Welcome

The Pearson BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) is a globally recognised vocational college programme. It focuses on practical learning, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in your chosen field and build a portfolio to kickstart your career.

At DCFE, we offer HNDs that are respected worldwide as they are offered in colleges and universities in over 50 countries around the world. After completing your HND, you can seamlessly transition into various universities in Ireland and beyond, boosting your educational journey. Or, you can move directly into the world of work in your desired industry knowing that you have the practical edge that will make you stand out.

Ireland has a stellar international reputation in media and creative arts. For decades, Colleges of Further Education have been the launching pad for countless success stories, both nationally and internationally. Dunboyne College is proud and excited to offer this launchpad to our students, through the HND.

We've crafted our programmes to be engaging, fun, and highly relevant. Our dedicated staff is here to support your learning journey and build your confidence and skills.

We're thrilled you've chosen DCFE as part of your college journey. Get ready to embark on an exciting path of learning, growth, and achievement. 

Begin here, go anywhere.

3 - Assessment

We will deal with some of the important details later in this section, but please remember the following:

• Every assignment is important; you can not pass a unit if you do not submit all your assignments.

This may be different to what you have experienced before, especially if you are coming to our HND from one of our QQI Level 5 foundation courses. Your lecturers will support and mentor you throughout the assessment process, but please do not lose sight of the fact that every assignment brief is important.

3a - Assessment Methods

Each unit will have different methods of assessing you and your lecturers and course coordinators have worked hard to ensure that each assessment is relevant, important and useful. Given how different each unit is, it is best to speak to each of your lecturers about the assessment for their units.

In the meantime, here are some things which are common to all units

• Assessments can be broken down into two categories:

  • 1. Academic (theory, understanding, analysis or thinking)
       These generally ask you to think and put an argument or point of view forward for discussion.
       For example: Present an argument for what you feel is the most important film of the last 20 years.
       
       

    2. Practical (skills-based)
       These generally ask you to perform tasks using skills which you have developed on the course
       For example: Produce a short film piece in the style of your choosing.
       
       

• All units are practically assessed, where possible.
  We do not believe in an essay for the sake of an essay. The HNDs are practical courses, and the majority of the work you do will be practical.
  
  

• There are going to be academic assignments such as research, essays, reports etc.
  Remember that every assignment is important, and you need to complete every assignment to pass a unit. When a lecturer has designed an academic assignment, keep in mind that they and the rest of the teaching team have worked hard to ensure that is relevant to the practical course you are studying.
  
  For example; it is not too difficult to follow a recipe to make a nice dinner, but what if you want to change that recipe or come up with your own so it suits your tastes even more? You could try guesswork, and throw in some salt, pepper and herbs and hope it works out.  But, if you spent some time doing research and thinking about how different ingredients work together, you would then know that if you want something to taste a certain way, you need to use a pinch of this and that, rather than guesswork.
  
  Having a solid academic or thinking background to how films and music are put together will help us when we are asked to create our own in practical assignments. In other words, the majority of academic assignments you get will help you with the practical ones.
  
  The last thing to say is to highlight that not all academic work is getting your head stuck in books or reading technical articles. Academic work is about thinking and understanding and we can understand what goes into making a film by watching it or about the recording studio production techniques of an album by listening to it.
  
  We hope that your time with us shows that college work can be more than writing an essay, just for the sake of writing an essay. 

3b - Assessment Regulations

DCFE operates the Higher Nationals in accordance with all relevant BTEC quality assurance guides. These guides are underpinned by DCFE policies which can be accessed through our website by clicking here.

3c - Submission of Coursework

Within the first few weeks of the course, students will be provided with an assessment schedule for their units. This is a year plan of sorts, which outlines the submission dates for your various assignments. Students must ensure that they do not miss any of the deadlines.

3d - Attendance

DCFE expects students to attend all timetabled sessions. It is in the student's interest to attend these and in many cases, unexplained absences will negatively impact assessment and grades. Where absence has an extenuating circumstance, for example, if a student is ill, then alternative arrangements can be arranged. More details of this will be provided by your course coordinator.

