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ARCV41470

Academic Year 2024/2025

The Recordkeeping Professional (ARCV41470)

Subject:
Archivistics
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Julie Brooks
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module supports students in making the transition from student to new professional and aims to raise students’ awareness of the role of professionalism and continuing professional development as hallmarks of their professional lives. The module focuses on two main areas: first, it considers the management of archives and records services including strategic planning, resource management, and monitoring and measuring service performance. Secondly, it explores what it means to be a recordkeeping professional including awareness of ethical codes, the value of membership of relevant professional bodies and the importance of career planning benchmarked to a professional competency framework, in particular the ARA Competency Framework. In-class discussions and activities are supplemented by field trips to the island’s two national archival repositories.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
-Recognise the issues involved in managing, leading and resourcing archives and records management services;
-Understand ways of supporting environmental sustainability within our services;
-Articulate the value of recordkeeping professionals to organisations and wider society;
-Understand the importance of professional organisations and frameworks in particular the ARA Competency Framework in career planning and in supporting continuing professional development;
-Describe the ethical dimensions of archives and records management work.

Indicative Module Content:

Weekly learning in this module takes the form of 2 hour classes in addition to two site visits. The weekly structure is broadly as follows: Week 1 Introduction to the module; managing an archives and records service; Weeks 2-4 Managing an archive/record service; Week 5 Visit to the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland; Week 6 Monitoring and evaluating service performance; Week 7 Professional identity and values; Weeks 8-9 Reading weeks; Week 10 Professional ethics; Sustainable and green practices; Week 12 Project Management; Week 13 Visit to the National Archives of Ireland; Week 14 Careers Support Session.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Small Group

22

Field Trip/External Visits

5

Specified Learning Activities

90

Autonomous Student Learning

90

Total

207


Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a small group module with learning taking place in a number of ways:
-2 hour seminars supported by lecture slides, the use of example management documents, in-class group activities and individual student participation in class discussions.
-practitioner guest speakers and/or visits to archive and record services to support the application of theory in practice, and to understand the key challenges faced by records professionals.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Write a short series of blog posts for a general public audience introducing the idea of archives, their value, and the work of the archivist Week 10 Graded No

30

No
Assignment(Including Essay): You are an archivist in a local authority: write a report for council senior management recommending ways the archive can support the council's sustainability targets set out in its strategic plan. Week 14 Graded No

40

No
Assignment(Including Essay): Review a selection of archive strategic/forward plans and compare and contrast these Week 4 Graded No

30

No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Individual written feedback is given on Brightspace for each piece of assessment after submission and grading. General class feedback is also provided at this point. Individual feedback is provided in person if a student requests this.