The Foundation degree in IT for e-business (Web Specialist Level 4/5) - NTI

The Foundation degree in IT for e-business (Web Specialist Level 4/5) - NTI

Location: Richmond Business School

Price: £6000 (£11000.00 non-EU) . If you are concerned about fee’s for higher education courses , please see below to find out about student loans.

Start Date: September 2012

Weekdays: Wednesday

Time: 10:00-6pm (Please note this course is only one day per week and is day release)

Number of Weeks: 36 for 2 years

 Course Overview:
A foundation degree is a degree level qualification which combines academic study with work place learning. Designed in association with employers, they are qualifications to equip people with the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to achieve academic results as well as improve performance and productivity in the work place.

 Foundation degrees focus on a particular job or profession - in this case Web Specialists. They are intended to increase the professional and technical skills of current or potential staff within a web professions, or intending to go into web professions.

This foundation degree is the equivalent of two thirds of a full honours degree and is a fully flexible qualification.

 This two-year full time Foundation degree in IT for e-business offers you the exciting new opportunity to study towards a Foundation Degree in IT for E-Business as a Web Specialist. This course is accredited by Kingston University but offered in partnership with RACC

 Entry Requirements:

• Level 3 Access to HE Programmes in Computing, Business , Media or other related fields
• Equivalent Work experience in IT and Computing
• Minimum of a PPP in the BTEC National Diploma in IT related subjects, Level 3 NVQ
• International Baccalaureate passed at a suitable level.
• A minimum of 140 Ucas points at AS/A2
• Literacy and Numeracy at a minimum of Level 2 is required (equivalent of GCSE grade C in Maths, English)
• An interview to assess your suitability is required prior to acceptance onto the programme
• Overseas qualifications of equivalent standard to the above.

 Course Content:

 This course provides an equal balance of theory, knowledge and practical skills required to design, plan, implement and manage websites for the e-business needs of a company. The course is equivalent to an undergraduate programme at University therefore contains a proportionate element of theory and practical work required as part of the course.

 The learning outcomes of the course are:  

• Describe how to set-up and manage a website, apply that knowledge in a practical way as well as compare commonly used web technologies and illustrate how they work.
• Explain content design, content management, indexing and linking and apply these principles to the design of a web based information system
• Describe the principles of designing a good human-computer interface, applying these principles to a system design project
  Evaluate publishing software and implement effective solutions
• Compare and contrast examples of web applications
• Capture business rules and constraints to enable development of application software and databases and describe the principles of database design and administration, outlining the concepts of relational and object relational databases
• Demonstrate a sound understanding of the marketing opportunities and legal issues associated with the design and implementation of web sites

Actual modules studied on the course

 Level 4 (Year 1)  

• Introduction to Programming (Visual C#)
• IT Toolbox (Using Social Media, Word press)
  Professional Skills (Employability Skills)
• Introduction to Multimedia Production
• Website Development
• Website Management (Server management)
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Project Level 4 (A Live Work based project)

 Level 5(Year 2)  

• Advanced Website Development and Production
• Data Server Technology
• Information and Project Management
• Multimedia Production
  E-Commerce Applications
• Business Systems Analysis (HCI and UML)
• Project Management Level 5 (A Live work based project – double module)

  Technical Skills and technologies developed on the course include

• Web Technologies: XHTML, CSS2, CSS3, HTML5, XML
• Adobe Web Premium Suite v5.0: Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash CS5
• Apache, MySQL and PHP
• Toolkits like Wordpress and other popular Content management systems and E-commerce shopping carts
• Actionscript AS3.0, Audacity and Final Cut Pro
• Java, Ajax & JQuery
• Development methodologies: UML, Agile
• Web Usability and Accessibility, HCI principles
• Mobile Web and App Development , M-commerce

 Students will also have opportunities to develop employability and enterprise skills through opportunities available within the college. Please note the programme specification is currently being refreshed for 2011/2012 for June. Please contact manoj.nanda@racc.ac.uk for further information.

 Assessment Methods:

 The course is assessed via a combination of examinations, coursework, presentations and practical work. Elements which are assessed only by exam constitute approximately 10% of the overall course. You are also able to submit work based products as evidence of meeting assessment outcomes.

How to Apply:

 If you are interested in this course or require further information please email bit@racc.ac.uk  to arrange an appointment at the next open day ( http://www.racc.ac.uk/infodays )

Students are advised to apply via UCAS http://www.ucas.co.uk/

Our UCAS information is:

Course code: G450
Campus code: I
Institution code: K84

Due to the nature of the majority of applicants at RACC being adult learners - RACC is able to accept late UCAS applications throughout the year. It is advised to apply early due to the limited number of places on this course.

Support with your fees:

Please note, if you are concerned about fees you could be entitled to a student loan which could cover the fees of this course.

Please read the Kingston University update on fees for the foundation degree and financial support. http://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/fees-for-courses-starting-in-2012/

General guidance from student finance direct on getting a student loan:

Student Finance Direct

Bring To First Class: USB memory stick, Notepad, paper.

 Attendance:

This course is not an online distance learning course. Attendance at workshops and lectures are required only 1 day a week in the delivery hours of the course. Materials and assessments are made available online and students are supported remotely. Attendance of lectures is required at a minimum of 85%. Should your employment or personal life impact your study you are strongly advised to contact the course leader.

 What Next ? Further Study and Career Opportunities:

In the third year you can top up your Foundation Degree to a full Honours Degree through Kingston University in Computer Science. The CAT credits you achieve on the course (240 overall) can enable you to apply for level 6 modules through the Open University. The Foundation Degree is also a recognized qualification in its own right, you will be able to go straight into industry and apply your skills. The course also has an option of being converted into a sandwich degree in which your third year can be spent in industry in a placement organised by the placements office.

 Careers Guidance

 Students on the course have access to the colleges own careers advice and guidance service  , access to career support as part of the professional skills module and also ongoing access to the universities own career and employment service : You can find out more here http://www.kingston.ac.uk/careers/index.php

If you are interested to find out more about careers in web design and related jobs, please view  our prospects information on this page: https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/PlanningYourCareer/JobProfiles/Pages/JobFamily0004.aspx

Frequently Asked Questions:

• “How much self-study will I need to do outside of class?”
  You are advised to spend between 8 – 12 hours of study time independently on this programme per week.
• “What will happen if I miss a class?”
  Attendance on HE programmes is essential to keep up to date with the intensive nature of the programme – a level of 80% is necessary or your continuation of the programme will need to be –reassessed . You are advised to contact your course leader proactively if lessons are missed.
  Attendance at exams is compulsory. The minimum attendance requirement is 85% for lectures,
• should a student miss 4 consecutive weeks without contact, the college reserves the right to withdraw the student from the programme.
• “When will the exams take place?”
  Exams take place at the end of both semesters (January and June)
• “Will I get HE credits on this course?”
  Yes by completing modules in each year you will completed 120 CAT Credits each year. CAT Credits are equivalent to Higher education undergraduate programmes
• “Is there any tutorial support?”
  Yes, you will be able to request tutorial support through each module leader and also individual guidance and coaching through your programme through the module leader.
• What is a foundation degree?
  Foundation degrees are two-year higher education qualifications that were first offered in 2001-02. They are designed to meet skills shortages at the higher technical and associate professional levels. Foundation degrees are one level below the honours degree but carry progression directly into the third year of an honours degree in Computer Science. Other universities a such as the Open University also accept HE credits into their top up programmes.

 Information Advice and Guidance:

You can enrol online, over the phone or in person at either site (contact details). Information Advice and Guidance - Not sure which course to go for? Find out more about our IAG service