Agri-food and Land Useupdated 24/9/09
DavidKeirBuilding
Queen’s University
Professional Studies
ALU3012
Module handbook
0910
Module co-ordinator: Dr Karen King
01/330, DKB./MBC108
E-mail:
Careers Advisor:
Mark Gallagher
Careers, Employability and skills,
E-mail: m.gallagher @qub.ac.uk
This module is only available to students registered in the School of Biological Sciences
1. Course content:
1. Pre-placement preparation including, the selection of placement, application forms, CV's and interviews. Evaluation of placement by student, including potential to relate academic theory to the work place and skills development
2. On Placement work including relating academic theory to the workplace, recording activities and reflection in a log book.
3. Post placement reflection of learning and career prospects.
2. Contact hours:
Stage 2 – prior to placement
Tutorials – will be held on Mondays from 10-11am in DKBLG 111during the first and second semesters as indicated in the timetable below.
Compulsory sessions must be attended by all students. During second semester there are 2 compulsory 3 and 2 hours workshop which all students must attend. Other sessions where placement hosts give talks are optional. You should attend those related to your interests/subject area.
This programme is preliminary and is likely to change as speakers are identified. The programme will be regularly updated as speakers become available and you must check this on QOL.These may take place at other times including 11-12 on Mondays as indicated below.
This programme is preliminary and the programme order may change as speakers are identified and confirm. The programme will be regularly updated as speakers become available and you must check this on QOL .
First semester
1 / SEP 28TH (10-11)OCT 1ST (10-11)
OCT 2ND(1.30-2.30) / Introduction to the module (Compulsory)
FQSN and LUEM students
BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
ELTC Seminar Room 2
Greenmount / 1
1
1
2 / OCT 5TH
OCT 8TH
OCT 6TH (10-12)
OCT 8TH (11-1) / Q/A session – How am I going to secure placement?
FQSN and LUEM
BS
CV/cover letter Workshop Compulsory
LUEM
FQSN / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111
ELTC Seminar Room 2
MBC TR1
ELTC Independent Study Room 1 / 1
1
2
2
3 / OCT 12TH
10– 11
OCT 14TH 10.30-12.30
OCT 15
10.00-11.00 / Student Placement Presentations :
FQSN
LUEM
CV / Cover letter Compulsory
AT
BS1 / Year 3 students
Year 3 students
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111
Guidance Centre
Greenmount
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 1
1
2
1
4 / OCT 19TH
11.00- 12.00
10 – 11
OCT 22ND 10-11 / EMPLOYER WEEK 1
FQSN - Food industry NI
LUEM - Overview of Environmental sector
CV/ Cover letter Compulsory
BS 2 / Invest NI
NI Environment Link
Mark Gallagher / ASH 34
Guidance Centre
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 1
1
1
5 / OCT 26TH
11.00 -12.00
10.00 – 11.00 / EMPLOYER WEEK 2
Working as a Dietitian - (FQSN)
Working as an Environmental Consultant / EIA’s. LUEM / Alison Cowen
RPS Group / ASH34
Guidance Centre / 1
6 / WED NOV 4TH
2-5 / FQSN - Looking for Placement workshop / Mark Gallagher / PFC 307 (2.00 – 5.00) / 2/3 hours
7 / WED NOV 11Th 2-5
THURS 12TH / LUEM – Looking for Work Placement workshop
BS - Online Applications and Employability Skills. / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / PFC 307 (2.00 – 5.00)
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 2/3 hours
1
8 / NOV 16TH
10 –11 / FQSN/ LUEM Online Applications and Employability Skills . / Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111 / 1
9 / NOV 23RD
11.00-12.00
10–11
NOV24th 9.30/11.30 / EMPLOYER WEEK 3
FQSN - Roles within a Food Business
LUEM – Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001)
AT Interview Skills / Approaching employers / Kerry Group
ARENA Network
Mark Gallagher / ASH34
Guidance Centre
Greenmount / 1
1
2
10 / NOV 30TH
11.00 -12.00
10.00 – 11.00 / EMPLOYER WEEK 4
FQSN Trends within the Retail sector
LUEM – Areas of outstanding Natural beauty in NI and placement roles / Sainsburys
LaganValley / CausewayCoast AONBS / ASH34
Guidance Centre / 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Timetable cont:
11 / DEC 7TH 10-11DEC 10TH 10-11
DEC10TH
9.30-1030 / Interview skills Compulsory
FQSN/LUEM
BS
Work Placement Documentation
Compulsory
AT / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
MBC 202
Greenmount / 1
1
1
12 / DEC 14TH10-11
DEC 17TH10-11 / Work Placement Documentation Compulsory
