The ncl+ Award

What activities can I use for the Award?

What activities can I use for the Award?

Your 40 hours of activity must be completed by 1 April 2025. You can do any combination of activities you do outside your degree.

The list of activities that go towards your ncl+ Award is quite extensive. It can include almost everything you do outside of your degree:

• Part-time work (at the Student's Union, University, or externally)
• Volunteering work (at the Student's Union, or beyond)
• Club & society committee work
• Student rep work (course reps, school reps, liberation officers, chairs, etc)
• Entrepreneurial activities
• Choice of Careers Service workshops (could include sessions on career planning, LinkedIn, work experience, job applications etc)
• Playing organised sport, either in the University or outside

This isn't everything though, we are happy for you to evidence anything that you have taken an active role in and which developed your graduate skills. This may include attending society events, getting involved in team sports, etc.

You can combine activities

Although you can complete the Award with just one type of activity, try to take part in more to develop a range of skills in different settings. Taking part in different activities will help you reflect on skills gained from a range of experiences and will help you to complete the competency-based questions used to assess the Award. Employers also prefer it when candidates demonstrate their skills through a range of different activities – it makes your interview answers much more interesting!  

If you're undertaking the Career Development Module, any hours you do above the required 50 for the module can be used towards the ncl+ Award. 

What's involved

Step 1 - Register

To start your ncl+ Award journey you can register on the NUSU website, then follow the email instructions to Canvas where you can begin your award.  

As you can see from the choices below, you have the option to learn in-person (with discussion & interaction) or achieve the award independently online (solo in your own time). If you have questions about the ncl+ Award before registering, please get in touch with NUSU. 

Step 2 - Complete Units 1 & 2

Information about the first two units of the ncl+ Award will be listed on Canvas once you register. Units 1 & 2 need to be completed by 31 January 2025. There are 2 ways to complete these - either online, or in-person. If you choose to complete these units in-person, come along to one of the in-person workshops where a member of staff will get you thinking about your skills and goals.

Workshops dates can be found on Canvas once you register. If you cannot attend in-person, you can work your way through the video & tasks in your own time.

Step 3 - Complete & Log 40 Hours of Activity

To complete the ncl+ Award, you will need to complete 40 hours of activity. This may be logging activities you’re already doing through part-time work, voluntary hours as part of a committee, or time spent as a Student Rep.

You must complete 40+ hours of extra-curricular activity between 16 Sept 2024 - 1 April 2025, and make a note of them in your Activity Log. You can download an Activity Log from Canvas and keep track of your hours throughout the year. 

Step 4 - Complete Units 3 & 4

The next stage of the process is to complete Unit 3 & 4 of the ncl+ Award. Again, you can attend one of the in-person workshops, or work through the videos on Canvas. You must complete these units by 1 April 2025. 

Step 5 - Final Submission & Assessment

Once you've completed your 40 hours of activity and attended the workshops OR completed the 4x learning units on Canvas. you submit your Activity Log and have the option to either write down your answers to three competency-based questions, OR record yourself answering them, like a real online interview. These need to be completed by 1 April 2025.

The ncl+ Award team will let you know whether you have achieved the Award. If you’ve passed, you’ll be sent an ncl+ Award e-certificate. You will also receive an electronic badge to display on your LinkedIn profile. Undergraduate and PGT students will also have the Award recorded on your HEAR/degree transcript.   

If you haven't passed the Award, you will receive feedback and will be encouraged to resubmit once, with some guidance to help you pass.  

Although you don't gain academic credit for participation in the ncl+ Award, you do need to complete the learning units and reach the required standard in your competency answers to achieve the Award. Please see the ncl+ Award Canvas course for further details.  

If you fail to complete a learning unit or submit work for assessment by the deadline due to a personal extenuating circumstance, you must make an appeal to the ncl+ Award team 

Submission and assessment

Once you've completed your 40 hours of activity and completed the learning units on Canvas, you must submit your activity log and three competency-based questions via Canvas.

This year, we’re giving you the option to choose how you would like to complete the learning units – either in-person or virtually. You can sign up to our in-person workshops via the NUSU website, links can be found within Canvas. If you attend an in-person workshop we will still ask you to complete the short quizzes on Canvas. 

The ncl+ Award team will let you know whether you have achieved the ncl+ Award. If you’ve passed, you’ll be sent an ncl+ Award e-certificate. You will also receive an electronic 'badge' to display on your LinkedIn profile. Undergraduate students will have the Award recorded on your HEAR report.

If you haven't passed the Award, you will receive feedback and will be encouraged to visit the Careers Service for additional support. You may be allowed to re-submit your answers once, if they fail to meet this standard and we will provide details of this at the time.

Although you don't gain academic credit for participation in the ncl+ Award, your activities are assessed, and you must complete the required learning units and reach the required standard in your competency answers to achieve the Award. Please see the ncl+ Award Canvas course for further details.

If you fail to complete a learning unit or submit work for assessment by the deadline due to a personal extenuating circumstance, you must make an appeal to the ncl+ Award team.

How to register for the ncl+ award

Registrations for the 2024/25 Award are now open. 

You can register on the NUSU website, then follow the email instructions to Canvas where you can begin your award.  

Eligibility

All currently enrolled Newcastle University students are eligible to register for the ncl+ Award, within the registration deadline.

ncl+ Advanced Awards

If you have already completed or are completing the ncl+ Award this year in Newcastle, our Advanced Awards will help you push yourself further, gain valuable skills and knowledge and build key contacts which could help your future career.

To view all our advanced awards and sign up please visit the Newcastle University Student's Union website.

Contact us

We're always happy to answer your questions. 

All general enquiries regarding the Award should be sent to award@ncl.ac.uk. You can expect a response within a maximum of 5 working days.