BTEC FIRST DIPLOMA
IT PRACTITIONERS
(General Strand)
STUDENT HANDBOOK 2004/5
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCING THE COURSE
2.
UNITS TO BE STUDIED
3.
ASSESSMENT AND GRADING
4.
DEADLINES
5.
HOMEWORK
6.
RESOURCES and IT FACILITIES
7.
KEY SKILLS
1.
INTRODUCING THE COURSE
What is the full title of the course I’m taking?
You are enrolled on to a BTEC First Diploma IT Practitioners course, and you are taking
the General strand.
What is a BTEC First Diploma?
A BTEC First Diploma is a practical, work-related course. You learn by completing tasks
for assignments that are based on realistic workplace situations.
The First Diploma introduces you to the employment area you have chosen and provides
a good basis to go on to a more advanced work-related qualification such as:


BTEC National for IT Practitioners
Advanced VCE in ICT (to be known as the Applied A Level in ICT from 2005)
A BTEC First Diploma is equivalent to four GCSEs grades A*– C and is a full-time course
taking up 15 hours per week. You can achieve a Pass, Merit or Distinction, and a Merit
or Distinction will allow you to move on to an Advanced course next year.
It is possible to take a BTEC First in one of three strands: User Support, Software
Development or General. At Cirencester you will take the General strand, as this will
keep your options open for progression on to level 3 courses next year.
2.
UNITS TO BE STUDIED
What is the course structure? The course is made up of six units:

Introduction to Computer Systems (unit 1) – this is the hardware unit, where
you will learn what makes up a computer system and how all the bits work
together.

Uses of IT (unit 2) – in this unit you will look at different types of software you
can use with computer systems.

Information Systems (unit 3) – where you will see how organisations use
computers, the roles of IT professionals, and security threats to IT systems.

Introduction to Databases (unit 7) – does exactly what it says on the can, and
teaches you how to set up a database system.

Financial Modelling (unit 10) – this unit teaches you about creating a
spreadsheet system to solve a particular problem.

Web Development (unit 13) – how to create web pages with images and links to
other pages.
You will also be studying for a level 2 key skill Communications qualification.
These units will give you a good set of software skills and the IT knowledge you need to
progress on to any advanced IT or Computing course, or to take up employment as a
trainee IT professional.
3.
ASSESSMENT and GRADING
During the time you are on the course you will take 6 units. Five of these units are
assessed using assignments written by your tutors at the college, the other unit is
assessed by an assignment written by the exam board (this assignment is called an IVA
– Integrated Vocational Assignment).
You must pass at least 5 of the 6 units to gain the overall qualification of BTEC
First Diploma IT Practitioner.
When an assignment is graded you will get a Pass, Merit or Distinction grade. These
grades are worth points, like this:
Pass = 2 points
Merit = 4 points
Distinction = 6 points
Except for the IVA unit where:
Pass = 4 points
Merit = 8 points
Distinction = 12 points
At the end of the year all your points are added up to give a grade for your qualification:
Grade Boundaries
POINTS
12 - 18
20 – 30
32 – 42
GRADE
PASS
MERIT
DISTINCTION
IVA unit –
worth double
points!
Example
Let’s say student Jay gets the following results:
Unit 1 Pass
Unit 2 Merit
Unit 3 Pass
Unit 7 Pass
Unit 10 Merit
Unit 13 Dist.
This would give the following points: 2 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 22 points
22 points would give an overall Merit.
You normally require a Merit or Distinction to progress on to a level 3 course in
the same subject.
4.
DEADLINES
When you are given an assignment it will normally consist of between 3 and 5 tasks,
each of which will be due in on a certain day. To achieve more than a pass grade for an
assignment, a certain number of tasks must be completed by the set dates (in the
assignment it will tell you how many deadlines must be achieved). You can make
improvements to tasks and resubmit them right up to the final assignment deadline.
The final deadline for an assignment will be the same date as the last task. After this
date the assignment cannot be further improved. Remember that you can only achieve
merit and distinction grades by meeting deadlines.
Deadlines are important in vocational qualifications because they help you get used to
planning your work and achieving objectives, which are skills sought after by employers.
They are also important because your tutors have to meet deadlines set by the exam
board for reporting your grades and having assignment marking checked for fairness.
5.
HOMEWORK
Because this qualification is assessed by assignments rather than exams, you will need
to carry out a certain amount of work outside class time in order to complete all your
tasks on time. This will normally add up to about 4 to 6 hours per week, although this
might increase when an assignment is due in.
Your tutors will sometimes give you other homework tasks which will be collected in and
marked, and the marks will be recorded to help show your progress on the course. It is
important that you complete these homeworks and hand them in for marking.
6.
RESOURCES and IT FACILITIES
There are a number of resources available to you at the college which will help you
achieve better grades.
Library – a number of text books related to the course are available for loan, as well as a
course text book which you can keep for the year. It’s probably best to keep your
course text book at home and use it to help you complete homework tasks.
Intranet – there is an intranet site specifically for BTEC IT Practitioner students. You
should visit it often as it contains useful links, copies of handouts and assignments,
answers to homeworks and tests (posted after the due in dates!) and learning resources.
Your tutors will show you how to get to the BTEC IT Practitioners intranet site, and how
you can access it from home.
7.
KEY SKILLS
As part of your qualification you will also be entered for level 2 key skills in
Communications. This will involve creating a portfolio and sitting an exam either in
January or June. The portfolio work will come mainly from the assignment tasks you
complete, so the key skill won’t involve much extra work. However, it is equivalent to
GCSE English at grade C, and is valued by employers, so it’s well worth the small extra
effort.
AND FINALLY…..
Your tutors will be happy to discuss any problems you are having with the content or the
assignments, so please ask for help before a problem becomes a missed deadline. We
hope you really enjoy studying for the BTEC First Diploma IT Practitioners qualification at
Cirencester College, and wish you every success this year and in the future.