London
ACCREDITATION FOR EXPERIENTIAL PRIOR LEARNING (APEL) EMPLOYER GUIDE School of Law, Accounting and Finance
PROFESSIONAL COURSES FOR A PROFESSIONAL WORLD www.southwales.ac.uk/london
Law, Accounting and Finance APEL guide
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University of South Wales, London
INTRODUCTION The University of South Wales, London Centre, offers a great choice of law, accounting and finance courses from undergraduate to postgraduate level. Taught by professionally qualified accountants and legal specialists who have a wealth of academic and professional experience, our London Centre courses are ideal for those looking to progress their career in some of the fastest growing industries in the UK and beyond. We can also support the business development needs of those already working in the law and finance sector. Your employees can now access Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) and gain credits towards a number of our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees including, LLM Intellectual Property Law, LLM International Property Law and MSc Finance.
www.southwales.ac.uk/london
APEL allows employees to use their experience and in some cases prior qualifications, to be mapped against the modules that consist of a degree. If all criteria are met, employees are exempt from the teaching, assessment and more importantly the cost of undertaking that module of study. Using this fantastic opportunity to gain accreditation of in-company training and experience towards a recognised and transferable higher education qualification will add value to your employees. It also helps to raise morale and has been proven to increase staff retention. In fact, this model of up-skilling employees is incredibly cost effective and can save you thousands of pounds.
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Law, Accounting and Finance APEL guide
“Demand has increased for better qualified and increasingly experienced employees. This new programme offers a unique opportunity for graduates to work for leading companies and gain high level skills in the sector.” University of South Wales student H M Jakir Hassan undertaking a work placement at Atradius. 4
Anne Middleton, HR Manager at Atradius
University of South Wales, London
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY The University of South Wales has a long history of working with employers. We are known as the ‘Business University’ and is proud of its heritage of being founded for industry, by industry. The School of Law, Accounting and Finance is no exception to this and has excellent links with business and employers, having delivered work based learning on site for commercial partners for a considerable period of time. One current example of this, is the delivery of work-based learning at Wales’s biggest financial services organisations. Experts from the School are already working with graduates at Atradius, Admiral, GMAC and Composite Legal to deliver credits towards the University's MSc Financial Services in their workplace. Each of the 20 graduates on the two year pilot programme, which is part-funded by the Welsh Government’s Sector Priorities Fund, undertake a six month training seat with each organisation and will complete the MSc on a part-time basis. The programme sees employers taking a more cohesive approach to training and recruiting potential employees and is an excellent example of collaboration between the private, public and higher education sector. The scheme will develop the pool of graduates looking for employment, and encourage them to stay in Wales rather than seeking employment elsewhere.
Donna Whitehead, Head of the School of Law, Accounting and Finance explained, “This project means that graduates entering the industry will train with all four of the major companies while also gaining a Masters level qualification. The University of South Wales was chosen to deliver this project because we have a track record in providing flexible, tailor made learning in the workplace.” A further example of the School’s work with employers is delivery of a bespoke MSc Intellectual Property Law to staff at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in Newport. Staff at the IPO undertake 120 credits worth of taught classes and then complete a dissertation in an intellectual property law area in order to achieve their qualification. This has been successfully delivered for a number of years and currently there are around 45 students undertaking studies through this route. With the opening of our new London Centre, the University can offer similar opportunities to work with employers in London, enabling employees to develop their professional skills whilst gaining a postgraduate qualification.
www.southwales.ac.uk/london
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Law, Accounting and Finance APEL guide
ACCREDITATION FOR PRIOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (APEL) How it works
Employer requirements
A financial and professional services academic from the University will visit your organisation and assess the roles undertaken by up to one hundred members of staff. Providing there are no more than ten separate role profiles, the academic specialist will then begin mapping the day-to-day role and responsibilities of the participating employees against the degree module criteria.
In order to fully assess each of the module criteria, a role profile/job description will be required for all participating employees. We will also need a statement from you, the employer, to confirm that your staff are undertaking all aspects of their current role.
Once mapping has been completed, you will then be informed of how many modules your employees have been exempted from via APEL. The benefit is that there is no teaching or assessment for exempted modules and this can apply for up to four of the seven modules required to complete this qualification. The remaining two modules plus dissertation can then be undertaken by employees in a flexible way at a cost of just ÂŁ944.40 per 20 credits.
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Your company then pays a one-off fee of ÂŁ1,300 which covers up to one hundred employees, providing a highly cost effective way of upskilling your entire workforce. To make things even more convenient, the University of South Wales offers daytime, weekend and evening teaching modes.
University of South Wales, London
APEL fee example: Students on one of our postgraduate taught courses, studying full-time at our London centre would pay £12,000. However, for employees mapped against four modules (80 credits) with APEL, the total cost would be: • A one-off company cost of £1,300 for up to 10 roles and 100 employees. • A cost per employee of £4,722 to be paid for the remainder of the qualification (equivalent to two modules plus a dissertation).
www.southwales.ac.uk/london
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Law, Accounting and Finance APEL guide
LLM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Course overview
What you will study
This specialist Masters reflects on the growing importance of intellectual property law to the global economy and delves into issues on contemporary areas of intellectual property law.