FQSN and LUEM
BS / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
TBC / 1
1
Second Semester
WK / DATE / TIME / SESSION TOPIC / DELIVERED BY / LOCATION / TIME1 / Feb 1st
TBC
TBC / Work Placement next steps compulsory
FQSN and LUEM
BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / ASH 612
TBC
Greenmount / 1
2 / Feb 8th / FQSN and LUEM
Project and Ethics / Dr Brian Green / Prof
George Hutchinson / ASH 612 + TBC / 1
3 / Feb 15th / A Career in Teaching
FQSN, LUEM and BS / Mark Gallagher / ASH 612 / 1
4 / Week starting 22nd / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 1
FQSN and LUEM / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC / 3
5 / Week starting 29nd
TBC / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 1
BS
AT / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC
Greenmount / 2
6 / Week starting March 1st / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 2
FQSN and LUEM
BS / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC
TBC / 2
7 / March 8th / Health and safety Compulsory
FQSN, LUEM and BS / Julie McConkey / ASH 612 / 1
8 / March 15th
TBC / Work experience Documentation
Compulsory
FQSN, LUEM and BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / ASH 612
Greenmount / 1
Stage 3 – following placement
Tutorials will be held in a 1 hour block on Tuesday mornings 9-10 am in room PFC 210during the weeks 1 to 4 as described below.
Week / Topic / Lecturer / Hours1 / Introduction to module. / Dr Karen King / 1
2 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
3 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
4 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
9
Friday / Presentation
[PHY/BELL LT] / Dr K King and
City and Guilds / 4
9am -1pm
Students should also the project module sessions for their degree during final year.
You will be registered for the module during your second year and your placement year with the mark being attributed to the module in your placement year.
Students must complete at least 1610 hours ( i.e. 46 weeks x 35hours) of work placement. Students not completing the required hours will have their placement portfolio mark reduced proportionately.
All students are responsible for attaining their work placement.
The work undertaken must be a ’job of work’ not just project work. However, the ‘job of work’ must include the opportunity for students to develop higher level skills development [problem solving, evaluation, idea creation etc.] as would be appropriate for an Honours degree placement such as project management/ personnel management through work such as project management/ personnel management.
Students must also undertake a substantial project which will be equivalent to their Honours project.
All templates referred to below are available from QOL.
i. Assistance in securing a placement:
Sessions on CV’s, covering letters and interview techniques will be held in first semester by staff from Careers, Employability and Skills. First impressions are very important in securing a placement and these sessions are to help with these key aspects.
The initial impression you create through your CV, Cover letter and in person at interview are very important to your potential placement employer, and these sessions will help you create that positive impact.
The Careers Advisor, Mark Gallagher, will assist students seeking placements and will seek placement opportunities. Opportunities for placements will be posted on QOL.
A list of work placement sources and additional information will also be made available through QOL.
Students will also be able to avail of individual interviews with Mark Gallagher to discuss their placement. These are planned for late in first semester and during second semester as required.
ii. Application stage:
During the application stage, students should keep a record of their applications using Template 1 ( available on QOL) and submit this to QOL. This enables the placement team to monitor the types of placement students are seeking and their progress towards securing a placement.
Students are encouraged to seek their own placements. These must be approved by Dr King before you start the placement.
It is advised that students commence the application stage as early as possible in the academic year to help secure employment. Many of the larger employers will close their programmes early in the year and the process is a competitive one.
The procedure for approval is described in Appendix 1.
