HCM Course Handbook

7/27/2019 HCM Course Handbook

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HCM

Hertfordshire College of Music

Course Handbook

2013-14

Rockschool Level 2/3 Diploma

Music Practitioner.

HCM


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Welcome!

Hertfordshire College of Music / Rockschool Level 3 Diploma Music Practitioner

We want to warmly welcome you to the Hertfordshire College of Music and to the

Rockschool Level 3 Diploma Music Practitioner.

This booklet will give you an overview of the course and the Hertfordshire College of

Music (HCM).

We hope youll have a fantastic time at Hertfordshire College of Music and will go on

to a successful career in the music industry.

Alex Forryan

Programme Area Manager and

Course Leader / Lead Tutor


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Contents

Welcome to Hertfordshire College of Music 2

The Teaching Team 4

The Rockshool Music Practitioner Diplomas 4-6

o What is the course ? 4

o Qualifications 5

o How does this qualification compare ? 5

o Modules we will be studying 6

o How to read an assignment brief 7-9

o Deadlines and Assessment 10o Tracking your progress 11

Managing your time 13

o Timetables 13

o Attendance 13

o Punctuality 14

o Booking Additional Research / Rehearsal

Time14

o College Holidays 15

o Assessment Plan 16-17

Professional behavior and your safety 17

o BRAVO Campaign 17

o ID Badges 17

o Smoking Rules 17

o Code of Conduct 18

o

Eating and Drinking 19o Disciplinary Procedure 19

o Complaints and Concerns 19

Guidance and Support 20

o Personal Instrumental Tutorials 20

o Connexions Service 21 - 22


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The HCM Team

During your time here, you will work with a number of different staff around the

College and the Academy in order to achieve your goals and objectives.

Alex Forryan

Course Leader

Drums

Dave Evans

Senior Tutor / Bass

Marc Rapson

Senior Tutor / Re-

Mixing and Production

Roisin Quinn

Tutor / Vocals

Alex Ward

Guitars

Dave Walsh

Music Event

Management

Siobhan Dunne

Deputy Head of

Department Creative

Arts and Industries

[email protected]

Linda Foster

Head of Department

Creative Arts and

Industries

[email protected]


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THE COURSE

Rockschool's qualifications for Music Practitioners are vocational qualifications in

popular music for all levels of ability from beginner to semi-professional. They

provide an increasingly popular alternative to more traditional music qualifications

such as GCSE and A/AS Levels, one that is nationally recognised and accredited withvarying levels and sizes to suit individual needs. Developed by two organisations

specialising in the music industry, they ensure that the most up-to-date trends,

technological, commercial and business advances are embedded within them,

providing learners with the skills to develop realistic employment opportunities in

the music industry. They focus on practical musical skills and provide great flexibility

of unit choice within a chosen pathway: Performance, Composition, Business or

Technology, each allowing direct progression into their chosen area of the industry

and/or a higher level of study.

QUALIFICATIONS

The qualifications are available at Level 1 (equivalent in demand to GCSE Grades D-

G), Level 2 (equivalent in demand to GCSE Grades A*-C) and Level 3 (equivalent in

demand to A/AS level) and are offered in different sizes at each level, as shown in the

table below. The size of each qualification is determined by the amount of credit. A

qualification will be awarded upon successful completion of units carrying sufficient

credit for that qualification. Each credit broadly equates to 10 learning hours.

HOW DOES THIS QUALIFICATION COMPARE?

In contrast to music GCSEsand A/AS levels, Rockschool's qualifications for music

practitioners are vocational qualifications, allowing direct progression into the

industry and/or a higher level of study. They therefore place particular emphasis on

developing practical skills for employment within the industry. Other similar

qualifications, such as the Level 3 BTEC qualifications in Music Practice, combine

practical skills with contextual knowledge that may not necessarily be fundamental

to progression in many career pathways. Similarly, too many mandatory units can

adversely affect learning and potential success, so these qualifications contain one

mandatory unit relevant to the vocational pathway. The qualifications are

transferable and cumulative, in that, for example, learners taking an Award can build

on units successfully achieved to attain a Certificate/Extended Certificate/Subsidiary

Diploma. Unlike the Level 3 BTEC and GCSE/A/AS, there is no external assessment.

