PROGRAMME IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CENTRE FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.490

PROGRAMME IN THE LIBERAL ARTS

AND SCIENCES UNDER THE AUSPICES OF

THE CENTRE FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS

AND SCIENCES REGULATIONS

27th June, 2014

LEGAL NOTICE 221 of 2014, as amended by Legal Notice 27 of 2016

240 of 2019, 16 of 2020, 95 of 2023 and 124 of 2025.

The title of these regulations is the Programme in the

Liberal Arts and Sciences under the auspices of the Centre for the

Liberal Arts and Sciences Regulations.

These regulations shall be applicable from 1st December,

2019 onwards.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,

the terms used shall be taken to mean as indicated in the Glossary

of Terms listed hereunder

Glossary of Terms

Term

Explanation

Award/s

A U n i v e r s i t y C e r t i f i c a t e , a U n i v e r si t y

Diploma, a University Higher Diploma, a

Bachelor degree awarded as specified in

these regulations.

Award Classification The Award Classification Board appointed

Board

t o d ecid e o n the fina l c lassifica tio n of

students eligible for the award of a diploma

or degree.

Board of Studies

The Board of Studies appointed to

administer the Programme in terms of these

regulations.

Catalogue of Units A Catalogue of Units is the collection of all

the Units offered in this Programme and

shall be published online. The detailed

description of each Unit shall indicate its

type, level, code, title, content and learning

outcomes, credit value, method of teaching

and assessment, including the percentage

weighting of each assessment component

when applicable.

Credit

Credits are awarded for successful

completion of each Unit.

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Credit System

The allocation of credit to Units forming

part of the Programme according to the

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation

System (ECTS) proposed by the European

Commission.

Method of

Assessment of Units may be through

Assessment

coursework, assignments, written or oral

examinations, other methods of assessment

as approved by Senate, or combinations of

these, to each of which a percentage of the

final mark shall be assigned. The Method of

Assessment for each Unit shall be indicated

in the detailed description of the Units that

is published in the Catalogue of Units.

Programme

The Programme in the Liberal Arts and

Sciences.

Unit

A part of the Programme carried out upon a

syllabus approved by Senate, on the

recommendation of the Board of Studies, to

which a specified number of Credits at an

indicated level is assigned, and which is

capable of separate assessment. A Unit may

take the form of a series of lectures,

tutorials, the writing of an extended essay,

private study, or a combination of such

work, or any other method of teaching.

University

The University of Malta.

Units in the Programme are open to persons who are

deemed to have the ability to follow such Units with profit.

A c c e p t a n c e m a y b e s u b j e c t t o a s h o r t i n t e r v i e w. C e r t a i n

qualifications and/or experience may be specified for particular

Units.

(1) Applicants shall register for Units offered in a

particular semester within the time specified by the Office of the

Registrar.

(2) The University shall announce the Units on offer during a

particular semester or year at least one month before the

commencement of the semester.

The University shall announce the date of commencement

and completion of each Unit at the time when the Units are made

available to the public for registration.

The language of instruction and assessment shall be

English, except that for areas of study involving a language,

teaching and assessment shall be in that language. Senate may also

approve the delivery of a Unit in Maltese or in any other language.

Units shall be approved by Senate on the recommendation

of the Board of Studies.

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

(1) Units shall be offered at Introductory and Higher

Levels.

(2) Units offered at the Introductory Level shall not require

students to have academic preparation or knowledge, skills and

competences in the subject area beyond that acquired at the end of

secondary education. The level attained on successful completion

of the Unit shall be that of a first year Unit of a University

U n d e rg r a d u a t e Aw a r d , e q u i v a l e n t t o L e v e l 5 o n t h e M a l t a

Qualifications Framework.

(3) Units offered at the Higher Level may require students to have

knowledge, skills and competences in the subject area of the Unit

comparable to, or that acquired from, an Introductory Level Unit offered

in the Programme. This does not necessarily imply that every Unit

offered at the Higher Level will have a corresponding Unit at the

Introductory Level. Units offered at the Higher Level shall be equivalent

to Level 6 on the Malta Qualifications Framework.

(1) Students who obtained Credits when registered on

courses offered by this University may have their Credits accepted

by the Board of Studies for transfer towards the Programme;

provided that if these Credits have already been counted towards

the award of another qualification of this University or any other

university as approved by Senate, a note to this effect will be

included in the transcript or Diploma Supplement issued.

