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Formal considerations

Study load

An OffCourse project for one semester consists of 16 weeks of 2.5-hour classes, final presentation (Show Off) and assessment, all scheduled on Fridays. The students receive 5 EC per OffCourse of 16 weeks, equivalent to 140 hours of study. Of these, 40 hours are for lessons and presentaties, which results in about 6 hours per week self study. Please refer to the table below to get an idea of the partition.

Calculation of the study load

Description hours total
Classes 16 × 2.5 40
Reading 8 × 4 32
Study materials 8 × 6 48
Work on portfolio 16 × 1 16
Poster pitch 1 × 4 4
Total - 140

Attendence requirements

An eighty percent attendance requirement applies to the scheduled classes and other activities organised within contact time. A few rules apply here:

  • The student reports any absence beforehand (via e-mail)
  • The student may be absent no more than three times in one OffCourse (80% × 16 classes = 12,8, so with 3 classes we are actually being a little more strict then necessary).
  • In the case of being absent four times or more the student’s performance will be regarded as ‘not assessable’.
  • A 'not assessable' result is recorded by the teacher(s) on the assessment form with a 'GK’ (Gemiste Kans = missed opportunity); this will also be registered in Osiris.

Enrollment options

Students enroll into this OffCourse via the procedure that is described on BlackBoard. Students who are not enrolled through the formal procedure cannot attend this OffCourse (enrollment is not up for discussion). It is not possible for other students to join or to switch between OffCourses. Questions about changes must always be directed to the OffCourse email address and cannot be answered by us.

Notes on the use of AI

We expect you to use AI (ChatGPT and image generation tools, at a minimum) in this OffCourse; in fact, some assignments will require it. Learning to use AI is an emerging skill and we will provide tutorials about how to do this in an efficient and interesting way.

Be aware of the limits of ChatGPT:

  • If you provide minimum effort prompts, you will get low quality results. You will need to refine your prompts in order to get good outcomes. This will take work.

  • Don't believe anything it says. If it gives you facts, assume them to be wrong and make sure you check them in some other way or reference. You will be responsible for any errors or omissions provided by the tool.

  • AI is a tool, but one that you need to acknowledge using. Please include a paragraph at the end of any assignment that uses AI explaining what you used the AI for and what prompts you provided it with.

  • Be thoughtful about when this tool is useful. Don't use it if it isn't appropriate for the case or for the circumstances.