The FTA is a consortium of various universities and other organisations that jointly organise a course programme about Free Technology through a distance learning methodology in the FTA online campus. The FTA courses are co-organised by the FTA partners and are a complement to their existing master programmes. After completing a course successfully, the learner can obtain an FTA certificate for that particular course. These certificates are recognised by the partner universities as is explained in this page.
The courses in the FTA build upon courses and course materials that have been in use for a long time. In fact, large part of the courses has been part of the UOC's Master Programme in Free Software since 2003. In the context of the FTA, these courses and course books have been updated and translated into English and adapted to meet the requirements of the various partners. The competences and learning outcomes for each course module have been defined in relation with the European eCompetence Framework and the ACM Computing Classification System.
The different parts of the FTA receive extensive quality reviews and quality procedures are built in by the Quality Assurance team. The quality assurance plan of the FTA can be downloaded here (PDF, 143 kB).
The FTA Board has established a joint Scientific Council with recognised international specialists to oversee QA procedures in relation to: the curricula and learning materials, learner performance, tutors, learning facilities and outcomes assessment. Quality aspects are assessed and improved before, during and after the running of courses in the course programme.
The FTA offers a modular programme and for each of the individual course modules learners can obtain an FTA Certificate. The FTA certificate is only issued for those learners who complete successfully the necessary activities and assessments for a certain course.
The certificates are recognised by the participating universities and enable learners to extend their study options in the area of Free Technologies as a complement to the existing curriculum of the universities. It also means that learners can continue at the partner universities where they can get a waiver for the FTA courses.
The initial course programme of the FTA contains 8 course modules at master level of each 5 ECTS credits. As a complete Master Programme comprises at least 60 ECTS (depending on country and institution), the FTA currently offers only a part of that (note that the Study Programme for 2011 already contains 14 courses). The FTA is seeking to expand its programme and the network of universities that recognise and make use of the FTA. Currently, the FTA is working on the development of a full Master Programme in Free Software and invites interested universities to become partner in its Associate Network and participate in the task force for such joint curriculum. A taskforce has been set up to design the curriculum.
For people who are registered as a student of one of the participating universities the FTA courses can be used to fill in or complement their curriculum. The universities recognise the credits obtained at the FTA as is explained below for each of the universities.
People who are not studying at one of the universities but consider the option of getting a full degree at some point in time might best start at the FTA and get their certificates at the FTA. And when desired, they can register for one of the Master or Bachelor programmes of the universities below and get a waiver for those ECTS credits that are already completed at the FTA.
As each university has its own specific conditions, below we list the current partners and their particular compatibility with the FTA. It is very well possible that other universities also recognise the credits obtained at the FTA, but the consortium cannot provide any guarantee for that.
Learners from the Open University Netherlands (OU.NL) may register for one or more courses in the FTA (see announcement in Dutch). Supervision and examination is made by the participating institutions in the joint course programme of the FTA.
After completing courses at the FTA, learners can use these as part of the study programme they are following, which is currently arranged for electives learners can choose in the Master of Computer Science (or in more detail in Dutch). They can also bring these in in the free space (electives) in the Bachelor of IT (if complying with the prior knowledge requirements of individual courses). This goes under the general arrangements for "Aanschuifonderwijs" as contained in the OU.NL Study Regulations. Learners who wish to use these option need to submit this request to the Faculty Review Committee. See here in Dutch.
The OU.NL aims to offer a full time Masters Programme in Free Software in the near future; the FTA will form an essential part of that programme.
The Open University of Catalunya (UOC) runs its own Master Programme in Free Software since 2003 in Spanish and Catalan. The FTA builds upon that programme and can be considered the international version in English. All FTA courses in the current programme are recognised by the UOC.
The University of Agder (UIA) has a long history of teaching about Free Software. They offer two courses on Systems Administration with Free Software in their Bachelors Programme of the Department of Information Systems. The learners who obtain FTA certificates can get the corresponding credits recognised within the electives space in the UIA's Bachelor and Master Programmes.
The UIA participates in the development of a complete Master Programme in Free Software.