An article outlining the many benefits of BTEC HNDs, by Ian Fleming HE Manager, Edexcel
Are you leaving school but want to start work and still study towards your degree or perhaps you want to pursue a two year higher education programme which employers recognise around the world? Do you worry about leaving home and running up debts whilst studying? Perhaps you did not do as well in your A levels and are rethinking your options about what you want to study.
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, it is likely that following a BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) or programme may offer you an interesting way forward. HNDs have been part of the higher education landscape since 1974 and are an internationally recognised qualification, highly regarded by employers. BTEC Higher National Diplomas are a way for students to prepare for jobs and careers in their chosen field through membership of relevant professional bodies with exemptions to Membership status for over 60 professional organisations.
BTECs are an Edexcel qualification and a fully accredited and certified qualification recognised by UCAS, and universities around the world. Students can start to study BTECs in schools as the BTEC First and Nationals have GCSE and A level equivalency with a progression ladder up to the Higher National Diplomas, a two year full time programmes of study within higher education. An HND is worth 240 HE credits and many successful HND students transfer onto the final year of degree courses to top their HND by studying for the 120 credits which will confer full degree status on them.
Employers speak very highly of the immensely useful technical skills and experience which BTEC HND students gain in studying. Many say that students with BTEC HNDs are able to start work immediately, and do not require training in order to be able to do the work they are employed for.
A very great benefit of the BTEC HND is that, unlike degrees, there is a national standard and so students with an HND in Travel and Tourism in a college in Northern Ireland will have reached the same standard with identical assessment and quality assurance processes as an HND in Cornwall or South East England, although the precise mix of specialist units will vary.
There’s a wide range of Higher National Diploma subjects, including Agriculture, Health and Care, Engineering, Public Services, Biological Sciences, Construction, Graphic Design and Hospitality Management. Whatever your particular vocational interest, you are likely to find a Higher National Diploma which covers it!
Unlike degree programmes, which are usually delivered in universities, Higher National Diplomas can be taken at a wide variety of institutions, including universities and Further Education Colleges. There’s likely to be a HND programme in a centre near to you, although, obviously, not all subjects are available everywhere . Not surprisingly, there are many more HNDs in areas such as Business, Computing and Public Services than, for example, Equine Studies, Dental Technology or Fashion and Textiles!
Since it is usually possible to pursue HND study near to home, students will often make financial savings, and, in terms of top up fees, HND students are left quite favourably placed. Many colleges have decided not to apply top up fees to HNDs but, even where they are applied, the HND student completes after two years, rather than the three for a degree, with financial savings as a result. Having said that, most HND programmes have an arrangement to enable their students to convert to an appropriate degree if they wish, usually in a year of further study after completing the HND. Again, the HND students benefit, since, if they follow this option, they will complete three years with the award of an HND as well as a degree.
Higher National Diplomas are ‘outcome based’, meaning that students demonstrate that they can achieve the stated learning outcomes in the programme by undertaking a range of practical and varied assessment tasks. There are no theoretical essays; Higher National assessment is geared to the demands of a vocational specification which expects practical relevance. Each HND consists of 16 units. There is a standard core of seven units for all subjects but centres are able to present different packages of specialist units to cover local requirements. They are designed with employers and employment in mind.
To give one example, if we take the HND Sport and Leisure Management (Health and Fitness), we will find the specialist unit 23: Coaching Science. This unit has three learning outcomes, one of which is: Examine the scientific concepts that underpin exercise physiology. This outcome has three assessment criteria, each of which needs to be achieved by a student to demonstrate that the outcome has been met. The first of the three is: Analyse the role and functions of body systems during contracting exercise and human movement. This example gives a flavour of the HND assessment model and shows the kind of detail which students will encounter. Each unit is delivered in 60 learning hours, which can comprise formal teaching, seminar discussions, practical or laboratory sessions and guided reading and research.
Whatever you choose, BTEC HNDs will give you a head start in your career.
This article first appeared in The Independent.
