Course Summary

The full-time MBA programme provides students with the underpinning research knowledge relating to management, innovation and change in a business environment which is essential to any person aiming at a career in business.

This MBA would enhance professional prospects by showing how to apply the latest thinking relating to organisational development and change in the knowledge economy. Our course:

• enhances business competence and strengthens confidence and credibility which are vital to progress to senior management
• provides you with the relevant capabilities, both practical and theoretical, to master the complexities of a competitive and changing business environment
• provides outcomes that can be transferred in your place of work
• facilitates opportunity for peer networking and learning
• enables you to fast-track your career progression and grow your business
• includes a career development stream, delivered with our careers service, which will enable you to critically reflect on your activities, ways of working and personal development, and more importantly how to market yourself in todays day and age.

Why choose this course?

You will graduate from this course with significantly improved interpersonal, creative, planning, organisational and team management skills. This, in conjunction with your comprehensive understanding of management situations within education, will make you an excellent candidate for promotion in schools, government (LEAs), community teams, charities, school boards and more. You will become an innovative, positive agent of change within your workplace, and you will even be qualified to work on exciting projects like new school developments.

During the course you will:

• Develop as a creative, effective and critically reflective business practitioner
• Receive guidance from a teaching team with business experience in a strong educational background
• Draw on your former or present experience to improve as a managerial candidate
• Take advantage of the University's Creativity Clubs to meet and exchange ideas with other business people
• Gain access to the Knowledge Hub within the University and attend exciting presentations by key players in business
• Study in a dedicated management conference centre simulating modern and fast-moving business environments
• Engage in material from current business organisations, taken from our staff's own research activities, consultancy work or partnership links with both the Business School and Education Studies
• Work towards an internationally recognised degree that conforms to Quality Assurance Agency guidelines, through a university that is a proud member of the UK Association of Business Schools and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)

Areas of study you may cover on this course include:

• Marketing for managers
• Leading people in organisations
• Accounting for managers
• Managing operations
• Executive development
• Business and strategic management
• Financial markets
• Theory into practice project

MBXXD

Assessment

The assessment strategy is as follows:

• The underpinning philosophy of all the assessments is to develop both your knowledge and skills to enter employment as a confident manager with a strong base from which to meet your own aspirations. This requires you to consider your own personal capabilities as well as looking outward at the business world


• This is exemplified by the two projects running through the MBA - the Executive Development Project and the Theory into Practice Project. These are specifically designed to help you make a successful transition into work. The first helps you to consider your own development and the second helps you to consider the complexity of putting what you have learnt into practice once you join an organisation


• The overall aim of the assessment strategy is that you will receive constructive feedback from your course tutors, and student peers within the group. The team will support you to use this feedback as part of your professional and personal development and to ensure you are enabled to do this you will be provided with group and individual tutorial support from the team. Your tutor will give you the active guidance to plan the next stages of your learning. This opportunity for supported self-reflection will enable you to take charge of your learning through developing critical evaluation and planning skills


• To facilitate and maximise learning for all students a range of assessment methods are used throughout the course and you will be required to undertake a variety of group and individual based assessments. These assessments include individual and group written feedback assignments and projects, action learning reports as well as presentations. They are all rooted in authentic and practical workplace scenarios to enable learning to be transferred to the workplace. The assessments are designed to test knowledge and understanding of the appropriate underpinning theoretical input and research, but also to demonstrate your skills. An appropriate sample of all assessed work will be subject to multiple marking and external moderation to ensure appropriate quality standards and intended learning outcomes are achieved as well as consistency and fairness to all


• Apart from the formal assessments there will be an emphasis on self, peer and group assessment. However all formal assessments will be graded and moderated by professional tutors. The aim is for you to become an independent and self-directed lifelong learner and you will not only gain the skills and advantages of using self-reflection but you will gain more feedback from the conventional tutor student written feedback. This will be used primarily as part of a formative assessment process within the units, rather than in the summative part, where moderation by others may be used

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of and critically assess the external context in which modern organisations operate, with a specific focus on the education sector, including economic, political, social and environmental change and the regulatory and governance trends impacting on different organizations.

2. Assess and apply relevant knowledge to a range of complex situations taking account of the development and progression of the relationship and expectations between markets and customers and other stakeholders within education organisations.

3. Understand and synthesise the financing of the business enterprise, the sources, uses and management of finance and the use of accounting for managerial and financial reporting applications.

4. Demonstrate critical understanding of the range of theory related to the development of people in education organizations.

