Framework for bilingual and second language delivery with academic partners

1. Definition of the delivery

• a) Second Language delivery (teaching and assessment not in English and solely in a Second Language)
• b) Bilingual delivery (teaching and/or assessment in a combination of English and a Second Language)

It is noted there is a range of possible bilingual delivery options:

• i. taught and assessed in language of delivery (combination of English and Second Language modules);
• ii. taught in one language and assessed in the Second Language (for some or all modules);
• iii. taught in combination of English and Second Language and assessed in English / assessed in Second Language / assessed in combination;
• iv. student choice as to language of assessment;
• v. range of English and Second Language in different assessment components within a module

In order to mitigate risk, the University will focus on working with academic partners on provision where either the entirety of the award is delivered in a Second Language or the award is taught bilingually with individual modules taught and assessed in the defined single language of delivery.
UWL has adopted the key principle that there will be no translation of student work.

2. Percentage of delivery in the English language for bilingual provision

Where the provision is deemed to be bilingual, the percentage of the course delivery, language of instruction and/or assessment in the English language must be agreed.
Ideally UWL should take a standard approach to bilingual provision; a suggested template is provided below for UG and PG provision.

Undergraduate courses:

• Undergraduate degree – normally a minimum of 40 credits delivered in English / 80 credits delivered in the Second Language at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• Students normally would submit assessment in the language in which the module is taught.
• A level of flexibility could be approved for Level 6 final projects, for example, the dissertation/project could be written in the Second Language with a mandatory percentage of the assessment written in English as a summary section.
• At the point of approval and amendment, consideration will be given as to whether special regulations are needed to ensure compensation is applied proportionally to the split of English and Second Language credits.

Postgraduate taught courses:

• Postgraduate degree – normally a minimum of 60 credits delivered in English / 120 credits delivered in the Second Language at level 7.
• At the point of approval and amendment, consideration will be given as to whether special regulations are needed to ensure compensation is applied proportionally to the split of English and Second Language credits.

3. Operations where delivery is bilingual or solely in the second language

For all provision, UWL operations and procedures will need to be conducted in the English language so that all UWL staff are able to undertake their relevant roles in the processes.

These include:

• Course approvals
• Training on UWL processes
• Course set-up and curriculum data entry in the student record system (this will impact the award documentation at the end of the course).
• Course and Module Titles will be in recorded in English, even where credits are delivered in the Second Language
• Where Course and Module titles are the same as existing UWL provision (i.e. for sub-contracted provision), alternative coding will be required and a reference to the delivery of the Course and/or Module in another language may be needed.
• Recording of student names, course and module titles in English will mean all award documentation will be in English, however, the documentation will need to clearly show where the delivery was in another language.
• The transcript and certificate will be produced in English.
• Enrolment processes for Second Language delivery will be reviewed and adapted as necessary.
• Access to University Services including the Library and Student Services will need to be carefully considered; in most cases, it would be expected that the Academic Partner would be able to provide these in full. Where this is not possible, additional costs may need to be charged if the existing Services are not able to provide this in another language.

4. Documentation where delivery is bilingual or solely in the second language

• All Partnership and course-related documents will be produced in both languages where delivery is bilingual. 
• For delivery solely in a Second Language, the course materials should be written in the language of delivery to ensure fluency and should be checked by the Academic Partnership Link Tutor, who should be competent in the second language (see Section 6 below). 
• Student contractual and CMA required documents will be produced in both languages for all bilingual and Second Language delivery. 
• All student-facing documents will be produced in both languages for bilingual delivery e.g., Course Handbooks, Module Study Guides, Terms and Conditions.

5. Translation services and standards

• UWL will determine the standard of the translation required for each document for example:
  • Level 1 Legal – this would be the highest level of translation level used for legal documents
  • Level 2 Professional – this means translated documents would need to read fluently
• Contractual documents will be written in English as they are bound by English law. 
• For Level 1 Legal, UWL will source external professional translation and proof reading services to ensure appropriate standard of translation. 
• For Level 2 Professional, the partner may undertake the translation, but this should be checked by the by the Academic Partnership Link Tutor, who should be competent in the Second Language (See Section 6 below). On exception, UWL or the partner may source external professional translation and proof reading services to undertake this work. 
• The Partner will pay the costs for all required translations. 
• Suggested documents for Level 1 translation include: 
  • Terms and Conditions (For subcontract partner students only) 
  • Academic Regulations 
  • Complaints and Appeals procedures 
  • UWL Student-facing forms – English (ENG) to Second Language (SL) 
  • Course Specification and Module Specification templates 
• Suggested documents for Level 2 translation include: 
  • Course materials SL to ENG 
  • Assessments and assessment briefs SL to ENG

6. Staff language proficiency in English and/or the second language

• Academic Partners will undertake first marking and staff must be proficient in the language of assessment. 
• The Academic Partnership Link Tutor and/or the Course Team will undertake moderation and staff must be proficient in the language of assessment. In this context, proficiency would normally be equivalent to C2 on the Common European Framework (CEFR). 
• UWL will aim to appoint an External Examiner(s) who is proficient in English, the Second Language and the subject. Where this is not possible, External Examiners may work in tandem to cover gaps in linguistic and subject knowledge. In this context, proficiency would normally be equivalent to C2 on the Common European Framework (CEFR). 
• Below are suggested options for UWL Course Teams when exploring the appointment of an External Examiner(s) to bilingual or second language delivery, listed in order of preference:
  • Bilingual External Examiner currently working in UK Higher Education. 
  • Bilingual External Examiner working in the country of delivery but with prior strong experience and knowledge of UK Higher Education. 
  • Bilingual External Examiner with prior limited experience and knowledge of UK Higher Education, normally based in the country of delivery. In this instance, this External Examiner will be assigned a mentor by UWL. 
  • An External Examiner based in the UK without the second language competency working alongside a bilingual External Examiner, normally in the same subject area, based in the country of delivery.