The Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Sociology

Transcription

1 ONLINE PROGRAMMES FACT SHEET & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS The Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Sociology ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Q1. What are the required qualifications for this programme? Applicants must meet the University s normal matriculation requirements in order to be accepted into the programme. They must satisfy the requirements in either (a), (b), (c) or (d) below: (a) Holders with CXC/CSEC and CAPE/GCE A Level qualifications having: An acceptable pass in CXC/CSEC English A or CAPE Communications Studies; AND An acceptable pass in CXC/CSEC Mathematics or its equivalent; AND One of the following minimum qualifications: either five subjects (at least two GCE A Level or CAPE) and the remainder acceptable passes in CXC/CSEC or GCE O Level; OR four subjects (at least three GCE A Level or CAPE) and the fourth an acceptable pass in the CXC/CSEC or GCE O Level Note: Grade requirements for CXC/CSEC subjects are General Proficiency - Grades I or II prior to June 1998 and Grades I, II, or III from June 1998 (b) Holders of five (5) CXC/CSEC or GCE O Level passes or equivalent, not necessarily obtained at the same sitting (c) Entrants with a Diploma, Certificate or Associate Degree from UWI or an approved Caribbean tertiary level institution (d) Persons over the age of 21 who have been out of school for at least five years, on the basis of their overall academic and professional attainments

2 TARGET AUDIENCE: Q 2. What is the target audience for this programme? The BSc. Sociology programme is for individuals who are presently employed (or considering employment) in any social science field within governments, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, business or health related organisations. Q3. What can I do with a sociology degree? The applicability of a sociology degree is vast and many employment opportunities abound for sociologists in the following sectors: Management Consumer Research Advertising & Marketing Public Relations Corporate Training & Development Law Enforcement (with additional training) Police Officer Probation Officer Criminal Justice Investigations Judicial Affairs Health Services Health Planning Rehabilitation Programmes Social Services Organisations Government International Business Researcher Non-profit Agencies Education Teaching (Secondary & University) Researcher (Universities, Health, Corporations, Insurance Companies) Adapted from Careers in Sociology, a publication of the American Sociological Association.

3 PROGRAMME DESIGN: Q 4. How many credits do I need to obtain the Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Sociology? You need 90 credits in order to be awarded the BSc. In Sociology. Of this number, 60 credits must be Levels 2 and 3 courses. Course Exemption with credit is only applicable for Level one (1) courses. Q 5. How many courses should I complete each semester? For the adult working full time we strongly recommend you choose no more than three (3) courses per semester to aid your effective time management skills and to improve your performance and GPA score. Q 6. What is GPA and why is it important? GPA stands for Grade Point Average. It is the accumulated score for the courses you take each semester. Your GPA for levels 2 and 3 courses will indicate the type of degree you are awarded (honours or pass). Q 7. Is there a minimum and a maximum number of courses I can take each semester? You can register for a minimum of one (1) and a maximum number (3) courses each semester. In the Summer Semester a maximum of two (2) courses are recommended. You will have to choose from the core sociology courses, the shared psychology, political science, social work, youth development work, economics and the mandatory foundation courses, to make up your required course load each semester. All students are advised to use the Program Advising Document (located on the UWIOC Website) to guide them on the selection of courses each academic year. Q 8. Do any of the level one (1) courses have pre-requisites YES! Mathematical Thinking & Introductory Statistics is a level one (1) course with a prerequisite. Therefore students need to successfully complete either ECON1001 or ECON1003 before they can register for the course; Mathematical Thinking & Introductory Statistics.

4 Q 9. Do I need to complete all ten level one (1) courses before taking level two (2) courses? NO. But you must complete a minimum of 24 credits before moving to level two (2) courses. Ideally you must also ensure you complete FOUN1501, FOUN1001 and FOUN1101 before you proceed to level 2. DELIVERY OF THE PROGRAMME: Q 10. How is the programme delivered? The BSc. in Sociology is an online programme. You will need to have your own computer and reliable Internet to access this programme from the comfort of your home. Q 11. How many days will I have to sign into the Learning Exchange? During semester one and two (13 weeks) we recommend that at least an hour per day you should sign into the Learning Exchange, to keep abreast of the activities in the Units. You can sign in at times convenient to your schedule to complete the required activities and assignments. For your studies, good practice recommends that you schedule blocks of time each week for seat work online and/or off line (e.g 3 hours per week for 13 weeks) to achieve 39-credit hours for each 3- credit course. During the summer semester you have a shorter period of (7 weeks ). Good practice suggests you schedule blocks of time each week for seat work to achieve 39-credit hours for each 3-credit course (5.57 hours per week for 7 weeks). In addition to seat work you should include time for additional reading, research and completion of assignments. Q 12. When do I have to sign into the Learning Exchange at specific times? When forum activities require your interaction with your peers When an assignment is due at a given date and time, you will have to sign into the Learning Exchange and submit your assignment When your Programme Manager, Course Coordinator or Tutor want to meet with you in real time When you have group activities to complete

5 Q 13. What academic support would I receive with my courses? Each course has an etutor assigned to a group of 25 students. The tutor s role is to guide you through the activities in the course Units and to answer any questions you may have about the activities, assignments and advice on academic matters. Each course is assigned a Course Delivery Assistant who monitors the course and provides support to you via the following ways: Orientation to the Learning Exchange sessions Daily SKYPE synchronous sessions contact for academic support academicsupport@open.uwi.edu The helpdesk is available to assist you with technical issues (appropriate systems to be downloaded on your computer) you may encounter with your UWIOC etc. All your technical issues as it relates to uploading of assignments etc. will be passed onto the Learning Support Specialist. Each programme has a Programme Manager who manages the overall delivery of the Programme at the start of each semester you will be provided with academic advising suggestions as you manage your course load and work towards your Degree. In addition to the etutor each course has a Course Coordinator who supervises all etutors in the course to ensure that their guidance to you meets the academic standard required by the Open Campus. They also guide students on academic matters to assist them to successfully complete the course.