Transcript Year Abroad

YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT
2014 – 2015
GERMAN DEPARTMENT
YEAR ABROAD
ASSESSMENT: introduction
Assessment of the Year Abroad is an integral and compulsory part of the
Year Abroad (YA). Students who will be undertaking a full year placement
should complete one Year Abroad Assessment worth 120 QMUL credits.
Students who will be undertaking split year placements should complete
two Semester Abroad Assessments, each Semester Abroad Assessment is
worth 60 QMUL credits.
The different departments in the School operate slightly different
assessment modes for the Year Abroad. In order to find out which modes of
assessment are available to you, you must consult the section of the YA
handbook devoted to the language in which you will be spending your
period of residence abroad.
Students who plan to split their Year Abroad should consult the
relevant sections in the YA handbook.
It is vital that you understand the requirements of your assessment
BEFORE you leave for your YA.
P ROGRESSION INTO THE
FINAL YEAR
Progression into final year is automatic even if you
do not complete the Year Abroad Assessment or if you
do not pass it.
However a fail mark for the Year Abroad Assessment
will have a negative impact on your degree
classification since the Year Abroad mark counts for
12.5% of your overall degree result (the same as your
first year results; your second year results count for
25% and your final year results for 50%).
R ESITTING
THE
YAA
Students who fail the Year/Semester Abroad
Assessment can opt to resit it while in their final year.
If they choose to do so, they will be given one or
several written assignments to complete; these will be
spread out over their final year.
Details of the resit assessment are given in the YA
handbook at the end of the assessment section for
each language.
Please be aware that under College Regulations, all
re-sit exams are pegged at 40%.
N ORMAL SCHOOL RULES
APPLY TO THE YAA AND SAA
Please note that normal School regulations apply to the YA and
SA assignments.
This is true in terms of deadlines (if you submit an assignment
within 2 weeks after the deadline without having been granted
an official extension, your mark for that assignment will be
pegged at 40%; if you submit that assignment later than 2
weeks after the deadline without having been granted an official
extension, you will get 0%), word number (your mark for the
assignment could be lowered by a certain percentage if the
word number falls short or is over the recommended limit. This
percentage is at the discretion of the marker) and plagiarism
(you could face disciplinary action in case of suspected
plagiarism as it is an examination offence).
YEAR ABROAD
ASSESSMENT
Students who plan to split their Year Abroad should
consult the relevant section in the YA handbook.
It is vital that you understand the requirements of your
assessment
1.BEFORE you sign a contract for a work placement
2.BEFORE you leave for your YA
There are two modes of assessment:
- Study Placement: ECTS credits + Examination
certificates (Scheine)
- Work placement and Ab-Initio Pathway students: YA Log
YAA/SAA for students on
Erasmus/ Independent Study
Placements
The year abroad assessment will be based BOTH on proof of
fulfilment of the agreed contract (via presentation of certificate of
attendance and transcript of exam results) AND on the
accreditation of their studies abroad as approved by the
Department of German at QMUL.
Number of credits:
Students on full year ERASMUS/Independent Study Placements
must register for courses amounting to 60 ECTS and sit
examinations at the host university (including any resits). Students
on one-semester only ERASMUS Study Placements or
Independent Study Placements must register for courses
amounting to 30 ECTS and sit examinations at the host university
(including any resits).
Please remember that German usually students have more
weekly contact hours than UK students !
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON FULL YEAR
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Students on full year study placements are
required to return with 60 ECTS made up from:
• 8 Teilnahmescheine (attendance certificates including
language courses in German as a Foreign Language)
• at least 4 Leistungsscheine (examination certificates,
modules for which you receive a mark)
obtained in content courses at Seminar, Proseminar or
Einführung level
+ one of the Leistungsscheine has to be from a language
course Deutsch als Fremdsprache
(advanced level)
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON FULL YEAR
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Local ECTS will be converted into Queen Mary
credits
For students on full year study placement:
the final grade is composed of the average of the
4 Leistungsscheine
• if you present more than 4 Leistungsscheine, the
4 Leistungsscheine that have been given the
highest marks will count
• It is strongly recommended that students
register for more than four content courses in
case one of the courses is not completed
successfully.
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON ONE SEMESTER
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Students on an one semester ERASMUS Study
Placement or Independent Study Placement are
required to return with 30 ECTS made up from:
• 5 Teilnahmescheine (attendance certificates including
language courses in German as a Foreign Language)
• at least 2 Leistungsscheine (examination certificates,
modules for which you receive a mark)
 obtained in content courses at Seminar, Proseminar or
Einführung level
+ one of the Leistungsscheine has to be from a language
course Deutsch als Fremdsprache (advanced level).
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON ONE SEMESTER
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Local ECTS will be converted into Queen Mary
credits
For students on one semester study placements
the final grade is composed of the average of the
2 Leistungsscheine
• if you present more than 2 Leistungsscheine, the
2 Leistungsscheine that have been given the
highest marks will count
• It is strongly recommended that students
register for more than two content courses in
case one of the courses is not completed
successfully.
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON FULL YEAR/ONE
SEMESTER ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT
STUDY PLACEMENTS
All essays (Hausarbeiten) that are written to obtain
a Leistungsschein
1.need to be written in German
1.copies of the essays need to be presented to
the German Language Co-ordinator at Queen Mary
before 1st October 2015.
+ the copies of the essays also need to be signed
by the course organizer of the seminar at the
German/Swiss or Austrian University
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
AB-INITIO STUDENTS ON ERASMUS/
INDEPENDENT STUDY PLACEMENTS
Ab-initio students will be required to submit the Year Abroad
Log and their YA mark will normally be calculated solely on
the basis of the marks received for the Year Abroad Log.
In all cases, ab initio students on a full year ERASMUS Study
Placement or Independent Study Placements are still required
to register for
 courses amounting to 60 ECTS
 sit examinations at the host university
 meet the study requirements
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON FULL YEAR
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Choice of your modules: FULL YEAR
+ should reflect your degree programme
+ should be discussed and approved by the German Year
Abroad Coordinator
Semester 1
•Language courses: German as a Foreign Language: at least 5 contact
hours per week
•2 Vorlesungen at least (normally 2 hours each week)
•1 Übung (or Einführung) at least (2 hours per week)
Plus additional courses corresponding to your needs and aspirations
Semester 2
•Language courses: German as a Foreign Language: at least 3 contact
hours per week
•2 Proseminare at least, reflecting your choice of course at QMUL (4
hours)
•1 Vorlesung at least (2 hours)
•1 Übung (or Einführung) at least (2 Hours)
Plus additional courses corresponding to your needs and aspirations
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON ONE SEMESTER
ERASMUS/ INDEPENDENT STUDY
PLACEMENTS
Choice of your modules: ONE SEMESTER
+ should reflect your degree programme
+ should be discussed and approved by the German Year
Abroad Coordinator
Semester 1
•Language courses: German as a Foreign Language: at least 5
contact hours per week
•2 Vorlesungen (normally 2 hours each week)
•1 Einführung) (2 hours per week
•Plus additional courses corresponding to your needs and
aspirations
STUDY REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS ON ERASMUS/
INDEPENDENT STUDY PLACEMENTS
Important:
Courses must be taught in the target language German!
a) The choice of courses should be discussed with your
Year Abroad Coordinator prior to your stay abroad.For
ERASMUS study placements the ERASMUS Learning
Agreement should be completed accordingly and a first
draft needs to be finalised by 31st May 2014.
b) When returning from your host institution it is YOUR
responsibility to supply a transcript of your results: this
must be submitted to the departmental Year
Abroad Coordinator before 1 October 2015.
YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT for
students on Erasmus/ Independent
Work Placements
Year Abroad Learning Log
Students completing an ERASMUS/ Non-ERASMUS Work
Placement are expected to fulfil their contractual duties (as
set and certified by their employers)
+ complete the Year or Semester Abroad Learning Log
The Year Abroad Log consists of

