Modularisation
Modularisation
Modularisation was launched at AIT in September 2006 and is applied to most programmes. This is where programmes are divided into discreet but related units known as modules, which are delivered within a specified teaching period, known as a semester. Modularisation offers you more flexibility, mobility and control over the what and when of your learning. This system allows you to accumulate credit for the modules you successfully pass and makes it easier for you to transfer between programmes and between colleges.
A module is a self-contained unit of a programme that when successfully completed and combined with other successfully completed modules leads to an award. Each module has specific aims, workloads, credits attached, learning outcomes and assessment schedules. Assessment takes place either during and/or at the end of the learning period. Learning outcomes are measured by your knowledge, understanding, and ability on completion of a particular module.
Each module is valued in terms of credits. You gain credits for every module successfully completed and the number of credits allocated to each module varies depending on the workload. The norm for a 5 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credit module reflects a workload of approximately 125 hours. However, the value of an undergraduate module may vary, in the main, from between 5 to 20 credits. Each year of a programme requires 60 credits for the full-time learner.
Modularised programmes are taught and assessed in the following periods:
- Semester 1: September-December (15 weeks inclusive of assessment)
- Semester 2: January-May (15 weeks inclusive of assessment)
A fundamental concept of modularisation is credit accumulation. This means that you gain credit for the successful completion of a module. In some circumstances, you may be able to proceed to the subsequent year of a programme carrying a failed module and have the opportunity to be reassessed or retake the module. However, this would normally only be possible if the failed module was not a prerequisite for a module being offered in the next year of the programme and where you are not seeking to attempt to gain more credit than is advisable in a session. Prerequisites are those modules which have to be passed before you can progress to a subsequent module. Co-requisites are modules that must be taken in conjunction with another related module.
As a full-time student, you would normally expect to gain 30 ECTS credits in a semester or 60 ECTS credits in a full academic year. To support lifelong learning, however, we will facilitate registration within a range of ECTS credits and it is proposed that you can register on as little as 5 ECTS credits. You will be facilitated to register for additional modules beyond the normal requirements of a programme provided they do not exceed the acceptable course loads of 40 ECTS credits in a single semester and 75 ECTS credits in a two-semester academic session.
