CERTIFICATE IN FOUNDATION STUDIES COURSE REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.196

CERTIFICATE IN FOUNDATION

STUDIES COURSE REGULATIONS

3rd October, 2014

LEGAL NOTICE 352 of 2014, as amended by Legal Notices 249 of 2015,

185 of 2016, 220 of 2017, 321 of 2017, 275 of 2018, 234 of 2019 and 17

and 276 of 2020, 281 of 2022, 130 of 2023 and 279 of 2024.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Certificate in

Foundation Studies Course Regulations.

(2)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the International School for

Foundation Studies;

"the Board of Studies" means the Board of Studies appointed for

the course by Senate on the recommendation of the Board;

"the Certificate" means the Certificate in Foundation Studies;

"the course" means the programmes of study leading to the

Certificate in Foundation Studies; and

"the School" means the International School for Foundation

Studies.

These regulations shall be

applicable

for

courses

commecing in October 2020 or later.

(1)

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) satisfy the University’s English language requirement as

published on the University’s official website at the time

of applications; 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 Medical and Dental Sciences and the

Health Sciences programmes referred to in paragraph (1)

of regulation 6 shall be open only to qualified applicants

from non-EU/EEA countries in terms of agreements

signed by the University with the State of Kuwait, the

Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and

to qualified nationals from other non-EU/EEA countries.

(2) At the discretion of the Board, applicants shall be required

to pass an interview and/or a written test.

(3) Applicants who are deemed ineligible to join the Course may

be allowed by the Board to enrol as students in the Foundation

Commencement Programme which is detailed in Appendix I to these

regulations.

(4) EU, non-EU and Maltese dual citizens who previously

studied abroad and then join higher secondary schools in Malta for

more than one year shall not be admitted to the Course.

(5) Senate, on the advice of the Board, may limit the number of

students that may be admitted to the Course in any or all of the subject

areas, according to the relevant selection criteria.

(1) The course extends over a period of one academic year

of full-time study.

(2) The Board of Studies may allow students who do not

qualify for the Certificate to repeat the course once only.

(1) The monitoring and evaluation of the programmes of

study of the course shall be entrusted to the Board of Studies in

terms of regulation 6(2).

(2)

The Board of Studies shall be composed as follows

A Chairman, appointed by Senate

The Director of the School

The Area Coordinators in the School

Three Academic Members appointed by Senate

Student representatives elected from each subject area of

the School.

School Officer (Secretary).

(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;

Business Studies (in areas of study approved by the Board);

Science (in areas of study approved by the Board);

Engineering and ICT;

Medical and Dental Sciences; and

Health Sciences (in areas of study approved by the Board).

(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 propose to the Board of the School the programmes of

study and study-units descriptions prior to the commencement of

each course. These shall be published 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 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.

(1) Results for the assessment of study-units shall be

published as a percentage mark and grade as indicated in the table

below

Mark Range

Grade

90% - 100%

A+

80% - 89%

A

75% - 79%

B+

70% - 74%

B

60% - 69%

C+

55% - 59%

C

50% - 54%

D+

45% - 49%

D

0% - 44%

F

(2) Both the percentage mark and the letter grade shall be

recorded in the student's academic record. The pass mark for all

study-units shall be grade D 45%.

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.

(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.

(3) The Certificate shall show a grade A+, A, B+, B, C+, C, D+ or

D (grade A+ being the highest and D the lowest) indicating the standard

attained by students. In calculating the average mark for the Course,

each individual mark obtained for each study-unit registered for during

the year shall be weighted by the credit value of the study-unit. The

resultant marks are added and divided by the total number of credits to

give the average mark for the year. This mark is then translated into a

grade.

(1) 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.

(2) Students who intend to join the Doctor of Medicine and

Surgery or the Master of Dental Surgery courses and are required to

repeat the year shall not be eligible to join these two courses but on

successful completion of the Course may be admitted to Bachelor

courses in Dental Hygiene, Dental Technology, Occupational Therapy,

Podiatry, Nursing or Mental Health Nursing, provided that during the

repeat year such students shall be required to follow the programme

relevant to the Bachelor course they intend to join.

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, as applicable.

Appendix I

Foundation Commencement Programme

1. At the discretion of the Board, applicants who are deemed

ineligible to join the Course, may be allowed to register for the

Foundation Commencement Programme, prior to their acceptance

as regular students on the Course.

2. The Foundation Commencement Programme shall consist

of a number of study-units to which 60 ECTS credits are assigned

and shall extend over a period of one year of full-time study.

Subject to changes that the Board may, with the approval of Senate,

be constrained to make, students are bound to follow the study-

units and obtain the credits as indicated in the programme of study.

3. Students shall be considered as having successfully

completed the Foundation Commencement Programme if they

obtain the credits as outlined in the programme of study and obtain

an average mark of 45%. At the discretion of the Board, students

who do not fulfil this requirement may be allowed to repeat the

Foundation Commencement Programme.

4. The provisions regarding assessment, progression and

successful completion of the Foundation Commencement

Programme, and any other provisions not outlined in this Appendix

to these Regulations shall be those stipulated in the General

Regulations for University Undergraduate Awards, 2019 and shall

apply mutatis mutandis.