Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

Level 4 Modules

Level 5 Modules

Level 6 Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Learning and Teaching Methods

Employer Engagement

Visiting Speakers

This is a strength of our courses in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. We engage with a wide range of professionals from industry who are invited to deliver guest lectures as part of our suite of courses in the subject area. Many of these guest lectures are alumni. We envisage a series of guest lecturers across a variety of modules over the course of the students’ academic journey, bringing informed and industry specific case studies into the classroom.

Site Visits

As part of the course students will participate in site visits to various locations. Site visits provide students with first-hand experience of practical skills from industry practitioners and helps to inform their learning.

One field trip a year will be organised by the course leader in conjunction with industrial collaborators and IET society. This is open to every student.

The students are always invited to any fieldtrips organised by the School like Hinckley point Power station, the National grid offices, Newport Semiconductor foundry, Sustainable Energy Centre with some field activities culminating in group or individual reports which might be considered as summative or formative.

Employer Forums

The students receive a visit from the IET to explain the importance of professional recognition, as well as the benefits IET membership bring to them for interacting with industry through IET lectures and online material.

Students also get the opportunity to interact with industry through our site visits as well as our invited guest speakers.

The careers office will offer advice on how to best prepare for an interview and how to search opportunities for. The careers office also holds faculty events for students to have the opportunity to meet several representatives from industry.

Apprentices have signed agreements involving a tripartite partnership between USW, Employers and Professional Academy.

Other

Students will be given the opportunity to:

be student members of IET with fees paid by the university.

join an Engineering Society such as the Rocketry Society run by the students in extra-curriculum

Means of Assessment

Learning Support

Induction

New and returning students are invited to attend induction sessions held by the Professional Academy as well as the course leader. The University’s Unilearn is used together with ICIS to provide access to the course handbook, module information, an assessment schedule and their timetable.

There is a refresher delivered 4 weeks into term and induction information is uploaded to course pages on Blackboard.

Personal Academic Coach

Through the Personal Academic Coaching (PAC) system students will be assigned a personal tutor who will formally meet students on a termly basis. The student can then request meetings outside of these formal windows when the need arises, in essence the students can meet with their PAC as often as they need.

Office hours

Typically, staff are available when not teaching. The Electrical and Electronic Engineering subject area embraces the School of Engineering’s Open-Door Policy, which allows students access to staff at all times, when staff are available in their office. In addition to this, students can make formal appointments to meet with staff.

Tutorials

These sessions allow students to engage with a topic and apply/develop/practise their learning through group and class discussions, problem solving, undertaking short exercises, working through set tasks, demonstrating their work, all with the support of a lecturer more practically. The more personal nature of these sessions facilitates personal and tailored student academic support.

Practical Classes and Workshops

There are supervised laboratory periods to provide hands-on experience of a variety of ICT tools, Industry software and techniques.

Project Supervision

Students will be given the opportunity to express their interest in a range of projects made available. Each apprentice will be allocated a first and second supervisor for their project during L6. Regular scheduled meeting with supervisors at strategic points in the project cycle (plan) (milestones) and at the request of both Student-Apprentices and supervisor and would be expected to discuss their project either face to face by phone / Skype, MS Teams, Zoom, via email or alike.

DA students may often base their project in line with their employer’s interest.

Formative Assessment

Each module has an element of formative assessment designed into its delivery program. This is to enable students and staff to understand how the students are progressing through the course and to relieve assessment pressure by allowing students to become acclimatised to the level of study expected of them.

Research Supervision

The dissertation process begins at the start of the final academic year and students are informed of the research process and guided towards their proposal through a series of lectures on the dissertation module. Research supervisors are allocated at the start of the module and students would typically be expected to meet their primary supervisor regularly over the duration of their project, either face to face or electronically (Skype/phone/email), depending on circumstance.

Online Resources

Teaching and coursework assessment materials are made available on-line through the University’s virtual learning environment (Unilearn).

Modern computing laboratories provide access to specialist resources. The University also has centrally managed open-access laboratories for more general work. Each student has an academic e-mail account that is particularly useful when requesting support from teaching staff.

Staff email students via Unilearn to announce course and module related information.

Advice Zone

The University operates advice zones located in the libraries of each campus. The Advice Zone supports students with anything that might affect their ability to study and achieve their goals. They help with both personal and academic issues. If they cannot help directly, they guide students towards the specialist support they need.

Disability

USW?has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments in relation to education and services as required by disabled students.?It does this through the use of individual support plans. The Disability Service provides information, advice and guidance to and co-ordinates support for?USW students who have disabilities, including physical, sensory, mental health or unseen disabilities, specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) and autism. The Disability Service also has a key role in ensuring?the University meets its commitment to providing an inclusive environment for disabled students.

IT/Library

IT Services provide students with their online student account (giving them access to email, printing and payments and more),?Unilearn, open access to computers on each campus, printing services, and media equipment. There is a dedicated Student Resource Room that provides further PCs with relevant software.

Library Services provides a wide range of high-quality library and information services to USW students, academics and researchers. They also provide a dedicated Subject Librarian Sharon Latham, who produces subject specific guides and in class library research sessions.

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

At USW the options are as follows (albeit not funded under the DA scheme):To progress from level 6 on to Level 7 of the associated IET accredited MEng Engineering course, the student would be required to achieve an overall profile of at least 50% at level 6.Students on graduating from the BEng can also choose to progress on to our relevant MSc courses within the subject area, currently:MSc Electronics and Information TechnologyMSc Mobile and Satellite CommunicationsAlternatively, graduates could progress onto a variety of Electrical and Electronic Engineering related Master programmes at other Universities.

Entry Requirements

Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:

The school seeks to actively promote University policies on equal opportunities and widening access and will seek to recruit as wide a range of students as the current modes of attendance and admission requirements permit.

Normally, evidence will be sought of successful completion of an under-graduate Honours degree and, where appropriate, a minimum average IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.5.

Typical A-Level Offer

BCC

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Grade C and BC at A Level

Typical BTEC Offer

BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit

Typical IB Offer

Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 29 overall including 5 or above in English at standard level

Typical Access to HE Offer

Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points

GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

Inclusive Curriculum Statement

The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/

Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution

N/A