These qualifications are assessed completely through internal assessment with

external moderation.


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THE UNITS AT PLAYSOMETHING

Level 2 / 3 Diploma (Performing Pathway)

Instrumental Study

Composing Music

Contextualising Music

Sound Reinforcement

Careers in Music

Music Event Management

Music Rehearsal Skills

Live Music Performance

Session Musician

Music Improvisation

Practical Harmony

Radio/Podcast Production

Copyright in the Music Industry


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How to read an Assignment Brief

When you are to be assessed on work you will be given an Assignment Brief. An

Assignment Brief includes the following information:

what you need to achieve

what evidence you will need to produce

when you will need to submit your work by

who will be assessing your work

what criteria (descriptions of achievement) your work will be judged against

Your assignment briefs will all look like the one below and the key details you needto understand are highlighted here.

Title of the Assignment

The numbers and names of

the Units this brief relates toWhich criteria from these

units you are being assessed

against

To achieve well your

Assessor recommends you

read these books / watch

these films etc.

Which functional skills this

work may go towardsThe dates you will need to

submit different elements of

this work

The Learning Outcomes from

the units this brief addressesScenario this is the

situation you are going to be

working in. If this is a live

brief for a real client this

information will be here


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Task description

this is an outline

what you are

expected to do to

fulfil this brief

The wording of the criteria from

the unit that you will be

assessed against will be here so

you can see what you need to

achieve

What documents, items,

portfolios or pieces of

work you will need to

submit to show you have

completed the tasks

This is the deadline

for submitting the

work for this task.


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Assignment Brief Terms Glossary

Briefan overview of the activities involved in working towards a particular project

or activity

Unita segment of the qualification surrounding a particular skill, theme or subject.

You will be studying towards 19 units throughout the whole of your qualification.

Learning Outcomeeach unit has a series of outcomes that summarise what you

will achieve from successfully completing the unit

Criteriathis is a specific description that explains what you need to demonstrate in

the evidence that you produce in order to gain different levels of achievement. They

are often labeled things like P1 or D3.

Scenariothis is the situation you will be working in on this brief. It could be a brief

for a live client or an imagined situation. You will need to read this carefully to

ensure you are producing what is expected of you in order to achieve.Submission Datethis is the deadline you have been set for handing in work to your

Assessor. If you do not submit by this deadline, this may become a matter for

disciplinary procedures. See the section on submitting work within your Student

Handbook for details about this.

NYAthis stands for Not Yet Achieved and is awarded if you have not yet met the

Pass standard for this particular task. Your feedback from your Assessor will outline

clearly to you what you need to do to improve your work and you will be given a

deadline to submit the improved work. See the Assessment section of your Student

Handbook for details on this.

WTthis stands for Working Towards and this may be marked on Assessmentbecause a task is only part of what you need to complete to meet a criteria. If you

have shown that you are working towards achieving this, it will be indicated here.

See the Assessment section of your Student Handbook for details on this.

The Rockschool Website


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Deadlines and Assessment

Deadlines

You will always be given clear deadlines for submitting your work, by your Assessor,

on your Assignment Brief.

You will be expected to submit your work on this deadline in order to get your

work assessed.

If you are unable to submit work on the deadline you will need to fill in an extension

form, and have the form signed by the relevant Assessor, at least two days before

the deadline.

If you do not submit your work by the deadline

and have not had an extension form signed and

approved by the Assessor at least two days in

advance, then this will be marked as a non-submission.

You should arrive at college with your work ready

to submit to your tutors on the day of the

deadline. Not being able to print work out, email

problems or last minute practical issues are not

considered a reasonable excuse for non-

submission.

Not submitting work on deadline is considered a very serious matter and will lead

to disciplinary processes and could result in you NOT completing the Diploma.


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Assessment of your work

All of the work you produced will be assessed by the tutor who has set the

Assignment Brief you have worked on.

You do not do any exams for your core Rockschool Diploma. However, the grades

you are awarded for your assignment work will formulate the basis of the final grade

you receive for your qualification.

