Typically, a 10 week course will lead to 10 credits. Credits from a range of modules can be built up over a period of time and a Certificate in Continuing Education will be awarded, usually when at least 60 credits have been accumulated. Credits can be accumulated from specific modules over a two year period of study for the award of a named Certificate of Higher Education in Archaeology worth 120 credits, or over a longer period leading to higher qualifications such as a diploma or even a degree. The precise details of credit rating and certificate courses vary from one university to another, but the above is the most typical picture at present. The type of work to be done to gain credits also varies from place to place.
Most universities lay stress on course work rather than exams.
Course work usually entails compiling a dossier of evidence that the student has done some reading, visited sites, undertaken practical work as part of the course or completed short written tasks. The assessment of students is designed to be flexible and take into account the fact that most students will not have written essays or taken exams for many years, if at all. If exams are used, the student may have advance notice of the questions before the day of the exam. There are also day schools with a panel of speakers, weekend residential and non-residential courses, week long residential summer schools, and study tours visiting a range of sites in another part of Britain or abroad. Some universities also arrange series of individual public lectures.