To meet the entry criteria for admission to level 6 BSc (Hons) Courses,

A candidate must have either:

A minimum of two completed A-Levels with grades D and above or

A level 3 qualification with minimum 60 credits or

An Access to Higher Education Certificate awarded by an approved further education institution or

4 GCSEs with grades D and above and 3 Years’ Experience or

A level 2 qualifications with minimum 30 credits and 2 years relevant work experience or

and,

Where applicants do not have a formal qualification to demonstrate capability in English to CEFR level B2 or equivalent, they need to provide evidence that their command of English is equivalent to IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 5.5 (including 5.5 for reading and writing). The expectation can also be met using other English language tests such as Pearson PTE, City & Guilds, Cambridge and ESOL etc.

and,

Demonstrate a Commitment to Study and a reasonable expectation of success on the Course

International qualifications at the appropriate level will also be accepted. The College will use UK NARIC to determine the equivalence of any international qualifications.

                                                                                        Level 4

                                                                                       Level 5

                                                                                       Level 6

The skills offered as part of the BSc (Hons) Business and Management can provide graduates with the opportunity to work in many different sectors. After completing the course, students will have the opportunity to either pursue a career in:

• Small business enterprise as an owner/manager
• Entry-level and junior management roles in a variety of sectors
• Entry-level administrative positions in multilateral organisations
• Consultancy positions as associates

Or pursue further studies at postgraduate level in:

• Entrepreneurship
• Management Research
• Business Administration

On completion of this course students should be able to demonstrate the following employability skills:

Collaborative and Team working: To work as part of a team, including building and maintaining relationships; learn to actively contribute to discussions and support co-workers; able to negotiate and engage in conflict resolution in group projects; and show emotional intelligence and empathy towards team members.

Self-management and Personal Development: To build and develop skills to manage oneself; to recognise and assess personal strengths and weaknesses and develop skills to overcome weaknesses as well as to use strengths for personal advantage; to learn and acquire key personal skills such as effective time management, self-reflection, and critical assessment of personal work.

Being Commercially Aware and Business-wise: To have the ability to be able to identify business opportunities and gain working knowledge of business operations; to gain an understanding of professional practices and able to manage risk and failure; able to assess the role and impacts of technology and understand the role of innovation in business operation and gain awareness of cultural change on industry and the importance of social and environmental responsibility.

Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: To think rationally and logically and being able to identify appropriate problem-solving methods for given scenarios; to apply appropriate problem-solving methods systematically, screen observations and research outcomes to detect the sources of problems and find solutions as well as to make appropriate decisions given the limitation of options.

Effective Leadership Skills: To understand leadership skills as an important trait and able to identify various styles and approaches to leadership and apply them in business and social settings being culturally sensitive and possessing emotional intelligence when dealing with people; and able to communicate with clarity and persuasion.

Research and Analysis: To understand the research process and gain the skills to carry out research in a directed and systematic way to identify business related issues such as new product development and solving other operational related problems and able to identify and collect relevant data and analyse it.

Understanding Data: To understand how to generate useful information to make sound decisions; data literacy in a variety of contexts, including data gathering and quantitative skills to analyse data for business solutions; trend analysis, estimating and modelling business problems, understanding operational functions and customer requirements, which all require managers to understand data.

Critical Reflection: To reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses as well as on a variety of business scenarios and able to assess the risk involved; the ability to make realistic judgements on possible outcomes and consider any decision from multiple angles together with critical reflection to make sound decisions.

Communication: To express oneself effectively and with clarity while understanding expected professional standards particularly in written and spoken communication; the gaining of skills in digital, visual and in-person communication; and being able to communicate in a business setting with confidence and make effective presentations.

Project Management: To plan and deliver a project in response to a brief and having the ability to organise resources, collaborate with project teams and partners, and manage time and budgets effectively.

The overall aim of higher education has changed during the past decades. In the field of business and management the emphasis is now very much on gaining essential skills to be an effective manager or an entrepreneur-manager and this focus requires graduates to have both theoretical and evidence-based practical skills. The employability skills noted in the earlier parts of this document, such as working in collaboration, understanding data, research and analysis, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication skills and self-management, are all crucial elements of learning that present-day educators need to consider when delivering a course in business and management. The BSc (Hons) course at ICON College of Technology and Management (ICTM) has been designed to deliver these expectations.

During the four year-period of the course, students will be introduced to a range of business scenarios, together with relevant theoretical frameworks, to enable them to begin to think critically and make decisions in practical settings.

Students will be encouraged to understand and appreciate management concepts and models as well as the underlying theoretical frameworks in business management through Level 4 modules. Modules will include: Business Environment and Marketing Trends, Operations and Information Management, Contemporary Management, and Financial Resources and Decision Making. Additional modules will include: Development Skills for Management and Work-life Balance, and Concepts of Innovation.

In Level 5 modules are designed to complement what the students have learned in Level 4 and provide an opportunity to further explore the application of business and management models and concepts. While the modules of Organisational Behaviour and Strategic Human Resource Management further enrich the students’ theoretical foundation in management, other modules of Sustainability and Responsible Management and International Business and Marketing as well as Project Management and Managing Small Business Enterprise provide opportunities for the students to apply what they have already learned. Managing Small Business Enterprise, Sustainable and Responsible Management and Project Management are practical modules where students will be required to demonstrate their ability to apply theory in real- world settings.

The Level 6 modules provide further opportunities for students to demonstrate their ability to apply knowledge. Level 6 modules are rather more demanding and expect students to show how useful

their skills and knowledge have developed when applied in real-life settings. Delivery of modules focusing on Leadership Theory and Practice, Strategic Management, Managing Change and Marketing in the Digital Age will embed relevant employability skills to prepare students for effective management careers. The Dissertation module provides an opportunity to explore a topic whereby the student undertakes an in-depth, faculty supervised, investigation of a business or management problem involving a critical review of literature. This module requires the student to show a high level of self-management and critical reflection, creativity and professional presentation skills.

The College will adopt a variety of appropriate methods for the delivery of modules throughout the course to meet the module expectations and learning outcomes. The delivery will be flexible to accommodate both the learning styles of the students and the diversity of the module contents.

Using state-of-the-art technology available for teaching, tutors will be able to use the classroom environment to deliver lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials involving either a block of students or one-to-one tutorials for dissertation or project supervision. Industry visits and field trips, as well as guest lectures, are also standard aspects of teaching/learning delivery.

Throughout the module delivery, through formative assessment, tutors will be urged to keep track of students’ achievement in gaining specific employability skills as outlined as relevant to specific module. In addition, guest lectures from industries and businesses will share their experience of employability skills required to manage a business. For specific modules in Levels 5 and 6 of the course, special workshop sessions formative assessment will be used to assess the students’ level of achievement in employability skills such as critical thinking, creativity, research and analysis, team working and self- management.

The College is also committed to Research-informed Teaching (RIT) where teaching will be research-led. Students will be taught research findings in their field of study, they will learn the research processes and methodologies, they will learn through critique and discuss between themselves staff and, most important, they will learn as researchers in such modules as Operations and Information Management, Organisational Behaviour, Leadership Theory and Practice and Dissertation. Research-led teaching therefore supports student engagement within and beyond the formal curriculum, furthering knowledge and understanding, it increases student engagement, their research and communication skills and enhances their skills for employment and expansion of their capacity for lifelong learning.

This course makes use of a range of assessment methods to meet the module learning outcomes and employability skills. All students will also need to submit a dissertation based on an independent piece of research undertaken during the final stage of the course.  Individual presentations aimed at developing the students’ communication and oratory skills are used to enable students develop the ability to express ideas, concepts and thoughts. This addresses modern industry requirements for graduates to be able to present information confidently.

The assessment strategy aims to measure the skill and competence of the individual students by means of a structured and integrated approach to a defined coursework schedule. A coursework descriptor will be issued with each element of assessment, which will provide details and guidance notes on the specified requirements.

