Lifelong Learning for Work and Study Short Courses

The Lifelong Learning Courses we offer at Ruskin are part of the National Open College Network (NOCN) In Progression credit based qualifications. The flexibility of these courses provides learners with opportunities to achieve unit credits and use these to gain full qualifications. Learners can choose between small bite-sized chunks of learning (units) and build up credits at their own pace and in different learning contexts. They can combine learning in a way that will help them achieve their goals. All our courses have a credit rating (2 -4 credits). Successfully completing short courses to the value of 9 credits (see course details for credit rating) will enable you to achieve a NOCN Level 2 Award in Progression. Successfully completing short courses to the value of 24 credits (see course details for credit rating) will enable you to achieve a NOCN Level 2 Certificate in Progression or 45 credits for a Diploma. For more help and guidance why not attend one of our Open Mornings.

BOOKABLE OPEN MORNINGS:

Thursday 7th July 2011-BM
Friday 4thAugust 2011- DB
Friday 9th September 2011- AN
Friday 7th October 2011- AN
Thursday 10th November 2011- PH
Thursday 1st December 2011- RH
Friday 13th January 2012- DB
Thursday 9th February 2012- BM
Friday 9th March 2012- AN
Thursday 12th April 2012- PH
Friday 11th May 2012- BM
Thursday 14th June 2012- RH

All will be held from 10 am – 12 noon at Ruskin College Walton Street. Please book – telephone 01865 759656 or 07747711285 to book your place on one of the dates.

FEE INFORMATION

There is a small charge of £47 for each 3 day course and £93 for each 5 day course you book (only a small fraction of the real cost!) This covers tuition, residence and catering. Please note, we cannot be held responsible for cash or postal orders sent through the post

If you are claiming certain types of benefits you will not have to pay any fees for our short courses. These include Jobseeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credit (income less than £15,276), Council Tax Benefit, Pension Guarantee Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Related Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support. You will be asked to send evidence of your benefits with your application when you enrol on a course (this evidence should be no more than 6 months old on the date of the beginning of your first course).

COURSE DATES:

Thinking Outside the Box (2 credits)

Tutor : Penny Halliday
11-13 February (Friday – Sunday)
6 – 8 May (Friday – Sunday

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to debate and discuss issues with friends, family and colleagues with confidence – without it ending in a row? Or to question stereotyped thinking and prejudice when you encounter it? Through exploring the differences between reasoning, quarrelling and explaining, we will identify wheat is meant by critical analysis. By the end of this course you will be able to present an argument in a clear, logical and coherent way.

Write What you Mean, and Mean what you Write (3 credits)

Tutor: David Bliss
16-20 February (Wednesday – Sunday)
13-17 April (Wednesday – Sunday)
13- 17 July (Wednesday – Sunday)

This course will get you writing in different writing styles and look at how you can adjust your writing style to suit purpose, situation or mood. You will write a:  

•    basic letter
•    poem
•    Museum review.  

There is a field trip to the Ashmolean Museum to enjoy the exhibits and gather information to write the Museum review.  

This is a level 2 course and is aimed at building confidence and developing basic skills.  

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Being Assertive (3 credits)

Tutor: Penny Halliday
4 – 6 March (Friday – Sunday)

Have you ever wished that you could make decisions and stick to them? Or have you ever agreed to do something and then instantly regretted it? Or are you not sure! This course will empower you to make the right choices and to present your own opinions with confidence and assertiveness. Through individual, paired and group work we will identify the skills needed to take control of your own life.

Using the Internet and Learning to E.Mail (2 credits)

Tutor: Anne Norville
21 – 25 March (Monday – Friday)
9 – 13 May (Monday – Friday)
13 - 17 June (Monday – Friday)

Never used the Internet before? Never sent an e.mail? Want to feel more confident using a computer? On this course you will learn the skills of exploring the Internet and communicating by e.mail and for those students with some experience, learn more efficient methods to get the best out of your computer and fill in the knowledge gaps.

Citizenship: An Introduction to Your Rights and Responsibilities (3 credits)

Tutor: Wolfgang Deicke
21 - 25 March (Monday - Friday)
3 – 6 May (Tuesday – Friday)

Over the course of this 5-day residential course, we will examine what it means to be a ‘citizen’. In particular, we will look at the idea of ‘rights’ (What are rights? How and where can you exercise them?) and their relation to ‘responsibilities’. We will look at the legal, political and social aspects of citizenship in examining how British society deals with questions of equality and difference, how local and national government works and how we can influence political decisions and – finally – what public services are available to citizens and how we can obtain the support we need from them.    

Using a computer for the first time (3 credits)

Tutor: Anne Norville
28 March – 1 April (Monday – Friday)
23 – 27 May (Monday – Friday)

Scared of your computer? Need to brush up on your skills?
This 5-day course covers the basics of word processing using Word 2010. You will learn how to create and format documents, how to design tables and insert pictures.
This course would suit beginners or people with limited knowledge who wish to brush up their skills and make more efficient use of the programme.

A Better Me (3 credits)

Tutor: Beverley Merritt
28 March – 1 April (Monday – Friday)
6 – 10 June (Monday – Friday)

Find out about yourself in order to develop an even ‘better me’. Build on your own strengths, recognise your skills, look at your life situations, learn to make positive decisions and set yourself targets for your personal development.

Developing Reading Strategies (3 credits)

Tutor: Martin Keighery
4 – 8 April (Monday – Friday)
11 – 15 July (Monday – Friday)

This course will help you to read more effectively and develop strategies suitable to the text you read e.g. skim reading, scanning etc. You will evaluate text and gain a better understanding of what you are reading as part of a programme of study.

Creative Writing (3 credits)

Tutor: Helen Mosby
4-8 April (Monday – Friday)
4-8 July (Monday – Friday)

This course will unearth the writer in you. In a supportive environment you will discover how to transform everyday material into extraordinary stories, and learn the editing skills which turn drafts into successful work that will inspire your readers. Whether you are new to writing or an old hand, this course aims to demystify the creative process and leave you with the confidence to develop your ideas.

Teamwork (3 credits)

Tutor: Beverley Merritt
16 – 20 May (Monday – Friday)
11 – 15 April (Monday – Friday)

Be a team player? Learn to work with others to improve your life chances and social skills, through group work, practical activities and problem solving.

How to Be a Good Detective (3 credits)

Tutor: Penny Halliday
4 - 8 April (Monday - Friday)
18 – 22 July (Monday – Friday)

We supposedly live in an information age – but how can we ensure that we know how to access it effectively? Using the fantastic facility of our library, you will be able to identify a range of research methods and learn how best to present the fruits of your labour.

How to Make Numbers Work for You (3 credits)

Tutor: Anne Norville
11 – 15 April (Monday – Friday)
27 June – 1 July (Monday – Friday)

Do you find rail time tables and holiday brochure charts confusing? Do you want to work out where all your money goes? What are the chances of you winning the lottery? This short course uses fun ways to answer all of these questions in order for you to get what you need from given information. Learn how to create your own fancy charts from data you collect e.g. temperatures/weight/monthly expenditure. All this and more in a small class and a friendly environment.

For more information about these courses please contact the short course office at shortcourses@ruskin.ac.uk

Downlaod the full booklet for the courses above here.

Download the full booklet for the 2011 - 2012 courses here.