Government (WBIS)

Foundation Degree

The Foundation Degree in Government is part of the University of Chester's flexible Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS) framework, designed to facilitate academic recognition of learning undertaken in the workplace or related to the workplace.

Campus	Chester
Course	Foundation Degree
Length	Undergraduate: Students enrolling on the Foundation Degree in Government are given 5 years to complete their studies. Part-time
Start dates	Throughout the year

The programme has been established for the development of public service professionals within the UK Civil Service and capable of adaptation to other public service contexts. After an initial induction, students are taught as distance learners using online materials.

Why study this course?

Benefits to the Learner

A recognised academic qualification that you can achieve through building on your workplace experience

An opportunity to develop relevant knowledge and skills, such as those required by Professional Skills for Government
A flexible mode of study that helps you adapt your learning to the demands of work and home.

Features:

Since 2004, the University of Chester has been pioneering the Foundation Degree in Government (FDiG), based on its established framework for work based learning and experience in supporting learning in the workplace.

FDiG is one of a number of occupationally-based pathways within the University's ground-breaking Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS) framework. Put simply, this is a flexible framework that allows the University to give academic reward for work-based and work-related learning.

The University of Chester is an innovator in work based learning and, with its foundation degree for the Civil Service, broke new ground in adapting its proven learning approach to a predominantly on-line mode of delivery. This has the advantage of making study more flexible around workplace and domestic demands, as well as offering a portal to a wealth of electronic learning resources through the University's Virtual Learning Environment, SharePoint.

Next: Modules

Essential modules

All learners take these:

Self Review & Negotiation of Learning - gets you started on work based learning by helping you to prepare your learning pathway and developing the reflective learning skill
The Civil Service - helps you to make sense of the changes in the way the service operates in the 21st century
Services & Stakeholders - gives you a grounding in key issues for service management, such as customer focus, citizen insight, quality assurance, stakeholder analysis and channel strategy
Managing People* - provides the basis for the PSG People Management core skill
Delivering Results - here you develop the generic skills for managing service operations and activities, including analysing processes, resource management, planning and problem solving
Exit Review & Forward Planning - while the other modules are taken at or near the start of your programme, this is your last module and enables you to take stock of your FDiG achievements and make plans for your further development.

Elective modules

All learners take six of these, but the choice is yours:

Organisational Structure, Culture and Change* - understanding how organisations work and how they adapt to change
Programme & Project Management* - developing your knowledge of the structured approaches to realising change on the ground
Analysis & Use of Evidence* - managing the information and knowledge needed for decision making
Financial Policy Management* - focusing on the practicalities of securing the money needed to deliver services
Public Finance Policy* - focusing on the strategic applications of public money to meet society's needs
Leading People through Change* - applying your earlier people learning to the challenges of organisational change
The Government - another look into the workings of Government, this time focusing on the policy making process
Business Strategy and Planning - an opportunity to develop skills in an area of increasing importance to public service managers
Creativity and Problem Solving - a toolkit of skills useful across a wide range of management activities
Mentoring Learners in the Work Place - how to support the development of others in your organisation
Conflict Transformation - an occasional workshop-led introduction to a key skill in organisational and community life
Negotiated Experiential Learning - opportunities to develop your own topic to guarantee further relevant learning to complement or extend the named topics above (up to 6 modules).

Next: Assessment

Your learning will be assessed through assignments that enable you to examine key topics in contemporary public service management through the lens of your own experience in your job role, supported and challenged by wider reading and the dialogue with your tutor.

To start your assignments, with your manager's support you identify learning opportunities within your job role that will enable you to explore an aspect of the programme - see below - both from the viewpoint of your own practice and that of the underlying principles of good practice.

Assignments are usually written, but we also accept other forms of evidence, such as video. You will normally be allowed to have one draft reviewed by your tutor before you submit the final version for assessment.

Next: Careers

Most students on the programme wish to either progress within their present career or, on occasion, change their career pathway. By choosing a work based, flexible, negotiated learning framework, students are able to choose a programme relevant to their specific needs.

Next: Entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for undergraduate programmes, although determination, commitment and self-direction are needed. For postgraduate study, we expect learners to either have an undergraduate degree or have developed exceptional work based skills and experience (which can be determined through interview).