BCS The Chartered Institute for IT
Authenticator Guidelines – Professional Project in IT
January 2016
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Authenticator Guidelines - Professional Project WEB COPY
Version 1.1 January 2016
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CONTENTS
1.
Introduction .........................................................................................................3
2.
Relationship with the Candidate..........................................................................3
3.
Submission Dates ...............................................................................................4
4.
Completion of Project Forms ...............................................................................4
5.
Project Levels......................................................................................................4
6.
Section Two ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.
Section Three ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Copyright © BCS 2016
Authenticator Guidelines
Version 1.1 January 2017
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1.
Introduction
The Professional Project forms part of the educational requirements for membership of BCS
The Chartered Institute for IT. It is designed to enable the candidate to demonstrate an
appropriate level of competence in the development of a suitable computer-based system.
Please refer to the candidate’s copy of the Higher Education Qualifications Regulations for
further details about the role and nature of projects by going to the BCS website
http://www.bcs.org//upload/pdf/examregs.pdf or can be obtained from BCS by emailing
[email protected]
2.
Relationship with the Candidate
Please note that because of a possible conflict of interest, there must be no family connection
with the candidate.
Your role is to authenticate that the work submitted by the candidate is their own work. Ideally
you should have personal knowledge of the candidate in a work capacity or one of your
students. However, we recognise that this might not always be the case. Please note that
BCS reserves the right to put the project through plagiarism software.
If you do not have personal knowledge of the candidate
You are not required to supervise the candidate; however, contact through a third person
means that you will be unable to sign the personal declaration required at the time of project
submission. If you are not in regular contact with the candidate you will be required to satisfy
yourself through interview with the candidate and communication with the candidate’s linemanager/colleagues in order to complete the P2 form. This will normally involve the following
stages:
1. The candidate will need to confirm the status of the project. If the report is finished the
candidate should give you a soft copy of the finalised project and you both agree a
reasonable time to meet again. You must have read through the project, verified the
endorsements and prepared questions.
2. If the project report is not completed, the candidate must advise you when they expect
the project to be completed so you can both discuss a realistic time to carry out the
next stage.
3. The candidate must supply you with contact details of his/her line manager, or other
responsible person(s) at the place where the project has been carried out (i.e.
workplace or college) who can answer the questions on the P2 form.
4. You will need to contact them, (either face-to-face or via written correspondence) to
satisfy yourself that the people are in a position to supply such information (i.e. they
are the candidate’s line managers).
5. To have a one-to-one meeting with the candidate. The purpose of this meeting is for
you to satisfy yourself that the candidate has carried out the project. You would do
this by interviewing the candidate on the contents of the project. Once you have
satisfied yourself that the candidate has carried out the work as indicated and gathered
information that the work is in regular use then, you should sign the P2 form.
BCS appreciates the time you have given in assisting the candidate.
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Authenticator Guidelines
Version 1.1 January 2017
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3.
Submission Dates
There are two submission dates per year.
•
•
4.
28 February for April examination session
31 August for September examination session
Completion of Project Forms
You will be asked to complete and sign form P2 associated with the project.
Form P1 is filled in by the candidate and identifies the project and the environment in which it
was undertaken.
Form P2 is concerned with your authentication of the project report. It asks you to sign a
declaration that you have personal knowledge that the work described in the project report
was indeed carried out by the candidate AND that the project report is the original work of the
candidate except for properly attributed material from other sources.
5.
Project Levels
For your information, projects are submitted for assessment at one of two levels.
•
For the Professional Project in IT (Diploma level), the basis for comparison is a piece
of work produced by someone with two years’ full-time experience or education in the
area of the project. In educational terms, this would correspond to a project completed
near the end of an HND or the end of year 2 of an honours degree course in computing.
Group projects are allowed at the Diploma level, but the candidate must make clear in
the report which components of the work were completed by other people.
•
For the Professional Project in IT (Professional Graduate Diploma level), the basis for
comparison is a piece of work produced by someone with three years’ full-time
experience or education in the area of the project. In educational terms, this would
correspond to a project completed near the end of the final year of an honours degree
course in computing. A Professional Project (Professional Graduate Diploma level)
must be an individual project.
Ideally, you will:
•
•
Have experience of project work at the relevant level
be able to provide guidance and advice to the candidate
If you have any queries relating to the authentication of the Professional Project in IT, please
contact the HEQ Office on [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 1793 417424
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