Teaching and Learning

Please also refer to the general UCL website for teaching and learning for guidance as well as the information below.

General Information

1. You are expected to attend all of your scheduled teaching, whether online or face-to-face. Any teaching that is provided face-to-face will also be provided online, depending on how you have chosen study. 
2. The Mathematics degrees here are demanding and difficult and require a lot of work - in particular, it is very important to do the weekly assignments in each module. This typically includes watching pre-recorded lectures, attending synchronous classes and doing coursework.
3. In order to progress to the next year of the degree/graduate, you must pass all modules and take 120 credits each year. Some modules are non-condonable and must be passed in order to progress. These include the compulsory first year maths modules, and some other compulsory first year modules. However, some fails can be condoned (i.e. counted as passes). Up to 30 credits can be condoned each year, with a maximum for the whole degree of 60 credits. See the Progression webpage for more details.
4. If you have a narrow fail in an exam, you may be offered a re-sit. You need to be available in to take the late summer assessment exam in order to be able to progress. Dates of re-sits are not negotiable. For more information please see the Exam Information section.
5. Check your college e-mail account regularly - this is one of the main ways we will communicate with you, in addition to module-specific information provided via Moodle. Please also refer to the departmental website.
6. Keep your personal details up to date on Portico.
7. If you become unhappy with the course, fall behind, need help or experience personal difficulties, seek advice/help quickly, in the first place from your personal tutor or the Departmental Tutor. See the Advice webpage for more information.
8. Cheating can have very serious consequences, for example a penalty on a module mark, zero for a module, failing the year or losing your whole degree.

 

(i) Plagiarism applies particularly to projects and to students taking modules outside Mathematics - if you quote material from somewhere (including the web) you must reference it and not present it as your own work.

(ii) Copying course-work is also not permitted, although discussing problems with fellow-students is reasonable.

(iii) Cheating in exams normally leads to the most serious sanctions.

If you miss a formal exam for some good reason, make sure the Departmental Tutor is informed as soon as possible. If you want extenuating circumstances taken into account, you will need to apply for extenuating circumstances before the given deadline. Medical circumstances must be supported by a letter from a GP or hospital. You should make sure you are registered with a GP in the UK.

Dr Mark Roberts (Departmental Tutor)

(Room 604A, e-mail m.l.roberts AT ucl.ac.uk, tel 020 7679 2833)

Managing Your Degree Programme

Detailed information about degree structures, options, syllabuses, timetables, supporting material for individual modules etc, can be found on the Mathematics departmental website.

Information about your past module results, your choices of options, which degree programme you are on and so on can be found on Portico, an electronic information management system accessed via the college website. You will need to check your own details on Portico, for example that you are entered for the correct modules (and resits if applicable), and you will need to enter your choice of options on Portico. You will also access the exam timetable for the formal May examinations via Portico.

Advice on choice of options is provided at various times of year, in particular at departmental registration at the start of the session. You may also consult your personal tutor or the departmental tutor. Portico itself provides some information on the allowable choices, but you may also need to consult the detailed information on the departmental website where you can find detailed syllabi and further details.

Lectures and Problem Classes

The primary method of teaching and learning in the Mathematics Department is by means of lectures, reinforced by coursework, problem classes, small group tutorials, self-study, peer-assisted learning (PAL), discussion with other students, and discussion with staff on an individual basis. Some courses also involve computer work, and some have a substantial project component.

The lectures are one of the primary means of teaching. They will be pre-recorded and made available for asynchronous learning. It is important to make good use of them and watch them in a timely way.

First year Mathematics courses: For each of these (compulsory) courses there are pre-recorded lectures made available each week, and weekly synchronous tutorials each lasting an hour. Some of the tutorial groups are face-to-face and some online.

Second year (Term 1) Mathematics courses: For each of these (compulsory) courses there are pre-recorded lectures made available each week, and weekly synchronous classes, alternating between small group tutorials and large classes. Some of the tutorial groups are face-to-face and some online.

Second year (Term 2) Mathematics courses: there are pre-recorded lectures made available each week, and weekly synchronous classes. Some of the synchronous classes are online and some may be face-to-face.

Third and fourth year courses: normally there are pre-recorded lectures made available each week, and weekly online synchronous classes.

Student Assessment of Lectures

Students are asked at the end of each Mathematics course to fill in an anonymous questionnaire on their assessment of the course. The forms will be analysed and considered by the head of department and the teaching committee. The numerical results are made available to students. 

More information about the importance of student voice, including the SSCC and details about Unitu, please see the Student Voice webpage.

Reading Weeks

Mathematics Department teaching will not take place during the reading weeks in term 1 and 2. The dates for these weeks can be found with the term dates. These weeks provide a time to go through what you have studied so far and make sure you understand it. If you are doing a combined degree and so are taking courses from other departments, their teaching may continue during the reading weeks. Certain other activities may take place during reading week depending on your modules and yeargroup. Although teaching does not take place formally in the reading week, you are free to consult your tutors or course lecturers on an individual basis.

