This course consists of 15 units (8 core units + 7 optional units) including a Project. There are 60 learning hours for each unit and 120 learning hours for the Project.

Note: All units in the above table are subject to change as and when required by the College without prior notice.  

This HND programme is assessed by a mixture of assignments and presentations where applicable. Each unit is internally assessed and graded by qualified tutors/assessors and internal verifiers, and then externally by an Pearson examiner. Grades awarded are Pass, Merit and Distinction.

You may top-up your HND to a BSc(Hons) at many UK universities. With a UK Honours degree you will be able to compete in the global jobs market or even go for a Master's degree.Please click here for the employment details.

• Equipping individuals with knowledge, understanding and skills for success in employment in the Computing industry
• Enabling progression to an undergraduate degree or further professional qualification in Computing or a related area
• Developing a range of skills and techniques, personal qualities and attributes essential for successful performance in working life and thereby enabling learners to make an immediate contribution to employment
• Providing flexibility, knowledge, skills and motivation as a basis for future studies and career development in Computing
• Developing a sound understanding of the principles in their field of study and will have learned to apply those principles more widely. They will have learned to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems. They will be able to perform effectively in their chosen field and will have the qualities necessary for employment in situations requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decisionmaking.

1. Knowledge and Understanding

Learners will be expected to gain the following knowledge during the programme of study:

• Developing the knowledge, understanding and skills of learners in the field of computing
• Equipping learners with knowledge, understanding and skills for success in employment in the computing industry
• Providing opportunities for specialist study relevant to individual vocations and contexts
• Developing the learner’s ability in the computing industry through effective use and combination of the knowledge and skills gained in different parts of the Course
• Developing a range of skills and techniques, personal qualities and attributes essential for successful performance in working life and thereby enabling earners to make an immediate contribution to employment

2. Skills

Learners will be expected to develop the following skills during the programme of study:

• The ability to read and use appropriate literature with a full and critical understanding
• The ability to think independently and solve problems
• The ability to take responsibility for their own learning and recognise their own learning style
• Obtaining and integrating several lines of subject-specific evidence to formulate and test propositions
• The ability to understand the need for ethical standards and professional codes of conduct when designing, planning, conducting and reporting an investigations
• The ability to undertake investigations of computer systems in a responsible, safe and ethical manner

The aims of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy is to achieve the following:

• To educate students who are motivated and self-directed critical thinkers, capable of independent enquiry
• To provide students with both sound academic knowledge and vocational expertise
• To foster independent and collaborative learning among students and to encourage lifelong learning leading to enhancing their career potentials
• To develop and implement approaches to feedback and assessment that maximise learning and student outcomes.
• To widen participation from students who are mature, from Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, and come from lower socio-economic backgrounds

The generic components of teaching and learning strategy normally involve a variety of approaches and include delivering many of the following:

• Regular use of formal lecture sessions in all units.
• Regular assignment workshops and seminars in all units.
• Regular use of individual and/or team-based projects in all units.
• Regular use of self-directed and directed reading in all units.
• Regular use of library resources in all units.
• Regular use of tutor-and student-led discussion groups via e-learning platform; ICON VLE in all units.

The assessment is criterion-referenced and learners’ are assessed against published learning outcomes and assessment criteria. All units are individually graded as ‘Pass’, ‘Merit’ or ‘Distinction’. To achieve a pass grade for the unit learners must meet the assessment criteria set out in the specifications.

Computing units will be assessed using a variety of assessment methods, including case studies, assignments and work-based assignments, together with projects, performance observation, PowerPoint (or similar) presentations and time constrained assessment (written tests). All the assessment material should be valid, reliable and fit for purpose.

An assignment provides the final assessment for the relevant Learning Outcomes and is normally a final assessment decision. A student who, for the first assessment opportunity, has failed to achieve a Pass for that unit specification shall be expected to undertake reassessment.

• Only one opportunity for reassessment of the unit will be permitted.
• Reassessment for course work, project- or portfolio-based assessments shall normally involve the reworking of the original task.
• For examinations, reassessment shall involve completion of a new task.
• A student who undertakes a reassessment will have their grade capped at a Pass for that unit.
• A student will not be entitled to be reassessed in any component of assessment for which a Pass grade or higher has already been awarded.

Repeat units:

A student who, for the first assessment opportunity and resubmission opportunity, still failed to achieve a Pass for that unit specification:

• At Centre discretion and Assessment Board, decisions can be made to permit a repeat of a unit
• The student must study the unit again with full attendance and payment of the unit fee
• The overall unit grade for a successfully completed repeat unit is capped at a Pass for that unit
• Units can only be repeated once.

The teaching philosophy at Icon requires students to be exposed to a range of learning methods and materials.

All faculties now support their classes by the use of “ICON VLE”, a suite of electronic webbased materials that permits students to use the Icon intranet to access materials such as syllabi, schedule of work, digital library materials, reading assignments, and PowerPoint presentations for each of their units.

Course evaluation by students is the primary method of obtaining and gauging student feedback at ICON. The evaluation forms are comprised of both qualitative and quantitative elements. Also student and staff liaison committee meetings, held each semester, to discuss course issues and concerns is another way to support the student.

The Assessment Boards (AsBs) evaluates the external examiner’s reports every year and makes sure the action plans produced from their reports are well managed and the progress is reported to Academic Board. The College also conducts a feedback on assignments to students by a progress monitoring sheet (control sheet) which has been commended by standard verifiers of Pearson as supportive and effective.

Internal verification ensures that before any assignment brief is released to students, clear assessment criteria, and correct administrative information on assignment are included. Internal verifier teams identify what changes if any in the assignment brief are required and what corrective action should be taken by assessor and should ensure that it is fit for purpose. Internal verifiers check a range of assessment decisions for all assessors and units by sampling some of the assignments. In case of unexpected assessment decisions, (e.g. everybody achieving Distinction in the assignment), additional sampling will be conducted on individual units/assessors and reported to Assessment Boards for decision.

See the Pearson website https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/home.html for more information about HNDs.

QAA benchmark standards for Computing undergraduate degree Course

Pearson Higher National in Computing Specification – RQF level 5

Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

British Computer Society (BCS)

The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA)

Learners will be expected to develop the following skills during the Course of study:

• Analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically
• The ability to read and use appropriate literature with a full and critical understanding
•     the ability to think independently and solve problems
• The ability to take responsibility for their own learning and recognise their own learning style
• Obtaining and integrating several lines of subject-specific evidence to formulate and test hypotheses
• Applying subject knowledge and understanding to address familiar and unfamiliar problems recognising the moral and ethical issues surrounding computing and it
• The ability to understand the need for ethical standards and professional codes of conduct when designing, planning, conducting and reporting an investigations
• The ability to undertake investigations of computer systems in a responsible, safe and ethical manner
• An appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of computing
• The capacity to give a clear and accurate account of a subject, marshal arguments in a mature way and engage in debate and dialogue both with specialists and non- specialists.

Download Course Handbook in PDF