Partner Details

Nelson and Colne College Group

Awards

Target Award

Award Description:Higher National Certificate - HNC

Programme Offerings

Part-Time

F2F-NCN-JAN
F2F-NCN-SEP

Educational Aims of the Course

• To provide students with the knowledge, skills, techniques and behaviours needed to support a career as a professional in computing • 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 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.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles and theories relating to computing and computer applications.
2.
Understand and meet the needs of individuals, business and the community, and to understand how workplaces and organisations are governed.
3.
Recognise factors in environmental and societal contexts relating to the opportunities and challenges created by computing systems across a range of human activities
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of practical constraints and computer-based systems in their context; recognise and analyse criteria and specifications appropriate to specific problems, and plan strategies for their solutions.
5.
Demonstrate an ability to specify, design and construct reliable and usable computer solutions.
6.
Deploy appropriate theory, practices and tools for the specification, design, implementation and evaluation of computer-based systems
7.
Analyse the extent to which a computer-based system meets the criteria defined for its current use and future development.
8.
Recognise the professional, economic, social, environmental, moral and ethical issues involved in the sustainable exploitation of computer technology and be guided by the adoption of appropriate professional, ethical and legal practices.
9.
Communicate appropriately with a range of audiences in person, in writing and through ICT
10.
Be able to work unsupervised, plan effectively and meet deadlines, and respond readily to changing situations and priorities.
11.
Work effectively with colleagues, clients, suppliers or the public

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. 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. This programme uses 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. In this HNC, assessment is focused on evidencing that necessary knowledge and skills have been acquired. Modules typically have two assessments of different types. One is often designed simply to ensure that particular knowledge, skill and experience has been gained. Assessments of this type are commonly practical tasks or multiple choice online tests and are sometimes assessed on a pass/fail basis only. Pass/fail assessments must be passed for the module to be passed. The second assessment is a generally graded task in which the extent of a student’s level of attainment can be judged. This is typically a presentation, written assignment or, occasionally, an online test. 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 in this programme.

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. As this is a part time programme, students will apply knowledge attained in their employment to their academic studies.

Programme Structure

Programme Structure Description

The part-time delivery of this programme is by infilling into sessions shared with full-time students, with all students taking a module sharing taught sessions and assessments. None of the modules rely on knowledge delivered by other modules; they rely solely on knowledge on entry. This means that modules can be … 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)

(CAH11-01) computing