three academic assignments (with sub-assignments)

to be submitted at set intervals throughout the year
YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT for
students on FULL YEAR Erasmus/
Independent Work Placements
Year Abroad Learning Log for students on FULL
YEAR work placements
Submission:
All tasks should be submitted via QMplus on the
dates specified in the YA Handbook
Printed sources need to be scanned and submitted
electronically as well.
If you cannot attach the original text(s) to QMplus
you will have to send it/them by post to the
German Year Abroad Coordinator.
YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT for
students on FULL YEAR Erasmus/
Independent Work Placements
Year Abroad Learning Log for students on FULL YEAR work
placements & Ab-initio students (students ONE SEMESTER work
placement only need to complete Assignment 1 & 2)
The Assessment is divided in three parts:
Assignment 1: Task 1a: Grammatical Analysis (800 words)
Task 1b: Cultural Analysis (800 words)
Task 1c: Translation from German into English
Assignment 2: Task 2a: Reader’s Letter (300-350 words)
Task 2b: Work Placement Report (1500 words)
Assignment 3: Task 3a: Outline of Research Project (500 words)
Task 3b: Anglo-German Research Project (3000
words)
YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT for
students on FULL YEAR Erasmus/
Independent Work Placements
Anglo-German Research project
Learning objectives:

The research project is designed to assess cultural
understanding of Anglo-German topics,

The design of a research question as well as the
development of academic and linguistic skills.

Written in the target language (i.e. German), it is an
essay that argues analytically, comparatively and, if
relevant, from an interdisciplinary perspective.
YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT for
students on FULL YEAR Erasmus/
Independent Work Placements
Weighting of the assignments is allocated as follows:
Task 1a
Task 1b
Task 1c
Task 2a
Task 2b
Task 3a
Task 3b
counts 1.0 times (10%)
counts 1.0 times (10%)
counts 1.0 times (10%)
counts 1.0 times (10%)
counts 2.0 times (20%)
counts 1.0 times (10%)
counts 3.0 times (30%)
The deadlines for these assignments can all be found in the YA
Handbook 2014/15 at the end of each assessment section.
Please make sure you write these deadlines in your diary and
set up reminders on your computer/mobile phone etc. a week
before!
It is YOUR responsibility to submit your assignments by the
deadline!
SUBMISSION PROCESS OF
ASSIGNMENTS
Each task should be completed in the target language (German) and should
be submitted via QMPlus. The electronic submission will provide you with
proof of submission and it also allows us to run coursework through antiplagiarism software. Feedback will be returned within 4 weeks.
Please remember that we cannot let you get unauthorised help by a native
speaker on any of these assignments as the mark you will receive for your
work will be based both on content and your written German! Assignments
where unauthorised help has been received will be marked down!
The School rules regarding late submission of work apply: if assignments are
submitted late but no later than 2 weeks after the deadline, then the mark
will be pegged at 40%. A fail mark (0%) will be given if these assignments are
submitted with more than 2 weeks delay or are not submitted at all unless
substantial extenuating circumstances can be demonstrated (e.g. protracted
illness) and an extension has been officially granted by the Senior Tutor.
YA/SA RESIT INFORMATION
If students were to fail their Year Abroad, they would be
offered a resit option which consists of 2 written
assignments in German that they would do in their final
year. These assignments are as follows:
For students on a Full Year Placement:
- Essay on the Year Abroad Experience (1500 words)
- Anglo-German Research Project (3500 words)
For students on a One Semester Placement:
- Essay on the Year Abroad Experience (2000 words)
Like with all resits, their mark will be pegged at 40%.