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In the day to day context, whilst every endeavour will be made to provide the courses and services described in the Programme Specification, Blackpool and The Fylde College reserves the right to make such changes as may be appropriate for reasons of operational efficiency or due to circumstances including industrial action beyond its control. This document is available in alternative formats on request.

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 4

2. Key programme Information .............................................................................................................. 4

3. Programme Overview ........................................................................................................................ 5

4. Admission Criteria ............................................................................................................................. 6

5. Progression Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 6

6. Programme Aims............................................................................................................................... 7

7. Programme Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 8

8. Programme Content .......................................................................................................................... 8

9. An Overview of Teaching, Learning & Assessment ........................................................................... 9

10. Integration of Work Based Learning .............................................................................................. 13

11. Summary of Relevant Academic Guidelines .................................................................................. 13

12. Indicators of Quality and Standards ............................................................................................... 13

Document Version Tracking

Version Date Author(s) Description

0.1 2.9.15 Christopher Hepworth Stage 1

0.2 3.11.15 Christopher Hepworth Stage 2

0.3 7.1.16 Christopher Hepworth External

1.0 8.2.16 Christopher Hepworth Final

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1. INTRODUCTION

The Programme Specification provides a summary of the main features of the BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Stage, Screen and Gaming programme, and the learning outcomes that a student will hopefully achieve and demonstrate on successful completion of the programme. Further detailed information related to this programme and the College can be found in the following resources:

Programme handbook

B&FC Student handbook

B&FC Admissions Policy

Work Based and Placement Learning handbook (Foundation Degrees)

Student guide to assessment and feedback

www.blackpool.ac.uk

2. KEY PROGRAMME INFORMATION

Name of the final award BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Stage, Screen & Gaming

Programme title BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Stage, Screen & Gaming

Teaching institution Blackpool and The Fylde College

Name of awarding body/institution Lancaster University

Details of Professional/Statutory body accreditation

Accreditation from Creative Skillset will be sought when the course is established. The process - from completing the application to achieving industry accreditation - is normally up to 30 weeks, and comprises two stages: the first is desk-based and the second is a visit

Length of programme/mode of study

3 years – Full-Time

Subject Benchmark statements Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies (2008) Creative Writing (2015)

UCAS code W123

Language of Study English

Date of Validation 28.1.16

Date of most recent review N/A

Date programme specification written/revised

5.2.16

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3. PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

Our BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Stage, Screen and Gaming is one of the most unique scriptwriting courses in the UK and is a discipline that is the cornerstone of all creative practice. You will explore how to write for film, television, gaming and theatre, as well as developing an analytical and commercial awareness that will prepare you for multi-skilled roles across the creative and digital sector. See your writing come to life through collaborations with actors and filmmakers, live projects with employers and national competitions that will build your skills and reputation as you study. You will gain employability skills in areas such as communication, marketing, digital literacy and team working that will lead to a range of jobs (which will be discussed in more detail on Page 7). MediaCity have provided a huge boost to the creative and digital industry and this degree equips you for a number of exciting career opportunities, both nationally and internationally. On this programme, you will work closely with highly qualified, experienced staff and industry professionals to gain an exciting, real world experience. By studying with us, you not only graduate with an excellent degree – awarded by Lancaster University – but will have developed a portfolio of experience that will enhance your chances of success in getting the job you want. By studying with us, you will join a highly successful group of students and graduates who possess innovative and adaptable skills that have allowed them to thrive in a dynamic and growing sector. As part of your programme of study, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with other current degree students from Digital Production, Film Making and Acting, where you will be able to see your writing evolve and come to life. This will give you skills and confidence to engage with a wider community of professionals and audiences in live briefs, community projects and competitions. In terms of the bigger picture, you have chosen an excellent, diverse and thriving industry where there are plenty of jobs that relate directly and indirectly to the skills you will develop on this programme. As well as enhancing your creative skills and critical understanding of language and writing, you will develop wider transferable skills in communication and industry know-how that will allow you to work across multiple platforms with a broad range of industry professionals. Research conducted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2015) indicates significant growth in this sector, with the following key findings:

The Creative and Digital Industries are now worth 8.8 million an hour to the UK economy

The sector accounts for 1.7 million jobs – which is 5.6% of the job market

The Creative and Digital Industries grew by 10% in 2013 – three times faster than the wider

economy

These findings also support research from Creative and Cultural Skills (2015)1, Nesta’s ‘Manifesto for the Creative Economy’ (2013)2 and Inc. Magazine (2014)3, who all demonstrate that students with creative skills and qualifications are more likely to succeed in the workplace owing to their ability to ‘think outside the box’. According to Inc, creative people “observe, make opportunities, find new ways of learning, experiment, foster flexibility, remain open-minded, daydream, take risks, nurture and imagine.” It is these transferable skills that will make you highly employable in a broad range of creative and digital industries.

Furthermore, the team have consulted a range of industry professionals and academics, who have provided excellent endorsements regarding the programme’s content, structure, diversity and relevance to the workplace. Dr George Green, an author and Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University, stated that: “The programme is an excellent idea and will provide useful sector-specific skills, as well as transferable skills to enhance employability.” This is also supported by Dr Christopher Dows, a successful graphic novelist and academic, who commented that: “this is an exciting and innovative programme that shows significant thought and research in its preparation. It combines a unique mix of academic and vocational subjects and plays to the considerable strengths of Blackpool and

1 http://ccskills.org.uk/careers/blog/creative-jobs-what-does-the-evidence-tell-us 2 http://www.nesta.org.uk/project/manifesto-creative-economy 3 http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/10-everyday-things-creative-people-do-that-lead-to-success.html

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The Fylde College’s staff and facilities, who have an excellent track record in terms of results, subject specialisms and industry experience.”

In addition to these comments, Stephen Russell, a regular writer for Coronation Street, Peaky Blinders and Shameless, commented that: “This programme offers very thorough and sensible training for work as a playwright or scriptwriter. The number of opportunities for writers has been increasing in recent years and anyone with an interesting sample script has a good chance of being employed. However, it’s no use being employed once. You also have to know what’s expected of you after the script’s been written and this course would appear to be an excellent grounding for that. It’s a solitary job that requires regular enthusiastic collaboration and this degree recognises that. This is the kind of programme I would like to take if I was starting out now.”

Finally, screenwriter, filmmaker and author Dr Freddie Gaffney, stated that: “The programme offers students an exciting, creative approach to engaging with an area that is the touchstone of all contemporary media productions” and added that “the chosen media are nothing without the writers. Overall, this programme has national, continental and global significance.”

In relation to other institutions, our combination of writing for film, television, theatre and gaming is unique – as programmes of this nature are either Screenwriting for Film and Television or Playwriting with Performance. This programme recognises the importance of interconnectedness across media platforms and will better prepare you for a constantly evolving industry – as the endorsements show.

At the heart of this creative practice is the writer, who is the nucleus, from which exciting, dynamic and collaborative practice begins – and whilst you will clearly develop industry-specific skills over the course of this programme, the transferable skills developed in communication, writing, creative practice, digital literacy, team-work, independent learning, work-based projects and time management, will significantly enhance your chances of employment across a great many areas of the creative and digital industry.

4. ADMISSION CRITERIA

Admission to level 4 would normally be on the basis of the applicant possessing:

200 UCAS points or above with at least 120 points in an appropriate discipline relating to Communication, Media, Film or English related areas.

GCSE English at Grade C or above.

Entry to Level 5 would be on the basis of:

Successful completion of 120 credits with similar or exact learning outcomes – assessed via APL procedures.

Entry to Level 6 would normally be on the basis of:

There is no direct entry to Level 6.

5. PROGRESSION OPPORTUNITIES

As well as the government’s support for the Creative and Digital Industries, Creative Skillset have also identified significant opportunities for graduate employment and progression in scriptwriting and related professions, as well as the invaluable set of transferable skills that are developed. In their report, they identify a broad range of areas that include the following relevant job roles and skills:

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Script Editor – In this job role, there are excellent opportunities for collaboration, amongst peers and across curricula. This programme develops skills for this job role across all levels, specifically in the final year.

Script Supervisor – To prepare you for this job role, the programme foregrounds the importance of clear communication, project management and an understanding of industry trends. There are opportunities to develop these specific skills in the final year to enhance your work-based skills and professional practice.

Multi-Skill Platforms – Creative Writers acquire a broad range of transferable skills that apply to the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of communication, media, film and cultural studies. These include critical studies, concept design and development, communication and leadership, client liaison, project management, public relations, marketing and much more. This is a widely supported view that is evidenced in many research papers and in surveys that analyse graduate employment (notably Creative Skillset reports and the government’s Growth Review in 2010).

Diagonal Thinking – This is the ability to tell great stories, then know how to monetise those stories to best effect using media that crosses platforms. Having conducted research into scriptwriting, it is apparent from leading authors in the field such as McKee (1999) and Gaffney (2008), that story - and an astute awareness of your target market - is the centre-point of the whole process. This is also widely supported by industry practitioners, one of whom – Academy Award Winner Mark Herman – provided a master-class for staff and students at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, in York. His advice on the writing process and direction endorsed the relationship between theory and practice, whilst championing the importance of on the job experience.

After graduating from this programme, you will have developed a range of subject-specific and transferable skills that will allow you to seek employment in a broad range of areas, including:

Scriptwriting for film, television, theatre, gaming and other creative and digital platforms.

Journalism – in traditional and digital forms.

Researching and writing for digital media.

Researching and writing for documentaries, reality television and other factual forms.

Digital marketing through social media.

Marketing and Public Relations.

Copywriting for Advertising.

Branding and promotional writing and production.

Freelance writing.

Entrepreneurship – setting up your own company.

Teaching and other roles in education.

There will also be opportunities for post-graduate study in subject-specific areas such as Creative Writing, Film, Media, Communication, English and Theatre, as well as broader opportunities in digital media, education, advertising, graphic design, marketing, public relations and much more.

Overall, the Creative and Digital Industries are a thriving and exciting sector in which writers are a key part. There are many employment and post-graduate opportunities where skilled, future-focused practitioners can thrive and further evolve their practice.

6. PROGRAMME AIMS

The general aims of the BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Stage, Screen and Gaming are to provide the opportunity:

To gain knowledge of communication, media and cultural forms and processes relating to professional practices in Scriptwriting and related industries.

To gain an understanding of the polysemic nature of spectatorship and the ways in which producers target audiences.

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To develop an understanding of a range of concepts, theories and approaches to the study of scriptwriting and related industries and provide an opportunity to apply these.

To identify and advance skills in critical analysis, research and communication in Scriptwriting and other related professions.

To develop skills in written and digital literacies for a range of purposes and contexts, including writing for multiple platforms in response work-based projects, live briefs and competitions.

To explore and advance a contextual understanding of the historical, social, political and psychological frameworks and interfaces that relate to contemporary, professional practice in Scriptwriting and related professions.

To work collaboratively across communicative platforms to develop and produce industry- standard work.

7. PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

On completing the programme, you will be able to demonstrate skills in the following areas:

Programme Outcomes Level 1. Identify and analyse communication systems, modes of representation and the role of institutions, relating to their organisation and management in the field of scriptwriting and relevant industries. 2. Analyse contextual frameworks, including economic, socio-political, historical, regulatory, legal and ethical and examine their impact upon creative practice and consumption across various media platforms. 3. Analyse multi-platform disciplines and the way in which they organise meanings to target and influence a diverse range of spectators. 4. Analyse and evaluate the interconnectedness of texts and their development in relation to a local, community, regional, national, international or global context. 5. Critically analyse the interrelationships of technological and social change and evaluate their impact on creative practice, communication, marketing, promotion, distribution, exhibition and spectatorship. 6. Critically engage with major thinkers, debates and intellectual paradigms within the field of Scriptwriting and other relevant industries and put them to productive use. 7. Critically analyse, interpret and evaluate relevant texts and forms of communication in relation to social and cultural contexts in the field of scriptwriting and related industries 8. Reflect upon and critically evaluate academic and/or professional issues, debates and conventions relevant to the practice of Scriptwriting and other creative and digital practices. 9. Formulate appropriate research questions for academic practice employing appropriate methods and resources for exploring those questions. 10. Produce work that demonstrates effective manipulation and experimentation with form, convention, language and production to engage different target demographics and/or customers. 11. Work in flexible, creative and independent ways, showing self-discipline, self-direction and reflexivity with a range of academic and work-related tasks. 12. Gather, organise, generate and critically evaluate ideas and information using academic and digital literacies, in order to formulate arguments cogently and express them effectively in written and oral forms. 13. Organise and manage supervised and self-directed projects, relating to academic tasks and work-based projects, including entrepreneurial projects and collaborative practice.

6

8. PROGRAMME CONTENT

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All Higher Education programmes delivered at Blackpool and The Fylde College consist of modules. A module is a coherent unit of subject material, which is complete with its own learning outcomes and assessments. More detailed information on module content is available in the programme handbook. Level 4 – 120 Credits

Module Code Title Credits

CS401 Thinking and Making 20

SCR401 Evolutions in Genre and Authorship 20

SCR402 Story Design 20

SCR403 Writing for Television and Theatre 20

SCR404 Writing for Film and Gaming 20

SCR405 Producers and Audiences 20

Level 5 – 120 Credits

Module Code Title Credits

CS501 Research into Practice 20

SCR501 Researching and Writing for Factual Programming 20

SCR502 Script to Screen 20

SCR503 Adaptations for Stage and Screen 20

SCR504 Promoting and Realising Your Ideas for Multi-Platform Media

20

SCR505 Script to Stage 20

Level 6 – 120 Credits

Module Code Title Credits

CS601 Independent Research Project 20

SCR601 Scriptwriting Major Project 40

SCR602 Innovations in Scriptwriting 20

SCR603 Skills for Industry: Script Editing and Supervision 20

SCR604 Enterprise Development and Professional Practice 20

9. AN OVERVIEW OF TEACHING, LEARNING & ASSESSMENT

The changing shape of education and employment in the 21st Century has informed our approach to teaching, learning and assessment. You will take an active role in your learning by working in partnership with your fellow students, staff and employers to co-produce your personal and professional development. This is an approach that has been highly commended by the QAA in a recent inspection across our programmes as a whole and has contributed to a high proportion of graduates with First Class and Upper-Second Class honours degrees – as well as an excellent track record for graduate employment. In this section, you will find out how this works in practice and how it will enhance your success on the programme and employability as a graduate. At the heart of our teaching, learning and assessment strategy, we encourage collaborative practice on a range of academic and creative projects with your fellow students, students on other degree programmes and opportunities to work on live briefs and competitions with employers and staff.