Late admittance into a session is at the discretion of the lecturer and may be refused depending on the session.

Given the practical and teamworking nature of the HND courses, attendance is crucial. In some units, absence from a critical class or missing an assessment date may impact the grades of other students, such as in team-based projects.

DCFE understands that some absences can not be avoided, though we expect students to notify us in advance or as soon as possible after an absence and to take responsibility for catching up on any work missed.

Students who feel their studies are being impacted by absence,  should contact their course coordinator as soon as possible. The course team and college will offer advice and where possible and appropriate, provide additional assistance to help students overcome the impact of their absence.

3e - Extensions to Submission Deadlines

Details about extensions for assignment deadlines can be found in the policy section of the DCFE website. Your course coordinator will also cover this with you.

5 - Unit Grading

The unit grade is what you achieve at the end of each unit after you have submitted all your coursework. Grading on an HND is probably going to be new to you, especially if you are coming from Leaving Cert. or QQI Level 5 courses. Let's go straight into an example by looking at a radio-related unit shown below.

There are two learning outcomes (LOs) in this example.

The first Learning Outcome (LO1) says that once the unit is finished, students should be able to "discuss the principles of radio production...".

• In other words, when they get a job in a radio station, they should be able to talk with their colleagues about the building blocks of good radio based on an understanding of the history and the current state of radio.

The second learning outcome (LO2) says that students should be able to "explore radio production techniques and technology". 

• In other words, once they have that job, they will have a solid knowledge and understanding of the practical techniques that go into radio production

If we consider the above example:

• If a student ticks the P1, P2, P3 and P4 boxes, they get a pass

• If a student ticks the P1, P2, P3, P4, M1 and M2 boxes, they get a merit

• If a student ticks the P1, P2, P3, P4, M1, M2 and D1 boxes, they get a distinction
  
  

• If a student ticks P1, P2, P3, P4, M1 and D1, they get a pass

  • Why? Because they missed out on an important M2 criteria

  • This is quite rare, and your lecturer will support and mentor you to ensure you have the best opportunity to achieve all the criteria available.

5b - Grading Expectations

Grading in the first year is different to the second year from the point of view of the level or quality of work that students need to produce. Here are some general guidelines.

7 - Assessment Authenticity

As a student, it's crucial to understand the guidelines for ensuring the authenticity of your work. Here are some important points to keep in mind:

Authenticity of Your Work

You should only submit work that represents your independent effort. This means that the evidence you provide for assessments must be your own creation.

Declaration Statement

When submitting your work, you will be required to sign a declaration. In this declaration, you confirm the following:
    - The evidence you're submitting is entirely your own.
    - You acknowledge that making a false declaration is considered a form of academic misconduct.

Maintaining Authenticity

To ensure your work remains authentic, it's important to:

• Complete assignments with integrity, avoiding any form of plagiarism or cheating.

• Seek clarification from your instructors if you're uncertain about any aspect of an assignment.

• Refrain from seeking unauthorized help or using work that is not your own.

• The college operates advanced anti-plagiarism and language model detection software which analyses all student work uploaded for submission.

If, during an assessment, your lecturer suspects that some or all of the evidence in your work is not authentic, they will follow the college's policies for addressing academic misconduct. Remember, maintaining the authenticity of your work is not only an academic requirement but also an important aspect of personal and professional integrity. Always strive to produce work that reflects your own effort and understanding.

9 - Teaching and Learning

We actively engage in teaching methods that stimulate academic involvement, foster challenging yet constructive discussions, and encourage students to self-reflect in preparation for their professional careers. Furthermore, we promote autonomous and independent learning to help students develop the academic skills, experiences, and techniques necessary as they progress through different levels of study.

Our focus is on developing programmes geared towards preparing students for the workforce. We design curricula that incorporate employability skills, emphasise ethical and diverse perspectives, and introduce students to both contemporary and foundational research. All our teaching and learning approaches align with the expectations of employers and society, guided by external benchmarks such as professional and statutory bodies. This way, students who complete a Higher National Diploma will possess the attributes, skills, principles, and behaviours necessary to make valuable contributions to local, national, and international industry.

