Workload
Depending on your level of experience, about 3 hours per week should be sufficient to study the Units, find the relevant plants and write up the answers – more for the important Unit on terminology. The most time-consuming part of the course is finding the plants. There are no submission deadlines on the individual question sheets and they do not have to be returned in numerical sequence, so short interruptions due to holidays, workload etc. are not a problem. However, it is essential to continue fairly steadily through the season or flowering times will be missed. This course cannot be completed in short ‘crash’ sessions. You need to be continually on the lookout for the named species which then have to be examined in detail and described using proper terminology. It is this steady practice that enables the learning outcomes to be achieved.
The closing date for the submission of answer sheets is September 30th. A Certificate of Completion is awarded to everyone who has submitted all answer sheets, complete although with maybe a few unavoidable gaps.
You should contact your Tutor promptly if you are having difficulty in completing unit assignments on time because they may be able to help. This is a one-year course and extensions into a second year will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances.
If you enjoy plant hunting and can find time for it, then this is the course for you. Some former students have said that it becomes obsessive!