Insight into the role of course convener

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Carol Tissiman explains what her job as course convener at the UCT entails.

Tell us about your job

A course convener writes course material and sets assignments in modular format based on curriculum requirements of the tertiary institution. During the presentation process, I interact daily with students via the discussion forum, mark assignments and provide feedback.

How did you break into the

industry?

I was approached by Getsmarter who work in conjunction with the UCT to present the course. They identified me as an experienced consultant in the field of human resources management.

Describe a typical working day

The course material is reviewed and updated before the course is presented, and this requires some research of current trends and amendments to labour law, and sourcing recent practical examples for updating reading material.

During the course presentation, the day begins and ends with answering questions, presenting further probing questions and interacting on conceptual and practical aspects of the material with the students on the discussion forum.

The bulk of the hours during the course presentation is spent on marking written assignments and providing feedback to students. My consulting work is carried on outside these times.

What would you call a really good day?

When students show that they have benefited from the material offered, the practical approach has worked, and when students have benefited from the learning methodology.

What is the greatest challenge?

The greatest challenge is dealing with the wide range of knowledge levels and experience of the students in the same group, giving time to and maintaining my consulting work to keep adding value to the students’ experience and ensuring my income requirements are met.

What are you trying to achieve?

Making sure that the students who come from a wide range of backgrounds, abilities, education levels and experience, benefit from the material, share their experiences and learn from each other when they take on this online course. Ideally, they develop a community of working professionals supporting each other in the future,

Some may require further consulting support services from me or my colleagues in the future.

What do you need to succeed in your job?

You need sufficient exposure to knowledge and experience in the subject matter, and the ability to work and consult in the field to ensure its relevance to students.