Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

Level 3 Modules

Level 4 Modules

Level 5 Modules

Level 6 Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Learning and Teaching Methods

Employer Engagement

Visiting Speakers - Students will be given the opportunity to attend a variety of guest lecture sessions. Some will be integrated into taught modules and will cover a specific topic on the curriculum other visiting speakers will be chosen to build commercial awareness and wider industry knowledge. Other networking opportunities will be provided, such as speakers from Interlink raising awareness of volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering - During induction students will be made aware of a range of volunteering opportunities and encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities, including opportunities provided by Interlink. Students are also provided the opportunity to volunteer in the Business Clinic or on Accounting projects.

Work Placements - Students have the opportunity to take on a year placement at the end of the second year, they will receive talks about the this option at the end of the first year and again at the start of the second year. For any students wishing to apply for a placement they will be offered support from the course leader and the employability team.

All students will be encouraged to carry out work experience or volunteering during their course. The course team will provide exposure to work experience/ placement opportunities and to volunteering opportunities. Students will be encouraged to engage with the employability team to help secure work experience.

Work-based Learning - To gain real life employability skills and start building professional networks students will take part in a live brief at level 4, a work based simulation at level 5 and then a live project at level 6, enabling students to interact with external partners and build essential employability skills and commercial awareness.

Students will also be given the opportunity to volunteer on accounting based projects for third sector partners. These volunteering opportunities will be open to all levels

Sandwich Years - Students have the opportunity to take on a year placement at the end of the second year, they will receive talks about the this option at the end of the first year and again at the start of the second year. For any students wishing to apply for a placement they will be offered support from the course leader and the employability team.

Other - Opportunity to volunteer in the Business Clinic and on the accounting live projects as discussed above.

Means of Assessment

Learning Support

Induction - There will be an intensive induction period where students will be introduced to the course, facilities and support mechanisms. The induction will utilise a mixture of online and face to face activities to reflect the nature of the course. There is an element of pre-induction for students from a widening access background who may be anxious about meeting a large group of students, being older than the average student etc. These students will be invited to small gatherings the week before induction so they can become familiar with the staff, building, meet some of their peers etc to build their confidence and encourage them to attend induction.

During face to face induction the course leader will explain option choices to the students and module leaders will discuss the different modules in-depth so that students can make an informed choice for the returning students. Option choices will already have been discussed at the end of the previous year so students could start considering their choices. 

The face to face induction will also focus on building a sense of course belonging, and building familiarity with the course team, peers and the support services, and building aspirations. For example:

Peer engagement will be encouraged with planned activities that will introduce the new students to the existing students and start the integration

Students will be expected to identify their aspirations, goals and expectations which will be revisited with their PAC’s.

Students will be introduced to the accounting society and Enactus to enable them to start building networks.

Induction is immediately followed by the Business School experiential learning week, Ignite. This is an intensive five day programme and is designed to take students on a journey towards becoming enterprising in their chosen domain; be this a business start-up, a social enterprise, the voluntary sector or within an established organisation. Students will be put into teams and will work together throughout the week to develop their ideas and build upon their innovative skills. The week ends with a challenge where each team is given £50 and in 24 hours use the money to make a profit.

Personal tutor - All students will be assigned a personal academic coach. Students will have an initial meeting during induction, and then further meetings towards the end of term 1, after the first assessments and in term 2 to discuss performance and revision plans for the examination periods. In addition, any students facing progression issues will be offered a meeting after results have been published to discuss their options, all students will be contacted by their course leader after results are published. Students with progression issues will be invited to an early PAC meeting at the start of the next academic term to determine if there’s any additional support needs etc.

Office hours - All tutors and the course leader publish two office hours per week as well as practicing an open door policy.

Tutorials - All taught sessions will comprise a mixture of lectures, workshops, tutorials or seminars depending on their nature. Some sessions will take place in computer laboratories or in the business clinic. Some sessions will make use of the social space in the Library to enable students to pick their own environment to work in

Seminars - All taught sessions will comprise a mixture of lectures, workshops, tutorials or seminars depending on their nature. Some sessions will take place in computer laboratories.

Formative Assessment - All modules will contain formative assessment, both online and in taught sessions. Such assessment will take a variety of forms depending on the module. Examples will include self-reflection, peer feedback and the opportunity to submit samples of coursework to receive feedback before the summative submission date and mock examinations.

Progress meetings - During personal academic coach meetings at the start of the second term a student’s progression will be discussed, both in terms of how they are faring in general and compared to their expectations set during induction week. During this meeting any additional help/support that can be put in place will be identified and discussed. This will be followed up in the meeting at the start of the following academic year.

Research Supervision - As there is no dissertation module there no need for research supervision. However research compromises an important corner stone of the course, and is part of the professional development module at level 6, where students will also have to complete a literature review that will be based on researching a current industry / accounting issue.

Online Resources - There will be online resources available for all modules, including the recording of lectures and assessment guidance. Module leaders will use a range of online resources to support learning.

Advice Centres - yes

DDS Service - yes

IT/Library - The subject Librarian will be invited to a ‘meet the team’ lunch during induction to start the familiarisation process. She will then be brought into one of the early taught sessions to familiarise students with databases, to ensure that students are aware of the services and resources the Library offers and to give advice on how to access these services. Students will also be taken on a library tour and the social space in the library will be utilised during sessions to increase their familiarity with the resources.

This will be reinforced during the final year when the subject librarian will be brought in during the immersive learning module to develop their ability to research the databases and test the suitability of the sources they are accessing.

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

MSc Forensic Audit and Accounting - Treforest MSc Finance and Investment - Treforest MSc Professional Accounting - Treforest (FT), Newport (PT) ACCA professional course - NewportICAEW professional course - Newport

Entry Requirements

Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:

Typical A Level offer is 104-80 UCAS tariff points

Typical AAT Offer: AAT Level 3 for 1st year entry or AAT level 4 for direct 2nd year entry onto the degree.

Typical Welsh BAC offer: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical BTEC Offer: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical IB Offer: Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 29 overall including 5 or above in English at standard level

Typical Access to HE Offer: Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points

Entry for non-traditional students based on their desire to start the course, prior life experience or prior work experience. Potential students seeking entry to the course on this basis will be expected to attend an interview with members of the course team who will assess their suitability to successfully complete the course and complete the appropriate RPL documentation on behalf of the student.

Inclusive Curriculum Statement

The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/

Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution

N/A