Paper SCAP 11/34

Short Course Unit Information Form (UIF) UIF1011

The fields highlighted are those required for completion for NON-CREDIT BEARING SHORTCOURSES- YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE APPROVED UIF ON THE SYSTEM BUT ONLY COMPLETE THOSE FIELDS SHOWN BELOW. ALL FIELDS NOT REQUIRED TO BE COMPLETED SHOULD BE MARKED WITH AN ‘X’

The UIF provides essential information to students, staff teams and others on a particular unit.Please refer to the University’s Guidance notes on Unit Information Forms before completing the details below

SECTION 1 – Changes made to Section 1 of the UIF will require Faculty level approval. If substantial changes to Units/Courses are required, consult with Sub Dean (Quality Enhancement) for advice

Unit Name / This is the name that appears on a student’s transcript and hence it should indicate the broad topic covered.
  • The name should succinctly cover the focus of the unit.
  • The maximum number of characters allowable (for purposes of SITS) is 120 though names shorter than this are to be encouraged.
  • Acronyms such as PPAD and PDP should be avoided as should the designations 1 and 2 such as Biochemistry 1 and Biochemistry 2.
  • ‘Jokey’ titles should be avoided.

Unit Code / You should leave blank if a new unit.
Level 4,5,6,7 / The University may be moving to a system of different level designations for the 2008-2009 academic year i.e. the current Level 1 will become Level 4; Level 2=Level 5; Level 3=Level 6; M level=Level 7. For the purposes of this form, you should continue to use current levels in this section.
Credit Value / The normal credit value for a year-long unit is 30 credits. Other values are possible and will be determined at the point of validation of the unit. A separate justification for non-30 credit units should be provided.
Location of Delivery / You should indicate the main teaching location. It should indicate which of the University’s campuses the unit will be primarily taught at, or the name of any partner institution that will be the main location of students.
Summary/Overview / This section should provide a descriptive overview of the unit (typically around 100 – 200 words) and should give students a picture of what the unit is about and how it will be taught.
Aims
OPTIONAL / In this section you should give a succinct definition of what the unit aims to achieve.
  • Normally 5-6 aims are expected and there should be a maximum of eight.
  • The aims should be provided as a bulleted list.
  • The aims should address knowledge, skills and attitudes as appropriate.
  • They may identify the relationship to other activities/units or courses.

Core Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit you should be able to: / Assessment Criteria
To achieve the learning outcome you must demonstrate the ability to:
1
2
3
4
5
6

SECTION 2 – Any changes made to Section 2 of the UIF will normally require Faculty level approval

Period of delivery
AND FREQUENCY / You should indicate the period of delivery. Course teams are free to design units to be run in any appropriate period as justified by the needs of the students and of the course of which the unit is a part. However, the following should be noted:
  • Where units are not year long, then unit teams will be responsible for the assessment arrangements – there will be only one assessment period where there are university invigilated examinations and all results will not be ratified until after this assessment period.
  • Units will need to meet the requirements of all students who are taking them – timetabling requirements may constrain design.
  • Each unit will have a home department/school/division, but if the unit is delivered in more than one course, at the development stage, implications of this should be considered (see Section 5 for administrative requirements).
  • Approving the period of operation is part of the approval process and changes cannot be made without authorisation.

Pre-requisites/Restrictions / You should identify any required or recommended pre-requisites and/or any banned combinations.
Student Activity
(10 notional learning hours = 1 credit) / Activity / Notional Learning Hours
Lectures
Seminars/tutorials
Lab/Field work
Workshops
Rehearsals
Assessment
e-learning
Self-directed study
Group work
Other (specify)
Total
Approach to Learning / ‘Realistic learning’ is the term used to describe the broad experience of students studying at the University of Bedfordshire (from CRe8). Realistic learning provides a focus around which the associated curriculum infrastructure is developing, since it has implications, for example, in the sort of learning spaces we create, how support structures work, the skills we expect of students and how we promote the curriculum to students.
There are five dimensions to realistic learning, the purpose of this section being to describe the way in which the unit supports learning which is:
  • Meaningful – [the curriculum must have personal, social, intellectual or practical relevance].
  • Active– [students should be engaged in the learning process not passive recipients of it].
  • Reflective– [the curriculum aids reflective processes which assist with the internalisation of students’ experiences and their ability to make connections across boundaries (for example between units, and between the curriculum and the outside world)].
  • Challenging– [learning comes from working creatively with new and demanding material and experiences which challenge existing constructs, knowledge and understanding as well as cultural and other assumptions].
  • Collaborative– [learning is a collaborative and supportive social process and involves students learning from other students as well as from tutors and other key staff].
Not all units will emphasise all of these in depth, but you should give some indication of how the unit will address each.
In order to give students a greater feel for the sorts of learning activities they will be engaged in (other than the student activity table above) and how they relate to each other, you should include a brief description of the approach being taken to deliver the learning outcomes and content.
Skills Development / Communication
To help with the development of this you will
Information Literacy
To help with the development of this you will:-
Research and Evaluation
To help with the development of this you will:-
Creativity and Critical Thinking
To help with the development of this you will:-
Assessment Strategy
No / Assessment Method* / Description of Assessment Method / Weight
% / Learning Outcomes Assessed / Submission week (assignments) or length (exam)
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6
*The following codes for assessment methods apply:-
AR / artefact / PC / practical
CB / computer-based / PF / performance
CS / case study / PL / placement
DI / dissertation or project / PO / portfolio
ES / essay / PR / presentation
EX / exam / RE / individual report
GR / group report / OR / oral
IT / in-unit test / OT / other
LR / literature review

SECTION 3 - Once initial approval of the unit has been given, the Unit Co-ordinator may make changes to this section, following appropriate consultation

Outline Teaching Schedule
Here you should provide either a week by week tabular summary and/ or a thematic textual summary of the curriculum content.
Recommended Resources
You should first specify resources that are essential – this should be kept to the minimum e.g. could be restricted to a set text that students would be expected to buy. Then list any background resources; again, for the purposes of the UIF this should be a reasonable number and can be split into different sources e.g. texts, journals, websites or other sources. Whilst resources will usually mean anticipated reading material, if your course is distance learning, for example, you will need to note Internet and PC access expectations.
Essential
Background

SECTION 4 – Administrative Information

Faculty
Field
Department/School/Division
Unit Co-ordinator
Version Number / Indicate number/academic year – this shows the version of the UIF e.g. this might be - 1/07 or 2/07 or 3/08. Every time there is a change in the form, there should be a new version number/year.
Body approving this version / e.g. FTQS Committee, University validation.
Date of University approval of this version (dd/mm/yyyy)
Shared Units – Indicate below all courses which include this Unit in their diet

Form completed by:

Name: ……………………………………………………….. Date: …………………………………………

Authorisation on behalf of the Faculty Teaching Quality and Standards Committee (FTQSC)

Chair: …………………………………………………………Date: …..…………………………………….

Unit Updates
Date
(dd/mm/yyyy) / Nature of Update / FTQSC Minute Ref: