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Welcome to the HNC inCreative Media Productioncourse.On behalf of everyone at Central Sussex College, we are delighted to welcome youto the College and would like to thank you for choosing to study your HigherEducation programme with us. Central Sussex College is very proud to welcome agrowing number of higher education students each year. We aim to help all of ourstudents to realise their study potential and achieve their career ambitions.

Higher Education study requires a specific set of skills and commitment and you willneed to be enthusiastic and hardworking to be successful. Studying at this level orreturning to college may be new to you and staff are dedicated to making sure yourtime with us is successful and rewarding. This handbook is designed to support youand answer any questions you may have about the course. However, no handbookcan answer all your questions, so I encourage you to speak to your lecturer, or theStudent Support team if you are unsure about anything.

This course handbook provides you with information about the qualification PearsonBTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Creative Media Production. Detailedhere is information about the learning outcomes and the assessment criteria whichyou need to achieve to attain this qualification. This programme aims to help you toenhance your media production skills and to enable you to be an effective managerand provide a progress route into employment, University or to higher-levelqualifications.

You are required to refer to this handbook throughout your course as it provides vitalunderstanding that will assist you in achieving the learning outcomes prescribed byEdexcel. This handbook will not only equip you for an easy kick start of your learning journeybut with vital information under your belt, learning will become an enjoyableexperience for you. The information collected in this handbook has been gatheredfrom the Edexcel course handbook for BTEC Level 4 HNC in Creative MediaProduction (http://www.edexcel.com/quals/highernationals10/creative-media/Pages/default.aspx). The content of this handbook is not definitive and issubject to change due to factors beyond the control of Central Sussex College.

Good Luck!

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IntroductionThis course handbook is designed to explain to you the main structure of theprogramme, details of the programme delivery and the nature and expectations ofthe work that you will produce. Within this handbook you will find information, thatclarifies the level of service, which you may expect from us and also what theprogramme expects from you. We look forward to working with you over the courseof the programme and hope that you enjoy your period of study with us.

What does the course offer?

• The Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Creative Media Production is arigorous specialist vocational programme, linked to professional body requirementsand with a strong work related emphasis.

• It offers both theoretical and practical units combined with an extensive rangeof teaching and learning methods that enhance the learners’ self confidence.

• A range of disciplines are taught on the course in order to maximise learners’ skills base and improve employability.

• The learner will also gain an in-depth understanding of how the media industryis structured, and learn how they can develop a career in this challenging, exciting,dynamic industry.

• We aim to give your coursework assignments a professional and realisticcontext - and you will be able to focus your work towards developing your owncreative media or design business, or producing work relevant to your currentemployment.

What Level am I studying?Edexcel/BTEC qualifications are designed to develop your skills and education sothat you can progress into further studies. Edexcel is one of the leading providers ofqualifications and they are recognised across the world.

Below is a table which shows where the Edexcel BTEC Higher Nationals fall withinthe QCF, NQF and FHEQ QCF/NQF/ FHEQ level.

The Edexcel BTEC Level 4 HNC in Creative Media Production is a qualification witha minimum of 120 credits of which 30 are mandatory core. The Edexcel BTEC Level4 HNC programme must contain a minimum of 65 credits at level 4.

Edexcel BTEC Level 5 HND (QCF)The Edexcel BTEC Level 5 HND in Creative Media Production is a qualification witha minimum of 240 credits of which 65 are mandatory core. The Edexcel BTEC Level5 HND programme must contain a minimum of 125 credits at level 5.

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Course ContentThe HNC course contains eight units and the HND course consists of a further eightunits that are set out below. Each unit has learning outcomes and at least oneassignment. You may be asked to conduct a presentation, write an academic essayor prepare a report or proposal. Due to the practical nature of this programme, mostof the assignments will relate very directly to scenarios based within a workplace orcurrent economic setting.

The programme uses a variety of assessment methods to ensure a rigorousapproach and maintain the consistency and quality of the work. In order to fullycomplete the programme you will need to meet each and every learning outcome.You will have more than one opportunity to meet some of the learning outcomes butthey all need to be evidenced. Your assignments will be selected and assessedexternally by an External Verifier from Edexcel (more details of this process is laidout later). Your assignments should be submitted for assessment on the datespecified. You will be asked to submit a front sheet and you will receive feedbackwhen assignments are returned to you.