(2) The transfer of Credits referred to in paragraph (1) of this

bye-law can only be approved if (i) the student is interested in

pursuing a higher level qualification within this Programme; and

(ii) the student is required to take a number of micro-credentials

offered by the Centre out of the total number of Credits required for

the award of the qualification as follows

(a) for the Certificate in Liberal Studies at least 8 Credits

shall be taken from the Programme;

(b) for the Diploma in Liberal Studies at least 16 Credits

shall be taken from the Programme;

(c) for the Higher Diploma in Liberal Studies at least 24

Credits shall be taken from the Programme;

(d) for the degree of Bachelor in Liberal Studies at least 32

Credits shall be taken from the Programme.

Attendance is compulsory but students may be exempted

from attending lectures by the lecturer concerned for valid reasons.

The Board of the Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences

shall act as the Board of Studies for the Programme.

The election of the student members shall be held annually

during the first half of the first semester.

A Credit value is assigned to each Unit, indicating the total

learning time, including time devoted to tuition, private study and

assessment, which an average student might be expected to spend

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

in achieving the learning outcomes associated with the Unit; one

Credit nominally represents twenty-five hours of learning, of which

five to seven hours are normally direct teaching when a Unit is

imparted in the standard lecturing mode.

Units shall normally be assigned four or eight Credits.

Examiners shall express the student’s performance in the

assessment of Units as a percentage mark and as a grade as indicated in

the table below. Both the percentage mark and the letter grade shall be

recorded in the student’s academic record. For the purpose of

determining the award classification, the percentage mark shall be used .

Descriptor

Mark

Grad

Range

e

Work displaying exceptional quality

90%-

A+

Exceptional performance showing comprehensive

100%

and critical understanding, and application of the

subject matter. Evidence of extensive additional

reading/research/work.

Work displaying comprehensive and critical

80% -

A

understanding

89%

Superior performance showing a comprehensive

and critical understanding of the subject matter.

Evidence of considerable additional reading/

research/work.

Work displaying comprehensive understanding

75% -

B+

Performance showing a very good working

79%

knowledge of the subject matter. Evidence of a

moderate amount of additional reading/research/

work.

Work displaying substantial understanding

70% -

B

Above-average performance, with a working

74%

knowledge of the subject matter. Evidence of

some additional reading/research/work.

Work displaying sound understanding

60% -

C+

Average performance. Evidence of little additional

69%

reading/research/work.

Work displaying satisfactory understanding

55% -

C

Adequate performance. No evidence of additional

59%

reading/research/work.

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Work displaying satisfactory understanding

50% -

D+

with shortcomings

54%

Adequate but inconsistent performance. No

evidence of additional reading/research/work.

Work displaying basic understanding

45% -

D

Marginal performance, satisfying minimum

49%

criteria.

Work displaying inadequate understanding to

0% - 44%

F

varying degrees.

The following grade when assigned to Units shall not be

taken into consideration for computation purposes but forms part of

the student’s academic record

Grade

Descriptor

I

Te m p o r a r y g r a d e f o r I n c o m p l e t e w o r k d u e t o

justifiable reasons (illness, approved absence, etc.)

for which the deadline for submission of work has

been extended or the assessment date has been

postponed, provided that the student is examined

during the first available session.

The Method of Assessment for each Unit shall be indicated

in the Unit description and published in the online Catalogue of

Units.

When the Method of Assessment comprises more than one

assessment component, the percentage weighting of each

component shall be given. Students shall be awarded the Credits

associated with the Unit if they obtain an overall weighted mark of

45% or higher for the Unit as a whole.

Unless in special circumstances and with the approval of

Senate, all students on the same Unit shall be assessed by the same

method/s of assessment. Supplementary assessments shall normally

have the same mode of assessment as the corresponding first

assessment, provided that a different mode of assessment may be

approved by the Board of Studies in special circumstances.

(1) Assessment may be made

(a) in a continuous mode, i.e. by a set of assessments,

which may take the form of class tests, take-home

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

assignments, oral tests, or a combination of two or

more of these methods, or any other method of

continuous assessment approved by the Senate

distributed throughout the Unit; or

(b) in a final mode, i.e. by a single assessment at the end

of the Unit; or

(c) in a continuous and final mode, i.e. partly by a set of

assessments distributed throughout the Unit and partly

by an assessment at the end of the Unit.