Your tutors will take work in on the deadline, assess it and provide you with

feedback on what you have achieved. They aim to always do this within two working

college weeks (this does not included college holidays, Bank Holidays etc.). You will

always be given clear guidance on what parts of the unit you have achieved and to

what standard. You will also be given written feedback on where the evidence for

your achievements are to be found and how you may consider improving your work.

You will be given a re-submission deadline on the feedback. If you wish to make

improvements to your work and submit it again for assessment this must always be

handed back in by the re-submission deadline.

If you do not reach the Pass standard of any part of an Assignment Brief, the action

plan you are given by the Assessor is compulsory action and must be completed and

returned to the Assessor by the date given.

Tracking Your Progress

Your Personal Instrumental Tutor and the Course Leader for your course will keep a

careful record of your progress. They will record what you achieve on assessment of

each assignment brief. They will be able to keep you informed of whether you are

meeting the targets you have been set.

You will also have your own achievement folder where you will keep a copy of the

feedback you receive from your tutors as well as a tracking sheet recording what you

have achieved. You can access this folder at any time for your own reference but

your Tutors will look after it for you.


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Managing Your Time

During your time at the Academy, you

will be expected to manage your time

effectively and efficiently. This is

particularly important with regards to

getting to your lessons and

appointments on time and submitting

work on deadline.

The following aspects of your time

management will be monitored by

your Tutors and the Course Leader:

Your attendance at all sessions

Your punctuality arriving and leaving on time to each session

Your work submission punctuality handing in work on deadline and in the

format that your tutors require

Your OWN practice time.

Timetables

You will be given a timetable for your group during induction. You will be expected

to keep this safe and use it to ensure you arrive at all your sessions on time, in the

right room, with the correct equipment and homework, ready to work.

You can always find your timetable on the

HCM Diploma Blog, in the Timetables section

should you need another copy. You will need

to look carefully to ensure you get the right

one for your year and group.


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Attendance

It is vital that do not miss any of the sessions that appear on your timetable.

Your attendance is carefully monitored by the media team and poor attendance will

mean you may be entered into a disciplinary process. Poor attendance is deemed to

be anything below 90%.

Should you have a genuine reason for not attending college you need to ensure that

you notify the Academy of this by ringing the HCM Admin Team Office to speak to

Angie on 01920 450510

If you do not ring in and inform us of your reason for absence this is viewed as an

unauthorised absence and taken very seriously.

Should you be aware of a reason why you will be absent from college in advance you

will need to provide evidence of this to your Personal Tutor in advance of your

absence. The only acceptable reasons for absence are:

Funeral of a close family member

Practical Driving Test

Hospital Appointment that cannot be arranged outside of college hours

Interview for a full-time job / HE course (at the end of your one-year course)

Absence because of leisure activities, part-time work or taking holidays withinterm-time is unacceptable behaviour and may lead to disciplinary action. You will

need to plan these activities around your timetable and the college calendar, both of

which you can find in this handbook.

Punctuality

You must attend all sessions on time, with the correct

equipment and ready to work.

Your punctuality is carefully monitored by the media

team and poor punctuality will mean you may be

entered into a disciplinary process. Poor punctuality is

deemed to be anything below 90%.

If there is any reason why you may be late to a session,

you must ring the HCM admin. Team on 01920 450510

Speak to Angie.


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College Holiday Dates 2013/14

1st

year Induction Tues 3rd

Sept 2013

2nd

year students return Tues 10th

Sept 2013Half term Mon 28

thOct Fri 1st Nov 2013

Christmas Break Fri 23rd Dec 2013 Mon 6th

Jan 2014February Half Term Mon 17

th Fri 21

stFeb 2014

Easter Break Mon 7th

April Fri 17th

April 2014

May Half Term Tues 27th

May Fri 31st

May 2014Term ends Fri 27th June 2014

Booking Additional Rehearsal / Research Time

Fridays, during term time, have been kept free of lessons but you will be expected to

use the HCM / Playsomething facility to practice, research and / or rehearse.

Performance studios should be booked, no later than 48 hrs in advance through the

HCM / Playsomething Admin. Office on 01920 460646 via Max or Jemma.

You will be expected to treat the Rehearsal studios with respect and leave them as

you found them (ie All Leads coiled, amps turned off and any rubbish taken with

you or disposed of in the bins provided).

