Course description (T)
The description of the course, study module and implementation information can be found on this page and on the course basic information as well as implementation plan instructions for teachers pages.
NOTE! Be aware of the effect of the changes you make to a course:
- If a single course belongs to several curricula or study modules, any changes made to it will also update to all the elements it has been linked to.
- You can check the course links to curricula or separate study modules in the course: Links to curricula and separate study modules.
- If the course is included in an already approved curriculum, its name, credits, learning outcomes or content may no longer be changed.
- See the principles of creating a course on the Courses page.
Before you can enter any course description details, basic information must be created for the course. At Jamk, course basic information can be created by the education coordinator or other responsible person of the unit concerned. Click here for instructions on how to create the basic information.
Description
The content, objectives, prerequisites and further information fields are displayed in the Opin.fi service and/or on Jamk's website.
Find a course on your Peppi desktop by selecting: Curricula > Course units from the top menu.
Descriptions are mostly free-text fields that are intended for specifying in more detail the content of the course, the learning objectives and the assessment criteria. At Jamk, this information is filled out by the person responsible for the course.
Consider the following when writing descriptions
Write all course descriptions in both Finnish and English. Type the Finnish descriptions in the ‘In Finnish’ fields and those in English in the ‘In English’ fields.
The same course descriptions are used in marketable educations such as Diplomas of Higher Education, Open studies (Opin.fi and Jamk’s websites) and continuing education and customised education and training. So be sure to make the description clear, inspiring and understandable. You can use, for example, matters raised in course feedback.
Use the ‘you’ form to address the reader in the description fields.
Avoid using bullets, but if this is absolutely necessary, use the dash (–). The slash (/) may not be used!
The heads of the programmes decide whether the course(s) will be checked and the planner in school or other equivalent person marks the individual(s) in the ‘Validate’ section.
If the course will be offered in both Finnish and English, only one course will be prepared.
The course evaluation scale is not populated from the course to the implementation.
Objectives
The field is displayed in the Opin.fi service and on Jamk's website.
The object of the course
Describe shortly the object of the course from the student’s point of view. Make good use of the following questions:
- Why does the course exist?
- What will the participant learn during the course?
- How will competence develop?
- What will the participant master or know after completing the course?
- Emphasise the benefits aspect: e.g. ‘after completing this course, you will have learned…”
The learning objectives of the course
Describe the learning objectives of the course according to ECTS instruction (PDF) and take account of EQF competence level (level 6 or 7). Describe how, for example, ethics are manifested during this course or what the student learns about ethics in this course.
“Learning outcomes express the level of competence attained by the student and verified by assessment. They are ‘statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning prosess’.” (ECTS user’s guide)
The learning objectives are to be derived from the degree programme competences and the study module learning objective. Consider the competences assigned to the course! The course learning objectives are to be described in the form of learning outcomes: what will the student be capable of after completing the course? What kind of knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills, practical skills and transferable skills will the student possess after completing the course? The description is to emphasise what the student will know, understand and can do as a result of the learning process. Write the description using active verbs, such as know, understand, apply, act, analyse, etc.
Describe the learning outcome so as to keep it in line with grade 1 (adequate) or pass.
DO NOT mention what or how the student will study during the course (the content and methods of implementation will be described separately). Do not use abbreviations, because their meaning might not be familiar to all. Be sure to define competence in an understandable way; a mere reference to standards, for example, is not sufficient.
Course competences
Write the degree competences here.
For example like this:
Ethics: understands the principles of responsible conduct of research and adheres to them.
Sustainable development: is able to use information related to their field in finding, implementing and establishing sustainable solutions and operating models.
Content
In the Opin.fi service, the Content field is the top field of the course page. At the beginning, write at least one sentence about what the course is about. E.g. In this course you will learn … The course gives you tools … The field is displayed on Jamk's website, too.
After that, describe the principal content of the course; tell the reader precisely and concretely what things, skills etc. they will be studying.
No indication of the methods of implementation.
Answer the following questions:
- What are the principal contents of the course?
- What kind of tools will the course provide?
Study methods
Described in connection with implementation in the section of teaching methods.
Further information
The field is displayed in the Opin.fi service.
A free-form field reserved for essential information that is not evident from the description. This field can be used for providing additional information about the course, such as its relation to a study path. If the course will be offered for students other than degree students, the target group can be described here (for whom will the studies be suitable?).
Learning material
Described in connection with implementation.
Course literature
Not shown to the student.
NOTE! Literature must also be indicated in connection with the implementation so that the students will see it. Please, remember course literature, other course material and student numbers to the library.
Prerequisites
The field is displayed in the Opin.fi service and on Jamk's website.
Enter the prerequisites here, no references to courses or degrees. If the fulfilment of a certain requirement is a precondition for admission to a university of applied sciences (e.g. elementary school mathematics), this is not a prerequisite.
Examples of previous competence:
- Management of basic marketing information is recommended / required.
- It is recommended that you have basic IT skills.
This field must be filled out, so if no prerequisites are applicable, write in the field e.g. No previous competence is required.
Evaluation scale
0–5 or Pass/Fail as set out in the Degree Regulations. The information is not populated from the course to the implementation.
Evaluation criteria, sufficient 1, satisfactory 2
Provide a separate description of the assessment criteria for grades 1 and 2 in this field.
The assessment criteria describe the competence acquired by the stu-dent in relation to the learning objectives of the course. Avoid using adjectives; describe the difference in the level of skills with verbs according to Bloom’s taxonomy or the SOLO taxonomy.
“Assessment criteria are descriptions of what the student is expected to do, in order to demonstrate that a learning outcome has been achieved.” (ECTS user’s guide 2015)
Unless otherwise provided by the curriculum, the grading scale may be either five-step – 5 (excellent), 4 (very good), 3 (good), 2 (satisfactory) and 1 (sufficient) – or Pass (S)/Fail (0). The course assessment is Fail (0) if the student fails to achieve the minimum learning objectives for passing the course.
Evaluation criteria, good 3, very good 4
Provide a separate description of the assessment criteria for grades 3 and 4 in this field.
Evaluation criteria, excellent 5
Provide a description of the assessment criteria for grade 5 in this field.
Evaluation criteria, pass/fail
Provide a description of the assessment criteria for grade “pass” in this field.
Validate
This is used for defining whether language and/or content validation is needed for the course concerned. If you serve as content or language validator for the course, tick ‘Content checked’ or ‘Translation checked’, respectively, when you have completed your validation.