Academic Structure and Policies

Academic Structure

The academic structure of First Irish Business School includes:

The school system
The semester system
Programme of study and mode of Instruction and Assessment
UCS (Unit Course System)
Definitions and Terminologies of UCS
Objectives of UCS
Registration for courses
Assessment of performance
Grading System
GPA (Grade-Point Average)

School System

For administrative convenience and to facilitate co-operation among staff and students in related disciplines, departments have been grouped into schools. Each school is to be headed by a dean.

Programme of study and mode of Instruction and Assessment

The programme of study is made up of a 2-tier system leading to the award of the National Diploma (ND) and the Higher National Diploma (HND). A 4-month students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) period will occur between the first and the second year of the ND programme (where applicable). A minimum of 1 calendar year post-ND work experience is normally a prerequisite for admission into the HND programme for HND applicants with not less than lower credit results (between 2.50 and 2.99 on the cumulative grade-point average).

NOTE:

TKPI is offering only ND courses for now.

Unit Course System (UCS)

The mode of instruction and assessment is by unit course system (UCS). This is a credit system based on the premise that fields of knowledge can be broken down into smaller components called courses or modules that are arranged according to prescriptions of NBTE (National Board for Technical Education). The system is a form of curriculum organization whereby the syllabus of the subject in a programme is divided into courses in prescribed sections of teaching and study, each of which is separately examined of assessed. As a course is a body of knowledge and skills that may be utilized on its own, it will be easier to know when students are ready for Student Industrial Attachment – and when such an attachment will be meaningful to them.

Registration for Course

Students must be registered by the registry as approved by the School Board of Studies for courses relevant to their programmes of study at the beginning of the session. It is important to note that students on the same programme may not necessarily be expected to register for the same number of courses for each semester, as individual progression is allowed at rates reasonably adjusted to individual abilities. However, full-time students must register for a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24 course units per semester, distributed among core, elective and ancillary courses according to the requirements of each school.

Assessment of Performance

Assessment of a session’s work shall depend on the totality of the student’s performance in the 2 semesters for the session. This shall normally consist of Continuous Assessment (CA) and end – of – semester examinations with the relative weighting of 30% and 70%, respectively. Assessment of 2 test, plus Practical Work, Tutorials, Assignments, etc., shall make up the CA score.