5. Demonstrate sensitivity to the complexity of implementing plans and of achieving change in education organisations both because of individual and organisational obstacles and critically appraise the methods available to managers to handle this complexity.

6. Acquire and analyse educational data and information, to evaluate their relevance and validity, and to synthesise a range of information in the context of new situations.

7. Effectively develop and manage relevant communication and information technologies for application in business and management in education organizations, in a global knowledge based economy.

8. Demonstrate and critically reflect on an understanding of appropriate research techniques sufficient to allow detailed investigation into relevant educational business and management issues and to show expertise in the interpretation of such material.

External Benchmarking

The Subject Benchmarking Statements and Academic Standards for a Masters award in Business and Management are used for this degree. The degree expects you, as a student, to be able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and understanding of organisations, the external context in which they operate and how they are managed. The degree will be a challenging learning experience and provide integration between theory and practice. As a student you will reflect on your knowledge, learning and practice, using peer and tutor interaction as one of the key processes here. The course will require you to demonstrate an ability to integrate theory and application.

Although not requiring work experience, the course aims for the integration of theory and application which is traditionally part of an MBA programme, as set out in the QAA standards.

Educational Aims

The educational aims of the course are grounded in the Universitys mission to provide challenging and innovative learning and teaching that empowers the active and professional learner. The aims are also rooted in the mission and practice of the Business School and Education Studies to provide enterprising and fit for purpose courses that are necessary for businesses to expand and diversify. The Schools Learning and Teaching strategy supports these aims through the development of an engaging and stimulating learning environment that, particularly at postgraduate level, engages actively with research and scholarly activity.

In particular the course aims to:

• Enable graduates to expand on undergraduate skills and enable them to contribute to a global knowledge economy


• Enable students to appreciate the integrated nature of management study, and to relate both hard and soft issues to problem solving


• Emphasise the international nature of management study


• Add value to students to increase their employment prospects


• Undertake advanced studies of education organisations, their management and the changing external context in which they operate


• Develop a career in business and management by developing skills at a professional or equivalent level


• Develop the ability to apply knowledge and understanding of business and management to complex issues, both systematically and creatively, to improve business and management practice in education


• Enhance lifelong learning skills and personal development so as to be able to work with self-direction and originality and to contribute to business and society at large

Semester 1

• Marketing for Managers


• Leading People in Organisations


• Accounting for Managers


• Managing Operations


• Executive Development

Semester 2

• Strategic Management


• Change Management in Education

A choice of 2 options from the following:

• Data Management in Education


• Contemporary Issues in Education


• Governance and Ethics in Education

Semester 3

• Theory into Practice Project

Student support

The course team will be your first point of contact while you are studying and you will also be allocated to a student self study support group, which will also act as both a learning and motivational help to you. You can meet up face-to-face apart from the times you are at the University or can contact via email.

Assistance with study skills and IT support is available and you can access the Professional and Academic Development (PAD) department.

Team working

One of the key purposes is to improve your personal and organisational performance and quality through the continuous application of the skills required to work in successful teams in a business context. You will be working with other students in groups and the course team to assess complex situations, solve business problems and issues, make decisions and anticipate future challenges. The advantages of team working are well understood and self-evident but in the context of this degree course they are essential for creativity and results focused thinking. You will need to develop and apply your critical thinking and process skills and the team-working environment within the degree will foster and deepen these abilities. Group activity will be accessed throughout the course via tutorial groups, group work within the workshop sessions, project work related to workshop scenarios and assignments. All team working will be organised so that the experience is constructive and you will gain feedback, both explicit and implicit that will enable you to develop your critical thinking skills and also reflect on your personal strengths and perceived areas for development. Team working will therefore be essential for the enquiry process needed for academic study as well as your own continuous professional development. Student self-supported learning groups will be organised to work within the University and these ideally should be used for self help and study outside the formal study periods.

Career Management Skills

Your fellow MBA Students and course team are the core of a future Alumni network through the University of Bedfordshire.

The Business School offers courses on behalf of the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The nationally recognised professional organisations all provide career management information and networks.

We stress that we plan to integrate personal, academic and career development within the course and you as a professional learner will feel better equipped to make relevant decisions and moves in line with your personal and career goals.

The Careers team within the University offers a wide range of materials, website links, experience and advice to help you think about your future career and how to secure a suitable next step.

Career/Further study opportunities

Career:

You will be in a good position to demonstrate your potential to employers. Recruiters value the skills to work in a team, the ability to continue to learn, analytical abilities and a broad understanding of management. Whatever you decide to do, the successful completion of your MBA should have laid a strong foundation for you to become a positive change agent in any organisation and an obvious champion for the added value of a dynamic and innovative organisational culture. You will also have had extensive and continuous opportunity for reflective and critical evaluation of your capability as a team worker and leader.