It is a requirement that students engage fully in the placement process, make an appropriate number of applications and of an appropriate quality.
iii. Pre-placement submission:
Once a placement is secured and approved, students should complete their pre- placement submission, described in Appendix 2, and submit it via QOL.
The pre-placement submission is worth 10% of the module mark.
iv. Prior to departure pack:
Prior to departure on placement, students should collect a pack of forms/information from the School Office in the MBC. Some of the forms in the pack should be completed and returned ASAP to the office. Other forms need to be completed by the student whilst on placement. This pack is described in Appendix 3.
Students must make sure they complete and return these forms – if they are not the placement will not count and the university will not accept any liability for you whilst on placement.
v. During placement:
a. Weekly log book:
During the placement students must complete a weekly log book and submit it at the end of each week to QOL. An example log book sheet is given in Appendix 4. This is available from QOL. The placement team will use the log book submissions to ascertain how students are doing, whether they need any help and also to ensure students are doing appropriate work on which they can reflect on their learning.
You may decide after a number of weeks that a weekly log is too frequent and less frequent submissions will be acceptable.
b. Work based learning elements:
Additionally during the placement students will be required to submit 4 work based learning elements of max 1000 words on aspects of the organisation they are working for which are not directly related to their daily activities. More detail and acceptable topics are given in Appendix 5.
These must be submitted to QOL by the end of weeks 10, 20. 30 and 40 of the placement or pro rata for a more intensive placement. i.e after 350, 700,1050 and 1400 hours respectively.
c. Visits by staff and assessment:
During the placement you are likely to be visited twiceby a member of staff who will ask your placement provider to give an assessment of your work and your employability skills.
You will also be asked to complete the same assessment as a self assessment. Details of the assessment and visit are given in Appendix 6.
vi. Completion of placement:
On completion of your placement you will be required to submit a placement portfolio and give a presentation. More detail of these are given in Appendix 7 and 8.
The placement portfolio and presentation will also be assessed for the City and Guilds Licentiateship award.
You should understand that this module is similar to any other academic module in that the pre-placement submission and WBL elements equate to coursework; the weekly log book to your module notes and the placement portfolio to the final submission/exam.
3. Learning outcomes of the module:
At the end of the module students will:
- have increased their ability to relate academic theory to the work environment:
- have developed identified work related skills:
- be able to critically evaluate their learning from the placement:
- have enhanced their career knowledge.
- have planned, carried out, evaluated and reported on a project.
4. Skills developed:
At the end of the module students will identify and evaluate the skills which they have developed during the placement which may include: communication (oral and written); problem-solving; team work; IT; presentational; personal development and reflection; organisational; time management as described in the Programme Specification and in the skills evaluation template completed as part of the pre-placement submission.
5. Compulsory elements:
Attendance at all compulsory preparation seminars. Submission of pre-placement submission, placement portfolio and delivery of presentation.
6. Assessment:
i. Pre-placement submission 10%
ii. Placement portfolio 50%
iii. Presentation 10%
iv. Project30%
i. Pre-placement submission: (10%)
Must be submitted:
Cv
Covering letters
Refection on applications50%
Forward assessment of skills 50%
For more detail see Appendix 2
ii. Placement portfolio: (50%)
Work based learning element 1,2,3 and 410%
[2.5% each]
Placement tutor assessment10%
Reflective report 60%
Log book 10%
For more detail see Appendix 5, 6 and 7
iii. Presentation: (10%)
For more detail see Appendix 8.
iv. Project: (30%)
For more detail see Appendix 9.
Submission dates:
- The pre-placement submission should be submitted to QOL within 1 week of starting your placement.
- Work based learning elements should be submitted to QOL by the end of weeks 10, 20, 30 and 40 weeks of your placement.
- The placement portfolio reflective report should be submitted to QOL by 4pm on Friday of week 7 of the first semester of final year.
- The hard copy of the full placement portfolio should be submitted to the School Office by 4pm on Monday of week 8 of the first semester of final year.
- The presentation slides should be submitted by Wednesday of week 7 of the first semester of final year.
- The project should be submitted to meet the deadline for the project module in your degree programme.