During the Practice / Rehearsal days the Student Codes of Conduct (page 18) will,

without exception, still apply.


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Hertfordshire College of Music

Assessment PlanRockschool Diploma Level 3 Music Practitioner.

Starting College Dates Year 1

1 2-Sep-13 Induction week2 10-Sep-

13

3 16-Sep-13

4 23-Sep-13

5 30-Sep-13

6 01-Oct-13

Full timetable,

7 07-Oct-13

8 14-Oct-13

Review week 1

9 21-Oct-13

Review of progress for Year 1

1028-Oct-

13

11 04-Nov-13

12 11-Nov-13

13 18-Nov-13

Independent Study Week

14 25-Nov-13

15 02-Dec-13

16 9-Dec-13 Deadlines for Term 1 Units17 16-Dec-

13Assessment and IV of Term 1 Units

18 23-Dec-13

19 30-Dec-13

20 06-Jan-14 Term 2 starts21 13-Jan-1422 20-Jan-14 Review week 2


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23 27-Jan-1424 03-Feb-

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Review week 2

25 10-Feb-14 Independent Study Week26 17_Feb-

14

27 24-Feb-14

28 03-Mar-14

29 10-Mar-14

30 17-Mar-14

Deadlines for Term 2 Units

31 24-Mar-14

Review week 228-MarTerm

ends.

Assessment and IV of Term 2 Units

32 31-Mar-14

33 07-Apr-14

34 14-Apr-14

35 21-Apr-14

36 28-Apr-

14

37 06-May-14

Bank Holiday

Monday

38 12-May-14

Deadlines for Term 2 Units

39 19-May-14

Assessment and IV of Term 2 Units

40 26-May-13

41 02-Jun-14

42 09-Jun-

14

43 16-Jun-14

Bank hols Mon 4th

& Tues 5th

June

End of Year Screening

Catch-Up Opportunities

44 23-Jun-14

End of Year 1 Tutorials and Meeting.


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Professional Behaviour and Your Safety

On this course, you will be treated as an adult, and given the opportunity to take on

professional roles. You will call your tutors by their first names, there are no uniform

requirements and we do not follow school procedures like assemblies.However, with this role comes the responsibility to act in a responsible and

appropriate manner.

BRAVO Campaign

The college runs a campaign based on improving life on college campus for

everyone. You will be expected to abide by the BRAVO guidelines during your time

on the course. You will be given a presentation all about the BRAVO campaign during

Induction.

Be Safe

Respectful

Always Polite

Visible ID

On Time

Wearing ID Badges

It is essential that you have your ID visible on your

person at all times. This is to protect yourself as well as

the students and staff around you. You may be asked

to produce your ID for a member of staff or security

personnel. Failure to do so may result in you being

removed from the campus.

Smoking Rules

In conjunction with national legislation the Academy has a no smoking policy. If you

wish to smoke you may need to be off campus.


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Offensive Language

Our main building is next to a Doctors Surgery that is in use every day and is

attended by parents with young children. Please, therefore NEVER USE OFFENSIVE,

ABUSIVE or INNAPROPRIATE language outside the Diploma Building FAILURE TO

ADHERE TO THIS WILL BE DEALT WITH VERY SERIOUSLY.

Code of Conduct

Responsibilities of students

Respecting the rights and views of others

Not using language or behaviour that could offend

Wearing your ID card at all times so it is visible

No ID cards:- Playsomething staff will issue a temporary ID card for one-day

use (will not swipe). Your name will be recorded and reported to

departments. 3 instances will trigger the Disciplinary Procedure.

Use College buildings and equipment safely and carefully

To complete and submit assignments by agreed deadlines

To attend all external assessments they have registered for

To avoid plagiarism. This means either directly copying from written or

published material, or paraphrasing someone elses work, without crediting

the source.

To avoid collusion. For example, getting someone else to produce work and

submitting it as your own; colluding with others to produce work andsubmitting it as your own; knowingly allowing another student to copy your

work.

Not to cheat. For example, copying other students work (with or without

their knowledge); submitting someone elses work as their own; fabricating

results (for example experiments, research, interviews, observations)

We will be giving you a Code of Conduct for the course that you will need to agree to

and sign during your induction.

