Recruitment to the IOE’s degree qualification, developed in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University, coincides with a new survey revealing high levels of student dissatisfaction with UK universities. Following substantial increases in fees to as much as £9k a year, one in three undergraduates are saying their courses do not represent value for money.
The IOE’s Director General Lesley Batchelor says: “Students are understandably seeking value for money, particularly given the tough jobs’ market. We are proud of the student satisfaction rates for our Foundation Degree – on some modules they are as high as 100 per cent.
“We have specifically designed the qualification to meet the needs of businesses and their employees trading in a competitive global market. It has never been more critical for British companies to match the level of commitment to professionalism in international trade, training and education made by their European and worldwide counterparts.
“Students and their employers know that we are not simply ‘number crunching’ when they sign up for our degree – we are providing long term support to help them to develop and grow their expertise in exporting. Our students praise the pastoral care we give along with the flexibility of the qualification that enables them to fit their studies around work and family lives.
“The cost of our Foundation Degree is £6,600 and can be paid in stages across the two years, although we know that companies begin to see the benefit of the knowledge and enhanced skills within months of starting the course, this offers exceptional value for money for a high quality university programme.”
The pioneering Foundation Degree offers a practical vocational approach to all aspects of trading internationally, helping graduates to be both efficient and profitable.
Students will be prepared for real-life situations and the course includes the legal aspects of trading internationally as well as ways of mitigating risks. Other areas the programme addresses are finance, market research, marketing in new cultures, logistics and compliance issues. A key feature of the qualification is that it enables students to harness prior applied learning, gained in employment, to underpin the formal recognition of their skills and knowledge.
Applications to the two-year IOE Foundation Degree are open until the middle of June and entry is available to anyone over 16 who meets the entrance requirements.