Leadership Management Foundation Degree

Who is this course for?

The course is for anyone that is currently working or looking to work in a supervisory role. This degree is ideal for people progressing in their career who are beginning or have aspirations to take on a more responsible role requiring leadership and management skills.

What will I do on the course?

There are seventeen modules on the course these split over 2 years and are as follows:

Year One:

• Personal Skills 1
• Management and Leadership
• Understanding the business environment
• Understanding change
• Individuals and teams
• People and processes
• Marketing for Mnagers
• Managing financial resources

Year Two:

• Managing Change and Innovation
• Critical Reasoning for Managers
• Workforce Planning
• Contemporary issues in Leadership and Management
• Personal Development
• Operations and Project Management
• Work Based Project in Leadership and Management

What qualifications do I need?

The philosophy behind the Foundation Degree is broadening access to higher education. Consequently, the aim is to offer places to anyone capable of demonstrating the ability and commitment necessary to undertake the course who is in relevant employment. This will be assessed on an individual basis, but the normal entry requirements are as follows:

• Three passes at GCSE Level (grades A, B or C) and or pass at GCE Advanced Level or equivalent
• A level 2 qualification in Maths and English e.g. GCSE Grade C or above, Functional Skills Level 2 or Adult Literacy/Numeracy Level 2
• Candidates who can evidence a satisfactory work experience portfolio would be favourably considered. If you do not have these qualifications but are over 21 years and have relevant work experience, other entry criteria may apply.

Where is it held?

Lichfield Campus

How long does the course last?

2 years

What could I do after completing the course?

Holders of the Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management will be entitled to add FdA after their names. On successful completion of your Foundation Degree you will have the opportunity to progress to an Honours Degree in Business Management.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment will be assignment based.

Employability

The Leadership & Management Foundation Degree offers enhancement of potential career oportunites in general management or a particular area of business where your all round knowledge will also be appreciated.Upon successful completion you may be also be able to progress onto year three of the BA (Hons) degree or seek employment at a mid or senior management level. Graduates wishing to pursue a career in teaching, will also find the course offers an ideal basis for entry into the profession.

Accreditation

The Foundation degree is accredited by Staffordshire University The grade points that you receive for each individual assessment will be used to determine the overall grade point that you are awarded for each module by the appropriate Assessment Board. As well as being marked by the module tutor, students' work at Level 5 is also 'internally moderated' (sample second marked, including all fails and firsts) as well as 'externally moderated' by a subject based 'external examiner' – always someone who is an expert in the field, and usually a senior academic at another university. The external examiner is responsible for ensuring that the marking is appropriate across the range of modules comprising a particular subject area, and that the standards achieved by students on those modules are comparable with those of students on similar awards at other universities, as well as with the level and subject benchmarks established at national level. Assessment Boards, attended by the relevant external examiner(s), confirm the marks for all modules in the programme. The Progress Review Board looks at credit profiles by individual students, and may invite students who have failed any modules at that point of the academic year to resubmit/resit the assessment(s) in due course. The Award Board confirms the module marks achieved by each student and determines the date by which any failed modules must be recovered.

Assessment

The assessment strategy is designed to both develop and evaluate your knowledge and skills throughout the award. A variety of academically rigorous assessment tasks, activities and formats will be used to suit different learning styles. Assessments are designed to be interesting, relevant and contemporary, with the aim of enhancing personal and professional development, while also evaluating performance. Assessments match learning outcomes within each module and the overall pattern of assessment matches the overarching learning outcomes of the full award. The variety and flexibility of the assessment strategy is designed to offer the student the opportunity to develop a number of intellectual, research, practical and employability skills. In developing the assessment strategy consideration has been given to the overall assessment workload in order to ensure this is fair. Students will also obtain formative assessment via peer and tutorial review of a number of theoretical and practical tasks. In order to provide formative assessment and feedback award modules will employ one or more of the following methods:

• Multiple choice tests
• Quizzes
• Essays
• Class presentations
• Exercises
• Peer assessment and/or discussions
• Case study discussions
• Workshop activities
• Self-assessment tests
• Class tests
• Alternative assessments are usually available to students with particular requirements

Teaching and Learning

The learning, teaching and assessment strategy has been carefully developed for these awards. The awards recognise that participants bring with them a wealth of practical experience and detailed knowledge of specific contexts to share with others. The awards therefore provide practical contexts for the analysis of contemporary issues and problems of a practical nature. This will inform their practice, enabling critical reflection and development of a full range of transferable professional skills. The strategy will be adopted to ensure that participants have a supportive learning and teaching environment. In general,Learners are able to use prepared handouts from the slides presented at each taught session. All modules have eight three hour slots of contact time with the appropriate lecturer. These sessions are a mixture of presentations, discussion, activities and workshops. In addition to this there are six hours of assess and reflect per unit where the learners are advised to book tutorial session and discuss the progress of their assignments with the appropriate tutor. Learners are also encouraged to complete the 126 hours of independent study that is recommended for each module. all modules will include traditional learning material, such as hand-outs and reading material. Alongside this, electronic presentations and learning materials will be made available. In addition to this, at appropriate points in the year, participants will be briefed on assignments, which include clearly defined and varied assessment criteria. Knowledge and Understanding is acquired through online interaction, tutor presentations; individual tutorials, discursive seminars and workshops in order to facilitate informed critical reflection. In addition to this, the individual will engage with mentors and peers; as well as developing independent study skills to enable participants to develop their career prospects. Key transferable skills such as analysis, evaluation and professionalism are developed through practical workshops. Work-based activities establish connections between the workplace and issues raised by the programme; professional collaboration, development of interpersonal skills such as the capacity to plan, share goals, and work as a member of a team. At induction learners are asked if they have any problem areas in relation to learning and if there are any these are discussed and measures put in place. Currently one of the year one learners has problems with report writing and has attended extra tutorial sessions to ensure that they are on track when preparing assignments. As the assignments are related to the learners' working environment learners are able to put into practice their new knowledge and skills and reflect on this with assignments. To assist with autonomous learning the students are advised to use the College and University VLE's: Blackboard which is the University VLE and can be accessed at http://blackboard.staffs.ac.uk and STEPs which is the South Staffordshire College VLE and can be accessed at http://steps.southstaffs.ac.uk. Reading lists and identified texts are discussed during lessons and also within the assignment briefs. All learners are encouraged to attend tutorial session at least 2 per half term. During these session one-one guidance is given. Many learners prefer to use e-mail for correspondence and advice.