BA (Hons) Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Professional Practice (top-up)

If you’re currently employed in a teaching role where a bachelor’s degree was not available or required for the sector (such as a vocational subject or professional practice), this one-year course will allow you enhance your knowledge and skills. Our expert team will guide you as you top-up your subject or education-related Level 5 qualification to achieve an honours degree, opening the door to postgraduate-level study and career advancement.

Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Professional Practice (top-up)

Key information

Award:

BA (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

1 year

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS code:

0939

Start date:

To be confirmed

Course Details

The BA (Hons) Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Professional Practice (Top-up) provides a valuable way to use your existing qualifications and knowledge to obtain a degree at the University of Bolton. You’ll have the chance to study a balanced combination of current educational policy and issues, and draw in relevant aspects of sociology, philosophy and psychology. It’s a great opportunity to explore in-depth some of the key current issues affecting education in the UK and abroad.

By thinking about how we learn, we’ll guide you in an exploration of how formal learning, alongside acquired knowledge, shapes our lives, interests and value structures. We’ll also encourage you to research and analyse a range of educational practices, reflecting on your own and others’ experiences of education. This will help you think critically about teaching, learning and assessing and how education is perceived and received.

Highlights
  • Our Education courses are ranked first in the UK for student experience and seventh in the UK for teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022, so you can be assured that we offer high standards of tuition and pastoral care.
  • Also, our Education courses are top in the UK for course and feedback satisfaction, according to the Guardian University Guide 2022.
  • This course offers you the opportunity to use your existing qualifications and knowledge to obtain a University degree by completing only one year’s extra study.
  • Small class sizes mean more keenly focused attention on your learning needs and strategies for success.
  • Our experienced professional and approachable tutors will guide and support you throughout your course, delivering online sessions and offering attentive one-to-one support.
  • You’ll be studying at a University known for its supportive atmosphere, and get to study alongside students from a variety of backgrounds, each with an individual and unique perspective on education.
Key Features
  • You’ll have the chance to take on a systematic and reflective study of education that’s illustrated and informed by the diversity of teaching and learning approaches in different sub-sectors of education.
  • You’ll reflect on your current roles and responsibilities to build on the experience you’ve gained in educational settings and learn from the learning and teaching you’ve observed.
  • Our teaching draws on your own experiences of learning as a starting point for understanding the formal educational process. You’ll be expected to contribute to research and discussion through critical reflection on your own education and by listening to the experiences of others.
  • On successful completion of this course, you’ll be awarded the BA (Hons) Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Professional Practice from the University of Bolton.

  • You’re normally expected to have successfully completed a relevant qualification at Level HE5, such as a foundation degree or HND, or a professional qualification at an equivalent level.
  • You must have current relevant employment teaching your area of professional practice.
  • You’ll be required to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of work evidence.
  • If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.


The University of Bolton’s BA (Hons) Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Professional Practice (top-up) course offers you the opportunity to top-up your existing Level 5 qualification, such as a foundation degree or HND, to honours-level. Gaining honours-level skills and knowledge in education and research can help you to advance in your teaching career or widen your career horizons.

What can I do with this qualification?

As a graduate of this top-up course, you may pursue higher-level roles in your current field of teaching. You may also choose to develop a deeper understanding by studying a master’s degree in in education or a related social science; for instance, the University of Bolton offers postgraduate courses such as MA Educational Leadership and MA Inclusive Education that may be of interest. Ultimately, you might consider a PhD in an education-related subject.

You will not be limited to working in education, however. Possessing an honours degree opens new doors and offers the possibility of changing your career completely. For instance, as a graduate of this course, you would be able to apply for postgraduate study allowing you to qualify as a Social Worker, or you could undertake master’s degrees in Data Analytics and Technologies or Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Completing an honours degree is an investment in your future that can unleash your potential.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers where entry may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some of these careers include:

  • Education officer
  • Family liaison
  • Educational psychology
  • Educational administration
  • Educational writing
  • Careers guidance
  • Training and development
  • Quality standards
  • Community engagement
  • Youth work
  • Social work
  • Play therapy
  • Human resources
  • Publishing
  • Market and policy research
  • Librarianship

Course fees
Home Fees Year of study Total
Entry year2023/242024/25
2023£9,250-£9,250
International Year of study Total
Entry year2023/242024/25
2023£13,550-£13,550

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2022-2023 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2022-2023 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2022-2023 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.


For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

If you wish to apply to multiple institutions or courses for September, then apply through UCAS

You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £27. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £22.50 is applicable.

The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.

You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:

  • Institution Code Name: BOLTN

  • Institution Code Number: B44

UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com

The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world. We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.

This course is not currently accepting international online applications.

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk


This course is taught largely online, supported by a combination of tutor-led, face-to-face sessions and access to online resources. We’ll help you develop your research skills while you mould your own approach to individual learning and independent research. You’ll also have lectures, seminars and group work to help you progress successfully. One-to-one tutorial support will also be made available to you as appropriate. All activities are designed to offer you a great learning opportunity.

Assessment tasks will be linked to the learning outcomes for each module. All assignments will be based on course work and will vary from academic essays to e-discussions, portfolios, presentations and seminars. The assessment tasks will involve research exercises, and possibly the use of reflective journals and case studies. Reflective activities, including using relevant theories and reflective tools, will help you to relate theory to practice. Formative assessment feedback on written assignment preparation will be given orally in tutorials and immediately following presentations, with practice presentations encouraged in some modules.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

  • The Illusion of Inclusion
  • Psychology of Education
  • Professional Practice in Education
  • Developing Professional Practice and Promoting Wellbeing
  • Supervising Research
Assessment methods
LevelAssesment method
Level oneCoursework 100%
Level twoCoursework 100%
Learning activities
LevelLearning activity
Level oneGuided independent study 70%, Placement/study abroad 9%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 21%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

The academic staff detailed above teach across a range of courses in this subject area and may not teach on this course specifically.

Programme Contacts

Clare Higgins
Academic Operations Lead

C.Higgins@bolton.ac.uk

+44 (0)1204 903316

Enquiry Team
University of Bolton

enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

+44 (0)1204 903903

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We have the answers to your questions, find all the advice and support in one place.

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