who have completed a part of the education programme at a partner university of SWPS, the grounds for calculating the average in accordance with the rule described in clause 2 are the grades from the examinations and credits obtained up to the end of the last year of studies completed in whole at SWPS. 5.1. Tuition fees shall be payable for participation in repeated courses/modules, repeated examinations and courses/modules outside the study plan in accordance with the respective regulations. 2. Likewise, tuition fees shall be paid in accordance with the relevant regulations for participation in courses/modules, which are pursued as a result of curriculum differences caused by a delay in studies for reasons other than sabbatical leave. 6.1. At the end of each stage of enrolments, the dean of the Faculty of Psychology shall make a final decision as to whether or not to start up a course. 2. If the course is not started up, appropriate information is provided to the students who have been enrolled for the given course. These students are required to enrol to a different course group. 7.1. In the case of courses/modules to which students enrol themselves, they can also independently withdraw from the course/module. This withdrawal should be made no later than before the second classes. This principle does not apply in the case of a course/module where classes may be blocked, i.e. a significant part of the course/module is implemented during the first meeting. 2. A student is required to participate in and pass all classes with an activated status to which he/she is enrolled, unless he/she has withdrawn from these classes within the deadline specified in clause 1. 8.1. The requirement to participate in classes, as referred to in 7.2., does not apply to situations where the student is pursuing activities extending beyond the study plan and the limit of ECTS points, if participation in these classes requires additional fees. In the event of withdrawal from such classes, they are not entered into the documentation on the course of study. 2. Withdrawal from courses that extend beyond the study plan and the limit of ECTS points cannot constitute grounds for refunding fees paid in connection with taking part in these classes. 9. Detailed information for the individual specializations and modes of study regarding enrolments, including the deadlines for enrolment, ranges of averages and the activity grid shall be announced through the Virtual University. 10.1. A student who does not qualify for the next year of study shall repeat the year and, from that time, shall follow the study plan and curriculum for the year in which he/she is currently studying. A student is required to make up the curriculum differences arising from the changes in the study plan, namely to supplement the subjects required by the new study plan. 2. Courses/modules, which were previously described as obligatory, but are not obligatory in the study plan amended in this way, are settled as optional courses/modules. 2
3. After the 5th year of studies, a student who has not attended all the subjects in the study plan is reenrolled for the same year of study and follows the same study plan and curriculum. Part III: Principles of qualification for the following year of study 11.1. First year students qualify for the second year when they pass the modules, and the sum of ECTS points constitutes at least 80% of the ECTS points corresponding to the modules and lectureships recommended for completion in the first year of study, excluding the introductory module and points for participation in research. 2. Second year students automatically qualify for the third year. 3. Qualification for the fourth year of study requires the student to pass all courses/modules specified in the study plan as core courses/modules and lectureships for the first three years of study and the Annual empirical course in the case of students from the 2011/12 and earlier recruitments studying full time. This principle does not apply to students studying within the programme of Psychology in individual organization of the course of study. 4. Fourth year students are automatically qualified for the fifth year. 5. Students pursuing a part of the study programme at an SWPS partner university may, at the student s request, be promoted to the 4th year of study by means of a decision of the Dean, despite the failure to satisfy the conditions described in clause 1 and clause 3. 12.1. A student who satisfies the requirements for qualifying for the next year of study shall be entitled to enrol to courses/modules recommended for that year and all the courses/modules, the time for the pursuit of which has not been assigned to a particular year of study. 2. Students from the 2012 and later recruitments may only enrol in the procedure described in clause 1 to modules offered to them and to students from later recruitments. 3. Students from the 2011 and earlier recruitments may enrol in the procedure described in clause 1 to all courses. 4. The right to enrol can also be earned in the event of the failure to satisfy the conditions described in 11 in the event of receiving the right to accelerate the course of study. 13.1. In the event that a student has qualified for the next year of study, but has not successfully completed all classes provided for in the study programme for the lower years, he/she will be required to pass these courses/modules at the earliest possible time in which the courses/modules are held. 2. If a course/module, which should be passed, is not held by the end of the course of study and, if an additional examination has not been organized, the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology shall designate the course/module, which should be passed instead. 14.1. A student who has not satisfied all conditions for qualifying for the next year of study may not enrol for any course/module in the study programme planned for that year and higher years of study and is required to pass all outstanding courses/modules at least to the extent described in 11. In the event of failing to satisfy these requirements, the student shall remain a student from the previous year of study. 15.1. The student may accelerate or decelerate the course of study with the consent of the Dean. The Dean may refuse the acceleration or deceleration of the course of study, if it is not organizationally possible to pursue the studies in an accelerated or decelerated manner. 2. The student may accelerate the course of study with respect to the recommended study plan by 25%, 50% or 100% of the ECTS points. A student may decelerate the course of study by 25% or 50% of the ECTS points. 3
