Partner Details

Nelson and Colne College Group

Awards

Target Award

Award Description:Higher National Diploma - HND
Recruitable Target

Programme Offerings

Full-Time

F2F-NCA-JAN
F2F-NCA-SEP

Educational Aims of the Course

The general aims of the programme are: • To provide students with the knowledge, skills, techniques and behaviours needed to support a career as a professional in construction and to do so with a clear focus on sustainability and environmental considerations. • To provide a structured ladder of progression including well-rounded and valuable qualification at levels 4 and 5, tailored to the needs of local and regional employers, and supporting progression routes to level 6 and beyond. • To prepare students to work in an environment characterized by rapid change and the need to use knowledge and make judgements slightly beyond the taught syllabus. • To provide students with the maximum practicable flexibility of study (in terms of study mode, timescales and recognition of prior learning) thus enabling them to match their study commitments to personal needs and aspirations.

Learning Outcomes

1.
Recognise the responsibility that Construction professionals have in designing, creating and maintaining a sustainable built environment, and how this can be discharged
2.
Evaluate construction projects in terms of costs and value
3.
Communicate accurately, clearly, concisely, confidently and appropriately to a variety of audiences using a range of formats and employing appropriate scientific and/or professional discipline-specific language
4.
Make effective use of IT
5.
Interact effectively within a group, identify targets in consultation with others within a group, and establish responsibilities and working arrangements.
6.
Reflect on own performance, evaluate own capabilities, set personal targets and plan to achieve those targets
7.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the various disciplines that underpin the study of construction and its sustainability
8.
Demonstrate awareness of the context in which the construction industry and its associated professions operate, including environmental, social, economic, legal, financial and cultural influences.
9.
Recognise the need to consider health, safety and welfare issues at all stages of construction projects from inception, development, adaptation, refurbishment and the management of completed building through to demolition and site restoration.
10.
Solve numerical problems using first principles, computer-based and other techniques.
11.
Analyse, synthesise and summarise information from a variety of sources
12.
Prepare, process, interpret and present information and data, using appropriate qualitative and quantitative techniques and packages
13.
Interpret construction drawings, produce sketches of buildings and building components.
14.
Use specialist software to produce accurate representations of buildings and building components, and to produce accurate, annotated construction details.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Key themes of the teaching and learning strategy on this programme are: • Varied assessment and feedback to enhance the experience of the student. • The availability of flexible teaching and learning modes, using face to face, on-line and blended learning. • Student support through the use of structured and targeted tutorials. • The development and application of theory into practice. • The use of inclusive learning methods • Development of students’ practical skills. The teaching and learning throughout the programme will follow the expectations of the QAA benchmark statement for Land, Construction, Real Estate and Surveying 2019. Teaching sessions will allow for the introduction of new skills, techniques, concepts and theories to enable students to develop their own practice further. Learning and teaching opportunities will be designed to allow for the transfer of learning between the different modules and the integration of theory with practice. Students will learn to produce employment-relevant outcomes, presentations, reports and projects. Students will be expected to think of themselves as independent learners, encouraged by using flexible teaching methods and varied methods of assessment. There is has a mandatory synoptic task at each level. At level 4 this is an individual project and at level 5 it is a group project. There is considerable diversity of delivery needs among the likely candidates for this programme. These include • Traditional full-time learners, mainly students progressing internally from level 3 awards • Day-release part-time learners, mainly those on day release from partner employers • Evening class students, principally either those in construction employment whose employers will not release them during the day or those in other employment wishing to retrain to work in the construction sector • Those unable to study on a week-by-week basis but who could attend in week-long blocks • Those who wish to offset RPEL of their previous studies or experience against module learning outcomes. This programme is intended to meet all of these needs. While the mode and timing of delivery may vary, all students will be assessed against the same learning outcomes and will have the same skills on exit. This programme is designed to use a variety of different assessment methods to ensure that all students, of whatever preference in assessment, have the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of learning outcomes. Assessment is designed to be both formative, in building knowledge and skills, and summative in assessing whether and to what extent required outcomes have been met. At level 4, assessment is focused on evidencing that necessary knowledge and skills have been acquired. Level 4 modules typically have two assessments of different types. One may be designed simply to ensure that particular knowledge, skill and experience has been gained but all modules include a graded task in which the extent of a student’s level of attainment can be judged. Students entering this programme will generally not have experienced a formal examination since GCSE, which for some will have been many years ago. For this reason, there are no formal, written examinations at level 4. Assessment at level 5 is focussed on evidencing the greater level of intellectual skill required rather than the acquisition and application knowledge. At level 5, students are expected to have matured academically and some level 5 modules are assessed in part by formal examinations. This is principally to prepare students who may wish to progress to honours level for the assessment diet they are likely to experience later. In order to reflect the fact that Construction professionals seldom work without access to data, examinations are ‘open-book’ and focussed on the application of knowledge rather than the recall of material learned by rote.

Opportunities for work related learning

Work-related learning is included within this programme, so students will have the opportunity to engage in real world projects and activities. The programme has active links with industry and involves employers in the industrial projects, utilising real world case studies wherever possible.

Programme Structure

Programme Structure Description

For modules with practical competencies, students will be given multiple opportunities to demonstrate competency. A student who achieves a pass mark in the module but who has not yet demonstrated competency will be required to demonstrate competency before credit can be released. It will not be recorded as a failed … For more content click the Read More button below.

Approved variance from Academic Framework Regulations

Some modules within this programme contain assessed practical work that does not contribute to the module mark but that must be completed satisfactorily for the module credit to be awarded. (Approved 28 July 2021)

Entry Requirements

Alternative qualifications considered

HECoS Code(s)

(CAH13-01) architecture, building and planning