Formative assessment and feedback: Formative assessments are useful ways to track students’ progress during the term and forms an integral part of the course delivery at ICON College. However, students will not receive any marks or grades for these assessments. At least two formative assessment sessions are expected in every module, except the Dissertation module where students’ progress will be monitored throughout the process by an assigned supervisor who carries out frequent formative assessments at different stages of the development of the project.

During formative feedback sessions the tutor and the student will be able to discuss the progress, deficiencies, and ways of improving their work. It is an opportunity for the students to receive constructive feedback on their work at different stages. Formative assessment and feedback will help the students in the preparation for summative assessment. As for the entire course, formative assessment and feedback received in Levels 0 and 4 modules may have some bearing on the Level 5 modules but Level 6 modules are designed to enable students to pursue their interests independently and confidently with a reflective content in the assessment.

Summative assessment: This remains a key assessment method used by the College. Summative assessment consists of a variety of methods by which students’ achievement in learning will be tested against the pre-defined learning outcomes for each module. All modules will be assessed by a minimum of two summative assessment methods. All modules will be assessed using the ICON College Common Assessment Criteria.

Students will have an opportunity to receive one-to-one summative feedback from the module tutor. This feedback session will enable the students to identify any deficiencies and areas for improvement and further development.

Assessment Methods: Modular assessment methods reflect the specific Aims and Learning Outcomes. Assignments remain the key method of assessment and are designed to facilitate learning and how students develop knowledge along with critical and reflective thinking. The Module Guide provides an explanation on how each module will be assessed. The following are typical assessment methods used in this course:

CA: Coursework Assignment
DE: Dissertation
PO: Portfolio
CT: Class Test
PP: Presentation and Pitches
CR: Critical Review
EX: Examination
OT: Other types of assessment such as Case study, Blog, Essay, Problem solving, Financial Report, etc.

The classification of the degree shall be determined in accordance to the following criteria: 

First Class (1):

• Students achieving an overall mean score of 70% or above.
• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 68% and 70% with at least 60 Level 6 credits at above 70% with the approval of the Assessment Board.
   

Upper Second Class (2:1):

• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 60% and 69%.

• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 58% and 60% with at least 80 Level 6 credits at above 60% with the approval of the Assessment Board.
   

Lower Second Class (2:2):

• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 50% and 59%.

• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 48% and 50% with at least 80 Level 6 credits at above 50% with the approval of the Assessment Board.

Third Class (3):

• Students achieving an overall mean score of between 40% and 49%.

Students submit assignments through the ICON VLE where a check for plagiarism is made and feedback from the tutor is provided. A student will not be able to submit their assignments if their attendance is low and is not in line with College attendance policy. A student can only submit their assignment if s/he has met attendance requirements

Any assignment submitted later than two weeks after the deadline (Final & Late) will not be accepted. The assignment will be submitted in the resubmission time.

Where circumstances beyond the student’s control impact negatively on an assessment opportunity, a student may submit a claim for exceptional extenuating circumstances and their work will be not be capped at Pass if it is accepted.

A student who, for the first assessment opportunity and resubmission opportunity, still failed to pass the module, will be allowed to repeat the module. The module will be capped at Pass and can be repeated only once.

• The Assessment Board receives and evaluates the external examiner’s reports every year and evaluates the standard achieved by the students and the quality of the provision of their work. They then produce a report for submission the Academic Board.

• The College also provides feedback on assignments to students through an online Formative Feedback Forum

• The internal moderator checks a range of assessment decisions for all assessors and modules by sampling some of the assignments. In case of unexpected assessment decisions (e.g., everybody achieving First Class in the assignment), additional sampling will be conducted on individual modules/assessors.

• The Academic Board has the responsibility to oversee the management of academic standards and quality of teaching and learning for all Courses and for ensuring that the requirements of the College are fulfilled.

See the ICON College https://www.iconcollege.ac.uk for more information about the BSc (Hons) Business and Management.

Download Course Handbook in PDF