developing and running training courses in the Distance Education Program

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1 Welcome to the (DEP). The course you have enrolled in has been prepared and is taught by staff of the Education Services division of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Ltd (HIMAA). This Course Administration and Information Booklet is your guide to the administration of the course. It contains general information and administrative details relevant to the course, as well as hints on how to make the most of distance education study. We recommend that you read this information before you start studying, and keep it with your course material so that you can refer to it during the course. At the beginning of your course workbook there will be additional information in the Workbook Introduction and Study Guide. This material is specific to your course and gives details of requirements for your study progress, assignments and exams. HIMAA EDUCATION SERVICES The workbook and exercises in your course have been developed by HIMAA Education Services. Education Services is a division located within the national office of the HIMAA. We are responsible for: developing and running training courses in the Distance Education Program producing educational and resource material related to health information management conducting national continuing professional development courses for HIMAA members 1

2 MAKING CONTACT AND GETTING HELP If you have questions about any aspect of your course, please do not hesitate to contact your instructor or the staff at the HIMAA Education Services. Type of enquiry Who to contact Hours Contact details General enquiries and any administrative matter: enrolment, fees, change of address, exam dates etc. Registrar Denise Johnston Office hours: 8.00am- 4.00pm (Sydney).You can leave a message 24 hours a day on the answering machine, or by fax or Ph: (02) Fax: (02) DeniseJ@himaa.org.au Specific questions about the study material in the workbook or your assignments CODING INTRODUCTORY INTERMEDIATE Instructor Belinda Saad On the days your instructor is not available in the office please contact the Registrar as above Belinda works part-time and is available for contact in our office on Tuesday and Wednesday between 10.00am and 2.00pm Ph: (02) Belindas@himaa.org.au CODING ADVANCED Instructor Vera Dimitropoulos Vera works part-time and is available for contact in our office on Tuesday and Wednesday between 10.00am and 2.00pm Ph: (02) Verad@himaa.org.au MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY Questions about the study material, your assignments and general questions about the course, your progress and examinations. Comprehensive Medical Terminology Course Coordinator Joanne Williams Joanne works part-time in our office and is available for contact on Tuesday and Thursday. Generally 10.30am to 2.30pm Ph: (02) Fax: (02) joannew@himaa.org.au 2

3 CONTACTING YOUR INSTRUCTOR Your instructor can answer any questions you have about the content of the course, the assignments and the exam. If you are unsure about any part of your assignment, use the comments and questions section of the cover sheet to ask your instructor about it. If you feel you need an answer to a question before you submit your assignment you can telephone your instructor, leave a telephone message or fax your question and your instructor will call or fax back. You may also use to contact your instructor. If your question is about an administration matter rather than course content, please contact Denise Johnston, Registrar, Education Services. We know many people are hesitant about leaving messages on an answering machine but for distance education students the answering machine can be a very valuable tool. You can call any time so you don t have to worry about time differences if you are in a different time zone from the office or your instructor. If your call is STD or ISD you can call when telephone charges are cheapest. The person you are calling can gather all the information they need to answer your question before they call you back, so you save time on the telephone and get a more complete answer. When you leave a message, please make sure you tell us: who you are who the message is for what course you are doing (e.g. I m doing the Intermediate coding course ) what your question is (be as specific as possible) the time and date of your call your telephone number for the return call any restrictions on your availablility on that number (e.g. You can call me on that number anytime before 1.30pm. ). CHANGE OF ADDRESS If you change your home or work address or your telephone number, please notify Education Services in writing as soon as possible. Prior to course commencement please fax or write to the Registrar. There will be a Change of Address Form in the plastic sleeve in your course workbook. It is very important that we have up-to-date and accurate contact details for you on our database. MAXIMUM TIME PERIOD 3

4 The normal completion time for the Comprehenisive Medical Terminology and s is 9-12 months. This is based on you submitting an assignment regularly every 2-3 weeks. A student working steadily should be able to complete the course and sit for the final examination after 9 months, but if you need more time then you have until the exam 12 months after your enrolment. The normal completion time for the is 9-12 months. This is based on you submitting an assignment regularly every 3 months. A student working steadily should be able to complete the course within 12 months after enrolment. The normal completion time for the is months. This is based on you submitting an assignment regularly every 3 months. A student working steadily should be able to complete the course within 20 months after enrolment. This is the maximum time you will be allowed. Exceptions to this rule will only be considered in special circumstances. DEFERMENT OF STUDIES If, during the course, there are circumstances which mean that you are unable to continue your study for a period of time (e.g. serious illness or family problems) you may apply for a extension of up to six months. If you wish to apply for a period of extension you must apply in writing to the Registrar, HIMAA Education Services and enclose supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate). If an extension is approved you will have to pay an administrative fee of $77 (includes GST). Only one period of extension (of any length) is allowed during the course. An Application for Extension of Course form will be included with the other administrative forms in the plastic sleeve in your course workbook. CANCELLATION OF COURSE & REFUND POLICY You may cancel your enrolment in this course at any time by notifying Education Services in writing: if you enrol and then cancel your enrolment before the course materials are sent to you we will refund your fee, less an administrative charge of $132 (includes GST) 4

