The UK academic system

As an international student, if you are coming to study at University of Gloucestershire from overseas, you may find that the UK academic system differs to the education system in your own country.

The following guidelines will help you understand what to expect while studying at the University. 

Independent work and research

During your previous studies your academic focus may have involved a significant amount of time in the classroom. Studying at a university in the UK is typically more independent. Most lectures or seminars will last at least one hour, and you will be expected to work and prepare for classes autonomously. While studying at the University, you will be asked to express your own opinion, engage in debates and challenge existing viewpoints.

When writing and submitting your work, University of Gloucestershire expects its students to maintain the highest of standards and always comply with academic integrity. For more information visit our Student Charter and our pages on academic quality standards.

More information on studying in the UK can be found on the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) webpages.

Different teaching methods

Teaching styles differ depending on your programme of study. At University of Gloucestershire, you can expect to encounter a range of teaching and learning methods. These include:

• lectures (large groups of students from across your programme)
• seminars (smaller groups of students from a particular module)
• practical work (e.g. lab, sports, health, and art courses, field trips, etc)
• tutorials (one-to-one and/or small groups)
• private study (individual, study groups etc).

Attendance and engagement monitoring

UK universities also put an emphasis on attendance. The UKVI (Home Office) requires the University of Gloucestershire, as your Student route sponsor, to monitor your attendance and engagement with your course. We do this to keep all our students safe and to protect our Sponsor Licence.

You must attend all in-person classes as well as engaging with the online elements of your course. Your in-class attendance is how we will monitor your engagement with your course.

We are using a system called Jisc Learning Analytics to monitor your attendance. Your lecturers will provide you with a code at the start of your classes which you will then enter via MyGlos (see the ‘Check into Lectures’ tile) to evidence you were in attendance. If your lecturer does not provide you with a code please ensure that you request one.

You must not provide the code to anyone else. If you are found to have passed on a code this will be dealt with very seriously by us in line with our academic regulations.

Different assessment methods

The most common forms of assessment are examinations, which usually take place at the end of the academic term, and written coursework, which is usually in the form of essays and reports. You may also be asked to prepare individual and group presentations, and to work on collaborative projects.

You will likely be marked on a scale from 0 to 100, although scaling may be different according to your programme.

For further information, please refer to the assessment section in the Academic Regulations for Taught Provision.

For information on how UK university marking compares to other countries, please refer to the Graduate Recruitment Bureau’s International Degree Equivalents.

The British Council has launched a new open online course (MOOC) on preparing to study and live in the UK.