The ICAS CA syllabus is going paperless
As part of our net zero commitment, the ICAS CA syllabus is going paperless. The move to digital notes will provide Students with a more optimised learning experience and help save up to 205 trees' worth of paper per year.
As part of our net zero commitment, the ICAS CA syllabus notes are soon to be paperless. The move to digital notes will provide Students with a more optimised learning experience and help save up to 205 trees' worth of paper per year.
In 2021 ICAS committed to net zero and defined a sustainability strategy that articulates our progress towards achieving our goal of embedding sustainability across all activities and decisions.
In the same year, we also instigated our learning transformation programme, enhancing our CA qualification to offer blended learning that is digital-first, learner-centric and forward-thinking.
These twin commitments are at the heart of our decision to go paperless with the ICAS CA syllabus notes.
Saving 205 trees per year
Starting with our TPS classes in February 2023, we will be replacing our current printed paper notes with new, fully digital versions.
Currently, a student studying with ICAS can expect to receive approximately 6,666 pages of notes during the full three years of the syllabus. We have calculated that, once fully rolled out across Students at all levels of the syllabus, our annual paper consumption will have reduced by a total of 3,290,700 sheets of paper, which equates to approximately 205 mature trees.
Delivering an enhanced learning experience
We are aware of how important syllabus notes are to our students and their overall experience of training with ICAS. In fact, results from our most recent surveys show that CA Students consistently rate the quality of ICAS materials among the most important aspects of Student membership.
Not only will these new digital notes help us meet our sustainability goals, but they will also help bring our CA Students a further-enhanced learning experience.
This year, ICAS moved all assessments online to a purpose-built platform, Cirrus. Following feedback, we found that with paper notes some Students felt less prepared for the online assessments. A fully digital learning experience will enable all Students to be better prepared for their assessments, having had more opportunities to complete class activities and practice questions electronically.
The new digital notes will be fully optimised for online use, including the ability to highlight, search and annotate notes, plus follow links to additional information and related resources. In addition to these features, the move will also mean increased accessibility for those who require it.
Studying will also become a lighter task for Students as the weighty paper notes become accessible from any device, at any time via our online learning platform, Advantage. The ability to download notes will promote further flexibility around studying and enable Students to learn on the go from wherever they are.
Gail Boag, Executive Director of Learning at ICAS said: “We’re continually working to advance and improve the ICAS learning experience and the decision to go paperless is a key part of those efforts. Not only will the switch to digital have a hugely positive sustainability impact, but it will also ensure that our CA Students have their study notes to hand whenever and wherever they need them.”
Paperless by 2023
Students beginning TPS studies in February 2023 will be the first to receive the new digital notes, followed by TC March and April intakes. The TPE level of study successfully went paperless some time ago, so nothing will change for Students commencing TPE studies in 2023.
Though the syllabus notes will be fully digital by 2023, Students who require printed notes for medical reasons will still be able to get a copy by applying for reasonable adjustments on icas.com.
If you have any questions about the move to paperless notes, please contact us at students@icas.com.