Course summary

We have consulted widely with prospective employers on the content and design of this new programme to ensure that the skills students are learning are industry-standard. The course is designed for students to develop as versatile learners, and to graduate as Human Resources Management professionals. The first year of the course provides students with a grounding in a variety of business disciplines, which underpin later learning. In year two students begin to specialise in Human Resource Management with the module Managing People. In the final year the Human Resources Management specialty is completed by studying Responsible Recruitment and Employment Law, Employee Relations and a 30 credit Major Project on a Human Resources topic of the student’s choice. Teaching staff have strong professional profiles, and our close partnerships with local businesses allow us to draw on their expertise and resources for both input and assessment. Case studies will be used for the learner to apply higher level intellectual skills in their analysis and problem solving, and in some cases to justify and reflect upon their business decisions and strategies to a panel of academic and industry “experts” in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style scenario, or a group presentation made in the form of a pitch to senior management for a marketing campaign, for example. Students will be encouraged to be active learners whose knowledge and understanding is gained through a positive relationship with academic staff, who will act as mentors, rather than ‘lecturers’. The involvement of industry specialists will also be crucial, and again they will not be seen purely as ‘guest lecturers’, but as part of the university community. The courses at University Centre Peterborough are studied in smaller class sizes compared with other universities, a typical class size is under 30 students.