Apprentices must be released by their employer from 20% of their working hours, in order to participate in off-the-job training, according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s requirements. This training will be divided between teaching sessions and independent learning.
Teaching
You will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Seminars enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups. You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes both academics and professional practitioners with industry experience.
As a CMDA apprentice you will attend classes at Pearson Business School on one designated day of the week during term time. However please note that you may be required to attend assessments on dates which do not fall on your teaching day.
Independent learning
Independent learning plays an important role in your academic and professional development. When not attending lectures or seminars you are expected to learn by self-study. Typically, this will involve reading books and journal articles, working on individual and group projects, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.
You will have access to a variety of materials to aid you in your learning. At the start of your programme, you will attend a workshop on Good Academic Practice. In addition, our OLE platform offers an online module focused on improving your study and research skills and academic writing. Finally, the Online library also offers an extensive range of literature on both study skills and academic writing.
For further details, go to our Learning Resources page. Students with additional needs or disabilities are supported by the Student Services team.
Overall workload
As degree apprentices, you will be studying a self-managed learning module and a research-based module at each level of the programme i.e. in your first, second and final year of study. Each of these modules will be based on your activities taking place in your job training.
The academic year consists of three terms: Autumn, Spring and Summer. You will be on 3 year degree apprenticeship and attend classes during the Autumn, Spring, and Summer term, for a total of 45 weeks.
During one year, you will study a total of 60 credits in the Autumn term, 45 in the Spring term, and 15 credits in the Summer term, where you will have more time to develop your E-portfolio.
Your overall average study workload will be approximately 37 hours per week. Typically, you will spend 6-7 hours in combination lectures, seminars, and assessment practice, all of which will fall on your one designated teaching day. In addition, you will generally spend 1 hour on pre-recorded online lecture. You will also need to spend approximately 29 hours on independent learning, approximately half of which will be based on your work related activities, but you will need to spend some of your own time, outside work and class time, on preparation and assessment activity.
You will also have the opportunity to attend four industry workshops per term, but these are not compulsory and will not generally take place on your designated teaching day.