Office of the Campus Registrar—Graduate Studies & Research October 2016

Pursuit of excellence

Examination Edition GRAB your copy

Pursuit of Excellence—Examination Edition

GRADUATE STUDIES

THESIS TRACKER

You may access the GSTT by

logging on to the Student Administra-

tion System (SAS) using your SAS login

information (i.e. Student ID# and Pass-

word).

Q. How do I use the GSTT to apply for

examination of my MPhil, Doctorate or

PhD Thesis?

A. Select STUDENT SERVICES from the

menu, then Click the Graduate Studies

Thesis Tracker option; select Submit

Application; complete all fields.

Effective immediately, all Research Stu-

dents (i.e. MPhil, Doctorate and PhD)

are required to use the GSTT to apply

for examination of Thesis.

IN THIS ISSUE: Examinations 2016

Dear Graduate Student,

We are pleased to bring you another edition of the GRAB titled:

Pursuit of Excellence—Examination Edition.

Recently, we hosted our Most Outstanding Thesis Award recipients at an

Evening of Excellence held at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge and Conference Cen-

tre. It was an extraordinary event which allowed the families, friends and aca-

demic colleagues of the award recipients to celebrate and share in their suc-

cesses. As you embark on your own academic quest, we want to encourage you

to pursue excellence. We trust that you will be inspired by this celebration of

excellence and invite you to view scenes from the event on the last page of this

publication.

Make excellence a habit by continuing to familiarize yourself with the relevant

regulations and procedures governing your degree and graduate diploma in

this issue of GRAB, your copy.

Finally, a warm congratulations to the 2016 Graduating Class!

The Distinctive Graduate: Celebrating Excellence

Sandra Powell-Mangaroo, MSc, BSc, CPS Assistant Registrar Office of the Campus Registrar -Graduate Studies and Research Mona Campus

ISSUE #4: OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2016

Application for examination of thesis using the

GRADUATE STUDIES THESIS TRACKER (GSTT)

Q. What is the GSTT?

A. GSTT is the acronym used for the Graduate Studies Thesis Tracker,

which is an online application portal to be used by graduate research students

to apply for examination of thesis and to monitor the progress of their thesis

examination. Students will initiate the process, by completing and submitting

the Application for Examination online not less than three (3) months before

the expected date of submission of the thesis.

See Regulations 3.15

READ MORE ABOUT THE GSTT

http://www.mona.uwi.edu/postgrad/sites/default/files/postgrad/uploads/Guidelines%20and%20FAQs%20for%20Graduate%20Studies%20Thesis%20Tracker%20Application.pdf

i) Application for Examination using the

Graduate Studies Thesis Tracker (GSTT)

ii) Promoting Academic Integrity

iii) Collaborating in Teams for Coursework

iv) Grading Scheme

v) Re-sit of Written Examinations /

Coursework

vi) Scenes from the Evening of Excellence in

honour of UWI Graduate Scholars—held

June 1, 2016

3

GRADUATE MARKING SCHEME

Pursuit of Excellence—Examination Edition

Read more…

www.mona.uwi.edu/postgrad

PROMOTING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Q. Can I electronically check my coursework and projects for plagia-

rism before I submit them for examination?

A. Yes. The UWI maintains a zero-tolerance approach to all acts of cheat-

ing and plagiarism. Therefore, you have been provided with access to a soft-

ware called ‘TURNITIN’ to check and to make the necessary revisions and

amendments to your work before submitting it for examination.

See also TURNITIN Guidelines on the GRIP website

http://www.uwi.edu/grip/default.aspx

Please set up your Turnitin account using the access code provided by

the Office of Graduate Studies and Research

See also PowerPoint on:

“How to Avoid Plagiarism through proper referencing”

on our website www.mona.uwi.edu/postgrad

See Regulation 1.80-1.83

Collaborating in teams for coursework

Q. I am the team leader. Is there a way to ensure that each member

benefit based on their contribution to the coursework assignment?

A. Yes. The regulation states: “In respect of any courses in which the stu-

dents collaborate in teams and submit team reports as components of their coursework requirements, the report of each team may identify which por-tions of its contents have been contributed by which student”.

See Regulation 2.66

Passing Grades:

A 70-100%

B+ 60-69%

B 50-59%

Failing Grade:

F 0-49%

Other Failure notations

FC Failed (Coursework)

FE Failed (Examination)

FMR Failed (Medical Reason)

FA Failed (Absent)

AWARD OF DEGREE WITH DISTINCTION

Read Regulations 1.73, 1.74 and 2.6

AWARD OF DEGREE WITH HIGH

COMMENDATION

Read Regulation 1.75

4

Produced by: Office of the Campus Registrar—Graduate Studies and Research Mona Campus Kingston 7, Jamaica West Indies Customer Service: 876-935-8997 Email: postgrad@uwimona.edu.jm Website: www.mona.uwi.edu/postgrad

October 2016

Serving you with HEART (Honour, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, Teamwork) - June 1, 2016

Re-sit of Written examination/

coursework

Q. I did a re-sit of my coursework assignment but failed it

again. However, I had passed the written examination. What

should I do?

A. (i) Students are allowed only two (2) attempts at a course or

any component thereof. So if you failed twice, you may be re-quired to withdraw from the programme. If you are required to withdraw, you would normally be required to sit out for 2 years before being permitted to re-enter the progamme. (ii) Students have the right of appeal. Therefore, you may submit a letter to the Assistant Registrar, with adequate justification; explaining the rea-sons for your failure and why you should be permitted to continue in the programme. (iii) Your appeal must have the support of your academic director/coordinator or head of department before it can be considered by the Board for Graduate Studies and Research. (iv) Note that your appeal could be either approved or denied. (v) If you failed an elective course on the second attempt, you may seek permission from your programme coordinator/academic di-rector to pursue a substitute course and must make every effort to pass that course. See Regulation 2.2-2.4 and 1.56-1.59

SCENES FROM THE EVENING OF EXCELLENCE

The Scholars’ Breakfast was replaced by an Evening of Excel-

lence in honour of UWI Graduate Scholars, under the

theme The Distinctive Graduate: Celebrating Excellence

held on June 1, 2016, Mona Visitors’ Lodge and Conference

Centre. The evening’s tribute was to the Most Outstanding

Thesis award recipients: Dr. Dale Rankine (PhD Physics) and

Dr. Sandra McCalla (PhD Philosophy). Guest Speaker: Hon.

Dr. Horace Chang, MP, Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica.