Foundation degrees

1
Foundation degrees
abc

• a case of repackaging employability?
• Andrew Boer and Marilyn Russell
• School of Services Management
• Bournemouth University

2
HNDs v Foundation Degrees

• HNDs
• Perceived as being a solid, unexciting brand
• Numbers of enrolled students have fallen over the
  last decade
• Tends to be restricted to engineering, technology
  business
• Provides work experience.

• Fds
• New initiative, supported by government
• Numbers rising and estimated to increase to
  50,000 in 2005/06
• Covers broader occupational areas
• Focus on work-based learning

3
Only status-conscious England sees foundation
degrees as a problem. But the country needs
them.Leslie Wagner, Chair of the Higher
Education Academy and the Foundation Degree Task
Force
4
Foundation Degrees the theory.

• In-built progression to an Honours degree or
  other professional qualification
• To gain an intermediate, work-related HE
  qualification
• Flexible delivery making them more accessible
• Developed in conjunction with leading employers
• Increased career opportunities and earning
  potential.

5
Radisson Edwardian Hotel Group

• You cant quote theory to a guest, so whilst we
  welcome people with qualifications in
  hospitality, however its those courses which
  offer both practical and theoretical learning
  that add the most value to the guest and
  organisation.
• The foundation degree is an excellent vehicle
  for delivering a mix of theory and practice to
  the students.
• Omar Ismail, Head of Human Resources

6
Theory of work-based learning

• Government plans to drive forward foundation
  degrees, making them the main work-focused higher
  education qualification and states that One of
  their key features is that employers play a role
  in designing courses, so both they and the
  students can be certain that they will be gaining
  skills that are really needed in work.
• (White Paper The Future of Higher Education,
  January 2003)
• Builds in learning through reflection and
  assessment.

7
Foundation Degrees the reality of the
experience.

• Marketing the relatively new qualification to
  stakeholders
• Encouraging the employer to engage in design and
  delivery of programmes
• Retaining the employers interest and continued
  participation
• The FE/HE divide and ensuring the quality of
  provision
• Can be perceived as a dumbing down of degrees.

8
Overhaul plan for foundations (The Times May
28 2004)

• General foundation degrees relaxing
  requirements for a work-based element being
  considered by task-force
• New proposals described as a cop-out by Richard
  Brown, chief executive of the Council for
  Industry and Higher Education
• Review of qualification due out Summer 2004.

9
Employability Linkages
Modern Apprentice Programmes
Class Theory
Class Activity
HND
Fd
Industrial Training
Work Based Learning
Work Focussed Learning
Apprenticeship
No Employment Learning
Level of intensity
Dripfeed
None
Total Immersion