Mid-Term Assessments

This week at FoC the students from all our pathways are having mid-term assessments. 

Mid-term assessments are an opportunity for tutors to review the progress being made by students and to check their knowledge.  Tutors can also see which areas classes need to work on as a whole and where individual students are struggling but also excelling.  These assessments are a great way of letting students know which areas they need to work harder on but not forgetting a good opportunity to praise them for their hard work which is also very important in the learning process.

Every student will also have the benefit of receiving personal, written feedback from their teacher for every academic subject that they are taking.

In doing these assessments, students also have a chance to assess themselves and get a good idea of which areas they need to work hard on at home.  It's also great practice for students who will be studying in the UK for a number of years as they can get used to the style of assessments that they will see many of in the future.

Best of luck to all our students.  For a bit of light relief outside the classroom students will be going to see the new Bond film, Skyfall, in cinema tonight. 

The Social Programme, by Aimee-Louise Smith

Hello my name is Aimee and I work with the students at UCLan FoundationCampus on a day to day basis with welfare issues.  I am the first person students see when they come into the office and I am happy to help with anything that they need.  I deal with things such as police registration, accommodation, registering with the doctors, getting around Preston and much more.  A huge part of my role is also to help organise student social events which is really fun!

The social events are usually every Tuesday and Saturday at FoundationCampus and I try to get the students involved in making the decisions about what they want to do and how they want to do it! This gives me a good idea of what events I can plan and when I can fit them in. I love talking to the students during their break times because it gives me a good insight as to who they are, which also gives me a good idea of the types of events they would be interested in attending throughout the year.

I start my week by advertising the events around campus and talking to the students to see who is interested in attending, I then book any tickets and transportation needed for the day and confirm it all towards the end of the week. I also go in to tutorial sessions to try and get more students to come along to the trips.

I feel the trips are extremely important to the students as there are many things the student can benefit from getting involved in the social events we offer throughout the year. The benefits I see from the students who attend the events are as follows:

• I have strict rules that on the trips that all students are only allowed to speak in English so it is fair on all the students who don’t speak the same languages as some of the other students. This means that their English skills will improve throughout the year both in and outside the classroom.
• It gives the students a chance to socialise with other students who are studying on their course and to make friends with people from different courses across FoundationCampus – Most of the students from previous years who attended a majority of the social events during the year have remained friends throughout their time at UCLan.  As an example we have a group of students who now live together and have done since leaving UCLan FoundationCampus!  I do feel it gives them the opportunity to feel more at home by already having friends around them before they start their degree course.
• The students get to travel around the UK while they are here instead of staying in one place.  They get a chance to really make the most of their time in the UK, seeing many different places and experiencing British culture.
• It is a great opportunity for the students to learn about England and most of the trips are educational.
• Getting involved with social events that are run by the university itself is also good because it means that the students will make friends with other students at UCLan and will have a group of friends before they even begin their degree which is a great way to make sure you have friends wherever you go!




Me with student, Man Ue
outside the Trafford Centre

So far this year the students have already taken part in some amazing events!
Such as;

·         Manchester Trafford Centre

·         Lake District – Lake Windermere

·         Paintballing

·         Blackpool Illuminations with Fish and Chips

·         Bowling

·         A meal out at Nando’s

We are looking forward to the following events which are coming up in the next few weeks;

·         A trip to Liverpool – Albert Docks

·         Bonfire night

·         Traditional pumpkin carving for Halloween

·         A beginners skiing lesson at Chill Factor in Manchester

·         Manchester’s annual German Christmas Markets

·         A tour of Manchester United’s football ground

·         A trip to Blackpool’s scary house for Halloween

·         Cinema Trips

·         Meals out in different restaurants such as Chinese, Indian, English, Italian and much more.

We always have a lot of social events to keep the students entertained over the weekends and during their half term breaks.  It is my job to ensure that all the students feel at home here at UCLan FoundationCampus and to give them the opportunity to experience English culture and have fun while they are with us for a year!

I really enjoy my role and love working with students as it is always exciting.   

Spotlight on Computing

Term 1 is now well under way and our students are hard at work preparing for their mid term assessments.  Students on the Undergraduate Foundation Programme (UFP) study English along with 3 academic subjects of their choice to best prepare them for the Undergraduate degree that they will progress onto next year at UCLan.

This week our UFP Computing class have been learning about Different Programming Languages.  To help them understand computer programming languages groups of students acted out different parts of a language and presented it to the class. 

To support the theoretical classroom based learning, Computing students also have practical lessons in a University Computer Lab 4 hours per week. 

Computing students are set to progress onto a variety of degree courses next year including BSc (Hons) Computer Games Development, BSc (Hons) Computer Network Technology, BEng (Hons) Robotics and Mechatronics and BEng (Hons) Electronic Engineering.

Computing Tutor Susan Clark said; "My aim in teaching Computing is to encourage each student to work to the best of their ability.  When students work hard, I try to be really kind.  Work can always be improved - there is no such thing as having finished with nothing more to do.  I believe in aiming high but I like the class to laugh and find learning fun.  As long as students study the work and pass their examinations, I don't mind if they think I am slightly crazy."

Keep up the good work class!

A Day Out in the Lake District

After the students' first week in lessons they had the chance to take a trip to one of England's most revered beauty spots with Foundation on Campus.  The Lake District is an area of natural beauty famous for it's lakes, forests and mountains and is only an hours drive north of Preston. 

Students spent the day around Lake Windermere, enjoying the local town, food and views.  They took a boat trip and had the option to visit the Beatrix Potter museum or take a trip to the Lakes Aquarium. 

Take a look at this video clip filmed by Talal Jallaf, one of our aspiring Physiotherapy students;

 

Here's what he had to say about the day; "We stepped off the bus and arrived to a magical place.  Most of us had never experienced anything like this before, such a beautiful place.  The glistening clear blue lake, trees so green spreading beyond the horizon, shiny polished boats and local wildlife.  We stepped on a boat to take us on a voyage around the lake, greeted with a smile and a warm welcome we took our seats and began our journey.  It was just brilliant.  It took us all by surprise to hear that Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh had been on the same boat, we suddenly all felt like royalty.

Our journey home was a disappointing one, we didn't want to leave our new heaven.  Fresh air, fresh food and friendly people.  It was a trip like no other."

A warm welcome to 2012/13, by Centre Head Mary Wade

Welcome to the 2012/13 academic year! 

 

It is so nice to have students in the centre again after our short summer break.  Induction week began on Monday 1^st October and you can find photographs of our students meeting each other, the teachers and receiving talks from the Student’s Union, the Health Centre, the Police and the Fire Service as well as FoundationCampus staff on our Facebook and Flickr page.  It also included our usual trip to Blackpool to have fish and chips and enjoy the Blackpool illuminations – a traditional British institution. 

 

Today is the last day of their first week of study and the students are really starting to settle down.  They will have met their personal tutors for the first time this week.  The personal tutors are a very important part of the student journey through FoundationCampus and lead a programme throughout the year that gives an introduction to study in the UK, helping the students with study strategies, but also gives the students an opportunity to talk about any personal problems and to reflect on living life in another culture. 

 

It’s important to recognise that students on our Foundation programmes are not only here to study but are also experiencing enormous changes outside the classroom, getting used to living away from their family and in a new culture.  Studying on a foundation year gives the students the opportunity to experience these challenges outside the classroom before they start their degree or masters, ensuring they will be able to focus on their study to achieve the best qualification possible.  It also gives them a chance to share their learning with people who are going through the same changes.  Most of our students stay friends throughout their time at university. 

 

Please keep checking our blog to share the 2012/13 year with us.  We’ll have regular postings from staff and students and photographs and videos to keep you up to date.

Best wishes.

 

Mary

Induction week 2012/13

Welcome back to UCLan FoC for what we are sure will be another exciting and successful year.  The year is well and truly under way with 106 new arrivals and another 20 or so still to come.



Students take a campus tour

Induction week was, as always, extremely busy.  Students enrolled on their programmes and chose their options, registered with the police, met with the fire service to discuss safety and were introduced to a lot of the rules and regulations that they will need to know as international students living and studying in England. 

Endrit enjoys traditional fish and chips

Students were treated to a free trip to Blackpool, a town only 45 minutes drive away from Preston, to see the famous Blackpool Illuminations and enjoy traditional English fish and chips.  They also had a chance to go bowling and to take a trip to Manchester's Trafford Centre, the largest shopping centre in the UK.

A great start to 2012/13.