(2) Unit assessments shall be conducted in terms of the

University Assessment Regulations.

Any work assigned as coursework for continuous

assessment purposes shall always be submitted before the date of

the examination to be taken at the end of the Unit. When a Unit is

assessed by coursework only, the date of submission of the work

shall not be set later than the last day of the examination session

following the semester during which the Unit is given.

(1) Students who fail any Unit shall be allowed a

supplementary assessment provided they satisfy all other

requirements as may be relevant to the Unit. A failed Unit shall be

re-examined once only.

(2) Students who fail a Unit due to unjustified absence for an

assessment or due to non-submission of coursework by the set

deadlines may be allowed a supplementary session at the discretion

of the Unit lecturer/s.

In the supplementary assessment of a failed Unit, students

may be required to be reassessed either in particular component/s

of the assessment or in all the components of the assessment as

indicated in the description of the Unit. An assessment component

may be indicated as not having the possibility of a supplementary

assessment, in which case the original mark obtained in the

component is retained.

In supplementary assessments, the maximum mark/grade

that may be awarded shall be 45%, grade D.

Supplementary assessments shall be held as follows

(a) for the continuous assessment mode: by arrangement

with the lecturer concerned provided that reassessment

is completed before the end of the supplementary

assessment session; and

(b) for the examination mode: at the supplementary

session of examinations.

(1) Students shall be entitled to a Certificate of

Achievement for each successfully completed Unit and may request

a transcript detailing the successfully completed Units.

(2)

Students shall be awarded qualifications as follows

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

(a) a Certificate in Liberal Studies if they obtain at least

30 Credits; of which not less than 26 credits shall be at

the Introductory Level;

(b) a Diploma in Liberal Studies if they obtain at least 60

Credits, of which not less than 56 credits shall be at

the Introductory Level;

(c) a Higher Diploma in Liberal Studies if they obtain at

least 120 Credits, of which not less than 56 credits

shall be at the Higher Level;

(d) a degree of Bachelor in Liberal Studies if they obtain

at least 180 Credits, which shall include not less than

100 Credits at the Higher Level, and which may

include a long essay or extended project assigned 12

Credits, and

provided that in all cases, students (i) may be allowed to offer Higher

Level credits in substitution of the required credits at the Introductory

Level; and (ii) shall also satisfy any other requirements as specified in

these Regulations.

(1) The Certificate in Liberal Studies shall be awarded

unclassified.

(2) The names of students who qualify for the award of the

Diploma and the Higher Diploma in Liberal Studies shall be

published in a list in alphabetical order and classified as follows

Pass with Distinction

Pass with Merit

Pass.

(3) The names of students who qualify for the award of the

B a c h e l o r i n L i b e r a l St u d i e s s h a l l b e p u b l i s h e d i n a l i s t i n

alphabetical order and classified as follows

Category I

Category IIA

Category IIB

Category III.

(1) The Award Classification Board shall be composed of

the members of the Board of Studies, excluding the student

representatives, and the external examiner when one is appointed.

(2) The Award Classification Board shall consult the following

guidelines when deciding upon the classification of the Awards at

the end of the Course

(a) The Diploma and the Higher Diploma are normally

awarded as follows

Final Weighted Average Mark

Classification

100 - 80%

Pass with Distinction

79 - 70%

Pass with Merit

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

69 - 45%

Pass.

(b) The Bachelor’s degree is normally awarded as follows

Average Mark

Classification of the Degree

100% - 80%

Category I

79% - 70%

Category IIA

69% - 55%

Category IIB

54% - 45%

Category III.

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner

which does not impair the functioning of the University, including

any of its physical resources, and the reasonable freedom of other

persons to pursue their studies, research, duties or lawful activities

at the University or to participate in the life of the University.

A student in debt to the University, or otherwise having

unfulfilled obligations to the University, shall not be permitted to

re-register in any succeeding semesters, nor shall any award be

given to a student in debt or having unfulfilled obligations, except

by special permission of the Rector, or until the debt is paid or the

obligation is fulfilled.

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, and by any

other Statute, Regulations and Bye Laws as applicable.