Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management
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Foundation Degree
- Code
- G08
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Made up of
- 240 credit points
Description
The Open University’s Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management will provide you with a general understanding of organisations, their structures and cultures; wider considerations such as environments, markets and processes; and how all these inform leadership and management. It will help you to analyse leadership behaviour and management decision-making in the workplace, and enable you to understand how you can contribute to – and develop skills in – leadership and management in your own working life. You’ll also develop relevant and practical skills, in particular information and communication technologies (ICT), numeracy, study and thinking skills, as well as the necessary skills to engage in a process of lifelong learning enabling you to develop as a reflective practitioner.
The courses within this degree have been designed to allow you to study in a flexible manner through distance and work-based learning. Your study will be underpinned by tutor support and a wide range of supplementary resources, including online activities, enabling you to adapt your learning patterns to work within your own constraints. The degree also contains a course which enables prior study of a vocational qualification at pre-HE level to be converted into 30 points of study at Level 1 (Managing in the workplace (B121)).
As well as being an introduction to the subject area of leadership and management, this degree that will equip you to follow a number of further study options. When you have successfully completed the Foundation Degree, you may take a further 120 points at Level 3 in any other subject enabling you to complete a BA (Hons) Open degree. At Level 3 you could also opt to study for a Professional Certificate in Management (C31) or a Certificate in Accounting (C32), acquiring further professional qualifications while studying for a degree. Additionally, you can take a further 120 points at Level 3 in specific subjects to complete a BA (Hons) Leadership and Management (B54) degree.
This foundation degree is also offered as the Diploma of Higher Education in Leadership and Management (E43).
Planning your studies
If you’re new to study with the OU we recommend that you start with a course at Level 1 and that you complete your Level 1 study before going on to Level 2. For the Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management we suggest starting with Working and learning: developing effective performance at work (BU130), followed by other Level 1 courses such as An introduction to business studies (B120) or one of the Level 1 option courses. Many of these have more than one start date in a year, so you can spread your study throughout the year, if that sits you. BU130 is a work-based learning course: you apply your learning to your workplace with the support of your tutor. It acts as self-assessment course, which enables you to discuss and negotiate with your tutor what you intend to study, both within this course and in the future. Your choice from the optional courses at Level 1 will depend on any previous vocational study you might have had (e.g. VQ Level 3 such as an NVQ or ILM qualification) or your interest in mathematics, technology, law or social sciences. If you wish to study courses in a different order, do read the description of your chosen course carefully to ensure that you are sufficiently prepared for it.
You can register your intention to study for this degree when you reserve your place on individual courses, or you can ask us at any time to link courses that you have already studied towards the degree. This gives you the flexibility to delay your decision or to change your mind as your studies progress. There is no time limit for obtaining the required credit points for this qualification. You must include at least 80 points from OU courses that have not been counted in an OU diploma or other first degree you have being awarded.
Career relevance and employability
This degree will contribute to your career development by developing your cognitive skills – writing, critical thinking, analysis and evaluation – and ICT, presentation, and basic numeracy skills. You’ll explore how leadership and management theories and ideas influence how organisations think and work. You can take optional courses in mathematics, economics, social science, technology or law, which will further increase your skills set. The skills and knowledge developed in the programme are recognised by employers as being of great value for work in management and leadership roles or in specialist areas concerned with leading change initiatives and projects offering guidance to managers – for example management consultancy.
For planning your next career steps, visit the OU Careers Advisory Service.
Courses
For this 240-point foundation degree you require:
60 points from the following compulsory courses:
| Level 1 compulsory courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
And at least 30 points from the following optional courses:
| Level 1 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
15 | Nov 2010 |
|
30 | |
|
30 | |
|
10 | May 2010 |
|
10 | |
|
30 | Feb 2010 |
|
30 | Feb 2010 |
| or | ||
|
30 | |
|
May 2010 | |
|
60 | Jan 2010 |
|
10 | Feb 2010 |
|
10 | May 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
10 | Mar 2010 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
30 | Feb 2010 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
60 | Feb 2010 |
|
10 | Mar 2010 |
|
10 | Mar 2010 |
|
10 | Mar 2010 |
|
10 | Mar 2010 |
|
30 | Jan 2010 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses DD100, T171, T172, T185, T188, U120, TXR248
And 120 points from the following compulsory courses:
| Level 2 compulsory courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Please note that the discontinued course B200 (previous version of B201) cannot be counted towards this foundation degree.
To complete the 240 points needed for a foundation degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 30 points can be from any OU undergraduate courses.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of courses so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
Credit transfer details for this qualification:
On completion
On successful completion of the required courses you will be awarded a Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management and will be entitled to use the letters FD (Open) after your name.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Award Regulations and the Student Regulations.
Award Regulations
- Introduction to the Award Regulations
- General Award Regulations
- Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management
Student Regulations
The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.
How to register
To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the course you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that course.
About this page
An undergraduate qualification in Business and Management.
Study explained
- Credit points
- - show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.
- Level
- - indicates how difficult a course is. Undergraduate study starts at Level 1.
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about studying with the OU.
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Contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service
Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90
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