Resources 1. Information about the Programme

(See also Resource 8 Information and communication)

For all potential students. . .

Many potential students will consider whether or not they would be able or want to undertake the programme(s) you offer. This raises the question of how you can help people to reach an informed decision.

Many aspects of programmes will be of interest to potential students:

What is the programme about? What does it cover?
What prior knowledge, experience, skills or qualifications do you think students will need to tackle the programme?

"Many people feel that I should not be in the course that I am in."

What materials for learning will be provided by the department, and how much do students have to provide for themselves? (E.g. Are there lots of books to be bought and read? Is guidance given on essential and optional reading and other materials? Do students need access to computers or other equipment?)

"When we are talking about 8 textbooks that have over a thousand pages, per year, I cannot read that."

How is the programme taught? (E.g. Are there labs, placements, lectures, tutorials, etc?) Is there a heavy emphasis on attendance?
How many students are in your classes (lectures, tutorials, seminars etc)?
When and in what ways is the programme assessed?
How does the programme fit into the overall degree structure? What else can students choose to study if they take this programme? How many credits does it give students towards the overall qualification?
Can the programme be studied at different paces, full-time or part-time?
If students carry on with this subject, are there any new requirements? Is it taught differently in later years? Is there a lot of competition among students for carrying on with the subject?
Who can students contact if they want more help in making up their mind about whether this would be a good programme for them to take?

"Who IS my 'academic adviser'? I didn't know I had one!"

Information about your programme, which addresses the above types of questions is likely to be useful to most potential students. The more clearly and simply the information is expressed, the more accessible it will be. Some consideration also needs to be given to where the information is best made available, such as the department web-site, the University prospectus, the institution's administration offices or liaison services.

For some students with impairments. . .

People with various impairments will almost certainly be among those looking for information about your programme. And for the majority of this latter group, programme information, which addresses the questions above, will usually be sufficient to help them to decide whether the programme would be a wise choice for them. However, some potential students might need information in a different format, or some additional information.

Some people who are blind, partially sighted, dyslexic or who have some other difficulty in accessing standard text, may benefit from having your programme information in a different format, such as in Braille, on disk, or audio-cassette. People who are blind, and who rely on screen reading software to access web information, may be able to do so if your web-page conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and if your web-pages do conform to these guidelines, other users are not likely to be disadvantaged.

Guidance about whether your programme is likely to be particularly difficult, for some students with some impairments, could usefully be included in general course information. Some of the reasons why a course could be inaccessible may not be obvious from general course information. For example, potential students who use wheelchairs would need to know whether part of a course has to be held in a building which is not accessible for people in wheelchairs. Potential students who have reduced stamina would welcome information about whether timetabled teaching takes place in rooms far away from each other, with limited time between classes.

Other reasons are likely to be incorporated in general course information. For example, it might be that a modern language programme involves reliance on aural acuity, and you are likely to have touched on the aural nature of course delivery in a general section on how your programme is taught. However, if the programme also relies on visual material, such as videos and pictorial images, then it would be useful for a potential student who is visually impaired to know about this in advance. If your general information already tells people who to contact if in doubt about whether the programme is suitable or not, then potential students with some impairments will know how to address any continuing uncertainty about whether the course will be accessible for them.

Next: Features of the whole programme of Study

Comments and Opinions

Copyright: The University of Strathclyde 2000
Extracts from this document may be reproduced for education or training purposes on condition that its source is acknowledged.