As part of a large and multi-cultural learning community, you should gain a valuable network of friends and contacts for the future. Our Full-time MBA Alumni organisation will help you keep in touch with your MBA contacts.

Further study:

It is anticipated that you will enter employment after this course and the applied nature of the programme reflects that expectation. Later study options might include more specialist study as you develop your own functional focus or a DBA.

Networking:

We will be running a series of Alumni events and you will be invited to these which will offer the opportunity for further study and contact with the University.

The tutors will always be there as a source of advice and help should you want to progress your development further. The course is aimed at self-directed and motivated individuals and it is unlikely you will `sit still. Alumni will be particularly welcome to input into subsequent deliveries of the MBA (Educational Leadership).

Entry

This robust, generalist and challenging Masters course is delivered by the Department of Education Studies and the Business School of the university. It is aimed at people with the potential for a successful career in management and with the aspiration to achieve a leadership position in an education organisation.

In order to cope with the demands of the course you should have:

• An Honours degree in any discipline from a recognised higher education institution;


• For international students English competence of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent is required.

If you dedicate yourself to your studies the personal and professional development can be considerable. The course should be enjoyable and satisfying both in the formal classes and in your interaction with other students. Successful completion of this degree will give you the necessary knowledge and research to enable you to release both your own management potential and the potential of future colleagues. Once you start work you should seek to be a strong role model so you will need to be a person who is willing to critically reflect and engage with personal and organisational change. Your success as a student will be dependent on taking your learning seriously but also using this low-risk environment to experiment with your own management style, to challenge yourself and to actively reflect on your experience while at the University of Bedfordshire.

You may discuss the course with the Course Director before acceptance for the degree and he will explain more fully to you the implications and intended outcomes of the course and explore with you your ability to engage in the learning requirements of the qualification.

UK students Undergraduate entry requirements

Standard entry requirements for Foundation degrees (FD/FdSc)

A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.

Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.

• As a guideline, a typical offer would require you to obtain a UCAS tariff score of between 80-120 points, based on your level 3 studies.
• Students who require a Tier 4 Student Visa cannot apply for our foundation courses. For these courses the University of Bedfordshire is not able to sponsor Tier 4 Student Visa applications.

Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.

We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.

Standard entry requirements for Undergraduate degrees (BA/BSc)

We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.

The general requirement is one of the following:

• UCAS Tariff Score greater than 200, which should include either two A level passes or an AVCE Double Award
• An Access qualification
• Equivalent qualifications such as Irish Leaving Certificate, Scottish Highers, International Baccalaureate or BTEC National Diploma

Postgraduate taught courses

Postgraduate applications (MA/MSc) should be made direct to the University using the  standard University application form. There are some exceptions, please see individual course descriptions for details.

• UK/EU students application form
• International (non-EU) students application form
  

Students from the European Union

Entry requirements

As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.

We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.

How to apply

International students

• Undergraduate applications (BA/BSc) can be made direct to the University or via our representatives in your home country. If you intend to apply to more than one university in the UK you should apply via UCAS. If you want to apply to the University of Bedfordshire only you should apply directly using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Postgraduate applications should be made directly to the University using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Healthcare, nursing and midwifery students Many of these courses are not available to overseas students due to UK immigration law in regard to bursary funding. Please contact international admissions to find out if you are eligible to apply
• BA Nursing Studies Level 3 (with or without Overseas Nursing Programme) is available to overseas students - please contact International Admissions by email at international-admissions@beds.ac.uk for further information

(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)

Course application form for international students

We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.

• Course application form for direct applications [PDF]

How to complete your course application

Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.

Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section

Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APL)

APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.

Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `

The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.

We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.

• APL application form for International students [100Kb] updated 041007

What next?

Return your completed application to:

University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom

Contact International Admissions

T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk

Awarding institution

University of Bedfordshire

Teaching Strategy

The course is varied, both in curriculum content and delivery methods.

Lectures, seminars and tutorials will be used extensively, but, in addition, a great deal of your time will be spent in small groups, involving, for example, discussion of case studies, simulation exercises, preparation for assessments, and work on presentations.

Although lectures are held weekly in term time it is clear that the private study demands on this type of course are considerable.

1. The teaching and learning approach of the course is through blended learning. This means a combination of pedagogic approaches, including using the latest approaches to learning technology, action learning, and independent learning. You will acquire a toolkit of diverse and complex skills and knowledge necessary for your development as a creative organisational change agent. Student-centred self support groups, both face-to-face and/or via virtual contact, will be used throughout the course. There are thus a variety of pedagogic approaches in which the focus of the learning is experiential to enable you to practise, experiment and evaluate in the workshops and other face-to-face opportunities, and to use the online technology and related facilities for knowledge acquisition and research.

2. The teaching strategy will be eclectic enabling you to gain the necessary underpinning theoretical knowledge and research that will enable you to actively explore, reflect and critically evaluate your own perceptions and knowledge. This approach will also help you to become an autonomous and self-directed learner. This means you will be confident of your capabilities as an independent learner and researcher and able to manage your own learning using your learning skills to develop a compendium of knowledge, reflecting and analysing the implications of this for your own development as a future manager.

3. There will be an induction at the start of the course. The aim of the induction is to familiarize you with your student colleagues and the course team and to give you a very practical insight into the MBA learning experience. This initial workshop will be made up of a number of sessions facilitated by members of the course team and will focus on learning through critical reflection, peer and lecturer feedback, and selfanalysis. You will also be introduced to the different facilities and resources at your disposal.

4. Each study unit will have dedicated materials, which can be accessed via the University virtual learning environment. These give you the necessary underpinning knowledge and research directives and they are written specifically for this course by the relevant academics within the team. You will receive information to help you with time management to ensure that you complete each unit of study within a specified timescale. In addition podcasts, wikis, and voice-to-voice seminar tutorials may be used, but be assured technical training and support will be provided where necessary.

5. Action learning involving the use of `real-life problems and scenarios will be integrated into the workshop and other face-to-face sessions. This flexible process allows action, improvement and change together with relevant research to be achieved at the same time. You will gain knowledge and understanding which will allow change to be processed in an informed way, and similarly your understanding will be further informed by the change.

6. The teaching strategy is designed to support you through the process of becoming a future manager based on awareness of current management thinking, of organisational complexity and of your own strengths and weaknesses. Your learning experience while studying will give you the opportunity to explore, experience and develop your management abilities working in groups. In this way you can construct and interpret new meanings for the way you conduct your business life.

Students with disabilities

The course team is aware of the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and seek to ensure that the practices the Act seek to encourage are followed. Concerning special educational needs (e.g. dyslexia) special provision is made for assessment for course work depending on the individual needs of the student. All formal teaching and learning is undertaken on premises that provide reasonable access for you if you have concerns about mobility. Advice on the nature of specific disabilities and the reasonable adjustments which can be made to accommodate disabled students is available from the Disability Advice Team.

Skills Development

Below is set out how we as the course team plan to help you to cope with skills development during the degree course.

Communication

In order to be a successful manager it is essential that your communication skills are of a very high standard. Throughout the course you will be involved in expressing and reflecting on your ideas as well as influencing and shaping decisions. You will be communicating with a wide network of diverse people and groups and your oral communication skills will be effective and persuasive. Your written report writing skills similarly will be the standard expected of M level students, and the course offers a rich forum for further elaboration and development of this important capability.

Information Literacy

You will be supported to access journals and information to make informed judgements and to critically engage with, and to make reflections on, increasingly extensive amounts of information now available through a range of technologies. In order to engage in academic research you will need to find, understand, evaluate and use information. Tutors will provide study skills practice to help you to understand how to approach abstracting relevant information from an academic article and hence to cope with the demands of academic practice. These academic practice skills are probably new to you and there will support from the course team to help you, particularly in the initial stages of the course. There will also be online guides to take you through accessing basic principles and procedures of the learning regime. In addition you will receive help from specialist staff to help you navigate your ways through Learning Resources (the Library), as well as giving you encouragement to produce new information through empirical research and use of digital media.

Research and Evaluation

These skills are central to the learning strategy within the course to enable you to work through and resolve blockages to creativity and other related problems and concerns. You will need to demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking, and to further develop relevant theories relating to how you will translate these into action. The action learning process will support your development where peers and tutors will evaluate and give you feedback and share in your learning. So the research process will allow you time for data collection, reflection on current practice, enable you to work through problems that are not resolved by the traditional lecturer/seminar route, and to take action. In this way you are committed to innovation.

