Higher National Certificate in Business

 

 

Intermediate Awards	N/A
Mode of Study	Part-time and full-time
Location of Study	London Road Campus
Course Length	One/Two years Total Guided Learning Hours (GL) – 480 hours Total Qualification Time (TQT)  – 1200 hours
Course Code	PLR4BUS001 / FLR4BUS001
UCAS Code	DSSZ2
QAA Subject Benchmarks	N/A
HECoS Code	100079 business studies
Accreditation Type	Higher National Certificate
Accreditation Details	Pearson UK
Criteria for Admission to the Programme	Level 3 Business or equivalent. 48 UCAS points, relevant experience for mature applicants, GCSE or equivalent in Maths and English or willingness to work towards. International applicants require a current IELTS 5.5 score, with no single skill being below 5. Accreditation may be given for prior learning both academic and work-based.
Minimum/Maximum Numbers	Minimum 6                   Maximum 24 Applicants will be advised w/c 23 August 2021 if insufficient numbers have been recruited to make the course viable.
Course Fee	£4,625 / £7,425 per year Please refer to the published fee policy for information on international fees, when your fees are due and how they will be collected.
Additional Costs	Books, folders, memory stick etc. and possible trips.
Date of Production	February 2021
Proposed Revision Date	31 August 2026

 

This Programme Specification contains an overview of the HNC in Business and how it will be taught and assessed at Shrewsbury Colleges Group. At the end of the document, you will find some more general information on support and guidance available to you whilst studying with us. This document should be read in conjunction with the Edexcel/BTEC Higher National Specification for this award.

We hope you choose to come and study with us at Shrewsbury College and take advantage of the opportunity to access Higher Education locally in Shropshire. 

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Welcome from Curriculum Leader:

Gill Cox

I would like to offer a warm welcome to you if you have or are about to enrol on the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Business.

The HNC qualification is an ideal opportunity to gain a higher level qualification that will develop practical skills and knowledge in a number of specialist areas. As well as gaining vital knowledge that can prepare you for a senior role in the workplace, including various levels of management, it offers the potential for you to continue your studies onto a HND in Business at level 5, subject to grade profile and course pathway.

The Business teaching team have a wealth of experience in both teaching and industry and this adds to what is already a stimulating and interesting course.

I do hope you have an enjoyable experience and achieve your goals whilst studying with us.

Gill Cox

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Staff Profiles

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Overview of the Award – what does the course involve?

A key progression path for Pearson BTEC Higher National Certificate is the opportunity to progress onto the Level 5 HND Business, either on a part-time or full-time basis. Following the HND Business, you can then in turn progress onto a one-year top-up Degree in Business and claim an overall BA Hons Degree in Business when your learning journey has finished.

The Pearson BTEC HNC is a nationally recognised qualification that offers career progression and professional development for those already in part-time employment or with an ambition to progress further with their education.

Rationale

The Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals in Business (RQF) have been developed to focus on:

• Providing education and training for a range of careers in business such as management, administration, personnel, marketing, accounting and law
• Providing a general qualification that allows flexibility of study to meet local or specialist needs
• Providing specialist options that meet the needs of the major functions in business and allow specialisation with career progression and professional recognition in mind
• Providing opportunities for learners to focus on the development of higher-level skills in a business context
• Providing opportunities for learners to develop a range of skills and techniques and attributes essential for successful performance in working life
• Providing opportunities for learners to gain a nationally recognised vocationally specific qualification to enter employment in business or progress to higher education vocational qualifications such as a full-time degree in business or a related area.

To ensure that this programme complies with the College internal monitoring processes an External Verifier ensures that we assess learner performance in accordance with national standards and evidence requirements. At the annual visit in 2019 and 2020 the External Verifier for this award identified the following areas of good practice:

• Outstanding quality of the students' work
• High levels of student satisfaction
• Accuracy and high quality of feedback from assessors.

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Programme Aims

Aims of the programme:

The HNC in Business will provide learners with a solid foundation in Business and Management skills. The work-related programme of study covers the key knowledge, understanding and practical skills required in the business sector and also offers particular specialist emphasis through the selection of specialist units.

