The General Foundation Programme (GFP), which consists of modules in English, Mathematics, Information Technology, and study skills is designed to equip students with the skills needed to cope with the demands of higher education. The content and delivery of the GFP offered at IMCO are being continuously reviewed and redesigned to address the recommendations of the Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education (OAAAQA). The GFP follows an outcomes-based learning approach.
General Foundation Program aims to:
All Students must take the IMCO Placement Tests (IMCO PT) which are Mathematics, English and Information Technology on application to the college. Based on the results, students will be assigned to the appropriate level within the GFP or exempted from the particular subject if they have scored appropriately. Exemptions for English and IT can be considered on submission of a valid certificate. For English, an IELTS 5.0 not older than two years. For IT, a valid IC3 and ICDL.
FENG000 Elementary English: The main objective of Level C in the General Foundation Programme is to promote students from elementary level of English to a strong pre-intermediate. The key purpose of providing this course is participating in discussions on topics relevant to their studies by asking questions, sharing information, expressing opinions, etc. Students will focus on preparing and delivering a talk of at least 2 minutes. They will be able to deliver the talk, speak clearly and confidently, make eye contact and use body language to support the delivery of ideas. They also need to respond confidently to questions. Great importance is given to help students improve their writing by providing texts of a minimum of 150 words, showing control of layout, organisation, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary. Students will develop the skill of paraphrasing information orally from a spoken text or from a presented data.
Pre-requisite: none
FENG001 Pre-intermediate English: Level B in the General Foundation Programme aims to raise students from an elementary level of English to a Pre-intermediate level. Students will be encouraged to think in English and to develop motivation for learning. Students will see a clear focus on meeting learning outcomes. Students will be given opportunities to use English as a medium of communication in all classes. Different study skills will be incorporated in all English subjects to ensure that learners develop their own learning strategies, rather than memorising information to pass an exam. Great importance is given to help students develop strategies of learning English. That is why, study skills will be incorporated in all English subjects taught in the level. By the end of the course, the students will be able to write texts of a maximum 250 words, showing control of layout, organization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary and to give a talk for 2-3 minutes about personal topics and respond confidently to questions.
Pre-requisite: FENG000
FENG002 Intermediate English: This is Level A in the General Foundation Programme. It aims to raise students from a pre-intermediate level of English to a strong intermediate level. We will challenge students by encouraging them to use only English in all classes, and to learn to think in English. Students will see a clear focus on meeting learning outcomes. Great importance is given to help students find useful tools and develop strategies for learning English, rather than memorising information to pass an exam. For this reason, study skills will be incorporated in all English subjects taught in the level. By the end of the course, the students will be able to write a report of 500 words based on their research and to give a presentation for 5 to 7 minutes.
Pre-requisite: FENG001
Having successfully completed GFP English a student will be able to:
Code | Title | Lectures (hrs[1]) | Activity/Practice (hrs) | Duration (weeks) |
FENG000 | Elementary English (C) | 4 | 20 | 11 |
FENG001 | Pre-intermediate (B) | 4 | 16 | 11 |
FENG002 | Intermediate (A) | 4 | 16 | 11 |
FMTH003 Basic Mathematics I: This is an introductory course in mathematics. Topics covered include real numbers, subsets of real numbers, properties of real numbers, use the arithmetic properties of subsets of integers, rational, irrational, and real numbers, including closure properties for the four basic arithmetic operations where applicable, exponent laws, and apply them to simplify expression and manipulate fractions, ratios, decimals, and percentages, measurements and conversion from one unit to another, rational expressions and rationalize numerators or denominators, worded problems, model simple real life problems with equations and inequalities, linear equations, equations involving radicals, fractional expression and inequalities, coordinate plane to solve algebraic and geometric problem, and understand geometric concepts such as equation of a circle, perpendicular, parallel, and tangent lines, symmetry of an equation to sketch its graph.
Pre-requisite: none
FMTH004 Basic Mathematics II: This is a continuation of FMTH003. Topics covered include operations on polynomials and manipulation of numerical and polynomial expressions and solve first degree equations, the quadratic formula to find roots of a second-degree polynomial, the relationship between degree and radian measure of an angle and find the length of a circular arc and the area of a sector, trigonometric and circular functions and use the fundamental trigonometric identities in various problems, solve a right angle triangle using angle of elevation and depression, apply knowledge of basic algebra and trigonometry in real life problems, using computer packages to plot functions.
Pre-requisite: FMTH003
FMTH005 Pure Math: This is course designed for students specializing in science and engineering related majors. Topics covered include function and its graph, quadratic equations using quadratic formula, exponential and logarithmic functions, inverse relationship between exponents and logarithms functions, different types of angles and measure them in degrees and radians analytic trigonometry and circular functions, trigonometric identities, law of sines and cosines, descriptive statistics, mean, median, mode and summarize data into tables and simple graphs (bar charts, histogram, and pie chart), basic probability concepts and compute the probability of simple events using tree diagrams and formulas for permutations and combinations.
Pre-requisite: FMTH004
FMTH006 Applied Math: This is course designed for students specializing in Business, Education (in History, Geography, Religious Studies, etc.), Linguistic Studies, Social Sciences, Arts, etc. Topics covered include two variables linear equations and inequalities and their graph, interpret a series of three simultaneous inequalities of two variables, display them graphically and determine the solution set, function and its graph, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic equations, and inequalities, zeros and maximum or minimum of a quadratic function the graphs of a quadratic, exponential, and logarithmic functions, simple and compound interest and relate compound interest to exponential growth, inverse relationship between exponents and logarithms, descriptive statistics, mean, median, mode and summarize data into tables and simple graphs (bar charts, histogram, and pie chart), basic probability concepts and compute the probability of simple events using tree diagrams and formulas for permutations and combinations
Pre-requisite: FMTH004
Each of the courses is offered in 11-week terms.
Code | Title | Lectures (hrs[1]) | Activity/Practice (hrs) | Duration (weeks) |
FMTH003 | Basic Mathematics I | 2 | 2 | 11 |
FMTH004 | Basic Mathematics II | 2 | 2 | 11 |
FMTH005 | Pure Math | 2 | 2 | 11 |
FMTH006 | Applied Math | 2 | 2 | 11 |
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes are exactly as those specified in the GFP Standard pages 13-15.
FCOM001 Basic Information Technology I: The objectives of the course are to provide students with the basic information of computer fundamentals, hardware, software, working with computers, file management, privacy, authentication and using media. Creating presentations and slideshows are also addressed in the course.
Pre-requisite: none
FCOM002 Basic Information Technology II: The objectives of this course are to provide students with ability to create, modify, enhance and print a wide variety of spreadsheets, and to perform calculations. In the course other operations on spreadsheets including filtering, sorting, use built-in functions, working with t abs, formatting, charting is also addressed. The course will also introduce students to networking, using emails and the world wide web.
Pre-requisite: none
FCOM003 Basic Information Technology III: The objectives of this course to provide students with skills in using a word processor. Topics covered include page layout, formatting, page numbering, use of headers and footers, search and replace, inserting images n documents, borders and shading, checking spelling and grammar, printing, inserting and drawing figures.
Pre-requisite: none
Code | Title | Lectures (hrs[1]) | Activity/Practice (hrs) | Duration (weeks) |
FCOM001 | Basic Information Technology I | 2 | 2 | 11 |
FCOM002 | Basic Information Technology II | 2 | 2 | 11 |
FCOM003 | Basic Information Technology III | 2 | 2 | 11 |
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