5 once the course materials have been sent to you we will refund 50% of the course fee if you cancel your enrolment within the first 4 months and have submitted no more than one assignment if you cancel your enrolment after the first 4 months or you have submitted two or more assignments, you are not eligible for a refund. Requests for refunds must be in writing and addressed to the Registrar, Education Services. All course material must be returned to Education Services before any refund is issued. No refunds or transfers will be approved after 4 months from the closing date of your course intake. HIMAA reserves the right to cancel the enrolment of a student with or without a refund of fees. INACTIVE AND LAPSED STUDENTS If a student is inactive the course Instructor will establish contact as follows: 1. If no assignment has been received after 2 months of course commencement - contact will be made by letter 2. if a student has submitted assignments and there has been a period of 2 months since the last assignment contact will be made by letter 3. if no response is received from the student to the letter forwarded in instance 1 or 2, a followup letter will be sent. This letter will advise that if the student does not respond within one month then their enrolment in the course will be cancelled. 4. if no response is received within the time period specified in letter 3 above, then a final letter cancelling the course will be forwarded and the student's file will be archived. If a student has not applied to sit for the final examination twelve months after commencement of course a letter will be sent giving the student the option of sitting the examination at the next scheduled examination date or of extending their course. 1. If an extension is requested in response to the above letter then a maximum extension period of six months from the twelve month completion date is given to sit the final exam 2. If an extension is granted and the student does not sit the final examination within the specified time a letter cancelling the course is forwarded and the student's file is archived If a student does not reply to the options letter mentioned above then the enrolment is cancelled and the student's file is archived. 5

6 TEACHING MATERIALS - COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS The printed course materials (textbook, workbook and study guide) belong to you once they have been sent to you. You don t have to return them at the end of the course so you can continue to use them for reference. If you wish to use the materials for some other purpose other than your own studies, you must write to the Registrar, HIMAA Education Services because the material is subject to copyright restrictions. These restrictions mean that you are not allowed to make copies of the material and give them to other people. ASSIGNMENT RESULTS Your marked assignments will be returned to you by mail. This will happen whether you posted your assignment or sent it by fax. Assignments will not be returned by fax. ed assignments will be returned by . EXAMINATION RESULTS Your final examination mark will be sent to you by mail, approximately 10 working days after receipt of your examination at Education Services. The examination paper will not be returned to you. You may discuss your exam results with your Instructor. When you have completed the course you will be sent an official Statement of Results showing your marks in each module or unit, the final exam result and the final course mark. Those who pass the course will also receive a Certificate of Achievement from the HIMAA. There is no examination for this course. The final assessment is the average result of the 6 assignments submitted during the course. A Statement of Results will be issued to all students who successfully complete the course. FINAL EXAMINATION 6

7 Final examinations are scheduled every 3 months. They are held on the first Monday in March, June, Sepember and December. You must be available to sit for the exam on a scheduled date. When you want to sit for the final exam you must notify HIMAA Education Services at least 4 weeks before the scheduled exam date using the Application for Examination form. Your application must be accompanied by the Supervisor Nomination Form. These forms will be in the plastic sleeve in you course workbook. After you have submitted your Application for Examination form and Supervisor Nomination Form, the Registrar will send you an acknowlegement letter and rules for the examination. EXAMINATION SUPERVISOR AND VENUE As you are undertaking a distance education course we do not require you to attend an exam venue away from where you live. It is your responsibility to find an appropriate supervisor and venue for your final exam and then notify us about the arrangements you have made. As long as you have followed the guidelines provided below, we will approve your nomination. Criteria for nominating an exam supervisor An exam supervisor may be a: health information manager/medical record administrator person from the management level in your organisation university lecturer, teacher, medical practitioner, minister of religion, Justice of the Peace An exam supervisor must not be a: relative of the examination candidate current student in, or recent graduate of, the course being examined 7

