Excellent suggestion Kim!
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From: learning development in higher education network on behalf of John Hilsdon
Sent: Wed 17/12/2008 10:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
Kim thanks - your idea sounds very do-able (... and all the better for being informed by research and practice!) - we can hyperlink from the numbers to the explanatory document - taking in Jonathan's points too. Thanks also to Rebecca and Pauline.
Best to everyone
John
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pauline Ridley
Sent: 17 December 2008 10:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
brilliant!
-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network on behalf of Kim Shahabudin
Sent: Wed 17/12/2008 08:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
How about a simple numbering with a link to a "Which level do I need?" page that shows a 'conversion' chart for different systems?
I've been doing lots of online shopping recently and every website seems to use a different sizing code with a separate page to explain it - if the model works for TopShop customers, it'll work for students.
Kim
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Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
Room 107, Carrington Building, Whiteknights, University of Reading, RG6 6UA| ( 0118 378 4218|
: www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice : www.learnhigher.ac.uk <http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/>
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From: learning development in higher education network on behalf of Staal, Jonathan
Sent: Wed 17/12/2008 08:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
Except...
North of the border, with 4-year Honours degrees the norm, 'level' refers to the Scottish Qualifications & Curriculum Framework, 'stage' to a year of a course. Stage 1 of a degree is level 7 on the SCQF. With a lot of students entering university at stage 2 / level 8 and stage 3 / level 9, saying 'first year' without qualifying it can be problematic.
yours
Jonathan
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From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pauline Ridley
Sent: 16, December, 2008 18:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
Since this is aimed mainly at HE undergraduates, very few of whom will be aware of qualification names like Certificate or Intermediate (which are usually only used for exit awards for people leaving a course part way), I think Level 1, 2 , 3, M etc is the simplest for them to understand - with a brief explanation somewhere on the website to show how these correlate with the QAA qualification descriptors (Certificate etc). Although I understand that Foundation degrees are sometimes described as Level 0, in practice the expectations are so similar to HE Level 1 that they probably don't need to be differentiated for the WRASSE resources.
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rebecca O'Rourke
Sent: 16 December 2008 17:44
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: stage/level/year?
It is a very tricky one John. I think the least ambiguous is the descriptionn in the final box - avoiding numbers or letters. Would that work for you, do you think? If you need something snappier, then I think Certificate, Intermediate, Honours, Masters and Doctoral work best. You might want to contact Paul Mayes at Teesside - they have done something similar - on a much smaller scale - as part of the JISC Emerge projects and wil probably have given this some thought too. Rebecca
-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Hilsdon
Sent: 16 December 2008 17:20
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: stage/level/year?
Dear All
As some of you will know we've been developing a project called WrAssE here in Plymouth - it is a collection of examples of student writing accompanied by teachers' comments. The project should have been launched some months ago but has been delayed by a coding problem in creating the user interface. We think this is now very close to being resolved but as we try to iron out glitches, various other issues have arisen. I am writing to ask your opinion about one of these:
We are categorising the examples of student work by subject area and 'level' and are looking for more a useful, student-friendly, comprehensible way to do this. We have included work from programmes including foundation, undergraduate and masters level programmes.
Teachers, students and bodies such as the QCA, QAA, SEEC use a confusing array of terms, numbers and descriptors for what we want to call 'level' ... Whilst most students think in terms of first, second and third year work, this of course is only useful for 3 year undergrad courses! Many academics talk about 'stage' ...
We could use the QAA numbering as follows:
1 Certificate
C level
Certificates of Higher Education
2 Intermediate
I level
Foundation degrees, ordinary (Bachelors) degrees, Diplomas of Higher Education and other higher diplomas
3 Honours
H level
Bachelors degrees with Honours, Graduate Certificates and Graduate Diplomas
4 Masters
M level
Masters degrees, Postgraduate Certificates and Postgraduate Diplomas
5 Doctoral
D level
Doctorates
... but there is a possible risk of confusion over the first year of Foundation work (which some call level 0) and what is called Level 2 in the table above .
Does anyone have any bright ideas about how we might tackle this?
All ideas welcome!
John
John Hilsdon
Head of Learning Development
Room 103, 21 Portland Villas
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth
PL4 8AA
01752 587550
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