Overview

ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY FOR STUDENTS NOT COMPLETING SECOND UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION IN MIDWIFERY

The Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health), NFQ Level 6, is an alternative diploma pathway for students who do not satisfy the pass standard for the Part B practice module (NU2083) on the BSc (Hons) Midwifery programme. Students who do not pass the Part B practice module for Year 2 of the BSc (Hons) Midwifery on the first and repeat attempts as per module descriptor will re-register for the non-clinical Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health). This pathway does not confer eligibility to practice as a Registered Midwife.

To complete the Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health), a student must pass all Part A modules for the second BSc Midwifery Examinations and achieve a pass in the Part B independent study module NU2084 (10 credits). Students who complete the Part B study module are required to exit the programme with a Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health) award. 

SECOND YEAR - SECOND UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION IN HEALTH STUDIES (WOMEN'S HEALTH)

Leading to: NFQ Level 6, Minor Award - Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health)

A student may not register for the Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health) programme until the First University Examination in Midwifery and the relevant Part B module have been passed. In order to be admitted to the Second University Examination in Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health), each student must have attended lecture modules in Part A to the value of 50 credits and a study module in Part B to the value of 10 credits.

Students who complete the Part B study module are required to exit the programme with a Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health) award. 

Programme Requirements

For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements. 

Programme Requirements

Examinations

Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Programme Learning Outcomes

Programme Learning Outcomes for Diploma in Health Studies (Women's Health) (NFQ Level 6, Minor Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of life and social sciences relevant to health studies (women's health);
• Demonstrate knowledge of team working with individuals, groups and communities;
• Promote health and wellbeing when working with women as individuals, groups and communities across the lifespan.

*** Only for Incoming First Years and Repeat First Years 2024/2025 ***
*** Click here for Marks and Standards for all other years ***

Marks and Standards

These Marks and Standards should be read in conjunction with the Programme Requirements and the Book of Modules.

Fitness to Practise

All students on programmes subject to Fitness to Practise in UCC will be required to comply with the Fitness to Practise Policy and meet the relevant Fitness to Practise standards, in order to progress to the next year of his/her/their programme. Click here for a list of programmes subject to the Fitness to Practise Policy.

Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1000.

First Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass first year and progress to second year, students must have satisfied the Fitness to Practise requirements and must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 50% across all modules in Part A,
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of at least 40 credits in Part A,
3. A module mark of at least 45% in any remaining modules in Part A, and
4. A pass judgement in the practice placement module in Part B.

Students who fail to complete the practice placement module at the Summer Examination Board due to extenuating circumstances (e.g. sick leave), may have an Incomplete Placement Judgement (IP) recorded.

Pass by Compensation: Students who satisfy each of the above criteria are allowed to compensate in modules to the value of 10 credits and pass the year overall.

Second Year - Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.

Second Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass second year, students must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 50% across all modules,
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of at least 50 credits,
3. A module mark of at least 45% in any remaining modules.

Pass by Compensation: Students who satisfy each of the above criteria are allowed to compensate in modules to the value of 10 credits and pass the year overall.

Award of Honours in the Diploma Award

An honours classification is awarded for the final diploma using the final year examination results and marks carried forward from the penultimate year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the penultimate year marks plus 66.67% of the final year marks will be used to calculate the final diploma award.

Honours will be awarded as follows:

1. First Class Honours: ≥ 70%
2. Second Class Honours, Grade I: ≥ 60% and <70%
3. Second Class Honours, Grade II: ≥ 55% and <60%
4. Pass: ≥ 50% and <55%

Examination Boards

• Provisional marks for Semester 1 examinations are released in January/February of each year. These marks are subject to approval at the University Examination Board.
• Marks for all modules taken in Semester 1 and 2, including those wholly assessed by Continuous Assessment, will be presented to the University Examination Board at the end of Semester 2.
• The Part B Independent study module may be completed when the student has exhausted all supplemental opportunities available for the BSc practice module or when the student has chosen to forgo their supplemental opportunity. The marks for the Part B Independent study module will be presented to the next available Examination Board for the Non-Clinical Alternative Pathway.

