Module Registration Guide 2012–13

for continuing students and advisers

General guidance for students

Registration for modules is normally handled online by the Queen Mary Student Information System (SIS), but before attempting to register for modules in SIS you are advised to consult our study programme and module documentation. At present, SIS implements some but not all Queen Mary regulations and Mathematical Sciences programme requirements, and does not implement any module prerequisite or overlap rules, or other module restrictions. For most students, information about the right year of the right study programme should already be encoded in SIS, but note that our study programmes are based on semesters whereas module registration in SIS ignores semesters, so the same information is displayed differently.

The fact that a module is available in SIS does not necessarily mean you are allowed to register for it although you cannot normally register for a module that is not available in SIS. There may be exceptions, such as intercollegiate modules not usually taken by Queen Mary students, although many intercollegiate modules are already in SIS. If you want to register for an intercollegiate modules and cannot find it in SIS then email full details to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

All students will be automatically registered for all their compulsory modules. Hence, all first-year Mathematical Sciences students and second-year students who do not have any optional modules do not need to (and cannot) register explicitly for any modules.

Module registration

Module registration for 2012–13 for continuing students will take place in three stages:

  1. Pre-registration (or pre-selection) for new modules from 14 May until 17 June. You indicate provisionally what modules you intend to take. This is important because you may not be allowed to take a module if you did not pre-register for it, for example if the module becomes full before final registration opens or if the module requires validation.
  2. Final registration for new modules from 3 September until 7 October. You revise your choice of modules if necessary.
  3. Registration for resits of failed examinations and first sits of missed examinations uses a separate online task within SIS that becomes available later. The strict resit/first sit registration deadline for students in and out of attendance is 5 pm Friday 7 December 2012.

Module approval

The School of Mathematical Sciences normally approves module choices from the start of Welcome Week (17 September 2012) and not before, but we will only reject module choices that do not comply with our published module restrictions and programme requirements.

Changing module registrations

  • To change your module registration after you have submitted it but before the module registration deadline you must first ask your adviser to reject your current registration.
  • Note that it is not necessary to clear all optional module sections; instead you can click the Select button and change individual selections. You may need to delete the module code as well as clearing the check box to remove an option.

Retakes; module registration for associate students

Retakes of modules, and all module registration for associate students, are currently handled outside SIS using a paper-based process. Students wanting to retake modules should consult the Senior Tutor. Associate students should consult their adviser.

Study programmes

Most students should follow the new study programmes for 2012–13, which should be correctly implemented in SIS. (However, study programme changes do not apply retrospectively. For example, if a module is now compulsory in a particular year of a programme, students who are already in a later year are not normally required to take it to "catch up".)

Students who have taken one or more years out of College should follow the earlier versions of their study programmes (as closely as allowed by current module availability). However, SIS only offers the current versions of study programmes, so follow the instructions in the next section.

What if SIS offers the wrong module diet?

If you have very recently changed your study programme then please check every day until the change appears in SIS. If this does not happen before the registration deadline then email the Director of Undergraduate Studies a list of the corrections that are required immediately after the deadline.

If you have taken one or more years out of College, or are a new student entering the second year directly and not following the standard programme, then register for modules that are as close as possible to the correct modules, but with arbitrary incorrect modules chosen as place holders (because SIS requires precisely 120 credits per year) instead of any modules that are not available and then email the Director of Undergraduate Studies a list of the corrections that are required. They will be made as soon as possible. In particular, try to register for the correct modules for Semester A. If necessary, we can remove excess Semester A modules and add missing Semester B modules later.

SIS programme codes

We use UCAS programme codes (G100, etc.) for most purposes and will probably continue to do so. However, SIS uses completely different programme codes and we have provided a translation table to show you how the two codes are related. (This information is also available in SIS via Academic Model / Academic Model Reports / View Programmes and Routes by Department, but this may not be available to everyone.)

Checklist for students

You may contact your adviser for help with module pre-registration if you wish, but you should visit your adviser during Welcome Week (17–21 September 2012) to

  • collect important printed documentation, and
  • discuss your final module registration or confirm that you have registered and are happy with your choices.

The following guidance applies only if your modules are not all compulsory.

