Reference is made in Flexible pedagogies: part-time learners and learning in higher education to a selection of case studies that illustrate how flexible pedagogies have been developed to support the needs of part-time learners.
This case study shows how the expertise of part-time students is drawn upon as a resource to support the learning needs of full-time students studying for a Civil Engineering degree.
Coventry University
The case study is based on the MEng/BEng in Civil Engineering. Full-time and part-time students are mostly taught together with part-timers making up about 30% of the cohort. Part-time students study on day-release with most working as technicians in the civil engineering industry. A distinct advantage of part-time study is that they can place theoretical concepts in a practical engineering context and can apply their workplace skills and their professional motivation to their studies. In contrast the full-time students tend to find it difficult to get professional experience before graduation. Part-time students at the university are exempt from a programme of employability modules (10 credits a year). Instead the students on the civil engineering course gain these credits by participating in a scheme designed to allow them to use their industry knowledge and contacts to benefit full-time students. The aim is to give full-time students the opportunity to have structured contact with practising professionals so that the knowledge and experience of the part-time students can be harnessed to increase the full-time students’ awareness of the civil engineering profession and of the skills required for success. Similar practice is also being adopted at three other universities supported by practice adopters funding from the National HE STEM Porgramme.
