Only used for admin purposes
Advisor |
Now, you can see on our website that we have a lot of course .... what are you interested in doing? |
Caller |
Well. I don't want to publish anything. I just want to raise the standard of my own writing. |
Advisor | Yes, it depends on whether you want to, you know, write creatively or for fun. We also have fiction writing - that includes writing children's stories. |
Caller | Well, I work in an advertising agency, so...I'd like to write better so that ..... well, I'd like my salary to rise. |
Advisor | Ok, so we can send you our brochure for business writing and if you think it'll be right for you, then you can enrol. |
Caller | Great. What happens after that? |
Advisor | Then we send you the course pack. |
Caller | What does that contain? |
Advisor | You get some books that will help you with your writing skills, an audio course on CDs and instructional DVDs to watch, and some lesson texts to read. |
Caller | OK. What if I change my mind? |
Advisor | Well, you can send the materials back to us. You have 21 days to decide, and we'll refund your fees within that time. |
Caller | Ah, that's quite good. I see. So the enrolment fee includes the course materials? |
Advisor | Yes, it does - for all our courses. |
Caller | So are there different fees for different courses? |
Advisor | Yes, at the moment, your course is ... let me see. They've just raised the prices ... it was £340, but I think it's £375 now. Yes, fees rose a month ago. I'm afraid, um, by ten percent - most of our courses are now between three and four hundred pounds. |
Caller | OK. That's not bad - so, who will teach me? |
Advisor | Well, before we decide that, you do your first written assignment. It's like a personal profile. |
Caller | So I write about things like my background and where I was brought up? |
Advisor | No. It's the future we're interested in. |
Caller | Oh, OK, so ... what I want to get from the course, and how it will help me to achieve my ambitions? |
Advisor | That's right. We get a picture of who you are and your needs and then we match you to a personal tutor who will teach you and work with you. |
Caller | That's a good idea. And how do I get that to you? |
Advisor | Well, you send it in to us by post or through our website. |
Caller | What about lessons? |
Advisor | There are 15 lessons altogether, and each one has an assignment. |
Caller | And what sort of feedback will I get? |
Advisor | There's continuous online support, and part of that is a web-based facility for all the students on your programme to get together. |
Caller | Oh, so we can share ideas and things? |
Advisor | That's right. With no need to go into a classroom or be tied to weekly schedules. |
Caller | OK. Thanks, I think that's all my questions. |
Advisor | Don't hesitate to call if you have any more. |
Caller | OK, thanks. Bye |
If your lecturers are unavailable, you can always come and see me in my office. I’m available on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and on Friday afternoons Q37 Outside these hours, perhaps you could ring the secretary and make an appointment. Now you’ll note that all of the subjects which you undertake in the first year are composed of lectures and tutorials. A lecture is about an hour long and a tutorial usually runs for about two hours. A lecture is rather like what I am doing now where one person will talk to all of you together on a subject. We do ask you to try to attend the lectures. A tutorial is perhaps where most of the learning occurs at a university. You will be divided into groups of between 12 and 15 students and each week one of you will have to present a piece of work to the group as a whole and then the group will discuss what you’ve said. It’s this discussion, this exchange of ideas, which Q38 really constitutes the basis of university learning, in my view. Listening to lectures in many ways is just giving you information that you could access for yourself in