Foundation Year in Business

Why choose this course?

The Foundation Year in Business takes place the year before your degree.  It will provide you with a solid grounding in business knowledge and essential study skills in preparation for your degree.

Upon successful completion of this foundation year you will progress to Year 1 of your chosen degree programme.  

This course is taught at Kingston College. Kingston College is located within 5 minutes of the University's Penrhyn Road campus. You will be able to take advantage of Kingston University's facilities, such as study skills classes, the library and leisure facilities.

Choose your pathway

Attendance UCAS code Year of entry
1 year full time UCAS codes are included on the relevant webpage for the course you would like to study 2020 (Clearing)
2021
Location Kingston College
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Reasons to choose Kingston University

  • A stepping-stone onto your chosen BSc degree course
  • Prepares you with a foundation business knowledge whilst developing key academic skills
  • You'll gain all of the benefits of being a Kingston University student

What you will study

The year-long foundation year is made up of four modules.

Foundation year

You will cover the professional and personal skills required for business; numerical concepts and IT skills of use in business; an introduction to marketing and customer care; and an introduction to the principal areas of English law that may be encountered in business

Core modules

Professional and Personal Skills for Business

30 credits

This module focuses on giving you a strong foundation of academic and transferable skills alongside your business modules. It also provides you with an opportunity to develop life-long learning and personal development skills. The module provides a bridge between the wide range of study experiences of students at Level 3 and the demands of successful study at level 4. The early part of the module will aim to develop the essential study skills that will be required to be successful on all the modules of the Foundation year.

As the module develops you will start to evidence those skills also in the context of your future career and learn how to build your employability, both for your own self-awareness, as well as for recruitment and selection activities you may face for placements and graduate employment. You will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a practical way working as part of a group on a business projects and problems.

A wide range of both formative and summative assessment methods are used in the module. These include a portfolio of skills and a short capstone project culminating in a poster presentation which will use the skills developed in this module, alongside the subject material in other modules, to consider a topical issue related to your chosen degree pathway. 

The personal tutorial system for the foundation year is incorporated within this module.

Applying Business Numerical Concepts

30 credits

This module is designed to provide the basics of mathematics, statistics and finance relating to business. This requires revisiting basic mathematics, basic statistics, basic use of spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel) and developing an understanding of some basic accounting concepts. The module will be delivered using a problem-centric approach emphasising the basic application of mathematical techniques and accounting concepts with a strong emphasis placed on the use of information technology to handle and process numerical data within a business context.

Introduction to Business Law

30 credits

The aim of this module is to give you a general understanding of the principal areas of English law that may be encountered in business. The module is to give you an introduction to how business law is made. You will be introduced to possible business liabilities under criminal and civil law, the main methods of resolving business disputes including the court system of England and Wales and alternative methods of dispute resolution. You will learn what constitutes an enforceable contract and what happens if one party fails to perform their part of the contract. You will learn some of the basic principles of employment law and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees in the workplace. 

Marketing & Customer Care

30 credits

This module provides students with an introduction to Marketing and Customer Care. Students will gain an appreciation of the core concepts in the field of marketing and customer care, and the module will allow students to apply this knowledge in their assignments. The module will allow students to consider the role of marketing and customer service within different types of organisations (both non-profit and profit-making).

The information above reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. Updates may be made on an annual basis and revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. The regulations governing this course are available on our website. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this may not be offered.

Entry requirements

If you would like to join us through Clearing 2020, please call our Clearing hotline on 0800 0483 334 (or +44 020 8328 1149 if you are calling from outside the UK) and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable hotliners who will be able to provide information on available courses and will guide you through your options.

Please note the entry requirements listed below are for 2021 entry only.

Typical Offer

  • 48 UCAS tariff points from level 3 qualifications (DD or equivalent from two A2 subjects).
  • BTEC Lvl3 National: Merit, Merit, Merit (MMM). 
  • Candidates are normally required to hold five GCSE subjects grades A*-C including Mathematics and English Language (or comparable numeric score under the newly reformed GCSE grading).

Additional requirements

  • Entry on to this course does not require an interview, entrance test, audition or portfolio.

