MBA Degrees Online

Terrorism in Context: Political Violence, Society and the State
The Job 3:Politics and Public Service
Invisible Crimes- Corporate White-Collar, Organised and Enviromental
Contemporary Work and Organisational Life
Race Racism and Cultural Identity
Social Research Methods
Preparing for Work
Sex, Sex Offending and Society
Self and Social Change
Gender Relations
Migration, Community and Diversity in Europe
Youth and Youth Offending.

This one year BA (Hons) top-up is designed to allow graduates from FdA and HNDs in Public Service to progress their studies to honours degree level.
The main aims of this degree are:
to provide you with the knowledge and skills to benefit your future career within public service
to improve the academic capital of emergency public service workers.
Our Public Service degrees aim to provide you with skills and knowledge required by personnel within the Police, Prison Service, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Revenue and Customs and the Armed Forces. Areas of particular focus include terrorism, crime and deviance, gender, race and racism and politics as well as career planning skills. You will have the opportunity to complete a Major Project in an area of public service of your choice.
Close links between the University and the Fire, Police, Prison, Customs, Ambulance Service and the Armed Forces ensure that course content is closely aligned with current practice within these fields. This is backed up by the presence on our teaching staff of lecturers who have significant experience of working in public service.
This exciting and challenging course will provide excellent preparation for anyone looking to pursue a career within public service, and will also be of great value to anyone working with the public

Year one core modules:
Contextual Skills for the Built Environment
An Introduction to Technology and Design
Built Environment and the Economy
Introduction to Civil Law and Legislation
Surveying Practice.
Year two core modules:
Environmental Services and Construction Technology.
Year three core modules:
Built Environment Major Project.
Associated careers
This degree will be of particular value to anyone wishing to pursue a career as a surveyor or more generally within the field of the built environment.
Assessment
Assessment is via a mix of examination, assignments, presentations, practical work and group work.
Professional recognition
Completion of this degree will allow you to apply for Assessment of Technical Competence with the RICS and to qualify as a Technical Surveyor (Tech RIC).

BSc (Hons) Property and Surveying shares common themes with our other degrees in the surveying disciplines, but what sets this course apart is its degree of flexibility. In years two and three you will be able to choose from a wide range of course options allowing you to focus on areas of particular interest or on the requirements of a favoured career.
The main aims of this degree are:
to enable you to analyse a range of surveying problems and deliver practical solutions
to provide an in-depth understanding of the technical, economic, legal and organisational aspects of surveying.
As a property and surveying professional you may be required to work not only on new developments but also on the refurbishment of existing buildings, possibly including historic and listed sites. Working in such a capacity, your responsibilities might well include having to advise on legal issues and procurement and contractual arrangements as well as environmental and financial aspects. The wide responsibility of practising professionals is reflected in the content of this course.
When you graduate you will be able to:
demonstrate a command of the language, knowledge, theories and practical skills used in surveying
use this knowledge to find solutions to a range of technical, economic and legal surveying problems
appreciate the impact of construction on the environment and be aware of ethical and professional considerations toward society.
In addition to providing good preparation for a career as a chartered surveyor, the wide choice of modules this degree offers will allow you to fine-tune this course to meet your own specific requirements

Year one core modules:
Optical Dispensing 1
Theoretical Optics and Ophthalmic Lenses
Human Anatomy and Physiology 1
Year two core modules:
Visual Optics with Low Vision
Optical Dispensing 2
Final Ophthalmic Lenses
Introduction to Contact Lens Practice
Year three core modules:
Undergraduate Major Project
Optical Dispensing 3
Associated careers
This degree is designed specifically for individuals wishing to pursue a career as a dispensing optician manager. It will also provide a good basis for a number of roles within the wider field of optometry.
Assessment
Assessment is via a mix of practical and written examinations, MCQ examinations, assignments, logbooks, lab reports, formal reports and class based tests.
Professional recognition
Graduates will be exempt from the theory aspects of the final Professional Qualification Examinations of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.

This degree shares many common elements with Ophthalmic Dispensing, but what sets this course apart is the option modules that allow you to address the management dimension of optometric practice. Modules include Introduction to Business Law, Management Accounting and Retail Marketing.
Within this context, this degree has three main aims:
to prepare you for employment in an optometric or ophthalmic dispensing practice
to prepare you for further study required to become an optometrist
to prepare you for the external examinations and registration with the General Optical Council.
Dispensing opticians are primary healthcare providers and so you will be required to manage patients’ care in a safe, ethical and confidential manner. The opportunity to gain first-hand practical experience working with patients will give you valuable insight into the requirements of professional practice.
The scope of this course calls for a variety of teaching methods, including formal lectures and tutorials, practical sessions and workshops and patient experiences.
When you graduate you will be able to:
demonstrate an understanding of the causes of low vision
advise on and dispense appropriate spectacle frame types and lens forms to fulfil patients’ prescriptions
communicate with patients, taking accurate history of their ophthalmic problems and dealing effectively with their concerns.
This is an intellectually challenging course combining a study of anatomy, visual optics and ophthalmic lenses. The addition of a tightly focused business element should prove particularly attractive to potential employers within the profession