Core modules: • Legal Rights, Obligations and Remedies • Copyright and Design Law • Patent Law • Trade Marks and Business Reputation • Research Methods • Dissertation
You will develop the skills needed to deal with the legal rules relating to intellectual property law and practice, and the ability to analyse and critique those rules in a practical and academic context. In addition, the course will build the skills required to use a range of legal and policy documents, including primary and secondary sources from the European Union, United Kingdom and other legal jurisdictions. You will become proficient in the research skills necessary for participation in a project or other professional task requiring the deployment of knowledge, comprehension, application, evaluation, analysis and synthesis in this relevant area of law.
Plus you will select one from the following optional modules: • Information Technology Law • Film Copyright and Intellectual Property Law • Ethics and the Exploitation of Intellectual Property • Intellectual Property Litigation • International Media and Comparative Law
The LLM Intellectual Property Law consists of 180 credits. These credits are broken down into six modules each worth 20 credits and a dissertation, worth 60 credits. Through APEL, experience and in some cases prior qualifications can be validated for up to 80 credits or four modules towards the qualification.
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University of South Wales, London
LLM INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW Course overview
What you will study
Globalisation is here to stay and the number of active international industries continues to grow each year. This specialist LLM will develop your understanding of the nature of international commercial law and regulation.
Core modules: • Rights, Remedies and Obligations • Private International Law • Commercial Law and Practice • Research Methods • Dissertation
You can study aspects of commercial law that have international relevance, and consider specific issues that arise in commercial and consumer law. You will also explore different aspects of globalisation and how the law influences and responds to these. This course is suitable for individuals already working in the legal sector as well as those looking to increase their knowledge in this area.
Plus you will select two from the following optional modules: • International Medial Law • International Family Law • Corporate Law • Commercial Law and Practice • International Trade and the Carriage of Goods
The LLM International Commercial Law consists of 180 credits. These credits are broken down into six modules each worth 20 credits and a dissertation, worth 60 credits. Through APEL, experience and in some cases prior qualifications can be validated for up to 80 credits or four modules towards the qualification.
www.southwales.ac.uk/london
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Law, Accounting and Finance APEL guide
MSc FINANCE Course overview
What you will study
This MSc Finance aims to equip you with rigorous training in various financial theories while improving your analytical and technical expertise. The course has been designed to prepare you for a career in the exciting and fastmoving world of finance sector.
Core modules: • Quantitative Methods for Financial Markets • Investment and Portfolio Analysis • Financial Management Techniques • Corporate Governance • Research Methods for Finance and Accounting • Dissertation
The course provides you with advanced knowledge and understanding of the underlying theories of financial management techniques, corporate governance, and quantitative methods for financial market. You will study in a stimulating and intellectually challenging learning environment through academic reading, and use of simulation software and powerful financial databases such as Traderex and Thomson Reuter Eikon.
Plus you will select one from the following optional modules: • Financial Mathematics • Multinational Operations in Finance and Banking • Islamic Banking and Finance • Corporate Financial Reporting
You will also have the opportunity to choose an optional module in a specialist area such as corporate financial reporting, financial mathematics, multinational operations in finance and banking (the offer of optional modules are subject to timetabling and availability). The MSc Finance consists of 180 credits. These credits are broken down into six modules each worth 20 credits and a dissertation, worth 60 credits. Through APEL, experience and in some cases prior qualifications can be validated for up to 80 credits or four modules towards the qualification.
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University of South Wales, London
FUTURE APEL OPPORTUNITIES The University of South Wales, London Centre, will be launching further postgraduate courses for 2015/16 entry including:
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Foundation Degree in Paralegal Studies MSc Forensic Audit and Accounting MSc Accounting/Finance and ACCA MSc Management and Development of International Financial Systems MSc Trading and Risk * MSc Islamic Banking and Finance MSc Accounting
All of these courses will be eligible for APEL: For more information about all London Centre courses, visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/london
APEL Enquiries If you are interested in finding out more or want to make an enquiry regarding APEL: Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/london/apel E-mail: londonenquiries@southwales.ac.uk Call: +44 (0)20 3600 0002
*Subject to validation
www.southwales.ac.uk/london
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London University of South Wales, London Centre Docklands Academy, Tower Hamlets London, England, UK E14 9GL Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/london Call: +44 (0)20 3600 0002 University of South Wales Pontypridd, Wales, UK CF37 1DL Information in this brochure is correct at the time of print (April 2014), but may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, call or check our website: www.southwales.ac.uk/london Produced by the University of South Wales’s Marketing & Student Recruitment department. Design: USW Print and Design, www.printanddesign.co.uk Images provided by Thinkstock. The University of South Wales is a registered charity. Registration No. 1140312.