New Open Online Course for Senior Cycle Students

Posted on April 30, 2020 UCC is currently finalising a new open, online course for senior cycle students to help with the challenges of the transition to university that they may be facing in the run up to Leaving Certificate. Thinking about higher-level learning can be a very exciting time in students’ lives, but it can also be a daunting change from school.

By preparing students for what to expect and having a resource that is open, online and easy to navigate may help you to prepare the students for success over the next several years. Nurturing Bright Futures has been developed by the Graduate Attributes Programme in UCC with content written by many key staff in the university and will complement the many resources you use in the classroom. It will also provide a space for reflection that the students can do at home with parents and siblings, with friends and classmates at school, or on an individual basis, if they so wish.

This self-reflection toolkit will help the students to anticipate, identify and navigate situations before entering higher education so that they are better prepared. In addition to encouraging them to reflect on courses and careers, it will contain information on the realities of university life, such as information on budgeting, paying bills, good study skills, developing healthy relationships, goal setting, building resilience and developing good physical and mental fitness.

The course will also introduce prospective students to graduate attributes and values that UCC are instilling in the students from first year as they transition through their programme of study and beyond, to enable them to become world and work ready. The online course is being developed as a modularised model, which should take about six hours in total.

It will be totally adaptable, so it can be used one hour per week over a period of six weeks, or whatever the user wishes. Content will be engaging - Infographics allow for visual presentation of information and facts organised together with graphics, charts, text and diagrams which will help grab the attention of the audience and add to the power of engagement.

Downloadable PDFs will be provided for the students to self-reflect and self-assess at various stages throughout. Nurturing Bright Futures will be launched later in the year.