Computing Foundation Year

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures, seminars, laboratory sessions, fieldwork, practical activities etc. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities.  Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures, and laboratory sessions are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group project work. 

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least four occasions during your foundation year.

Contact time

In a typical week you will have around 12-13 contact hours of teaching. 

Typically class contact time will be structured around:

• Information giving, facilitated discussions, small group work, presentations
• Practical skills – the opportunity to practise group facilitation, presentation, communication and listening skills
• Visiting speakers and opportunities to visit other settings are regular features of the course.
• Most of the computing seminars take place in state-of-the-art PC labs using a variety of software specific to each module. 

Independent self study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 25 hours of personal self-study per week.  Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including The Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources. 

Duration

1 year full-time or 2 years part-time

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, and visiting speakers with specialised expertise.  Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy work carried out by staff and you can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

All modules have both formative and summative assessment elements. Formative assessment allows tutors and students to recognise strengths and weaknesses in learning and to address those issues immediately. Summative assessments are graded and count towards the final module grade, and they are assessed against the specific module learning outcomes.

Typically, 30 credit modules will have 2-3 assessments

Throughout the year the concept of continuous assessment and/or building up expertise in different assessment types applies. A variety of assessment types(report, portfolios, presentation, and case study) are designed to suit different learning styles

Different types of employability skills are embedded in all modules.

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.