Edexcel BTEC Level 4HNC in Creative MediaProduction UnitsUnit 1 Contextual Studies for Creative Media Production (CORE)Unit 2 Research Techniques for creative Media (CORE)Unit 35 Animation techniquesUnit 21 Radio Commercial ProductionUnit 30 Camera and Lighting Techniques for Moving Image Production Unit 31 Development and Techniques of Film and Video Editing Unit 65 PhotojournalismUnit 33 Fiction Production for the Moving Image

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Edexcel BTEC Level 5HND in Creative MediaProduction UnitsUnit 3 Project Design, Implementation and Evaluation (CORE)Unit 4 Special Subject Investigation for Creative Media Production (CORE)Unit 61Moving Image Documentary ProductionUnit 56 Radio Drama ProductionUnit 58 Sound Design for Moving Image ProductionUnit 60 Director for Moving Image ProductionUnit 63 Script writing for moving image fictionUnit 36 Music Video Production

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If a learner enrolls for an HNC they would be eligible to gain a grade for the HNC. Ifthey then progresses onto the HND, the learner is awarded on their HNDperformance. Therefore grade for the HND will include units from the previouslyachieved HNC.

Edexcel BTEC Higher Nationals are designed to provide a specialist vocationalprogramme, linked to professional body requirements and National OccupationalStandards (where appropriate). They offer a strong, sector-related emphasis onpractical skills development alongside the development of requisite knowledge andunderstanding. The qualifications provide a thorough grounding in the key conceptsand practical skills required in their sector and their national recognition byemployers allows direct progression to employment. A key progression path forEdexcel BTEC HND learners is to the third year of a degree or honors degreeprogramme.

As such, during the programme, learners will be expected to produce work toprofessional expectations. This work will be short interest features, current newsarticles and may involve learners having to attend events outside of lesson time.The production of materials requires a maturity and commitment; that is over andabove that of a normal university course. If you have committed to cover an event orcomplete a piece of work you cannot leave until the event/news/live coverage isfinished.

Where applicable, coursework from units are assessed to Skillset’s NationalOccupational Standards. This indicates a level of ability and competence toemployers.

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HNC Terms dates• HNC – 18 months part time. • Teaching consists of 2 evenings a week (Tuesday and Thursday). 6-9.15 • And every other Saturday. 10.00 – 4.00.

Term One:

Term Two:

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Term Three:

Term Four:

TBC

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Mode of studyThis is a part-time course which will be delivered over 48 weeks. You will beexpected to complete a range of assignments by specified deadlines. Thesedeadlines will be strictly applied. The course consists of a combination of practicalproduction work, theoretical written work, classroom discussion, group work,individual research, podcasts, video blogs, investigations, theoretical lectures,teaching sessions and hands on practical works including small group work andindividual coursework.

You will be assessed on a continual basis and there are deadlines for assignmentsthroughout the course that you will need to meet to continue on the course and gainthe qualification. The course is designed with a flexible approach to suit learnerswith a range of learning needs. You will be expected to produce a range of materialsand these will at times require you to commit to additional study time, or giving upadditional free time.

You will have a course tutor who will council you in respect to your academicprogress on the course. You will also access to a tutor who will be there to providepersonal support in terms of any social and personal issues/problems or concernsthat might affect you from completing the course.

TutorialsAt the start of your programme there will be an induction. This is to consider aspectsof your learning styles and to find out more about the structure and content of thecourse.

You will learn how to put together a Portfolio, and participate in an Action LearningSet. The programme enables you to draw up a personal development plan (PDP),that is specific to your particular needs. This PDP is to be treated as a workingdocument, that is to be reviewed and updated regularly throughout the programme.The review will enable you to use a self-development Journal to track your learningthroughout the course. The induction session will introduce you to the broad aimsand objectives of the programme, outlining the programme requirements with regardto attendance, assessment and unit content.

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Web based supportICT will provide you with additional resources for the programme, and you will beable to access lecture notes and presentations, workshops and other resourcematerials on the college’s virtual learning environment Blackboard. The websiteincludes a discussion area, e-mail facilities to tutors and direct links to otherappropriate web sites. Training on the use of Blackboard, student passwords anduser ID will be provided in a tutorial at the start of the course.

PresentationsThis programme provides you with the opportunity of improving your presentationskills. There will be some individual presentations and opportunities for grouppresentations. Some of the presentations will be to your fellow students and otherswill be to college staff. An additional workshop will be provided to help you toenhance your skills. Skills workshops will be provided also for academic andresearch skills, financial literacy and report writing.

Session Format Study-time may be comprised of lectures, seminars, presentations, tutorials, trips orother forms of contact. All the forms of expected contact identified are compulsoryfor all students. Students are required to prepare thoroughly and participate activelyin all lectures and other types of session.

Self-Study You are expected to devote further time in terms of self-study. Without reading andresearch activity, students would face difficulty in finishing coursework and gainingthe knowledge, skills and understanding required to succeed.

Research Students have to learn to be detectives and not passive receivers of information. Itmeans they have to investigate and discover further information regarding what theyare taught in their classes. Analysis of the data and practical application of thetheoretical models is required.

