Certificate in Foundation Studies Course Regulations, 2014

L.N. 352 of 2014

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Certificate in Foundation Studies Course Regulations, 2014

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74 (5) and 75

(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has

promulgated the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta

by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by articles 75 and 79 of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Certificate in Foundation

Studies Course Regulations, 2014.

(2)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires –

“the Board of Studies” means the Board of Studies appointed for the Course

by Senate;

“the Certificate” means the Certificate in Foundation Studies; and

“the Course” means the programmes of study leading to the Certificate in

Foundation Studies.

Applicability

These regulations shall be applicable for courses commencing in October

2014 or later.

Registration for the Course

The Course shall be open to all applicants who

(a) present a secondary and/or high school certificate issued abroad and who

studied within an educational system that is not comparable to the Maltese educational

system (in terms of curriculum, years of study, etc.); and

(b) are in possession of one of the following qualifications in English at the

required level

(i)

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-Based

Test (iBT) with an overall score of 61, and a minimum score of 17 in the reading and

writing components; or

(ii) International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with an

overall band score of 5.5, with a reading and writing score of at least 5.0; or

(iii) Cambridge First Certificate at grade C or better; or

(iv) any other equivalent qualification approved by the Admissions

Board; and

(c) are in possession of qualifications allowing access to an undergraduate

course in the selected discipline in the country where such qualifications originate;

but

(d) are deemed to require further study to be admitted to undergraduate

degree courses at the University of Malta,

provided that the Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences

programme referred to in paragraph (1) of regulation 6 shall be open only to qualified

applicants from non-EU countries in terms of agreements signed by the University

with the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Duration of Course

The Course extends over a period of one academic year of full-time study.

The Board of Studies may allow students to repeat the Course once only.

Board of Studies

(1) The general administration of the Course shall be entrusted to the

Board of Studies.

(2)

The Board of Studies shall be composed as follows

A Chairman, appointed by Senate

Director/Coordinator of the 3 programmes

Three Academic Members appointed by Senate

Three student representatives, elected one from each programme.

Director, International and EU Office (Secretary)

Programmes of Study

(1) The programmes of study aim to bridge differences between the

Maltese educational system and other systems. They shall consist of a number of

study-units to which up to 65 ECTS credits are assigned and shall be offered in the

following subject areas

Humanities and Commerce;

Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences; and

Science.

(2) The Board of Studies shall draw up programmes of study indicating

the code, title, type of each study-unit, and the credits assigned to each study-unit, as

well as study-unit descriptions including the methods of teaching and assessment. The

Board of Studies shall publish the programmes of study and study-units descriptions

prior to the commencement of each Course, following the approval of Senate. Subject

to the approval of Senate, the Board of Studies may make any necessary changes to

the programmes of study and to the study-units descriptions as required.

Attendance and Assessment

Attendance to all teaching sessions in whatever mode is obligatory.

Students must attend at least 80% of all teaching sessions in a study-unit before being

allowed to sit for the assessment, except with the permission of the Board of Studies

which, in exceptional circumstances, may approve that the student be allowed to

sit for the assessment/s. In cases where the student is not allowed to sit for the

assessment a 0 mark and an F grade shall be assigned and recorded.

Students shall be re-assessed in any number of study-units during an

examination session as directed by the Board of Studies. Such re-assessments shall

be allowed in both passed and failed study-units. Any mark may be obtained in the

reassessment session.

Practical work constituting the whole or part of a study-unit or work that

is assessed periodically throughout a semester shall not be re-assessed.

Award of the Certificate

(1) The Certificate, indicating the subject area followed, shall be

awarded to students who successfully complete the full programme of study in one

academic year.

(2) The best marks obtained in each study-unit during the same

academic year shall be recorded in the students’ academic record and transcript.

Access and Admission to University Undergraduate Courses

Students who obtain the Certificate in a particular programme are required

to complete the University admissions procedure as it pertains to the undergraduate

degree course being applied for. Students may only apply for undergraduate degree

courses relevant to the subject area they followed in the Course.

General Provision

In matters not provided for by these regulations, the Board of Studies shall

be guided by the provisions of the General Regulations for University Undergraduate

Awards, 2004, published as Legal Notice 127 of 2004, as applicable.

Repeal

The Certificate in Foundation Studies Course Regulations, 2000, published

as Legal Notice 192 of 2000, and the Certificate in Medical Foundation Studies

(Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences) Course Regulations

2013, published as Legal Notice 239 of 2010 shall be deemed to cease to be in force

as from 1 October 2014.

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