8 Criteria for selecting an exam venue You will need a: quiet room where you will not be interrupted or disturbed for the 2 hours while you are completing the exam desk or large table The exam room may be located in: the organisation where you work the organisation where your nominated exam supervisor works educational, health, church or police premises The exam room must not be located in the: home of the exam candidate home of the exam supervisor Costs associated with the conduct of the exam The HIMAA will pay the examination supervisor $20 per exam hour as an honorarium. Any other costs associated with the conduct of the exam (e.g. venue charges, travel costs etc.) are the responsibility of the student. The supervisor will need to submit an invoice to HIMAA for the supervision fee (plus GST where appropriate). EXAMINATION MARKS Your nominated exam supervisor will collect your paper from you and post it to the Registrar at HIMAA Education Services for marking. The marking of final exam papers will be completed within 10 days of receipt of the paper from the supervisor. When the marking has been completed and checked you will be notified of your result by mail. If your combined assignment and exam marks do not reach the required pass mark of 80%, you have two options: 1. If your course mark (combined assignment and exam mark) is 75-79%, you will be allowed to sit for a supplementary exam. This is a slightly shorter exam than the final exam. Your mark for this supplementary exam will replace your original exam mark and will be added to your assignment marks to calculate your course mark. You will have to organise another supervisor and venue for the supplementary exam and sit for the exam on the date specified on the application form which 8

9 will be forwarded with your final exam results. There is no charge to you for this supplementary exam. 2. If your course mark (combined assignment and exam mark) is below 75%, you can apply to re-sit the final exam on the next scheduled examination date. Your result in this re-sit exam will replace your original exam mark and will be added to your assignment marks to calculate your course mark. If you intend to do a re-sit exam you will have to notify HIMAA Education Services by the date specified on the documents forwarded with the results of your final exam. There is a charge of $110 (includes GST) to do a re-sit exam. You will only be allowed to take up this option once and it must be on the next scheduled exam date. If you fail the supplementary exam or the re-sit exam, to obtain a Certificate of Achievement, you will need to re-enrol, complete the course again and achieve the final course pass mark of 80%. If you fail the course a Statement of Results will be issued. STUDYING BY DISTANCE EDUCATION Distance learning is not necessarily more difficult than studying in a classroom, but it is different. It requires self-discipline and puts a great deal more responsibility on you to organise your own study. At the same time, it is certainly convenient for most people because you can choose the time of day and the place you want to study. The overall key to your success in completing your course can be built around establishing short and long-term goals. Your goals can be achieved by: implementing a realistic timeframe for the completion of your course planning your study time meeting the course objectives reviewing and assessing all course and textbook material completing all assessment material; and preparing for your examination Probably the key component to successfully completing your studies is time management. Here are a few suggestions to help you plan your study timetable. Be committed 9

10 Aim to build your study plan around fixed time commitments. You need to juggle study, work, family and social commitments. Study should be fitted in around the important things in your life, not push them out. Be realistic Create a realistic study timetable. You may need to give up or reduce some activities that you currently do (e.g. watching TV or sleeping) to make time for study. However, remember that most people need a break from studies and find it easier to stick to a schedule if they allow plenty of time for sport, leisure and recreation. Study regularly Studying is easier if you spread your work out rather than cramming. Cramming is not an effective means of study. Also, try not to procrastinate. It is human nature to put off until tomorrow what could be done today. Give yourself a reward for studying to make it more attractive. It s amazing what looking forward to a Mars bar/cappuccino/margarita will do to get you motivated. Enhance your concentration span Most people find it difficult to concentrate for extended periods of time. If you must study for any length of time, be sure to take a break every hour for a few minutes. Develop a study timetable Find out the time of day that suits you for studying. Some people are most alert in the morning, some in the afternoon and others late at night. Use a weekly study schedule to keep you on track. Set realistic goals Before you commence a study period, decide what you want to accomplish. It may be to summarise a chapter or complete an exercise or assignment. Give yourself a reward when you have completed your assigned task (remember the Mars bar/cappuccino/margarita?). However, don t be disheartened if you don t achieve your goal maybe you were too ambitious. Try to be realistic about how much you can get through in a time period. Establish good study habits Get into the habit of beginning work as soon as you sit down at your desk or table. Don t spend study time tidying the room or writing a shopping list. Be aware of sources of wasted time (e.g. television, telephone calls, cleaning the bathroom, thinking about writing a romance novel, reorganising the dining room furniture, wondering what will happen in next week s episode of.). Review your Work 10

11 At the end of each study period, review the work that you have done, and if necessary, modify your study plan. At the end of the week, plan your timetable for the week ahead. 11