Creativity and Critical Thinking

The course focus is on management skills, innovation and change and is structured around developing your capabilities as a critical and evaluative thinker to enable you to make reasoned arguments, based on research findings. Creativity is an essential part of these elements. You will be given the opportunity to think reflectively about learning materials and activities you are presented with, you can take time to pause and reflect, and then perhaps question what is said. You will use other sources of evidence to question as well as your own knowledge and experience. In this way you can establish the worth of the arguments and develop your independent learning skills. The evaluation and synthesis process will enable you to present your own interpretation of the information, logically and coherently. This is creativity in action and such learning will enable you to transfer these reflective skills to the workplace and mentor and support your future colleagues to do the same, but in a productive and supportive learning culture. Testing out your critical and creative thinking skills will be done with other students and tutors, in tutorials, self-help groups and other course forums.

Improving learning and performance

The course aims to enable you to become an autonomous learner and a reflective and creative business practitioner who is able and willing to reflect on learning and to explore and anticipate future opportunities, applying your learning to ensure innovation. The workshop and other face to face sessions in particular, will be organised to inspire you and give you space to release inhibitions, keep you motivated and engaged and facilitate risk taking, experimenting with new problem solving techniques that you can transfer to your future workplace. In order to ensure this happens, the course has the following continuous development design features.

1. You will be engaged in using assessment feedback. The assessments are planned and designed to ensure you will have suitably designed tasks and assignments with clearly defined criteria and standards. The learning outcomes will be transparent and clear for each assessment. There will however be an `open-endedness inherent in all assessments. For instance you may be asked to set and draw up a scenario for problem solving within an organisation as part of the assignment. You will therefore be active within an authentic learning scenario, the situation is dynamic and in real time, and most importantly you will be learning and monitoring a `real world work situation. The aim of the feedback from the tutor would be to help you to recognise your own input to the problem, and to self assess efficacy in the achievement of the learning objectives. You will be encouraged to be open with student peers about feedback from assignments and to use this knowledge within the self-study groups.

2. You will be supported throughout the course to take greater responsibility for your own development. Your self-study groups and the formal lectures/workshops will enable you to access resources, synthesise and make connections that will work towards solving better understandings and possible solutions to difficult problems. This energetic and active approach to learning will enhance your confidence and self-esteem and will provide a continuous feedback loop ensuring your motivation to act as a professional and autonomous learner.

3. The course is designed to ensure there is connectivity between the tutor, the student and the wider course team to maximize learning opportunities. All tutors are experienced in facilitation and active listening skills. They will work with you in a constructive relationship to ensure a clear sense of purpose and positive intention, in line with you own personal and business needs and goals.

4. You will be encouraged to reflect and evaluate the implications of your learning style for your preferred patterns of problem solving, decision making and team working. Such feedback enables you to improve your communication patterns, work more effectively with others who perhaps you label `difficult and to reduce conflict. Other diagnostic tools may also be used in the workshops. However it is anticipated that personal evaluation of learning relating to creativity and innovation will be the most powerful evaluative process for the assessment of progress and direction.

Progress files

You will be expected to keep a progress file, along with all students of the University.

Over the duration of the qualification you will be collecting a large amount of information, which is an important record of your achievements.

Professional standards

There are no dedicated professional standards related specifically to this qualification. However the University has links and partnerships with both the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and actively networks with both these organisations to ensure professionalism and excellence. We would expect you to demonstrate this professionalism in your future career by:

1. Being an inspirational and ethical professional that people want to work with so that you are able to transform your organisational culture to ensure innovation and leadership are of paramount importance.

2. Being able to manage yourself and being positive to manage emotional responses to situations and people in a constructive manner.

3. Managing relationships through self-awareness of ones own emotions and those of others to successfully engage others.

4. Leading and following others to ensure sustainable and ethical change is occurring in your organization.

5. Using communication strategies that bring differing viewpoints and generate positive esults and to use suitable language and perspective when delivering messages.

6. Showing awareness and knowledge of the applied social sciences in your team working.

7. Being a respectful and listening manager/team player who is open to other perspectives and who will evaluate ideas constructively and positively.

8. Commitment to mentoring and coaching for continuing personal development and the promotion of the CPD ethic within your business.

9. Being mindful of the ethical implications of your practice through dialogue with peers, clients and mentors, and adhering to professional ethical standards at all times in relation to action learning and action research, formulating alternative solutions as necessary, including the demonstration of an awareness of the ethical implications of creativity versus conformity.

Your tutors will adhere to ethical, personal and professional standards at all times. The University has specific policies and procedures to ensure such standards are rigorously adhered to.

Strategy for developing and embedding the professional standards

These standards underpin and drive the learning and teaching philosophy of the qualification and are integrated into all aspects of the Masters provision. We treat our MBA students as colleagues in the enterprise of learning and expect you to engage with this approach in a way which reflects your professional aspirations.