Commercial and Organisational Awareness and Analysis
Organisational Contexts and Performance and Strategy
Value and Change
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Realities
Independent Learning Modules
Personal and Professional Effectiveness
Professional recognition
The course is targeted at broad awareness of organisations and the development of management awareness and competence. Whilst no specific professional qualifications or exemptions are contained or conferred by the course, the understanding and development gained should offer graduates a range of professional options on graduation (eg Chartered Management Institute).
Special features
The course has been designed to allow students to take placements abroad where appropriate and available. For placement in certain locations/countries, relevant language skills may be required.
Links with industry
The course, its delivery, and outcomes, are firmly routed in the development needs and requirements of students, organisations and business. As a result, strong links exist with sponsors and relevant stakeholders within a range of organisations.

This innovative programme is targeted at motivated and committed students who wish to accelerate their studies. The course has many advantages over traditional degrees in addition to the pace of study. For example, due to its design and content, students will gain a balance of practice-led awareness and understanding alongside personal and professional skills and competences. As a result, students will not only enter graduate recruitment markets early, but will have the right skills and understanding to be effective in a range of organisations and careers.
The programme achieves its fast-track aim by using the summer vacations for study. However, instead of being on campus in lectures during this time, students will undertake directed and independent study and by taking advantage of internships, placements, part-time work, volunteering or investigations, will develop their real-world understanding, skills and competence in an integrated way.
At Level 1, and alongside grounding awareness of organisations, management and work, students will gain experience and understanding of the reality of enterprise by setting up and running a real business. This activity provides a useful opportunity for the development of businesses and management skills and the evaluation of theory and understanding. Levels 2 and 3 will see students focus on the application, critical evaluation and analysis of organisational and management contexts in practice and will again reflect upon, and develop, their personal and professional skills. At Level 3 students will undertake a Major Project/Dissertation.
Clear emphasis will be on student’s development of a balance of business and management understanding and competence. This will be achieved through work-related and work-based learning and supported by course and module staff as well as academic mentors.
Progression from Level 1 to 3 can be seen in the following modules:

Year 1 (Full-Time at University)
Commercial and Organisational Awareness and Analysis
Personal and Professional Effectiveness
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Realities (running a real business).
Year 2 (Work-Based)
Organisational Contexts and Performance
Leadership Values and Behaviours 1
Contemporary Issues for Leadership and Innovation.
Year 3 (Work-Based)
Strategy, Value and Change
Leadership Values and Behaviours 2
Critical Organisational and Leadership Insights
Undergraduate Major Project.
Methods of Teaching and Learning
Both University study and work-based assessments will be centred on and tailored to, the individual and work context. Students will be supported during the work-based period by subject tutors and mentors along with learning tools such as web discussions and learning sets.
The overall focus will be on critical and reflective learning and development. Due to the study approach and context, students will have a rich learning environment and the opportunity to develop, and apply their knowledge, understanding and skills ‘real-time’ in their placement organisation.
Assessment
The overall assessment regime reflects the content and context of study and includes: case based examinations; consultancy reports; personal development reports and plans; group presentations and reports and research projects.
Links with industry
The course, its delivery and outcomes are firmly rooted in the requirements and needs of students, organisations and business. As a result strong links exist with sponsors and relevant stakeholders within a range of organisations and the course will be both delivered and developed with further input from such partners.

This practice-focused full-timedegree specifically aims to fast-track graduate careers and, by working in partnership with organisations in the development and delivery of the course, places students in the workplace for the majority of their degree (normally Years 2 and 3). As a result students gain an understanding of organisations and business from the inside.
Importantly, and in addition to the knowledge and understanding gained, students on the course have the potential to benefit from a sponsorship package during the work-based period that covers University fees and provides a salary (normally between £8,000 and £12,500 depending on the placement organisation).
Ashcroft International Business School also run this course in a three-year full-time work-based mode with Barclays Bank PLC where students are employed, salaried, and work-based from day one. Further details can be found at www.barclaysdegree.com
On both course routes, the aim is to enhance student employability and workplace impact. This is achieved through work-based learning and students focusing on:
learning about work
learning through work
learning for work.
This focus, and the time spent in the workplace, not only provides context and grounding for enhanced organisational and commercial understanding but it also facilitates the development of strong personal, professional, and leadership skills, values and behaviours