under the auspices of the Centre for Communication Technology

B

L.N. 402 of 2010

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bye-Laws of 2010 in terms of the General Regulations for

University Postgraduate Awards, 2008

for the Degree of Master of Arts

under the auspices of the Centre for Communication Technology

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74 (5)

and 75 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor the

University of Malta has promulgated the following bye-laws made by the

Board of the Centre for Communication Technology in virtue of the

powers conferred upon it by article 81 (1) of the said Act and which have

been approved by the Senate of the University of Malta as required by

article 81 (2) of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-Laws of 2010 in terms of

the General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2008 for the degree

of Master of Arts – offered under the auspices of the Centre for Communication

Technology.

(2)

In these bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires –

“the Board” means the Board of the Centre for Communication Technology;

“the Centre” means the Centre for Communication Technology;

“the Course” means the programme of study leading to the degree of Master

of Arts;

“the Degree” means the degree of Master of Arts;

“the Postgraduate Diploma” means the Postgraduate Diploma in the relevant

area of study;

“the Principal Regulations” means the General Regulations for University

Postgraduate Awards, 2008.

B

Applicability

These bye-laws shall be applicable for courses commencing in October

2009 or later.

Areas of Study

The Board shall offer the Course in areas of study which fall under the

competence of the Centre. It shall announce the areas of study and the mode of

study in which they are offered before the beginning of each Course, after the

approval of Senate. Applicants shall be required to indicate their choice of area

and mode of study at the time of application.

Requirements for Admission

Subject to the conditions laid down in bye-law 5, the Course shall be

open to applicants in possession of one of the following qualifications

(a) the degree of Bachelor of Communications (Honours) obtained with

Second Class Honours or better; or

(b) the degree of Bachelor of Communications with at least 65% in the

principal area of study, or similar deemed by the Board relevant to that chosen for

the Course; or

(c) a degree from this or another university, which the Board considers as

comparable to any of the degrees indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this bye-

law.

Preparatory Programme

(1) Applicants in terms of paragraphs (b) and (c) of bye-law 4 may be

required, in addition to satisfying any other special conditions laid down by the

Board, to follow a preparatory programme which extends over one year of full-time

study. The Preparatory Programme shall include all or part of the synoptic study-

units for the Bachelor of Communications (Honours) course, in the area of study

concerned.

(2) During the Preparatory Programme students shall be required to

register for a number of study-units for which a total of not less than thirty (30) and

not more than sixty (60) credits are assigned. At the discretion of the Board, the

required number of credits may include a research proposal to which ten credits

shall be assigned.

(3) Preparatory programmes shall also be governed by the Principal

Regulations.

B

Admission to the Course

(1) Applicants wishing to apply for the Course shall fill in the prescribed

form and shall apply within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

(2) Applicants wishing to apply for the Degree by research, besides

fulfilling the requirements specified in paragraph (1) of this bye-law must indicate

the provisional title of the dissertation Their application should include a research

proposal as well as a statement by the Head of Division concerned that they

possess the training, knowledge and capabilities required for the proposed line of

study and research.

Course duration

The Course shall extend over three semesters of full-time study or its

equivalent in part-time study.

Course structure

The programme of study for any area of study offered in the Course may

be either mainly taught or mainly by research. The Board shall indicate which areas

of study may be taken by research only and which by taught and research study-

units before the commencement of each Course. It shall also indicate the areas of

study offered in the full-time and part-time Courses.

(1) Mainly taught programmes of study shall comprise taught study-units

to which a total of 60 credits are assigned and a dissertation study-unit to which 30

credits are assigned.

(2) Students who obtain the 60 credits assigned to the taught study-units

with an average mark of at least 50% and do not proceed with the Course, or

having proceeded do not successfully complete the dissertation, shall be eligible for

the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in the relevant area of study.

Mainly research programmes of study shall comprise taught study-units

to which 10 credits are assigned and a dissertation study-unit to which 80 credits

are assigned.

Programmes of study shall be published by the Board after approval by

Senate normally not less than eight months prior to the commencement of the

Course.

Assessment and Progress

(1) The assessment of each taught study-unit shall be completed by the

end of the semester in which the teaching of the study-unit is held.

B

(2) Students following the mainly taught programme of study who in any

academic year fail in the assessment of not more than 20 credits, if following the

Course on a full-time basis, or not more than 10 credits if following the Course on

a part-time basis, shall be given the opportunity to re-sit the failed assessments

during the September supplementary examination session.

(3) Students who fail in more than the number of credits permitted

under paragraph (2) of this bye-law, or students who after re-assessment fail to

obtain the credits for any study-unit, shall be deemed to have failed the Course.

Dissertations

(1) In mainly taught programmes of study, students shall be required to

submit a dissertation of up to a maximum of 25,000 words in accordance with the

guidelines issued by the Board.

(2) Work on the dissertation shall be undertaken primarily during the

third semester of the Course. Students shall be assigned a supervisor who shall

provide guidance and advice on a regular basis during the period of study.

(3) Students following the mainly taught programme must submit a

provisional title for the dissertation and a detailed research proposal to the Board

for approval not later than six weeks before the end of the second semester.

Research Programmes of Study

(1) In programmes of study mainly by research, students shall be

required to submit a dissertation of up to a maximum of 50,000 words in

accordance with the guidelines issued by the Board.

(2) Work on the dissertation may be undertaken at any time during the

Course after approval of the proposal. Students shall be assigned a supervisor who

shall provide guidance and advice on a regular basis during the period of study.

(3) A provisional title for the dissertation and a detailed research

proposal shall be re-submitted to the Board for approval after completing the

mandated study-units.

Supervisor

(1) In all cases, students shall be required to have regular contact with

their supervisor.

(2) For students following the mainly taught programme, supervisors

shall submit to the Board progress reports for each student under their supervision

as applicable.

B

(3) For students following the programme by research, supervisors

shall submit to the Board progress reports about the students under their

supervision at the end of each semester of studies, whether the student is following

the Course on a full-time or a part-time basis.

(4) The reports required in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this bye-law may

include a recommendation to either (a) extend the period of study in order to enable

the student to complete the dissertation; or (b) terminate studies prematurely if the

supervisor deems this to be proper in the circumstances, provided that

(i) the extension of the study period referred to in (a) shall be in

accordance with the provisions of the Principal Regulations; and

(ii) the Board may not terminate studies prematurely according to

(b) until it has first given the student a chance to be heard.

Classification of Awards

The Final Weighted Average Mark for the purpose of the classification

of the Postgraduate Diploma and the Degree shall be based on the results obtained

in all the components of the programme of study, all credits being weighted

equally.

Special Provisions for Part-Time Courses

The provisions of the foregoing bye-laws shall apply mutatis mutandis

to courses followed on a part-time basis, and subject to such changes as may

reasonably be deemed by the Board as necessary due to the part-time nature of the

Course.

Repeal

The Master of Arts – M.A. – Degree Course Regulations, 2002, offered

by the Centre for Communication Technology published as Legal Notice 307 of

2002, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as from 1 October 2009, provided that

students registered for this course before 1 October 2009 shall continue to be

governed by the regulations that were in force at the time of their joining the

Course.

€0.47