  1. Read the information regarding your study programme. In particular, read the introduction on the first few pages and then read the page(s) describing your specific study programme. You may register only for modules allowed by your study programme.
  2. You must register by 7 October for all optional modules that you wish to take in the current academic year, although you will be able to change your registration for second-semester modules (but not first-semester modules) in January.
  3. Decide what optional modules you want to take in each semester. You must comply with all the requirements set out in your study programme and you should normally study 60 credits (usually 4 modules) in total per semester. You are welcome to ask your adviser for advice, either in person or by email or phone.
  4. You must register for precisely 120 credits in total. You should register initially for the optional modules that you think you are most likely to want to take. You can also "sample" other modules during the first two weeks of the semester and if you change your mind then you can delete modules and add other modules (provided they are not full) so as to preserve the total of 120 credits; see the starred item (*) below.
  5. It is your responsibility to ensure that you satisfy all your degree programme regulations, only register for modules for which you have the necessary prerequisites and do not register for modules that overlap with any modules you have taken, are taking or will be required to take later. For details of prerequisites, overlaps and other restrictions see the module details or the summary of module prerequisite, overlap rules, and other module restrictions.
  6. If you are a finalist, please note that you cannot take level-4 modules.
  7. Log in to MySIS using your Queen Mary username (of the form ah1234) and select Module Registration from the menu on the left. Note that your module options will typically be divided into sections that satisfy different rules; in some sections you choose from a short list and in others you enter module codes or select from the whole module database, which is the only way to select modules not specifically listed in your study programme.
  8. Select the optional modules that you want to take and submit your selection. You will be notified whether your module registration has been approved, and if not why not. If it is not clear why your module registration has been rejected, you should ask your adviser, either in person or by email or phone. Please note that you should choose the A occurrences of modules where both A and Z occurrences are listed – the Z occurrences are for Semester-A associate students only).
  9. (*) If necessary, you will be able to change your first-semester module registration up to Sunday 7 October, but not thereafter. To do this, contact your adviser by Friday 5 October and explain what changes you want to make and why. If your adviser agrees to the changes, he or she may also make them for you and re-approve them immediately. See also Changing module registrations above.
  10. If you have not completed your module registration in SIS by Sunday 7 October then you will be registered for default optional modules (as indicated in some study programmes) and you will not be able to change those that are taught in the first semester!

Validation

Registration for any Mathematical Sciences project module and MTH6124 Mathematical Problem Solving requires validation (i.e. approval) by the module organiser. Before your registration can be confirmed you must send the module organiser an email, copied to your current adviser, requesting permission to take the module. This email must include your full name (as registered with the College) and your student number. The module organiser may require you to meet him or her to discuss the module, so you must request validation well before the module registration deadline. If the module organiser agrees that you can take the module, he or she will reply to your initial email request and copy it to your adviser. Without this email, your adviser will not approve your module registration.

Checklist for advisers in September/October

  1. Advisers act as the Programme Academic Approver (PAA) for each of their advisees.
  2. Read the guidance for students above and the information regarding study programmes. In particular, read the general information on the first few pages and then read the page(s) describing study programmes relevant to your advisees.
  3. Daily from Monday 17 September until all your advisees who have optional modules have registered for their modules, log in to MySIS using your College username (of the form ahw123, as used for Publists and QMPlus), select Module Registration from the menu on the left and then select Confirmation of Student Selections in the Programme Academic Approval container.
  4. Click the Retrieve button (leaving the Reg Status at its default setting of ENT) and then select each retrieved advisee in turn.
  5. Check that SIS shows the student on the right programme and at the right level, which is shown by the number in the Sel. Status column (level here represents developmental year). Provided this is correct then, except for special cases, you only need to check the optional modules, which are indicated by the letter E (for Elective) in the Sel. Status column.
  6. Check that the student has already taken (although not necessarily passed; see below) any essential prerequisites for their optional module choices and that they do not overlap with any modules they have already taken, have registered to take this year or will be required to take later. For details of prerequisites, overlaps and other restrictions see the module details or the summary of module restrictions; keeping the latter open in a separate browser tab or window may be useful. Also check that the student has not selected any options that are compulsory in later years. For details of modules to be taken in future see the study programmes; keeping this open in a separate browser tab or window may be useful.
  7. If the module registration is invalid for any reason, add a comment explaining why and reject it; otherwise, accept it.
  8. Students can change their first-semester module registration up to Sunday 7 October, but not thereafter. To do this, you must "reject" their module registration and then either you or they can change their module selection and resubmit it. If you make the new selection, you can also immediately approve it. See also Changing module registrations above.

Prerequisites

According to the Queen Mary Student Guide: "Prerequisite module refers to a specified module that must be taken before a second specified module can be taken." Students should, of course, normally resit any modules they have failed.