Gower College BA (Hons) Sports Coaching and Performance

Students’ attendance will be monitored very closely – this will include monitoring your punctuality. You are reminded that Gower College Swansea and Swansea University will not tolerate any unacceptable attitudes towards your studies and failure to respond to warnings about attendance will result in the College and University taking appropriate action. The College and University expect you to attend all the teaching sessions associated with each module on which you have been enrolled. 

If you are absent for any period, you must provide the College and University with an explanation for your absence. Wherever possible you should seek permission in advance for any unavoidable absences. 

As the awarding body, you will be required to meet the expectations outlined in the Swansea University Engagement monitoring policy. There are a number of reasons why monitoring engagement is important however the first and foremost is to give you the best chance of success in your chosen field of study. For more information, see the Swansea University Engagement Monitoring Policy and Procedure. 

Please note that staff at Gower College Swansea will provide reports to the University on students’ engagement with the programmes. 

Please refer to the relevant policy documents, FAQ's and examples of academic misconduct on the following University webpages:  

• Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct  

• Academic Misconduct Procedure  

Academic Integrity 

Academic integrity reflects a shared set of principles which include honesty, trust, diligence, fairness, and respect and is about maintaining the integrity of your work and your award. Academic integrity is based on the ethos that how you learn is as important as what you learn. 

Academic integrity is based upon a number of core principles. This means: 

• Taking responsibility for your own work and studies. 

• Respecting the opinions of others, even if you do not agree with them. 

• Respecting the rights of others to work and study within the ‘learning community’. 

• Acknowledging the work of others, where it has contributed to your own studies, research, or publications. 

• Ensuring that your contribution to group work is represented honestly. 

• Supporting others to behave with academic integrity. 

• Following the ethical requirements and professional standards appropriate to the discipline. 

• Avoiding actions which would give you an unfair advantage over others. 

• Ensuring that the results of research or experimental data are represented honestly. 

• Complying with the assessment requirements. 

Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all student assessment, from taking exams, making oral presentations, or writing assignments, dissertations, or theses for assessment. 

The College and University are committed to providing support and guidance to students on study skills, to reduce cases of accidental plagiarism and you are advised to seek further advice from your Personal Tutor if you are in any doubt as to what is required. 

Academic Misconduct 

Academic Misconduct happens when a student acts in a way that gives themself, or another student, an unpermitted advantage. This applies whether they act alone, or with others to do this. This can occur in any assessment that a student takes in pursuit of their qualification at Swansea University.  Students may intentionally or unintentionally commit academic misconduct; therefore, it is important to be aware of what is considered an offence by the university.  

Swansea University and Gower College Swansea are committed to ensuring a high-quality educational experience for their students, supported by appropriate academic, administrative and welfare support services and facilities. However, there will be instances when students may feel dissatisfied with the teaching and learning, facilities or services provided by the University, or with the way the University or its staff have acted or omitted to act. It is expected that students and staff will make reasonable efforts to resolve matters informally at the outset. Most student complaints can be handled fairly, amicably, and to the satisfaction of all concerned through informal channels. Complaints relating to Gower College Facilities and/or teaching, or services provided by Gower College Swansea should be directed to Gower College Swansea via the Complaints Procedure. For any complaints relating to the programme itself, and/or services provided by Swansea University, please direct these to Swansea University via the procedure outlined in the Swansea University Complaints Procedure.   

Extenuating Circumstances (EC’s) are defined as serious and acute problems or events which are beyond a student’s control or ability to foresee which may have affected a student’s performance and/or may have impeded a student’s ability to attend, complete, or submit an assessment on time (i.e., health problems, work requirements, family issues including bereavement involving a close relative.) 

If you feel that your studies have been affected by such circumstances, it is important that you speak, as soon as possible, to your Academic Tutor or Module Lead and submit an Extenuating Circumstances (EC) Form. Please see our Student Guide for Submitting an EC Request for step-by-step information on how to submit a request. Further advice and guidance can be found at: Extenuating Circumstances. Please see the Policy on Extenuating Circumstances for full details. Your administrative point of contact for help with submitting an Extenuating Circumstance request is the FSE TNE and Collaborative Partnership Team at Swansea University, FSE-Gower@swansea.ac.uk. 

If your request is accepted, you may be given an extended deadline, deferral, or exemption, as appropriate. The entire process takes place online and you will be notified of the outcome via an email from the online system to your Swansea Account.  

Important notes: 

• Requests must be submitted within 5 working days (before or after) the effected assignment deadline. 

• Requests should be submitted before the deadline whenever possible. We always advise students to submit EC requests before the submission date unless you have circumstances that will not allow submission before the deadline, and requests may be rejected if submitted after the deadline without a valid reason for the delay. 

• Supporting evidence should be uploaded to the online EC system at the time of the EC request, if possible, but you can submit your EC Form and then log back in and attach any supporting documents/evidence later. Supporting evidence must be provided by you within 5 working days of the date that you submit your EC request. 

• If you know that you will not be able to provide documents/evidence to support your request within the 5-working-day deadline, you can upload a personal statement to the Documents section of the online EC system to explain why you are not able to provide independent evidence at that time, and to advise when the evidence will be available. Please note that a personal statement does not replace evidence, and outside/independent evidence to confirm your circumstances will still be required. 

• The College and University will assess each case on an individual basis and decide whether an extension or exemption is possible. The College reserves the right to consult with colleagues at Swansea University on any case before taking a decision. 

The College has an extensive range of Learner Support services. These include: 

• Student financial support 

• Careers advice and guidance 

• Study Support 

• Togetherall  

• DSA Assessment 

• Pastoral Coaches 

• BetterJobs BetterFutures 

• HE Library 

As well as your Personal Tutor, the college has a team of dedicated Student Support 

Officers who can offer help and support on a number of issues that may be affecting 

your studies. They offer one to one support and can refer onto other agencies for 

additional support if needed. For more information, you can email StudentSupport@Email.com.  

The University also has a large range of support available to students, including Wellbeing and Disability Services, Money and Support etc. These services are fully confidential and are in place to help should you need it. For a full list of these services please refer to the University Student Services webpages. 

It is important to note that you are eligible to access support provided by either Swansea University or Gower College Swansea however, the team(s) will direct you to the most appropriate colleague or service for support. Gower College Swansea is your primary service provider in relation to your student support. You can see all information and wellbeing support services available via Swansea University Wellbeing Support and Gower College Swansea, GCS and You. 

If you decide to stay in Swansea University Accommodation, please see our Residential Support pages for advice and information.  

Swansea University and Gower College want to ensure that your wellbeing is a priority, this includes ensuring you are well to study. Please see the Support to Study procedure for further information.