Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• Produce high quality employable graduates with the knowledge, skills and understanding for an effective and valued career in management;
• In addition to the above, produce high quality students with the knowledge, skills and understanding required for effective Human Resource Management within an organisation;
• Develop knowledge, concepts and skills in the major academic disciplines of business and management and to develop the ability to integrate and apply them in a business context to provide a sound basis for practice, study and training in the graduates’ chosen profession or management specialism;
• Recognise the importance of integration of HRM activities with the wider business strategy;
• Provide a relevant, practical and constantly updated programme through close links with many large organisations and through enabling students to apply their learning to their workplace on a continuous basis;
• Enable students to see ways in which theory can be applied in practice, both through taught content and through the students’ own work experience;

The BSc Business Studies with HRM is a part-time programme and does not incorporate a professional placement period as all students on the programme are in employment and studying part-time. This implies that one of the main priorities of the programme is to integrate the daily work experiences of the students into their learning environment while at the same time ensuring that students receive the theoretical and academic knowledge to underpin and understand their working environment and that they are in a position to implement their learning in an effective manner.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• QAA: The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
• Loughborough University Learning and Teaching Strategy
• Loughborough University Mission Statement
• School of Business and Economics Mission Statement and Statement of General Aims for Undergraduate Programmes
• Loughborough University Academic Quality Procedures
• Loughborough University Strategic Plan
• QAA Audit of Overseas Collaborative Arrangements
• Singapore Ministry of Education: Desired Outcomes of Education

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the following areas:

• Foundation disciplines of business and management, including economics, finance, marketing, HRM and statistics sufficient to enable a clear understanding of the central aspects of the main business and management functions;
• The economic, technological, financial, legal, cultural and political context within which business operates;
• Integration of concepts from the various business disciplines to comprehend business situations and develop appropriate analysis, responses and solutions in both a national and international context;
• The behaviour, management, development, selection and remuneration of human resources within organisations
• The development of appropriate policies and strategies at corporate level within a dynamic (international) environment;
• The key communication and information technologies used in business and management;
• A variety of working environments and the process of adapting and implementing taught elements of the programme into live work-place situations.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme students should be able to:

• Understand and apply the concepts within the specialised field of human resource management;
• Reason numerically and have the ability to interpret numerical information;
• Obtain, analyse and apply information from a variety of sources, including publicly available material;
• Use critical thinking, analysis and synthesis to evaluate and apply concepts and insights from business disciplines, including comprehension of complex scenarios;
• Effectively formulate and solve problems, both structured and unstructured, and take decisions using appropriate qualitative and quantitative skills, including the ability to identify and evaluate a range of analyses and solutions;
• Relate theory to practice.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme students will be expected to have acquired the following subject-specific practical skills: 

• Conduct research effectively and efficiently using a range of sources of business-related materials including books, journals, trade and financial press, official statistics and the Internet;
• The ability to work together effectively, efficiently and co-operatively as a team member and, when appropriate, organise, guide and motivate other team members;
• Create, exploit and apply quantitative models to business problems and phenomena;
• Create, evaluate and/or assess a range of options in an HRM context, applying ideas and knowledge from a variety of sources.

c. Key transferable skills:

On completion of the programme, students will be expected to have acquired the following general and transferable skills:

• Use of effective personal organisation including time management, self-direction, self-motivation, tenacity and pro-activeness;
• Use effective oral and written communication, using a range of media including business report;
• Use of interpersonal skills effectively, including communication, listening, influencing and conflict resolution;
• A positive attitude to change, with a desire for excellence and a visionary and positive approach to future developments;
• Use of numerical reasoning, interpret numerical information and apply appropriate mathematical and statistical techniques;
• Use of effective team-working skills;
• A sensitive awareness and clear understanding of how people work individually, in groups and within organisations;

4. Programme structure

4.1       Part A - Introductory Modules

            COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 120)

Candidates holding the PSBAcademy / PSB-IPT Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management may elect to have a mark of 55% inserted as their module mark for “Organisational Behaviour and Management”, BSA650 without taking any form of assessment in that module. 

Candidates holding the PSB Academy / PSB-IPT Advanced Diploma in Marketing and Sales Management may elect to have a mark of 55% inserted as their module mark for “Introduction to Marketing”, BSA665, without taking any form of assessment in that module.

4.2       Part B - Degree Modules

            COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 100)

            OPTION MODULES (Students to choose 1 from 2.  Total modular weight 20)

4.3       Part C - Degree Modules

            COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 120)

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

In order to progress from Part A to Part B and from Part B to C and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX. 

For the purposes of interpreting regulation XX sections on “Arrangements for Re-assessment”, candidates will be considered to be registered on a full-time programme rather than a part-time programme. 

Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XX for candidates who have the right of re-assessment in any Part of the programme to undergo re-assessment in the Special Assessment period or when the assessment next takes place. Notwithstanding Regulation XX paragraph 47, unless otherwise stated by the Programme Board, part-time students may choose whether to take re-assessments either in the SAP, over the academic year, or where more than one re-assessment is to be taken, a combination of both.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates’ final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C, in accordance with the scheme set out in regulation XX.  The average percentage marks for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 25: Part C 75, to determine the final overall percentage mark for the Programme (the Programme Mark).