BA (Hons) Illustration for Industry
01 Sep 2023 - 31 Aug 2029
| Course Leader | Liam Barrett |
|---|---|
| Course Team | |
| Awarding Body | University of South Wales |
| Teaching Institutions | Coleg Gwent |
| Modes of Study | Full Time, Part Time |
Document Version
| Version | 1 |
|---|---|
| Valid From | 01 Sep 2023 |
| Valid To | 31 Aug 2029 |
QAA Benchmarks
We have reviewed the 2019 QAA Art and Design benchmark for undergraduate degrees and applied this to
as well as the Degree and classification frameworks (https://www.qaa.ac.uk/the-quality-code/qualifications-frameworks)
and the BA (Hons) Illustration for Industry fully complies with these.
Educational Aim
The BA (Hons) Illustration for Industry aims to help students to develop a range of skills, knowledge and understanding that will prepare them for employment in the creative sector and/or further academic study. Initially, students will explore illustration from a number of complimentary practice and theoretical perspectives. This will enable the students to:
1 Develop a detailed and progressive understanding of the nature of current Illustration techniques and practices, encompassing traditional and digital illustration processes.
2 Instil theoretical and practical knowledge of the core, generic skills required for illustration professionals with emphasis on employment and industry pipelines and practices.
3 Establish a range of techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis in their subject.
4 Identify qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment and progression to other qualifications requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making.
Learning Outcomes
| A1 | Apply Advanced skills to address the practical and theoretical concerns of two-dimensional, three-dimensional, constructional, or time-based media, materials and processes specific to their chosen discipline. (A & D, 3.10). |
| A2 | Use progressive cognitive skills of enquiry and synthesis, involving a sequence of research, formulation, reflection, iteration and integration of specific subject-based knowledge. |
| A3 | Understand and apply their understanding of the role of illustration within society, organisations and businesses and how this affects their creative practice and employment. |
| B1 | Develop and apply creative reasoning involving flexibility of ideas and methodologies informed by an awareness of current critical debates including considerations of expressive, functional, stylistically issues that are commercially driven or socially motivated. (A & D, 3.11) |
| B2 | Engage in the full range design problems involving analysis and synthesis, culminating in the creation of design outcomes such as prototypes, models, proposals, or virtual and interactive artefacts, using a range of process and methodologies. (A & D, 3.11) |
| B3 | Utilise high levels of self-motivation, intellectual curiosity, speculative enquiry, imagination, and divergent thinking skills, enabling students to recognise the interactive relationship between materials, media and processes, between ideas and issues, and between producer, mediator and audience, through engagement in critical discourse and understanding of contextual frameworks in practical application. (A & D, 3.8) |
| B4 | Source, navigate, select, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate and manage information from a variety of sources; select and employ communication and information technologies. (A & D, 4.4.5) |
| C1 | C1 Analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgements, and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation; formulate reasoned responses to the critical judgements of others; identify personal strengths and needs. (A & D, 4.4.2) |
| C2 | Apply managerial and entrepreneurial skill to operate in the creative industries in a variety of roles from self-employment, to SME and large companies, including decision making in relation to the aesthetic, operational, user, market, production and/or manufacturing characteristics of artefacts and systems both individually and as part of a group. (A & D, 3.9) (A & D, 3.11) |
| C3 | Apply interpersonal and social skills - interact effectively with others, for example through collaboration, collective endeavor and negotiation. (A & D, 4.4.3) |
| C4 | Use skills in communication and presentation -articulate ideas and information comprehensibly in visual, oral and written forms; present ideas and work to audiences in a range of situations. (A & D, 4.4.4) |
Course Structure
Level 6 Modules
| Module Code | Module Id | Module Title | Module Status | Credit Value | Module Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DI3D001 | MOD013222 | Illustrator as Author | Running | 40 | specified |
| DI3S001 | MOD013218 | Illustration Futures | Running | 20 | specified |
| DI3S002 | MOD013219 | Industry Focus | Running | 20 | specified |
| DI3S003 | MOD013220 | Competitions | Running | 20 | specified |
| DI3S004 | MOD013221 | Critical Exploration | Running | 20 | specified |
Teaching and Assessment
Learning and Teaching Methods
Employer Engagement
Visiting Speakers
Based on the course teams previous experience running the Foundation Degree in Illustration the course will be well served for visiting speakers.
We will ensure that speakers of equal experience and relevance are utilsed for the new course.
Volunteering
In partnership with our careers and placement team opportunities will be available for work with third sector organisations, charities and other organisations will be facilitated.
Fieldtrips
The existing Foundation Degree in Illustration BA course has strong industry links with local and well-established prestigious institutions and business, including the Welsh Assembly, Tiny Rebel, RSPB, the Welsh National Opera, and CADW amongst others. Student learning is enhanced by an expansive approach to the curriculum and timetabling which enables frequent field trips and work on location.
Work Placements
We already have a range of companies that provide us with placements, live briefs and various work place opportunities and the course will benefit from this. Communication will happen with work placement, learner and at course level. Health and safety risk assessments will be carried out to ensure safe working practice.
Case Studies
Teaching content and learning resources will include case studios of successful Illustration and Design solutions based on latest sector professional practice. These will highlight project from commission to final solution in a contemporary context.
Work-based Learning
While there facility for a formal placement on the course real-world “Live “ briefs as well as national and international illustration competitions will place students at the heart of the contemporary illustration industry.
Employer Forums
The department and institution has ongoing relationships with major employers in the areas of design Illustration and advertising and will seek to formalise these into an advisory forum following validation.
Means of Assessment
Practical Coursework
Portfolio
Placement Journal
Exhibition
Written Report
Visual Journal
Presentation
Learning Support
Induction
Learners follow an induction process which covers all the induction checklist criteria, this is?tracked?and learners sign off to determine they are aware and all aspects have been covered. The are several further ways that HE learners are supported once on their programme of study with us. Each campus has a Higher Education Progression Officer (HEPO).?The Progression Officers are available to offer support to higher education learners enrolled at Coleg Gwent.
Academic referral support
Guidance with time management to support success
Learner welfare referral support (Example –?Fancy a Cuppa?Campaign - below)
Learner financial support advice and guidance
Next steps advice and support
Learner advice and support following induction is further supported, via various HE campaigns that run throughout the academic year on all campuses.
The key thing at induction is to make sure that they feel comfortable with what is ahead and that they have all the required information about the course and module format, the timetable and an overview of the content. Our learners also have access to USW facilities, such as Study Skills, student union and Library/Learning resources.
Personal Tutor
Weekly tutorials will be held with each individual learner.
Office hours
Generally, there is usually at least one member of staff in the studio or adjacent offices. The students will also be informed of when set office hours are available for drop in sessions and tutorials for specific coursework.
Tutorial
The course specialism and its desired outcomes for assessment requires regular tutorial input. This encourages independent development guided by 1 to 1 tutorials and small group discussions where appropriate. Due to the nature of the design process, the format of the tutorials is flexible and extremely proactive and tailored to work with each individual’s needs.
Seminars
Seminars as regular group discussions are effective in allowing the students to share their progress and opinions, as well as learn from others’ input. It also encourages involvement from all students, so that they can build confidence in presenting their ideas and working progress, Seminars provide opportunity for thematic discussion.
Formative Assessments
Some assignments and modules will allow for formative assessments at key stages in the project development at proposal and concept stages for example. This allows us to provide valuable feedforward input. The creative course culture and tutorial discussions also allow regular and consistent guidance through informal feedback.
Progress meetings
During live briefs/project modules, there will group meetings to discuss general progress, clarify brief aims, achieved outcomes and aspirations of the coursework in process. This is an open discussion to ensure that everyone is clear on the agenda of the project and what needs achieving for the final presentation and assessment hand in. We ensure this happens also to meet the expectations of any external clients or organisations involved. We advocate these meetings both for individual outcomes as well as the group work projects.
Research Supervision
Each learner will be issued with a supervisor and regular tutorials will be planned in advance.
Online Resources
All learners on initial engagement with the College undertake a formal induction which includes an introduction to library services, study skills support (including the VLE for HE Partner organisations) and Office 365.
College has a vibrant Canvas online community for learners, within which Blackboard and Office 365 are embedded for HE learners, the Canvas community is not just a repository for course materials/resources, but as an interactive and vibrant online facility to enhance learner experiences, facilitating reinforcement of learning, announcements and direction to dynamic supportive materials.
It is a dedicated community providing access to resources off-campus (virtual base-room).
All course resources, learning materials, course handbook and module content are available on CANVAS. Here, there are also further resource links to relevant information within each module page. There are course Instagram and Facebook pages that highlight activity and any information about networking events. Students are informed about the use of a number of online journals to support their studies, as well as being directed to links for products and other information that may be required.
Advice Zone
Coleg Gwent learners once enrolled become USW learners as and as such are able to access the resources that this affords. In addition to this the College also has a wide range of advice/support related resources these are highlighted below:
The College offers a number of free and professional support services including information, advice and guidance on:
Learning Support
Student?Finance
Counselling
Welfare &?Wellbeing (example below)
Careers??Online support with regard to this:
Wellbeing:
Future Progression:
Help is also available free of charge to students?to support?with personal, legal, financial and academic problems via student services.
The College has student wellbeing counsellors available by appointment, with emergency appointments available daily.
Coleg Gwent?works with Careers Wales?Gwent?to help students make informed decisions about their education and future career. Students can make appointments to see trained careers advisors based at the College. The advisors help students decide how to progress after their course, whether onto university or into employment. They can also help with preparing a CV or interview skills.
Disability
This level six is fully inclusive of all students. Applications from students with disabilities are welcomed and support for study for students with disabilities is offered via the Learner Services support Team and the Dyslexia and Disability Service (DDS).
The DDS is there to provide confidential and tailored support and guidance for students who have disabilities, both seen and unseen, as well as advice on help available for any learning difficulties.
IT/Library
The?College?has?five?Campuses across the counties of Greater Gwent.
Newport City Campus:?City of Newport Campus
Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone:
Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone
Crosskeys?Campus:?Crosskeys?Campus
Torfaen Learning Zone:?Torfaen Learning Zone
Usk?Campus:?Usk?Campus
On each of the five Campuses there are fully stocked Learning Resource Centre’s (LRC’s), the proposed provision will be offered from the Crosskeys Campus. Each of the learning centres provide a centre for information and guidance, while acting as support bases for student centred learning. Resources are updated continually in consultation with subject tutors and via reading lists from the partner universities. When and if this course is validated the reading lists will be worked through with the Head Librarian and any resources that are required will be purchased.?Students on this programme will be able to access any of the College LRC’s that they wish.
Students can access both the College’s VLE Canvas and the University VLE to access learning materials and assessments to support their learning.
The LRC at the Crosskeys Campus houses open access PC’s and a laptop trolley with laptops that are available for learners to borrow should this be required. Wi-Fi access is also available. The LRC houses a quiet study area where silent study is required to encourage independent self-initiated reflection on performance.
College Campus LRC’s – 8.30am – 4.30pm
Includes two late nights a week (open until 8pm) dependant on learner demand and timetables
In?addition to the above support, Learning Advisors who are based in the LRC’s?are on hand to support students through their knowledge of the available resources as well as advising students how to access university resources.
Learning advisors?are scheduled to?provide information literacy sessions to groups of students during?induction. These include topics such as plagiarism, referencing, research skills, and essay writing and presentation skills. All of these sessions are also uploaded onto the?learning resources section on Canvas for learners to access in their own time?if required.
Each of the College Campuses house a HE Hub facility; this is a designated space specifically for higher education learners. The space facilitates, group work?area’s, ICT facilities, independent reflection space. Within the Hub space’s there are also learner welfare and personal progression support services offered which relate to current College support campaigns.
Learners also have access to USW facilities, such as study skills, advice zone, library resources and the student union.
Course Exit Points
| Award | Criteria | Final |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Arts (Unclassified) | 360 credits of which at least 100 must be at Level 6 or above, 120 at Level 5 or above, 120 at Level 4 or above and no more than 20 at Level 3. | Final |
Progression Route
Graduates will be able to progress into a wide range of roles within or related to Illustration and the creative industries.
Graduates from the course may establish freelance careers or set up creative communities or companies of their own.
The graduate's skillset and transferable skills obtained from the course would enable them to move into other design and digital disciplines such as, art direction, animation, pre-production work, storyboarding or visualisation for TV or Games.
Graduates could also progress into post-graduate education, within USW on the MA in Graphic Communication, or other masters-level provision at other institutions.
Entry Requirements
Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:
Top Up Courses: Entry onto all USW top up courses is through the successful completion of an HND/FD with a pass profile. To enrol on this course, learners will need to have completed year two (level five) of an illustration FD/BA programme (or other relevant level five FD/BA programme, such as fine art), and achieved 120 credits at level five. APEL qualifications will also be considered when applying.
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
Methods Of Quality Standards
N/A
Quality Of Standards Indicators
N/A