We highly value the contributions students make to their own educational experiences, as well as the experiences of their peers. Student engagement and input are integral to a student's life within our programs. We collect student feedback on various teaching and learning matters, which we use to inform and improve future practices in both the program of study and the Centre itself.

9a - Quality and Depth of Learning

We ensure a high-quality teaching and learning experience for our students. This includes providing them with qualified and experienced lecturers, an engaging curriculum, fostering motivation and inspiration among students, and offering a support system that addresses both their pastoral and academic needs.

In addition to delivering a quality learning experience, we also encourage our students to achieve a deep understanding of their subjects, moving beyond basic explanations and descriptions. We expect our students to demonstrate the ability to analyse data and information, make sense of it, and form evaluative judgments. As they advance in their studies, there's an increasing emphasis on applying critical thinking skills to synthesize knowledge, drawing from relevant theories, concepts, and models.

Our commitment to delivering a quality learning experience with both depth and breadth aligns with established educational frameworks. Specifically, our Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) align with the Level 6 Higher Certificate on the Irish qualifications framework. This ensures that the HNC and HND programs maintain the same level of academic rigour and expectations as the early years of a university degree program.

We aim to provide our students with an experience that mirrors what they would encounter at a university program. This includes:

• Access to comprehensive library resources, including required reading materials, research papers, and journals.

• Utilisation of a virtual learning environment (VLE) to enhance teaching.

• Collaboration with local employers to present real-life case studies.

• Development of versatile unit deliveries that encompass a variety of teaching and learning techniques.

• Actively seeking and considering feedback from our students.

To further support our students, we offer access to Higher National Global Study Skills, an online toolkit available on the HN Global website, www.highernationals.com. This resource aids in the delivery, assessment, and quality assurance of BTECs within our Centers. Additionally, there are numerous free-to-access websites that can assist students in developing their learning and academic study skills.

13 - College Policies

Dunboyne College has a number of policies which essentially outline what Dunboyne College expects of it's students and what students can expect from Dunboyne College. For example, DCFE has an Attendance Policy which states the rules and regulations relating to attendance. DCFE also has a Teaching and Learning policy, Anti-Bullying policy, a Student Code of Conduct policy and Data Protection policy. 

In order to be officially registered as a student of Dunboyne College and to access your course materials online, you must sign up to these policies by logging into Moodle. You will shortly receive an email with your college details and a guide on how to login to Moodle for the first time.

Click here to see our policies on our college website. 

• You can use the link above to take a look at these policies.

• You must sign up to our college policies on Moodle in order to be fully registered and access your course materials online.

• You don't have to sign up to them just yet, but you won't be able to access any class materials on Moodle until you do so.

• In this registration session, you'll learn how to access your Moodle account to sign up to our policies and to access your course materials.

15 - Moodle

A big part of studying in college is using a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This is a special website which contains a digital space for your course and all of it's modules. Our VLE is called Moodle and on it, you will find a page for each of your modules. Your teachers will use Moodle to upload class materials, and it is also the place where you will engage with activities and submit your assignments for grading.

Your teachers will be using Moodle a lot in order to get you up to speed on the various topics and concepts covered in your modules. Make sure you engage with the materials on Moodle and will be designed to make classes more productive.  You will soon be up to speed and used to using Moodle for your college work. Your Mentor will guide you through using Moodle during your weekly meetings with them.

15a - Logging Into Moodle For The First Time

Robert Kelly will email you before classes start with Moodle information, so for now, don't worry about it.

• Moodle will be the one-stop-shop for all your course materials.

  • • These include notes, presentations and links to articles etc. 

• You should login regularly to stay up-to-date.

  • • Your teachers will upload content to it in between your classes.

During your induction with your Mentor next week, you'll be able to log into Moodle and get a virtual tour of the platform delivered by your Mentor.

17 - Complaints

If you have concerns about any aspect of your programme or overall student experience, please contact your course coordinator or any member of the teaching team first. If the complaint relates to these individuals, contact can be made with student support staff. Contact details can be found on myDCFE.