3. If the consequences of decelerating the course of study make it impossible to satisfy the conditions of registration for the 2nd or 4th years of study, the decision to decelerate is simultaneously a decision to repeat the year. 4. In the event of the acceleration of the course of study, enrolment to the master s seminar requires that all core courses/modules taken during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of studies are passed. 5. Applications to accelerate or decelerate the course of study must be submitted before the start of the semester, to which they apply, no later than by the end of the examination session in the previous semester. 6. Changes in tuition fees arising as a result of the deceleration or acceleration of the course of study are specified in the regulations on tuition fees. Part IV: Organization of the master s degree seminar 16. The master s degree seminar on psychology lasts 4 semesters. 17.1. A student may change the master s degree seminar after obtaining consent from the Dean and the current and future tutor. 2. The student is required to provide the consent referred to in clause 1 to the deanery of the Faculty of Psychology in writing or electronically. 3. The tutor may request the Dean to deregister the student from his/her list of seminar students. 18. The condition for passing the last semester of the master s degree seminar is the supervisor s acceptance of the complete master s dissertation. The dissertation shall be accepted by entering dissertation accepted as a master s dissertation onto the copy of the dissertation, together with the date. 19.1. The last semester of the master s degree seminar must be passed no later than by 30 September. 2. In the case of students completing the master s degree seminar in the winter semester, the last semester of the master s degree seminar should be passed by the date specified in the calendar of the academic year as the first day of the summer semester. 3. The master s dissertation should also be submitted within the above deadlines in the procedure provided for in 44. of the Study Regulations. 4. The electronic version of the dissertation should contain the full text and the raw results of the research. 5. Detailed technical information about the electronic version is contained in the Virtual University. 20. In the case of the extension of the master s seminar by a period longer than four semesters (jointly more than 8 semesters), the student may be required by the Dean to repeat some of the classes. 21.1. The standards specifying the detailed rules for preparing dissertations are prepared by the Faculty Commission for master s degree seminars. 2. The Commission for master s degree seminars is appointed by the Dean. 22.1. The master s examination is an oral examination, during which the student answers two questions. The first of the questions is a question chosen by the student from two proposals of questions he draws from the list of questions for the master s examination. The second question, which should apply to issues contained in the master s dissertation, is asked by the reviewer. 2. The list of questions for the master s examination is prepared by the Commission for master s seminars and published in the Virtual University. 3. The questions from the published list of questions for the master s examination start to apply 4
6 months after their publication. 4. The list of questions for the master s examination cannot be changed more than once during the academic year. Part V: Rules for studying additional specializations 23.1. All psychology students are entitled to choose one or more additional specializations. 2. The studies of additional specializations start after submitting a declaration to the deanery and after paying the appropriate tuition fees when the university calculates the financial liability. 3. The decision on the procedure for paying the tuition fees and specifying the amount of the financial liability arising from the additional specializations is made by the SWPS Bursary. Part VI: Undergoing parts of the studies at SWPS partner universities 24.1. SWPS students may undergo a part of the curriculum at another Polish or foreign university, with which SWPS has a signed cooperation agreement (so-called partner university). 2. The settlement of the fulfilment of the study plan at the partner university is based on the European credit transfer system referred to by its acronym, ECTS. 3. If the partner university does not use the ECTS system, settlement will be made in accordance with 27. 25.1. 60 ECTS points are required to pass the whole of the academic year at the partner university. 2. Students, who take classes at a partner university for a period of less than a full academic year will be required to set such a study plan that they obtain 60 ECTS points during the year, of which some are obtained at the partner university and some at SWPS. 26.1. Students, who were unable to complete courses/modules or lectureships because of studying at a partner university during these courses/modules, are required to pass the core courses/modules at the earliest possible time. 2. Students who have not passed core courses/modules or lectureships because they have been pursuing a part of their study programme at partner universities are promoted to the following year of study if they cannot receive credits for the core courses/modules during the academic year. 3. People who are required to supplement the missing core courses/modules because of pursuing a part of the study programme at a partner university can undertake these courses/modules instead of optional classes. 27.1. In the case of course names or descriptions giving rise to doubts as to their substantive content and the student s workload, the decision on the relevance of the given course to the course/module at SWPS shall be made on the basis of the student s presentation of the curriculum and other documents certifying the student s work. 2. The decision to pass classes and a year of study at a partner university is made by the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology. 28.1. In the case of pursuing a part of the studies at a partner university, pursuing studies within the framework of the Psychology in the individual organization of the course of study, as well as taking up study by transferring from another university, or resumption of studies started at another university: 5
(1) at least 55% of the number of hours of classes of the total number of hours anticipated by the study plan for this mode of study or (2) classes to which a total of 180 ECTS points have been allocated should be conducted at the Faculty of Psychology of SWPS. 2. In specific and justified cases, the Dean may waive this requirement. 29. A student who studies in English can undertake up to 40% of the hours required by the study plan (excluding physical education and lectureships) in Polish, to obtain a degree in a course held in English. Part VII. Document flow. 30.1. Students shall submit motions to the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology in all matters related to studying psychology. 2. Motions should be submitted via the Virtual University or in writing directly to the deanery of the Faculty of Psychology. Motions may also be submitted by registered post. 3. The date of receipt of the motion is considered the date on which the motion is sent through the Virtual University, the date of submission of the motion to the deanery of the Department of Psychology or the date of receipt of the registered letter in accordance with the respective confirmation. 31. A student may appeal against a decision of the Dean and decisions of people authorized by him/her directly to the Rector of SWPS. 32. In case of motions sent via the Virtual University, the responses are provided through this system. 33. Motions on financial matters should be submitted to the Bursary of SWPS through the deanery of the Faculty of Psychology. Part VIII. Final Provision 34. The detailed rules for studying psychology at the Faculty of Psychology at SWPS apply from the date of their approval by the Faculty Council and the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology. 6