Templates 2 and 3, the 4 WBL elements and the reflective report should be submitted to the Turnit in software to pick up similarities.
Class id: 135127
Password: alu3012
REMEMBER - PLAGIARISM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
All files submitted to QOL must have your name in the title. i.e.’ J.Bloggs WBL 1’
7. Failure in a module:
There is no module compensation for Level 3 modules.
Students who fail the module, either by not having completed the compulsory elements or by failing to attain a mark of 40% will be required to repeat those elements which they have failed. For example a student who fails the module 36%Fca will be required to retake the coursework or elements of it (the module co-ordinator should be consulted for details).
Students who attain a mark below 40% and pass the module at resit will only be awarded a maximum mark of 40% for their Honours degree classification, although the mark attained will be recorded on the transcript e.g. 56%Ph where Ph indicates pass i.e. 40%, at Honours.
Students who attain a mark above 40 and fail the module i.e 56Fca will be required to retake the coursework and, if successful the original mark i.e in this case 56% will be used in their Honours classification.
Students who fail to gain a placement will either transfer to the 3 year programme and complete a16 week placement or be required to retake their placement following final year and before graduation.
8. Late Submission
Work submitted after the deadline and without adequate explanation or prior arrangement with the Lecturer concerned, will be subject to a penalty. In accordance with University regulations, the mandatory penalty for late submission of work is a deduction of 5% of the total available marks (100%) for each working day late (during term and non-teaching term), up to a maximum of 5 days late, after which a mark of 0 will be recorded. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES can work be accepted and a mark awarded once submissions by other students have been marked and returned to them.
Work submitted late will be considered for an exemption of the late-submission penalty only if accompanied by a completed late-submission form. This form is attached and an electronic version is available in each ALU module handbook on QOL.
Normally acceptable extenuating circumstances include the death of a close relative (parent, sibling, child), serious illness of a close relative placing additional family responsibilities on a student, serious illness of student, accidental or criminal actions affecting student (assault, burglary, fire etc), or other serious disruption affecting student progress (e.g. divorce, protracted jury service). Written evidence is required of student illness (self-certification is NOT adequate) and difficult personal circumstances must be corroborated by a letter from a senior family member, minister of religion, GP or other reputable source.
Students unsure of their position with regard to late submission should contact Dr King to discuss their position.
9. Information:
Information will be posted on Queen’s on line and includes the following:
i. Sources of placements, including placements available through School and Careers contacts.
ii. Procedures for the approval of placements .
iii. Templates for the pre-placement submission.
iv. Advice for students seeking placements abroad.
v. Pre-placement pack – forms to be completed prior to placement.
vi. Health and safety forms.
v. Cover sheet for all coursework.
vi. Information on work based learning elements.
vii. Details of the City and Guilds award.
viii. Details of the placement portfolio and presentation.
Mark Gallagher will support students in searching for placements.
Julie Boyle in the School office in MBC will co-ordinate all administration related to the module.
Her contact details are:
e-mail:
Tel: 0289097XXXX
THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST
AGRI-FOOD AND LAND USE
School of Biological Sciences
Application for Exemption from Late Coursework Marks Penalty
NBThis form must be submitted within three working days of the stated deadline for the coursework submission.
Student Name:
Student No:
Course:
Level/Stage:
Module Title:
Coursework Item:
Stated Deadline Date for Coursework Submission:
Number of Working Days Late:
Coursework submitted after the published deadline will be automatically penalised at the rate of 5% marks for each day late, up to a maximum of 5 working days late, after which a mark of zero will be awarded. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES can work be accepted and a mark awarded once submissions by other students have been marked and returned to them.
NB:Exemption from late penalties will be the exception rather than the rule.
Please submit originals of supporting documentation, eg. medical certificates, etc with this form. Copies of supporting documentation and a copy of this form should be kept for your own records.
Mitigating Arguments (detail below - additional sheets may be used).
Signed:Date:
This form should be returned to the School Office within 3 working days of the stated deadline for the coursework submission.
Students unsure of their position with regard to late submission should refer to the student handbook or contact Dr King to discuss their position. PTO
Staff name: