Linking London Development Project Final Report form
Please complete all the boxes, but ensure that the report does not exceed
four sides of A4 including the front sheet.
Then email one copy to Linking London at info@linkinglondon.ac.uk and
post a signed copy to:
Stuart Mitchell, Linking London, Egmont House, 25-31 Tavistock Place,
London, WC1H 9SF.
Title of Development Project:
The development of short,
accredited courses at HE levels 4, 5 and 6
Name of project leader:
Terry Sims
Role:
Email:
Telephone:
Department:
Course leader foundation degree and HNC
photography
Terry. Sims @candi.ac.uk
02077008688
Media
Head of Department:
Michael Grove
Name and address of
institution:
City and Islington College
CBAT
444 Camden Road
London
N7 0SP
Signature of project leader
Terry Sims
Development Project Final Report
LINKING LONDON Lifelong Learning Network.
Hosted by Birkbeck, University of London.
1
1. Introduction:
In this section please briefly outline the aims of your project whether
they were achieved within the time frame set.
The main objective this research has been design, develope, build and pilot
courses September 2012. These courses should retain an element of
inclusivity in the face of proposed student fee increases and the gap is created
in the markets from these increases.
It is essential students now consider the skills and they need a flexible minds
keep up with technology, courses need to reflect this.
Research has shown graduating students from foundation degree
photography would welcome a short accredited course at level 6 as after
completing a vacation course they would want continuing developments to
obtain a BA but also spend time in the industry practising what they have
already learnt.
 So the principle aims of this project were to look at and consider
the possible market for 60 and 120 credit courses.
 Research the ideal content of these courses.
 Consider the viability including possible recruitment numbers.
 Obtain feedback from both the target market of learners and of
potential employers.
 Find the ideal validation process
 Consider the timetabling looking at clustering with existing
courses.
The majority of the budget has been spends on man-hours, the College
generously gave 45 hours remission.
2. Evaluation of project
Please use this section to give a more thorough and detail evaluation
of your project, including the set up, ongoing and delivery issues.
Your comments will help us to refine the process, so please give us
details about LLN support.
During the research and develop of 60 and 120 credit courses using information
obtained through surveys and talking to the industry and students, we created
actual courses at level 4 and 5 for both 60 and 120 credits, the 120 credit course
started in September 2010 has recruited well, we attempted a February start for
two 60 credit courses unfortunately despite extensive advertising they did not
recruit sufficient numbers to run, the College has agreed to try running these yet
again in September 2011 in tandem with the 120 credit courses as a number of
the units are the same and delivery can be shared.
The target market is as follows;
 Those in employment wishing to up-skill
 Those in employment wanting recognised qualifications for their
Development Project Final Report
LINKING LONDON Lifelong Learning Network.
Hosted by Birkbeck, University of London.
2
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 while in some form of
employment
 Students with incomplete HE qualifications, they could APL
previous completed level 4&5 modules/units from a part completed
course and achieve a level 4/5 qualification by topping up with
these courses.
We now find ourselves in a situation where we have courses that fulfil industry
needs that do not always recruit sufficient numbers to deliver, it is unclear if this
is a result of the present economic situation or if students aspiration does not
match industry requirements.
Progression;
Students who complete the level 5 course and an academic bridging unit can
progress to a two year level 6 part time at London Metropolitan University BA
honours Fine Art Photography pathway and Middlesex University BA honours
Professional Practice
Throughout this process Linking London supported and advised us.
3. Summary/Conclusion
In this section please summarise your project, outlining why your
project did/didn’t succeed, what lessons you learnt from completing the
project, how the bid money from Linking London went towards your
project and how you intend to disseminate the results of your project.
Linking London funds were used to pay for extra staff hours, survey
software, website host fees and marketing i.e. printing and exhibition costs.
Without the linking London for both physically and financially it would not
have been viable for the college to undertake research and development in
this area.
When embarking on this project there was already the dark cloud of funding
over the HE sectors for both students and institutions, this being a driving
force in the research and development of affordable courses that reflected
both the student and industry requirements.
There still are problems in funding sources for students creating difficulties
for enrolment, the government may clarify the situation for funding for parttime student in the near future, and it does appear that students enrolling
September 2011 will still be eligible for fees grant in certain situations this
changing to a loan next year.
Not all photography students want to follow the established photographer
route Students now need to consider multiple skills and need a flexible
mindset to keep up with technology.
Flexibility was the first priority for any course that would work successfully for
these end users and would also be the area that proved to be the most
difficult for delivery in the present economic climate.
Development Project Final Report
LINKING LONDON Lifelong Learning Network.
Hosted by Birkbeck, University of London.
3
Development Project Final Report
LINKING LONDON Lifelong Learning Network.
Hosted by Birkbeck, University of London.
4