Oncology and Palliative Care - Teaching & Assessment

Induction

"Using Blackboard is a huge improvement over the faxing and mailing I did for my MSc (Clin Pharm) in 1994-6. Now I can access the course materials, discussion forums, feedback, updates, etc, round the clock, and wherever there is internet access"
Mario de Lemos, Provincial Drug Information Co-ordinator, Vancouver, Canada

All applicants are required to complete an induction programme before starting their studies in semester one. You will be given an account which includes e-mail address and access to Blackboard (a managed learning environment where you access your modules). Instructions for the induction programme will be given after you have received your account details.

Completion of the induction programme is essential to have access to your modules.

Each module making up your programme will take approximately 100 hours to complete. This includes all the time you spend studying the course materials, reading, researching, working through interactive activities, preparing assignments, reflecting, meeting with your mentor, taking part in discussions, obtaining witness testimonies and completing admin-related tasks.

How You Will Learn

The programmes are full of interactive experiences and activities, delivered on-line in a variety of ways. You will get immediate feedback from automatically scored activities and practices. You can discuss the programme, ask questions and get help with problems through the programme discussion groups or through email exchanges with your Module Leader, who will respond to your queries within three working days. In addition, you will be required to appoint a work-based mentor who will also give advice and guidance. This is a highly interactive programme and you may be required to work in learning sets and participate in discussion boards.

Tutorial Support

You will have a module leader who will provide tutorial support. In addition, administrative, technical and library support will be provided. You will be required to appoint a mentor at your workplace. This will normally be your line manager who you will meet with regularly to discuss your progress on the course.

The role of your mentor is:

  • To provide support and encouragement
  • To meet with you on a regular basis to discuss and review your progress
  • To provide evidence on the authenticity, validity and accuracy of your work by providing witness testimonies, as appropriate.

Your mentor will provide work-based support during the programme, and the development of your dissertation. Support from fellow students will be provided via discussion boards. Additional support will be provided via a useful study guide and other support materials.

This document outlines the role of the Workplace Mentor - Briefing Document for Workplace Supervisors June 10 (PDF: 215 KB)

IT Requirements

If your equipment is reasonably up-to-date (new within the past 2 or 3 years), it is probably fine. For smoothest access to learning materials you should have:

Computer
  • Windows 95, 98, 2000, 2007 NT, ME or XP; MacOS 9, MacOS X or MacOS 10.1
Hardware
  • 64 MB of RAM, 1 G of free disk space
  • Speakers and sound card for listening to audio files
  • Modern browser
  • CD-rom drive
  • Printer
Modern Browser
  • Opera http://www.opera.com
  • Firefox http://www.mozilla.org/firefox
  • Internet explorer http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
Software
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Powerpoint
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader

Reliable equipment and internet connection is essential. If you are planning on changing internet service provider or getting new equipment or a new operating system before the programme begins, we suggest that you wait to apply until you know that things are running smoothly.

Assessment

You will be assessed throughout your programme in a variety of ways including practical work, exercises, electronically submitted assignments, and MCQs. You will also be required to build up a Portfolio of Evidence for your Continuing Professional Development. To complete the MSc programme, you will be required to complete and submit a 15,000 word dissertation. Advice and guidance will be given automatically to learners who need to undertake re-assessment at any of the assessment points. Successful completion of the first semester will enable access to the second semester. You must ensure you return your assessment before the cut-off dates, although you do not need to wait until these dates for submission of work for written assignments.