HND Business

The HND in Business is a varied programme which encompasses a range of business topics. It is designed to give you high quality technical business information which can lead to a variety of careers in industry. The programme seeks to balance both intellectual and practical skills and requires you to learn through lectures, group work, reflective practice and presenting. The programme will be delivered using a range of techniques. The duration of the course is 2 years full-time and 3 years for the part-time method of study. The General Business pathway (Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Business) is offered in addition to the Management pathway (Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Business (Management)) and also the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management pathway (Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Business (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management)).

Opportunities can be made available if you wish to gain a taster in a specialism that links to the modules of study.

Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND) in either Business, Business (Management), or Business (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management).
Your award will depend on which of the three pathways you choose to study – Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Business, Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Business (Management), or Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Business (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management).

Upon completion of this course, you could progress to a Level 6 top-up degree to get a BA (Hons) qualification. At Yeovil College University Centre, we offer the BA (Hons) Business Management and Strategy, which takes one year to complete full-time, or 18 months part-time. You could also progress into a career in a range of sectors including finance, retail and manufacturing.

You will study a range of units that will develop your specialist knowledge and skills. Listed below are examples of modules that are likely to be studied. Please be aware that modules studied may change periodically in line with student and stakeholder feedback, awarding body changes, or to reflect developments in the discipline. Students can always find the most up-to-date information about modules and who is teaching them in the course handbook.

Year 1 -

Unit 1 - Business and the Business Environment
Unit 2 - Marketing Processes and Planning
Unit 3 - Human Resource Management
Unit 4 - Leadership and Management
Unit 5 - Accounting Principles
Unit 6 - Managing a Successful Business Project
Unit 7 - Business Law
Unit 8 - Innovation and Commercialisation

Year 2 -

Business pathway

Unit 19 - Research Project
Unit 20 - Organisational Behaviour
Unit 31 - Employee Relations
Unit 39 - Company Law and Corporate Governance
Unit 41 - Taxation
Unit 26 - Principles of Operations Management
Unit 29 - Managing and Running a Small Business

Management pathway

Unit 19 - Research Project
Unit 20 - Organisational Behaviour
Unit 24 - Understanding and Leading Change
Unit 25 - Global Business Environment
Unit 26 - Principles of Operations Management
Unit 31 - Employee Relations
Unit 39 - Company Law and Corporate Governance
 
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management pathway -

Unit 19 - Research Project
Unit 20 - Organisational Behaviour
Unit 27 - Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Unit 28 - Launching a New Venture
Unit 29 - Managing and Running a Small Business
Unit 31 - Employee Relations
Unit 39 - Company Law and Corporate Governance

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes lecturers and professional practitioners with industry experience.

Learning will be achieved through a combination of class-based activity, group-based activity and independent study.  These sessions are designed to actively support the development of independent learning strategies. They will combine tutor input with a wide range of participative activities including case studies, individual and group problem solving activities, student led activities which will include discussions of existing research and article reviews.  You will be encouraged to study directed readings and to critique research articles.

You will be required to work independently and to take responsibility for your learning. The role of tutors is to encourage your independence whilst still offering the appropriate levels of support.
During the programme of study, you will develop and attain a number of skills and attributes which include the following:
- The understanding and application of theoretical perspectives
- The ability to critically analyse, synthesise, communicate and apply theoretical concepts
- Develop creative solutions to problems
- Reflect on experiences in an informed manner.
When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study.  Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research and preparing assignments.

For full information about tuition fees please see the 'YCUC Fees' and 'YCUC HE Fees Policy', both available in the 'Policies and Reports' area of our website. There are no required additional costs for the programme. Whilst some students may choose to buy their own copies of certain key texts this isn't essential as relevant resources are available through the College's Learning Resources Centre.

An assessment schedule for the complete year will be issued to you at the start of each academic year. Additionally, a course handbook providing details of the units and its form of assessment, contact and study hours will be provided at the start of the programme. Throughout this programme different methods of assessment will be applied which will reflect the demands of the subject. Feedback will be provided to you in writing, along with information reflecting your performance and recommendations for improvement. There are no exams for the HND – you will be 100% assessed via coursework, likely including assignments, essays, reports or presentations.

Typical entry requirements are 48 UCAS Tariff Points. These could come from a BTEC Level 3 qualification, an A Level profile that demonstrates strong performance in a relevant subject area, or adequate performance in more than one subject, or other Level 3 qualifications such as an Access Course or International Baccalaureate. Applicants are also expected to hold Grade 4 / C in Maths and English at GCSE level (or equivalent). We welcome applicants from mature students, and do not necessarily require the same entry requirements for those who will be aged 21+ at the start of the course as we would expect from school-leavers. For more information, please get in touch. International applicants will be required to evidence English language skills - this could be an IELTS score of 5.5 (with both reading and writing at a minimum of 5.5), a grade 4 in GCSE English (or equivalent), or having recently completed a Level 3 qualification taught and assessed in the English language. For more information, please get in touch.

No formal business experience is necessary, although a passion and motivation to be part of the business world is a must!

To study full time, please apply through UCAS (Campus name: Yeovil College University Centre; Institution code: Y25). For any assistance, please contact university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk who will be happy to help. To study part-time please apply direct to the Yeovil College University Centre by calling 01935 845454 or emailing university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk