National Diploma In I.T Help, Please.

[xAsh]

What is the National diploma in I.T equilevant to? I mean, really, what does it equate to. I am 3 months in to the 2 course and to be honest, i'm not sure what it equates to.

Could any business people like employees or anyone tell me what each of the following equates to as National Diploma's i believe are equilivent to 3 a levels:-

Pass = ?

Merit=?

Distinction=?

I'm not sure what they ^ each equate to, what the course equates to, and if it is a good course to have under your belt when going in to industry etc.

Any help would be appreciated

Thank you

[Scarlett]

A ND is equivalent to 3 A levels, and should be sufficient for you to get into university. Your grades will consist of Pass, Merit or Distinctions- one for each unit. The university will want you to to have certain grades to get in- say, MMD overall. You can ask your course leader or tutor how the grades are made up (from the 16 units).

It is important that you work as hard as you can on each assignment, since BTEC now take the LOWEST grade, rather than the average; so if you got DDMMP in your assignments for a unit, they would give you a Pass overall. A lot of students don't realise that until the end of the course when it is too late to do anything about it!

[spaced]

erm, I always thought a HND (higher national diploma) was equal to 3 a-levels.

[Scarlett]

An HND is the first 2 years of a degree.

[xAsh]

thank you for your help, especially scarlett

[spaced]

I did a HND in Art and Design and it was for a year full time. Also I did a 4 year BSc Degree in Industrial Design - that did not include a HND. Not sure where your getting your facts from scarlett

[Scarlett]

HND is Higher National Diploma. They are usually taught over 2 years, the 3rd year being the extra one that you need to make up the degree.

You can of course, also do degrees over 3 years- BAs and BScs and BEds. It depends on the course, the hours and how it is structured. You can also do MAs over a year or 2 years. You can do BAs over 4 years. All institutions have their own systems. A lot depends on staffing and timetabling.

I am a college lecturer, Spaced, and I also give careers and HE/UCAS advice, so I tend to get my facts from my job.

xAsh, there are lots of qualified people who can answer your questions at College! Ask your tutor or make an appointment to see the careers or HE advisor.

[spaced]

well all I know is that I did a HND in a year. Got a merit, went onto uni, did a BSC for 4 years and got a 2:1