Alternative Routes

  • QAA-approved Access to Higher Education Diploma in a relevant subject with 60 credits, minimum 45 credits at Level 3 pass.
  • Candidates are normally required to hold five GCSE subjects grades A*-C including Mathematics and English Language (or comparable numeric score under the newly reformed GCSE grading).

International

  • We welcome applications from International Applicants. Please view our standard entry requirements from your country
  • All non-UK applicants must meet our English Language requirements. For this course it is Academic IELTS of 6.0 overall, with no element below 5.5

Teaching and assessment

Collaborative and group work activities are key components of the teaching and learning strategy in most modules of the programme, in some cases these are provide opportunities for summative assessment. Effective group work is considered a vital skill for success both within the students' intended degree routes but in the wider context of employability.

Guided independent study

Additional learning is available through a variety of online resources, which allows formative assessment of understanding and the application of knowledge outside formal class time. These include the use of web-based activities, online testing and accessibility to material the college's VLE Moodle. Students are directed towards independent study where appropriate, both as enhancement to topics studied or for stand-alone topics.

Academic support

Lectures use active learning techniques through the use of question and answer sessions, utilising teaching aids such as mini white boards, small group presentations etc. Active learning techniques promote effective engagement by students and provide many opportunities for formative assessment activities that result in near immediate feedback to the students.

Your workload

Type of teaching and learning

Type of teaching and learning
  • Scheduled teaching: 384 hours
  • Guided independent study: 516 hours

 

  • Year 1 - 43% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

How you will be assessed

Assessment typically comprises exams (eg test or exam), practical (eg presentations, performance) and coursework (eg essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation). The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:

Year 1

Type of assessment

Type of assessment
  • Coursework: 35%
  • Practical: 28%
  • Exam: 37%

Class sizes

The relatively small class sizes, which are a key feature of the learning environment at Kingston College, allows significant interaction and individual monitoring of students by lecturing staff.

Who teaches this course?

You will be taught by staff at Kingston College. Their lecturing staff are well qualified and bring a wealth of current commercial experience to the programme, Lecturing staff with significant work experience will expose students to current business developments, whilst industry guest speakers provide additional opportunities to relate these to practice.

Why take a foundation year?

If you would like to study a business degree at Kingston University but are not yet ready to join the first year of a BSc (Hons) course then you may want to consider studying with a foundation year.

There are many routes onto the foundation year. It may be that you:

  • are expecting to meet the entry requirements needed for the foundation year
  • or may not have received the grades required for direct entry onto the first year of your chosen BA/BSc programme
  • or you have been away from education for a period of time and would like an introduction back into study prior to taking your degree.

Whatever the reason, this option will prepare you for the transition onto your chosen degree programme.

How to apply for a foundation year

This foundation year is available for all of our business degrees. Please select your chosen degree programme and apply for the course that is ‘including foundation year'

Course fees and funding

2020/21 fees for this course

Please refer to the relevant course page for further information about fees:

Additional costs

Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, IT equipment and other support services. Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Where a course has additional expenses, we make every effort to highlight them. These may include optional field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering), security checks such as DBS, uniforms, specialist clothing or professional memberships.

Text books

Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. You may prefer to, or be required to, buy your own copy of key textbooks.

Computer equipment

There are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. You may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residences.

Free WIFI is available on each of the campuses.

Printing

In the majority of cases coursework can be submitted online. There may be instances when you will be required to submit work in a printed format. Printing and photocopying costs are not included in your tuition fees.

Travel

Travel costs are not included but we do have a free intersite bus service which links the campuses and halls of residence.

Note for EU students: UK withdrawal from the European Union

The Government has recently announced that new students from the European Union and Swiss Nationals starting their course after August 2021 will no longer be eligible for a student loan in England for Undergraduate or Postgraduate studies for 2021/22 academic year. This decision only applies to new EU students starting in 2021/22. If you are an existing/continuing EU student, you will continue to be funded until you graduate or withdraw from your course.

After this course

Upon successful completion of this foundation year you will progress to Year 1 of your chosen degree programme.