Supplemental Examinations and Assessment

• Students who fail to achieve the progression standard for the year at the Summer Examination Board must complete Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment for those specific module(s), where there is provision to do so.
• Please refer to the Book of Modules for requirements governing the Supplemental Examination and Assessment for individual modules. Note: For some modules there is no Supplemental Examination and Assessment.
• The marks achieved in the Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment of a repeat module are considered at the Autumn Examination Board.
• The actual mark achieved by the candidate in the Supplemental or Repeat Year Examination will be recorded on the student record (Academic Transcript).
• The maximum mark that will be taken into account for aggregation and progression purposes is a pass level, unless the student has been granted a cap waiver or deferral by the University Mitigation Committee, or a University Examination Board, or has been approved to defer the previous attempt by the University Mitigation Committee.
• At the Autumn Examination Board, marks from all passed modules approved at the Summer Examination Board are carried forward and are combined with the marks achieved in Supplemental Examinations and/or Assessments. The pass and progression criteria are applied to the aggregate mark achieved.

Note: The mark achieved at the last examination/assessment attempt is the mark that is included in the calculation of the aggregate mark for pass and progression purposes.

• Students who fail to complete Part B (the practice placement module) at the Summer Examination Board due to extenuating circumstances (e.g. sick leave), may have an Incomplete Placement Judgement (IP) recorded until the Autumn Examination Board, after which an Incomplete Placement Judgement (IP), Pass or Fail Judgement will be awarded. Students failing to achieve a pass judgement in Part B at the Autumn Examination Board will be required to repeat the failed CAT in a repeat year.
• If a student fails to achieve competence in their CAT at the Summer Examination Board, the student will be provided with a supplemental repeat opportunity as prescribed in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Policy for Repeating a Clinical Module. Students failing to achieve a pass judgement at the Autumn Examination Board will be required to repeat the failed CAT in a repeat year. In addition, failure to attend 'repeat time' and/or 'time owing' as prescribed/scheduled by the School of Nursing and Midwifery will result in a fail judgement and students will be required to repeat the module in a repeat year. A student can only repeat Part B once in a repeat year. Results of the repeat year clinical practice module (Part B) will be presented to the next appropriate Examination Board. This is the final opportunity for the student to repeat; and the student must exit the programme if they do not achieve a pass judgment.

Exemptions

All passed modules carry an exemption, which is limited to a period of five academic years (or two in the case of Computer Science modules) subsequent to the award of the exemption.

Repeat Year Examinations

Students retain module exemptions, if any, and must repeat all failed/absent modules, including those modules where the failing mark previously achieved was greater than the level of compensation (≥ 45%) but who failed to achieve the progression standard for the year (see above). The pass and progression criteria are then applied to the combination of full marks achieved in modules passed at the first attempt, plus capped marks achieved in modules in the Repeat Year Examinations.​

Note: For students selecting different modules not previously taken, there are no restrictions on the marks awarded for those modules at the first attempt in a repeat year. The selection of different modules by the student means that the student foregoes any previous marks achieved in the original modules (including previously passed modules).

Two Year Rule

Students must pass/progress within two academic years of the date of first registration for a year, otherwise they cannot continue in the programme. Any individual year can be repeated only once, however, a maximum of two failed years may be repeated during a student’s programme of studies. Thus, students must complete their studies ordinarily within five years of registering for the First Year of the BSc programme.

Terms and Definitions

Programme Description

• The programme description is outlined in the Programme Requirements tab.

Module Descriptions/Assessment

• Module descriptions, including the pass standard for a module, special requirements to pass a module, and assessment elements and their weightings, are contained in the Book of Modules.

Marks and Credits

• A maximum of 100 marks may be awarded for every five credits of a programme.
• Some modules are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis only, i.e. marks are not awarded.

Pass and Progression

• Progression is defined as the permission granted to a student to register in the subsequent academic year for the next set of modules within his/her/their programme of study.
• Compensation is defined as the process by which a student, who fails to satisfy some of the regulations for credit in a specific module, is nevertheless recommended for credit to be awarded on the grounds that the failure is offset by his/her/their performance in the other modules on his/her/their programme of study.