Sample Student Life

Introduction

As a Coach studying at Setanta College you will have several resources at your disposal. The main one is access to a fantastic group of likeminded coaches who are looking to advance their competence, knowledge and skills in coaching. In addition the workshops that we have put together, provide a great opportunity for you to get hands on experience in exercise, movement and fitness testing and methods of training. Also our on-line lectures and presentations are packed with state-of-the-art information and discussion on the most pertinent coaching and training topics.

So to help you get a feel, so to speak, for life at Setanta College we will give you some insight here in this section. We will look at different parts of College life:

1. Studying and Reading at home
2. Dedicated time
3. The Workshops – Working together
4. Tutors
5. Assessment Procedure and other related study issues

Studying and Reading at home

You study at your leisure at home. This is a key unique feature of Setanta College. After you become familiar with logging in to your course of study you simply sit back and read. Our discussion board is a great way of communicating with fellow coaches. It is where you can pose questions, your opinion and view on some method of training for example and any matter that relates to the course. Obviously there is an onus on each coach to be respectful and dignified in their comments.

Depending on your course you may be reading up to 3-5 lectures a week. Once the lectures become active, they remain online for the rest of the course or module. We have found that it is best to keep regular reading habits – this way you won’t have to play catch up. If you go on holidays you can still log in and keep reading or wait and catch up when you return home.

We encourage all coaches to make a hard copy of the lectures as they can then read them at their leisure and they are also great notes to have.

From time to time we will ask you to complete some Multiple Choice Questionnaires(MCQ). This is an excellent way of you checking whether you have closely studied the contents of the lectures.

You will also get instant feedback – how well you answered. In some courses the MCQ will contribute to your marks while in other courses the MCQ is really a fun test.

 

Student Commitment

Most of our courses are organised in an easy-to-follow fashion based on our College system. It will require a student to logon at least once a week and we encourage on that occasion that you print off a hard copy of that particular week’s lectures. Students then have the option of studying the hard copy or studying the on-line version. If one misses a week, then one will have to print-off two weeks sets of lectures the following week.

Each week will inform the student if there is an MCQ or Logbook task to be completed. If this is the case then students are given 5 days to complete such a task. Advanced warning is given of all such tasks and students may make arrangement to take them subsequently if they have been away on holidays or on business.

Normally students will be asked to complete one or two assignments during a module or course and also a final project during the final week of a course or module. Each of these will normally require one to three A4 pages of an essay type answer. Students are normally given 7 to 10 days to complete these tasks.

The Workshops – Working together

At Setanta College our workshops are central to ensuring that you work together. Coaches from different backgrounds get the opportunity to share their views on a wide variety of training related topics. For most modules there are 2 workshops, however for our  Weight lifting module we have 4 workshops. During our workshops you get to know fellow coaches working in similar circumstances and indeed coaches from a broad range of sports. Sharing ideas and views is one of the key spin-offs of our workshops. In addition all our presenters are expert in their area and you will find that each presenter is above all – a coach first and foremost.

To date, workshops have mainly been held at Tipperary Institute, Thurles and City West  in Dublin. Students are notified at the start of each module where and when the workshops will take place.

We look forward to meeting you at one of our many workshops. Please check our College website for details re the workshops. We will also be adding additional courses all the time so keep in touch through our website.

Tutors

Each module (for our HETAC accredited courses) has a tutor. The role of the tutor is to ensure that your course work is delivered and managed on a day to day basis. They are also expert in their area and can be your contact for any query about the module or course. They normally deliver the workshops or organise other specialised guest presenters to deliver them. Be good to them as they also mark your assignments!

Assessment Procedures and other related study issues

All our HETAC accredited courses have very similar assessment procedures. We don’t have final written examinations. Our assessment procedure is continuous over the duration of the module or the course, consisting of Multiple Choice Questionnaires (MCQs), Logbook Tasks, Workshop participation, Assignments and a Project.

MCQ

This is a series of 8 to 10 questions based on the content of the lectures of the previous 2 to 3 weeks. There is a choice of 4 possible answers. These MCQs are open-book. You can consult your hard copy of the lectures to assist you answer the questions. However, there is a time limit.

Logbook Task

These are placed throughout the module or course and consist of 5 or so MCQ’s based on photographs, video clips, sport or coaching articles which you are asked to view or read. These are practical in nature and in the main are there to develop your coaching eye.

Workshops

Workshops, as has been said above, are a very important aspect of each course or module. We award marks for attendance, participation and possible tasks set during workshops

Assignments

These are tasks which students are asked to complete once or twice during course or modules. No more than 1 to 3 page answers are expected and students are normally asked to apply the subject matter to their own sport. Some may be essay type and others will consist of programme design type answers.

Project

This is a task which is set over the last week of a module or course. It may consist of an essay type answer or a training programme design. It will be relevant to the module or course and to one’s sport.

Computer Literacy Requirements:

Student life would not be possible without access to a computer and the internet. Having internet access at work or at home is essential. Also it is expected that students are able to engage in basic computer skill activities such as typing, saving and filing a document, being able to access the internet and to receive and send emails. An Induction Day of training is held for each course to facilitate use of the College SCELAS system for studying, reading, completing questionnaires and uploading tasks and projects. SCELAS stands for Setanta College Electronic Lecture Access System.