Universities Award
What is it?
The Universities Award provides a framework to accredit a range of post-16 activities through an activity-based curriculum. It is mentioned by UCAS and forms part of the guidance for applicants to Higher Education institutions.
Who is it for?
The Award is aimed at schools, colleges and sixth-form centres and is primarily designed for post-16 students of all abilities looking to go into Higher Education or employment.
Structure
There are six modules with two sections in each:
- Active Citizenship
- Work Related Activities
- Career Planning
- Global Awareness
- Enrichment Activities
- Extended Project
Students are free to choose from these, completing 20-hour, 30-hour or 40-hour challenges. The overall guided learning time for the Award is 120 hours.
Assessment
The Award is portfolio-based and students present evidence of their chosen challenges together with a personal statement. Moderation is by post on the first occasion, followed by internal moderation.
Status and progression
The Universities Award can provide progression into the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness at Level 3.
Publications
Click on thumbnails below to view sample pages from the new Universities Award Record Book:
FAQ
Q: How is the ASDAN Universities Award normally delivered?
A: The Award will normally be completed through a combination of centre/classroom-based and external activities.
Q: How much does the Award cost per student?
A: Click here to access the costs page, which features information about registration costs for the Award Programmes. Please also take into account the annual centre registration fee, if your centre is not yet registered with ASDAN.
Q: Where are the skills units?
A: The new Universities Award does not require the completion of Plan-Do-Review sheets for skills. Students can set targets for their chosen challenges in the Record Book.
Q: Can I run this with 100 students?
A: The Universities Award can be used for large numbers of post-16 students because of its accessibility for a wide range of students and ease of moderation.
Q: How can my centre start running the Universities Award?
A: If you are not yet registered with ASDAN, your first step is to complete an Application for Centre Registration Form.
Current ASDAN centres need to ensure the ASDAN Awards Programmes are added to their centre's registration. To do this, please complete the Additional Networks registration form.
Following registration, you will be able to access materials and guidance on the secure area of the website. Your centre will be allocated an local ASDAN Universities Award consortium leader, who will provide advice and support.
ASDAN provides introductory training workshops and can arrange in-house training.
Secure Area for registered centres
Once your centre is registered with ASDAN for the Universities Award, you can access further information and resources via the website's Secure Area.
It contains all relevant updates, essential documents, meeting information and resources, and enables you to:
- Download resources, including guidance, recording documents and moderation checklists
- Register your candidate names
- Purchase materials from the online ASDAN catalogue
There is no limit to the number of people from a centre who can register for a Secure Area password.
You can register for a password online, by clicking here to access the request form.
Further information
Please contact Maggie Walker or Adrian Sladdin for further details of the ASDAN Universities Award.