When to create a course entry

Create a course entry when:

• the course has received stage one approval from the Programmes & Partnerships Approval Committee

Format and style

Your content should meet the editorial style guidelines and writing for the web guidelines.

You should:

• use ‘you will’ rather than ‘you can’ or ‘you will be given the opportunity to’
• use ‘we’ and ‘you’, not ‘the department’ or ‘the school’
• not use adjectives to express a subjective opinion about a course such as ‘interesting’ or ‘exciting’
• back up claims with evidence
• avoid definitions such as 'The universal principles of physics underlie all natural phenomena.'

Don’t be afraid to state the obvious. If your course is one of the few courses of its kind in the UK, mention this.

Your tone should be assured and direct but welcoming.

Words to avoid

Avoid marketing/higher education clichés and vague or complicated terms. For example:

• in addition
• thus
• furthermore
• broad range
• world-class
• world-leading or internationally excellent (unless referring specifically to a REF result)
• ever-changing
• cutting-edge
• state-of-the-art
• dynamic
• forefront
• fast-moving
• emerging
• leverage
• undertake
• utilise

Course title

You should use the full course title as stated in the Programme Specification. Don't include the award in the title.

For courses that cover more than one subject area, you should use ‘and’ not ‘&’.

For courses that have a placement, year abroad or combined opportunities you should include this in sentence case after the course title. For example:

• Physics with Computing with study abroad
• Accounting and Finance with placement year
• Physics with research placement
• with combined study abroad and placement year

Course summary

Your course summary should be specific about what students will learn on the course and the graduate outcomes.

Do not start this with ‘this course will’. Try starting with a benefit.

Your summary must be no longer than 160 characters. It's fine to break the summary up in two sentences.

Examples:

• Gain a solid grounding in the major areas of business practice. You'll also develop specialist knowledge and skills for a career as a marketing professional.
• Understand the principles of mechanical engineering sciences and specialise in the design and manufacture of aerospace systems.

Course description

Your course description should make it clear what students will study on this course and the benefits. You should not duplicate content that is relevant to a more specific section later such as placement or study abroad opportunities. You may want to highlight content from other sections if it's a unique selling point.

You can summarise what students will learn in each year. For example ‘In the first year you'll be introduced to core theories in astrophysics’.

You should include:

• a summary of the subject in more detail
• skills that students will acquire
• benefits of studying the course rather than features
• a summary of who the course is for

You should not include facilities that are available at the University in the course description. This will be covered in the subject entry.

Your course description must be no longer than 1,200 characters.

Professional recognition

You should name the associations that the course is accredited or certified by. You should also identify the benefits for graduates. This might include exemptions from professional examinations, or reduced membership.

Example: This course is accredited by the Engineering Council. Graduates will be exempt from all level 1 papers.

Accrediting body logo

Upload the accrediting body's official logo and make sure that it meets their guidelines (if any exist).

KIS URL

Provide the full URL for the course entry from the UniStats website: https://unistats.direct.gov.uk.

If you can't find your course through the search function, you should be able to find it on this list of all our courses.

Popular or interesting optional units

Create a bulleted list of up to five popular or interesting optional units offered on the course. Use sentence case, i.e. use uppercase only for proper nouns and the first letter of the first word. Use 'and' not '&'.

Do not include unit codes.

You should also add a link, in parentheses, to the unit in the Programme and Unit catalogue.

Example: Managing across cultures and contexts (http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2016-2017/mn/mn20598.html)

Compulsory units

You will need to add a bulleted list of compulsory and designated essential units. You should do this separately for each year of the course.

Use sentence case. You should only use capitals for the first letter in a sentence or when you use proper nouns. Use 'and' not '&'.

Do not include unit codes.

You should also add a link, in parentheses, to the unit in the Programme and Unit catalogue.

Example: Spain from 1898 to the present (http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2016-2017/pl/PL10956.html)

Host faculty and department

Select the host faculty and department for the course.

You'll find these in the 'Provider and Regulator' tab.

Course specific extra costs

You'll find this in the 'Fees and extra costs' tab.

Summarise any additional charges that students may have to pay when studying this course. For example:

• books
• field trips
• equipment
• materials
• bench fees
• studio hire

You should indicate how much these extra costs are or are likely to be.

Where costs are unknown, you should explain how they will be calculated. You should also explain whether they are optional or mandatory for taking or passing the course.

You should highlight any course costs that are likely to have a direct impact on the outcome of students’ academic success, such as a field trip on which a piece of work will be based.

Courses with study abroad route

You should summarise the benefits that students will gain from the study abroad route and not the features.

If listing example partner universities, don’t include the country.

Courses with placement and research placement year route

You should summarise the benefits that students will gain from the placement route and not the features.

Organisation names should be written in full, unless the acronym is well recognised (such as PwC, BP, EPSRC).

Courses with undergraduate master’s route

You should summarise the benefits that students will gain from the master’s route and not the features.