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Specifically, you will collaborate and critique one another’s practice with research-based tasks in modules, such as ‘Thinking and Making’ and ‘Research into Practice’, that will develop into creative outcomes in other modules. In modules on ‘Scriptwriting’, ‘Adaptation’ and ‘Factual Programming’ for example, you will work together on scripts for the four key platforms – which are film, television, theatre and gaming. In addition, you will also have opportunities to see your work come to life in our ‘Script to Screen’ and ‘Script to Stage’ modules – where you will work alongside Acting and Digital Production students, and undertake modules on ‘Adaptation’, ‘Innovations in Scriptwriting’ and the ‘Scriptwriting Major Project’. We also encourage a collaborative approach to marketing, promotion and entrepreneurship, which are a key part of your second and third year. This broad-ranging approach will provide you with an evolving media literacy that gives you the skills and confidence to publish and promote professional media texts and an in-depth knowledge and understanding of industry trends and contextual factors. In keeping with progressive educational ideas, we want you to actively participate and take ownership of your learning in order to become ‘real world ready’. As Professor Stephen Heppel states, by thinking about how you learn “it turns you from being a consumer of learning to being a researcher, a co-producer and explorer…which offers a more exciting, more exhilarating way of learning how to learn better.” (21st Century Learning, 2009). In order to aid your development as a co-producer and work towards autonomous practice, this programme will embrace new media and cutting-edge technology at the heart of its design to produce graduates who possess sophisticated communication skills across multiple platforms. This will be achieved by ensuring that staff who teach on the programme are appropriately qualified and experienced. The team ensure that the student-centred nature of modules, allow you to make decisions about the direction your learning will take. In your critical studies of genre and narrative for example, you will be able to choose your own focal texts and critique one another’s ideas through class-based discussions and forums on our virtual learning environment (Moodle), whilst in scriptwriting modules, you will create your own original ideas, find opportunities to collaborate, share good practice and choose areas to specialise in as the programme progresses. We have found that this approach leads to excellent results, high levels of student satisfaction and better prepares you for the work place. In order to exemplify our approaches to teaching, learning and assessment by level, below is a break-down of typical approaches from Level 4 to 6: Level 4 is about creating foundational opportunities for learning through demonstration, embedding critical behaviours and nurturing creative practice. You will develop knowledge and understanding of classical and non-classical approaches genre and narrative by analysing specific texts and developing a critical tool kit that will also inform your own creative practice. In addition, you will be introduced to the skills required to write for film, television, theatre and gaming, as well as the ability to analyse and evaluate the work you have produced. In order to develop these skills, you will contribute to interactive lectures and seminars – where you will work in large groups, small groups and individually – to research and analyse the work of other practitioners in relation to your own ideas and creative practice. You will be directed to look at the similarities and differences of writing in relation to story design, character development, the role of dialogue and the power of visual exposition by analysing a range of classical and contemporary examples and giving you the opportunity to develop your own ideas. Whilst you will ultimately develop your own portfolios of work, which demonstrate independent critical and creative skills, you will be encouraged to work collaboratively in seminars, individual, paired and group workshops, using our VLE and outside taught sessions - to critique and support one another’s creative practice. You will also receive regular 1:1 support from module tutors, who will formatively assess drafts of your work and aid critical understanding in relation to industry standards. These approaches will act as a foundation for further development at Level 5 and 6. Level 5 is about creating developmental opportunities to take your critical and creative skills further. At this level, teaching and learning will be based around increasingly autonomous seminars and workshops that encourage an environment of peer sharing and collaborative support – as well as opportunities for 1:1 support. Following on from interactive lectures regarding key practices and underpinning theory, you will use the seminars as a discussion ground to conduct research into industry, develop your identity as a writer using traditional and digital forms, take part in live projects with employers and manage the

