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.
Distance learning courses at certificate level are offered by a few universities, ie Bournemouth, Exeter, Lancaster and Manchester. There is a great variety of topics offered in courses. Some cover a particular period or culture, like Ancient Egypt or Roman Britain. Others will deal with the archaeology of a particular place, often the local area where the course is being held. Some will teach archaeological methods and skills, such as artefact study, illustration, computing or survey.