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EquipmentYou are not expected to provide your own equipment to complete the practicalelements of the course, or of an assignment. Access to equipment is achievedthrough booking equipment with the media technician or with a tutor. Booking is partof the professional practice you will be asked to demonstrate in your work.Equipment is very expensive and as part of your learning you will show correctusage policies for using equipment. Every effort should be made to protectequipment in the manner shown to you by tutors in practical tutorials and any failureto follow these policies can result in your having access to equipment curtailed.

Saving workIt is important that you keep saved copies and backup files of work submitted forassessment. Should you save work to a portable drive, such as a memory stick, andthen lost this material you would not necessarily be granted an extension.

Extensions It is always recommended on any programme study that you make every effort toachieve all of the target deadlines to avoid work mounting up. However we doappreciate that mature learners with jobs and lives and families sometimes need toextend the submission date. Should you need to extend the submission date youmust in apply in writing to the course manager (Dan Creeddcreed@centralsussex.ac.uk) before the date that you were due to submit yourassignment in order to authorize the extension. You will need to offer a revisedsubmission date no more than four weeks further into the future. Where there areclearly genuine reasons for extending the deadline by four weeks then these arenormally granted..

Plagiarism and CollusionPlagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work, words, images, videos,audio, ideas, opinions or discoveries, whether published or not, as one’s own, oralternatively appropriating the artwork, images or computer generated work ofothers, without properly acknowledging the source, with or without their permission.

Collusion is the unauthorised collaboration of students in a piece of work that issubmitted individually as one’s own. Both are a serious breach of college regulationsand Awarding Body Regulations. It is also strictly prohibited to use Wikipedia as asource of reference. When you are relying on ideas suggested or written by otherpeople then those ideas need to be properly acknowledged. The HarvardReferencing System must be used for acknowledging the source of any informationused. You will be shown how to use the Harvard system in your academic tutorial.

Academic Excellence Appropriate English Language skills are required to write coursework successfully.Lack of it can lead a student to fail. Contracted texts such as u (you), 4 (for), wud(would), gr8 (great) etcetera are not allowed to be used. Sentences must beconstructed correctly, and the proper use must be made of grammar, spelling andvocabulary. Accuracy, simplicity and clarity are the key words for all assignments.

Intellectual PropertyDuring the course of your project you may generate some novel work. This is knownas Intellectual Property (IP). Intellectual Property is the term used to describe theoutputs of creative endeavour in literary, artistic, industrial, scientific and engineeringfields that can be protected under legislation. In a higher national context this can beconsidered broadly as the results from creative projects.

In the event that a learner on a taught course generates intellectual property in thecourse of a project, either solely or in collaboration (where the collaborators may befellow students, members of Central Sussex College staff, employees of asponsoring organisation or collaborative partner or a combination thereof), he or sheis asked to assign to the college any intellectual property that he or she maygenerate. Assignment will only take place in the event that intellectual property isgenerated. A learner shall then give to the college all reasonable assistance toenable the college to obtain patents or other forms of legal protection for theintellectual property. The college operates a ‘fair share’ system for rewardinglearners. If the college seeks to exploit commercially any intellectualproperty generated by a learner, it shall ensure that the student is treatedin the same way as an employee. 12

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Presentation ofassignments forverification purposesA comprehensive system has been developed which ensures a systematic approachto ensuring that standards of assessment are maintained, and that assessors havethe necessary support and development required. The Internal Verifiers will monitorassessments, and may sample your work in order to carry out such checks. TheInternal Verifier has the authority to amend grades awarded by the first lineassessor. The Internal Verifier will produce a written record of the verification, whichwill be maintained for review by the programme team and the External Verifier. Bythe end of your studies you will have assembled a portfolio, which will be submittedfor both internal and external verification. The portfolio will contain a range of theassignments and evidence that support your claim for certification with eachassignment cross-referenced to the assessment criteria for each relevant module.

External VerificationThe External Verifier allocated to the college may wish to speak to you regarding theQuality of the programme, as well as sampling your portfolio and/or discuss theevidence to check on the assessment and internal verification systems.

Appeals ProcedureThe following procedure will apply to students who are dissatisfied with anassessment decision. 1. Students should firstly discuss the matter with the tutor responsible formarking their assignment. An assessor should identify why you have been awardedyour final grade.2. If the matter cannot be resolved the student can appeal in writing, outliningtheir Dissatisfaction to the Internal Verifier. 3. The Internal Verifier will, if not already having been completed as part of theusual Internal Verification procedure, examine the work. 4. Should the student remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal, theExternal Verifier will have the assessment as part of their sample, and his/herdecision will be final.

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Tutor contacts

Reading ListYou have embarked on an academic course of study. You are encouraged tosupport your studies through background reading, which will also act as a source ofacademic references. You will at times be provided with a Core text, and yourcourse tutors will provide further reading tutorials to discuss the readings with you.This course is a very practical course, and you will be expected to spend your owntime developing skills.

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