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development of your own professional communication, by building a portfolio of critical and creative work. You will use workshops to practice and develop ideas collaboratively, before developing your own individual projects that will draw on academic and industrial research, feedback from peers and support from staff. Level 6 is about providing an environment in which you can refine your criticality and creativity, your distinct identity as a writer and autonomous and professional skills. This will be achieved through partnerships with peers, staff and opportunities to work with employers – as well as autonomous practice. Approaches to teaching and learning at this level, build on the foundational skills of academic study and scriptwriting, whilst encouraging the development of a greater critical, economic and entrepreneurial awareness of how to raise funds, work collaboratively with other practitioners – such as filmmakers and actors – and how to engage your audience. Specifically, you increasingly take ownership of interactive lectures and seminars where you will present, share and critique one another’s ideas as a professional writer. You will continue to critique and question the work of other practitioners - as a starting point for your own creative practice, but will be encouraged to explore increasingly niche and experimental ideas to develop skills for the ‘Innovations in Scriptwriting’ module for example. In addition, you will work in partnership with your peers – both on programme and across curricular, as well as with staff and external partners, to develop and refine your identity as a writer who recognises the professional and intellectual value of creative practice, the potential to evolve ideas further and your role in a thriving and diverse industry. The student-centred design of the programme will allow you to engage in projects that suit your needs and interests. Part of this process will involve the on-going development of communicative competencies among students through critical discussions, on-line forums, attendance at lectures, interaction with visiting speakers and employers and engagement in internal and external events – such as symposia and film festivals. In terms of assessment strategies, the programme offers a varied approach that will develop your subject-specific and transferable skills. In first year, you will be encouraged to experiment with research and creative forms – both collaboratively and independently – and will be given plenty of formative opportunities to practice and improve, before summative assessments take place. In second year, assessments will build on the skills embedded at Level 4 and will demand a greater degree of autonomy, which will hopefully result in an emerging voice and identity. This will arise through further collaborative practice with peers and staff, as well as the continuation of independent study. At Level 6, you will become increasingly autonomous and will take ownership of your learning to enhance your chances of employment. Below is a table of assessment tasks, when they will be delivered and differentiated from level to level:

Mode of Assessment Where It Will Be Used and Why

Essays, Dissertations and Research Tasks You will complete short and long essays as part your critical studies and theory-based modules – culminating in a dissertation in your final year. At Level 4, you will complete critical analyses of key concepts such as genre, authorship, narrative and audience to inform your creative practice. At this level, you will have the opportunity to practice and experiment with your critical development in shorter essays of around 2000 words in length. At Level 5 and 6, the demand for student-led discovery, with more substantial word counts, will be required to develop your skills and professionalism.

Screenplays, Plays and Other Creative Writing Given the central theme of scriptwriting, you will experiment with platforms, including film, television, gaming and theatre at Level 4 as part of two 4000-word portfolios. At Level 5, you will have opportunities specialise and diversify your

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skills in this area by writing for documentary, adaptation and through collaboration with other HE programmes in ‘Script to Screen’ and ‘Script to Stage’. At Level 6, you will complete a substantial major projects and an innovative script that showcases the sum of everything they have learnt.

Reports As part of the contextual modules, you will write reports on areas of professional practice, including Producers and Audiences at Level 4, Digital Marketing at Level 5 and Entrepreneurship at Level 6. These assessments will be informed by industry research and liaison with employers to contextualise your skills within a ‘real world’ setting.

Pre-Production Planning This is an essential part of any creative writing or production module. At Level 4, you will be formatively assessed on your planning for scriptwriting - which will extend across all levels – but pre-production work will be summatively assessed in the cross-curricula modules ‘Script to Screen’ and ‘Script to Stage’. In these modules, you will work alongside Digital Production and Film Making, Acting and Musical Theatre students to see what happens beyond the written word. This will culminate in the creation of treatments, storyboards and involvement in the early stages of production. This will give you a realistic view of the challenges, barriers and logistics of production across platforms.

Reflective Journals, Evaluations and Critical reflection

The recording of reflective practice will run formatively across tutorial/PDP sessions and will be assessed summatively in all creative writing modules. It is important that emphasis is placed on the writing process, not simply the end product. To that end, evaluations will normally comprise approximately 25% of creative writing portfolios.

Work-Based Learning Projects & Entrepreneurship

The focus on enhancing employability is central to Personal Development Planning and will be integrated throughout modules on Marketing and Promotion, Entrepreneurship and opportunities for cross-curricula practice. Work-Based learning is not a mandatory part of the programme, but opportunities to take part in live briefs and undertake placements, are encouraged.

Individual and Group Presentations In order enhance professional communication skills, self-confidence and employability beyond the written word, presentations will be embedded in the following modules: ‘Evolutions in Genre and Authorship’, ‘Promoting and Realising Your Ideas for Multi-Platform Media’ and ‘Enterprise Development and Professional Practice’. As with essay-based tasks, these assessments will enhance your critical skills, whilst offering a different method by which to capture your knowledge and understanding.

