Introduction
This article guides you through configuring optional units for OST programmes. It explains how to add qualifications with optional components, conduct unit analysis, and choose between predefined pathways or offering a range of units. Bud strongly recommends following these instructions, to ensure your programme is flexible and meets learners’ needs.
User Roles
- Programme Contributor
- Programme Manager
How to: Create a Programme with Optional Units
During programme creation, you can add qualifications some of which may have optional components. You must consider these optional components when building your programme. Firstly, we recommend doing a unit analysis so you can understand which are the common combinations. Then select one of the below approaches:
Approach: | Method: |
Pre-defined pathways |
Select the optional units that you will deliver to all learners on this programme, the benefits of this are:
The impact however is that you will not be able to select any other units that were not selected as part of the programme build. |
Offer a range of optional units |
Choose whether to offer a small or large range of units, the benefits of which are:
We do not recommend you allow every optional unit, we suggest it is stripped back as much as possible to give only a limited range. Here are a couple of available options:
However, this approach will impact your programme in the following ways:
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Please note: If you have added a qualification into a programme, and need to, or have exempted ALL of the units in the qualification, at enrolment Bud will automatically remove this qualification from the Learner Progress Record, but you will need to manually remove the AIM from the learner's ILR.