Courses with Project and Computer Work Components

Certain courses involve work on computers and/or project work:

First year

• MATH0011 (Mathematical Methods 2): programming project.

Second year

• MATH0058 (Computational Methods): programming project.
• The Year 2 Project: non-assessed group project in Term 2

Third year

• MATH0032 (An Introduction to Mathematica): programming project.
• MATH0022 (Galois Theory): includes presentations and a small project.

Fourth year

MATH0084 (Project in Mathematics): A large-scale project, including a presentation.

Coursework: Problem Sheets

In many courses regular course work is set. In most courses, this consists of problem sheets given out to be completed and handed in a week later. In some courses, coursework includes online quizzes.This is a very important part of the course - working on problems is one of the best ways of getting a good understanding of the topics (as well as learning to solve problems!).

For each first year and second year (Term 1) Mathematics course, coursework will consist of biweekly problem sheets and bi-weekly online quizzes. The sheets usually contain both assessed and unassessed questions. You are encouraged to attempt all questions, and some help will be available during synchronous classes. You should give in your solutions to the assessed questions on the date requested: your work will be marked and returned to you about one week later. You will receive model solutions for the assessed questions, and some of them may be gone over in class. It is important to look at your marked work (when returned) to see what you got right, what wrong and to note any comments from the marker.

MATH0010 also has an in-course assessment, which may be attempted more than once, and which has to be passed in order to pass the module.

All second year (Term 2) Mathematics courses and some third/fourth year courses also have course work - assessed work may be given every week or less often. The lecturer will make it clear what work is assessed.

Late submission of coursework

In general it is not possible to submit coursework late and you will obtain a mark of 0 for that exercise sheet. If you have to miss a coursework or cannot submit it on time due to illness or have other extenuating circumstance you should inform the lecturer/problem class teacher.

Please also see the section on Assessment below. 

Keeping Coursework

Please note that you should keep all your returned marked courseworks: you may be required to re-submit them for scrutiny at the end of the year. You will also find your coursework useful when you come to revise.

Co-operating and Plagiarism

Plagiarism, or copying work from other students or books, is not allowed, and may lead to penalties. When you are working on a problem, it may well be helpful to discuss it with other students, and indeed you may sometimes be asked to work in groups. However, you must write the work up independently and on your own. Please also read entry on Plagiarism in the UCL Student Handbook.

Personal Tutors

All students are assigned a Personal Tutor for the duration of their time with the Department. You should be check who your personal tutor is via Portico. If you do not know who your personal tutor is, or cannot get in touch with them, please contact the Departmental Tutor Dr Mark Roberts: m.l.roberts AT ucl.ac.uk.

First Year Tutorials

First year Mathematics students have four tutorials each week, one in each module. Slightly different arrangements apply for combined honours students. These tutorials are held in a small group (usually 15 students) for an hour each week. Tutorials provide a good opportunity to sort out any material from the lectures that you haven't understood. Don't be afraid to ask questions - this is one of the things the tutorials are for!

Tutorial groups are assigned in the beginning of term. if you do not know who one of your tutors is, please email the admin team at math.ugteaching@ucl.ac.uk. 

Office Hours

The lecturer for each course will allocate time (usually one ‘office’ hour per week) when they will be available to answer questions on the course. This time will be advertised to students on module Moodle pages. Some modules will have office hours ‘by appointment’, where students should contact the lecturer to arrange a time to meet.

Contact details for all members of staff can be found here.

Mentoring

These are voluntary, student-run sessions for first year students, is run by second or third year student mentors with the help of the Transition Team. The student leaders do not act as teachers but as facilitators, i.e. they don't give lectures, but help the group arrive at better understanding. The academic staff don't attend sessions or receive any reports of individual attendance. Some students have found this very helpful.

Assessment

Assessment is predominantly by formal written exams. Please see the Exam Information page for more details. Many courses have a coursework component (often 10-15%). It is necessary to attend and do coursework satisfactorily in order to pass a course. If inadequate course work is attempted, you may be considered "Not complete" and withdrawn from the exam, resulting in automatic failure of that course. Please read the section on Examinations, and note the information in the UCL Student Handbook as well.

Attendance and Absence due to Illness

Attendance

You are expected to be available to attend classes (either online of face-to-face) during all of term time. If your attendance is very poor, you may be asked to leave the course.

Absence due to illness or other unavoidable cause

If you have to be absent for a period of more than 2 days, please let the Mathematics Departmental Office know (telephone: 020-7679 2894, email math.ugteaching@ucl.ac.uk). If your absence is longer than a week, please speak to the Departmental Tutor Dr Mark Roberts when you return to college, providing a doctor's note if relevant.