The qualification aims to meet the needs of the rationale by:

• Equipping learners with knowledge, understanding and skills for success in employment across a range of career pathways
• Enabling progression to an undergraduate degree or further professional/specialist qualifications in a related area
• Developing learners’ career progression through exploring major business functions to create a more diverse skill set and knowledge base
• Developing specialist knowledge to support a specific career aspiration
• Increasing transferable skills and knowledge, which will enable them to meet career challenges, whether within their current area of employment or through career progression.

Programme Learning Outcomes

• To provide learners with an understanding of where and how to access sources of finance for a business, and the skills to use financial information for decision making
• To gain an understanding of individual and group behaviour in organisations and to examine current theories and their application in managing behaviour in the workplace
• To provide learners with understanding and skills relating to the fundamental concepts and principles that underpin the marketing process
• To gain an understanding of different organisations, the influence of stakeholders and the relationship between businesses and the local, national and global environments.

This programme is distinctive because:

The qualification is delivered at Shrewsbury Colleges Group to offer learners the opportunity to study Higher Education in a local college environment. Learners can share experiences and develop new skills using business-based practice linked to theory. The course is tailored to meet the needs of learners and the needs of the local business community.

On successful completion students should be able to:

• Use a range of skills to identify and evaluate business issues, including managing change, resourcing and problem solving
• To understand the skills needed to manage communication, teams, projects and events in business environments
• To transfer the business skills gained to the workplace for career progression.

Employability

Graduates of this course have gone onto careers in Finance, HRM and Digital Marketing with high profile local employers undertaking work in business data, advertising, graphic design plus PR roles. Equally, learners have set up their own business Social Media Marketing promoting sports events around the whole of the UK. Typical starting salaries start at around 15k -20k per year

This course is also an excellent grounding for people who want to move on to degree programmes including a one year Top-Up Honours Degree in Business. Students have previously successfully applied to study at UWE (Bristol) Northampton, Leicester and Wolverhampton University. This allows students to claim a full three year BA Hons Degree in Business by entry straight into the final year.

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Programme Structure, Modules and Credits

The Edexcel BTEC Level 4 HNC in Business is a qualification with a minimum of 120 credits. Part-time study is one day per week over two years, FT study is two days per week for one year. All modules must be taken and an overall grade either Pass Merit or Distinction awarded dependent on total credit points gained. Each module contains a credit value.

Example units:

• Business & the Business Environment
• Marketing Processes and Planning
• Human Resource Management
• Leadership & Management
• Accounting Principles
• Managing a Successful Business Project
• Business Law
• Entrepreneurial Ventures

Units may be subject to change.

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Teaching and Assessment

How will I be taught?

• Teaching through presentations, group work and research activities, learning through visits, guest speakers, college staff, research and peer experiences. Assessment through peer work, presentations, reports and case studies
• The award has a Moodle site offering support with written work and links to relevant professional bodies and sites. Assignment briefs and supporting documentation are also on Moodle
• The group have a closed Facebook group to communicate outside of college and to upload interesting learning information and links
• It is anticipated that the student will complete home study of a minimum of 10-12 hours per week.

How will I be assessed?

You will be required to complete an assessment for each module of your course.

The purpose of assessment is to ensure that effective learning has taken place of the content of each unit. Evidence of this learning or the application of the learning is required for each unit. The assessment of the evidence relates directly to the assessment criteria for each unit, supported by the generic grade descriptors. The process of assessment can aid effective learning by seeking and interpreting evidence to decide the stage that learners have reached in their learning, what further learning needs to take place and how best to do this. Therefore, the process of assessment should be part of the effective planning of teaching and learning by providing opportunities for both the learner and assessor to obtain information about progress towards learning goals.

The assessor and learner must be actively engaged in promoting a common understanding of the assessment criteria and the grade descriptors (what it is they are trying to achieve and how well they achieve it) for further learning to take place. Therefore, learners will receive constructive feedback and guidance about how they may improve by capitalising on their strengths and clear and constructive comments about their weaknesses and how these might be addressed. Assessment will take place continually throughout sessions however the Summative assessment evidence will be in the form of assignment, written report, practical observation, witness testimony, presentations with written script and film. There are no formal timed examinations for this Award.

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