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ARCV41520

Academic Year 2026/2027

The Recordkeeping Professional (ARCV41520)

Subject:
Archivistics
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
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 considers key aspects of running an archives and records service including forward planning, resource management, commitment to environmentally sustainable approaches and monitoring and measuring service performance. The module also 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; professional identities, competencies and values
Week 2 Managing an archive/records service: mission, vision and forward planning
Week 3 Managing an archive/records service: planning and governance
Week 4 Site visit to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Quarter, Belfast
Week 5 Managing projects in an archive/records service; evaluating services and performance
Week 6 Managing an archive/records service: resourcing, budgets and fundraising
Week 7 Ethics and professionalism
Weeks 8 & 9 Field work/study period – no class
Week 10 Site visit to the National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8
Week 11 Managing an archive/records service: climate, change, sustainability and green agendas
Week 12 Managing an archive/records service: climate change, sustainability and green agendas #2
Week 13 Career planning and continuing professional development – session with guest speakers
Week 14 Site visit to The Central Bank of Ireland

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Proficient

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Competent

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Proficient

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 1

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 1

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 2

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 2

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

45
Autonomous Student Learning

45
Lectures

18
Field Trip/External Visits

6
Total

114

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 visits to archive and record services to support the application of theory in practice, and to understand the key challenges faced by records professionals.

While there will be discussion in this module of the extent to which generative AI is impacting the work of recordkeeping professionals, generative AI is not permitted to be used in this module. Any questions about this should be addressed to the module coordinator.

A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of History are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This can include oral moderation meetings where the student is invited in for a short meeting with the module coordinator to discuss the assignment. Moderation contributes to better informed marking.

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 Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): You are an archivist in a local authority: write a report for council senior management demonstrating how the archive can support the wider council's environmental sustainability objectives. Week 15 Graded No
60
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Review a selection of archive strategic/forward plans and compare and contrast these. Week 6 Graded No
40
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


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 feedback for each assignment is given in writing on Brightspace after submission and grading. Individual feedback is provided in person at a one-to-one meeting if a student requests this.

The Module Bibliography is available on Brightspace.

Name Role
Mr Daniel Ayiotis Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 14:00 - 15:50
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