Dissemination on the introduction and development of 60 & 120 credit level 3,4 & 5 courses in the

Creative Media Industries

http://www.terrysimsrandd.com/LinkingLondon.html

8th April 2011

Why 60 & 120 Credit Courses?

Overview of Progress

Terry Sims

There is a strong demand for professional standard short courses in photography that can be accredited.

“Higher Education in photography largely neglects the skills needed for success in the workplace. It is all very well to teach semiotics & Roland Barthes but to not teach lighting skills, other technical skills or any business skills at degree level is obviously a decision that universities have made and therefore the slant of most HE photography courses is to deliver photography as art, thus producing artists and not photographers. I regularly meet people with first class BA's in Photography and MA's who do not understand the fundamentals of exposure, cannot competently use Photoshop, cannot control artificial light, do not understand copyright issues and so on and so on and therefore are unsuitable for assisting or many other areas of employment.”

Quote from 2010-11 survey.

• With specialist modules/units individuals within the industry would be able to extend their workplace skills while gaining credits to improve their documented qualifications.

• Graduating students from FD courses would be very interested in short part time accredited courses at level 6 as they usually want to continue their development but find the BA route is not always adequately industry biased.

• Can only be economical if it incorporates blended learning that can include the workplace experience.

• Perfect for the UCAS concept of a bridging year. • Existing / returning students could use these courses to

replace modules they failed. • Interactive Webinars Bridging years and skills top up, • It is no longer good enough to have a single discipline

degree to ensure employability • Many employers require a multi-skilled work force and It

is far more common to change ones career during ones lifetime as traditional employment either disappears or changes it's emphasis.

• Bridging modules taken part time / distance /blended learning.

• Students could build up credits towards a degree in a second subject to APL and iseexisting degree modules and work experience.

• This could be combinations of academic / vocational degree content e.g. FDA in multiple media with BA/MA in Business studies.

• HNC Business with FDA Photography Institutions need to work together i.e. a Perfect combination would be FDA Photography and possibly BA Creative writing at Birckbeck.

Is there a place for 60 & 120 credit courses in HE?

Who are the target markets?

•In employment wishing to up-skill

•In employment wanting recognised qualifications for their existing skills

•Mature students wishing to retrain in a new discipline

•School and college leavers who do not wish to spend too long in education or want

to train part time

•Students with incomplete HE qualifications

Is there a place for students to gain more vocational skills in addition to an FDA or BA

honours

IndustryAcademics

Progression Routes

Part time level 5/6 courses

Full time level 5/6 courses

Distance learning level 5/6 courses

Working in the industry

Who could benefit

Graduating students from FD and HND courses

People working within industry who wish to expand their skills base

Distance learning students wanting hands on practical tuition.

When surveyed students requested the courses below

• Video production• Photoshop & re-touching• Any other course related to photography e.g.

business management• Any photographic skills• Anything to do with it-skills or creative media• Digital Video • Animation

Industry involvement & support

Survey feedback

Seminar

Support in design and development of delivery

Visiting speakers

Work-placements & Internships

The sector has a need for work based learning modules using both academic and workplace

delivery

Topic 3

Flexible delivery methods and styles most suited to these courses.

Part time

Full Time

Distance

Block delivery

i.e. 60 credits in 6 weeks

Delivery

• With this years reduced undergraduate places and increased applications and next years prospective fee increases higher education must grasp the nettle and consider alternative delivery methods, industry relevant content and funding of courses.

Students could consider

Take two 60 credits at the same time and get HNC in 20 academic weeks (7.5 calendar months).

Or a full HND in 15 months

The way forward

Industry Contribution

The creative media industry needs to consider it's own contribution to higher education if or wishes to have a reliable source of new blood.

How can the industry contribute ?• Funds to subsidise courses• Time in the form of delivery of

units/modules or part delivery of them Resources

Marketing

• College Web site

• Direct Marketing

• Skillset Website

• Trade Associations and publications

• Trade Shows

• Links from Industry web sites

• Linking London Website

http://www.terrysimsrandd.com/LinkingLondon.html