Should you fail to abide by the requirements of these codes this may lead to actionusing the disciplinary procedures.


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Eating & Drinking

The Hertfordshire College of Music will provide a common room area for eating and

drinking within the main HCM House Building. Students are not to eat or drink in

classrooms or the studios due to the equipment and are not permitted to eat or

drink in the corridor areas.

Disciplinary Procedure

Your Personal Tutor will monitor your progress on the course carefully, along with

you, in Personal Tutorials. All of the tutors will keep in touch with your Personal

Tutor and ensure they are fully informed of your achievement, behaviour,

attendance, punctuality and submission of work. If there are concerns with ANY of

these areas, you will be made aware of this by your Personal Tutor and if you fail to

make the improvements that are discussed this could progress on to further stages

in the disciplinary process.

The stages in the disciplinary process are as follows. You would progress on to the

next stage in the process at each point if you fail to make the improvements

recommended within the time frame you are set by your Personal Tutor.

Tutorial discussion to identify and agree an action plan (documented in ILP)

Formal Stage 1 disciplinary with Course Leader present with clear targets

given and review date established

Formal Stage 2 with the Head of Department which could result in permanent

suspension.

Complaints and Concerns

If you have any complaints or concerns about your course or need to talk to

someone other than your Personal Tutor or the Programme Manager for your

course, you will need to speak to the Deputy Head of the Department, Siobhan

Dunne. Her details can be found at the front of this handbook.


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Guidance and Support

During your time on the course you will be given help, assistance and support during

your induction, as you progress through your course and as you apply to take the

next step on from this course. You will be given guidance and support from a range

of different people during this time.

Personal Instrumental Tutorials

You will be assigned a Personal Instrumental Tutor during your induction period. This

person will act as your key contact within college and they will meet with you at least

twice every half term for a 15 minute meeting.

Your Personal Instrumental Tutor will be primarily responsible for helping you track

your progress on the course and monitoring your behavior, attendance, punctuality

and work submission record.

In the case of any concerns or queries you should contact your Personal Tutor in the

first instance. You will be given a schedule of Personal Tutorials during induction

stating when you will have your first meetings with your Personal Tutor.


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Connexions Service

Youth Connexions contact

Careers Guidance interviews provide students with

a completely confidential opportunity to explore

ideas and plans for the future, and to formulate realistic decisions about their

education, training and employment. Careers interviews can help to motivate and

support students in their studies and provide a framework for future plans.

What Does A Careers Adviser Do?

The Careers Advisers help your students when they:

Are stuck for career ideas

Want to pack in their course

Are worried they are going to fail

Knew what kind of job they wanted, but don't want that any more

Are arguing with Mum and Dad about going to university - or not

Don't know how to write a CV - or a Personal Statement - or a letter of

application for a job

Want to practice their interview skills

Are thinking about a 'gap year' but don't know what they could do, or how

to go about it

Feel unsure about what to do next

Don't know how to find out about jobs

Get confused about choosing universities

Can't make sense of their UCAS application

Want help to choose future courses

The Careers Advisers are there to help with UCAS and with all the research that

should precede a higher education application.


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Careers Interviews are available every weekday to:

One hour Careers interviews can be booked at reception; there will be 2 or 3 days

each week when appointments will be available. Additionally there are drop-in

sessions for full-time students most weeks. The days and times of the drop-in

sessions will vary each week in order to offer as many students as possible the

chance to find a convenient time to speak to an adviser. Times of dropin sessions

available at reception and library counter at both campuses. Appointments can be

made by students as needed or staff may wish to refer a student for a career

interview:

*Broxbourne: go to Reception or call 01992 411400

**********

Jane Walden and Paula Pearch

Careers Area LRC 3rd floor

Telephone: 01992 411748

E-mail: [email protected]

E-mail: [email protected]

Additionally, members of the Connexions team including Alicia Anderson

([email protected] 07990 698788) at Broxbourne and Ruth Andrews

([email protected] 07789 927610) at Ware. Students can make

appointments at Broxbourne reception to see the Connexions advisers, or contact

them by phone or email and leave a message if necessary.
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Documents

HCM Course Handbook