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Digital Writing and Portfolios In response to the demands of industry and our college strategy, enhancing your digital literacy is a central strand of this programme. Specifically, it will be a core part of PDP sessions through our on-line tutorial programme, as well as being summatively assessed in ‘Promoting and Realising Your Ideas for Multi-Platform Media’ and ‘Enterprise Development and Professional Practice’. Digital skills are also a key part of scriptwriting modules.

By designing modules in this way we are able to ensure parity from project to project and you are able to take ownership of your learning, which will enhances your experience, autonomy and employability. This approach also aligns with Heppell’s ideas about the student as “co-producer” and is something we have seen great success with on our existing provision of HE programmes.

10. INTEGRATION OF WORK BASED LEARNING

Whilst work-based learning is not a mandatory part of this degree, the programme is designed to embed and develop a range of transferable and graduate skills that will prepare you for employment opportunities in a range of creative and digital professions. These include skills in professional communication in spoken and written forms, the ability to manage collaborative and independent projects, creative problem solving, and an in-depth knowledge of the ways in which contextual factors influence creative practice, digital and academic literacy and entrepreneurship. In-keeping with the successful delivery of our other degree programmes, the team will provide you with opportunities to take part in live briefs with local and national employers, you will be encouraged to produce work for competitions and will have opportunities for work placement – all of which will enhance your personal and professional development. In order for you to succeed in a competitive graduate market, we want to embed professional skills and experiences that will enhance your qualifications and CV whilst studying with us. This approach has led to a high proportion of our alumni getting the jobs they want soon after graduating and we hope that your time with us will lead to this success too.

11. SUMMARY OF RELEVANT ACADEMIC GUIDELINES

UK Quality Code for Higher Education

QAA Subject Benchmark Statements for Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies (2008) and Creative Writing (2015)

QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)

B&FC Teaching Learning and Assessment Strategy

B&FC Undergraduate Regulatory Framework

Validating Partner’s Undergraduate Regulatory Framework

B&FC Undergraduate Assessment Regulations

12. INDICATORS OF QUALITY AND STANDARDS

(QAA Review May 2013) QAA's judgements about Blackpool and The Fylde College The QAA review team formed the following judgements about the higher education provision at Blackpool and The Fylde College.

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The academic standards that the College offers on behalf of its awarding bodies meet UK expectations for threshold standards.

The quality of student learning opportunities at the College meets UK expectations.

The quality of information produced by the College about its learning opportunities iscommended.

The enhancement of student learning opportunities at the College is commended. Good practice The QAA review team identified the following features of good practice at Blackpool and The Fylde College:

the clear link between the College's commitment to inclusivity and employability, and the resulting innovative assessment tasks

the variety of assessment tasks and their relevance to the world of work, which was valued by students and employers

the College's anticipatory approach to the consideration of and investment in learning resources

the extensive and valuable contribution of students to the quality assurance and enhancement activities of the College

the integrated approach to the provision of learning opportunities to enable the entitlements of disabled students to be met in the wider context of a College ethos of inclusivity

the integrated and innovative approach to the provision of blended learning opportunities and e-resources using the virtual learning environment, which is both comprehensive and reliable

the high-quality website, which provides a user-friendly point of contact for the College's intended audiences

the positive contribution made by the role of the Higher Education Development Manager to the development and production of high-quality and accessible course data and management information

the comprehensive and continuing development of the virtual learning environment that facilitates effective dissemination of information, providing a 'one-stop shop' for students and staff

the positive contribution of the College's equality and diversity agenda to the enhancement of learning opportunities across its higher education provision

the embedded culture of enhancement, as exemplified by the strategic leadership provided by the Higher Education Directorate and the complementary high levels of awareness among, and involvement of, staff and students across the College