Food Regulatory Affairs PgCert/PgDip/MSc (eLearning)

All the courses in the programme are entirely internet delivered through a modular format. Modules have a credit value of either 15 or 30 credit points. The credit rating of a module is in proportion to the effort required from the student, thus a 30 point module corresponds to 300 hours of notional learning time including viewing lectures, tutorials, discussion groups, coursework, assignment and self-study. All modules are at level 7.

For the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Food Regulatory Affairs students undertake taught modules worth a total of 60 credit points and this is delivered part-time over two semesters (i.e. over one academic year) with students taking one 30 credit core module in each semester.

For the award of Postgraduate Diploma in Food Regulatory Affairs students undertake taught modules worth a total of 120 credit points and this is delivered full-time over two semesters (i.e. over one academic year) with students taking up to 60 credit points of modules in each semester.

For the award of Master of Science in Food Regulatory Affairs students undertake taught modules worth a total of 120 credit points and complete a 60 credit research project module. Full-time students normally take three semesters (i.e. one academic year) to complete the MSc.

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (18%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.