Being an international student, we may experience the difference in the education system from where we come from,
Some might feel that it is similar to their own and some might feel that it is quite different and difficult to cope with the education system here in the UK.
Many international students tend to have this problem which is to do their assignments. For example, let’s say that an international student studying Business needs to write a 3000-word essay on ‘How crypto is affecting the Modern Businesses?’. The student has submitted the assignment with good confidence but when the results came out, they weren’t as they expected it would be. In the review from the lecturers, they said ‘poor referencing’. So, what is that? Why did it affect the marks? How to do better next time? What other measures need to be considered when writing an essay/doing an assignment? And can the University help me with this? In a short answer, there are quite a few factors which needs to be considered when doing an assignment and yes university academic support team can help you when needed.
Academic Conduct Procedure:
If you are unaware of the academic regulations in the UK, then the link below would take you to the university page which would provide all the information required in a detailed manner.
https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/course-administration/academic-policies-and-regulations/academic-conduct-procedure
But a brief version of the struggles and the support will be addressed below:
Struggles:
-Plagiarism
Many students might not be aware of what this is, putting in simple terms, it’s copying someone else’s work and putting it in yours. Let it be from another student or a source from the internet, you must write up your own assignments and if you are using an external source, you need to reference them correctly at the end which is also part of the assignment.
For example, when you use a source from the internet to help you with your assignments, at the end of the essay, you need to put up the title ‘Bibliography’ and attach the link of the site from which you drew information out from. This is what known as ‘Referencing’. If you’re struggling with the referencing your essays, you can take help from the Academic Skills Support Team where you can get all the relative information on how to draft an essay.
-Using External Sources such as AI and assignment services are prohibited:
A list of points are mentioned below which every student needs to consider.
The University uses sophisticated software which can identify plagiarised work and to check whether or not your work has been referenced correctly. Plagiarism is considered as cheating and if you do it:
1) You’ll very probably get caught.
If you do get caught, there might be a possibility (depends on how serious the issue is) of expulsion from the university. Your ability to reapply and enrol again at the University may also be restricted, normally for two whole academic years.
2) The whole point of assessments is for the University to assess what you yourself have learned about the subject, not how well you can use AI.
3) If you didn’t want to do the learning, why did you join the University in the first place?
4) If you haven’t done the learning, you’ll get “found out” when you get a job based on your qualification, the employer finds out you’re useless at it and don’t know what you’re doing, and you get fired.
So, when doing an assignment or in examinations as well, it always is better to be prepared and to be honest. ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ One of the old English sayings which should be put in our lives.
-Attendance:
The detailed information can be found here:
https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/course-administration/academic-policies-and-regulations/attendance-and-engagement-policy-international-students
Simply put, since an international student is here under Visa, they are expected to maintain good attendance, if not there is a chance where the University can report to UKVI, and the student may be deported from the country. If you are struggling to attend your classes, then do REACH OUT to the International Student support team in the university so that they can help you with the issues you might be facing.
The UKVI monitors attendence through your beacon app, meaning it is important to check that you've filled your beacon code correctly in the app and to verify each week if your attendence rate is correctly registered. If not, please reach out to the concerned course leader, they will be able to correct it if there where mistakes. DO NOT share the Beacon code to people not attending the class. Teachers do not just rely on Beacon, they also verify by counting the number of students actually attending and compare it to the number of students registered in Beacon. You could be getting in serious disciplinary actions if someone reports you for sharing the beacon code, as well as those who've filled the code without attendind.
-Exceptional Circumstances:
The university recognises that unforeseen challenges can occur which mean that students may struggle to meet submission deadlines; international students might not be aware of the option to apply for extension due to exceptional circumstances. The best way to find out what this is and when you can apply for an EC is by following the link below.
https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/course-administration/exceptional-circumstances
-Assessments and Examinations:
Assessments and Examinations are pretty much self-explanatory, more information can be found below:
Assessments: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/course-administration/assessments
Examinations: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/course-administration/examinations
If you are struggling with doing your assessments, the best way is to reach out to the Academic Skills Team in the university: https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/study-skills .
-Other information:
The University’s International Team has created a SharePoint for the international students where a lot of useful information can be found.
https://staffsuniversity.sharepoint.com/sites/STUDENTSUPPORTANDEXPERIENCE2/SitePages/International.aspx
To sum up everything, if you are struggling with anything, you can overcome it with three simple steps:
- Find out : Find out what it is you’re struggling with and how the university services can help you.
- Reach out: Don’t be afraid to Reach to them because they can and will help you out.
- Take action: Take action and overcome the hurdles you’re facing.
If you do need help with anything else, don’t be afraid to reach out to studentengagement@staffs.ac.uk .