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U58065 Module Guide

This document provides information about the Placement module for undergraduate business students. The module involves completing a minimum 48-week placement job in a business organization. It allows students to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world work environment and develop both professional and transferable skills. Key aspects of the module include setting learning objectives, completing personal development plans, submitting an interim progress report halfway through the placement, and doing a final presentation on their experience to their university tutor and workplace supervisor. The placement year provides invaluable real-world work experience to complement students' academic studies.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
221 views

U58065 Module Guide

This document provides information about the Placement module for undergraduate business students. The module involves completing a minimum 48-week placement job in a business organization. It allows students to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world work environment and develop both professional and transferable skills. Key aspects of the module include setting learning objectives, completing personal development plans, submitting an interim progress report halfway through the placement, and doing a final presentation on their experience to their university tutor and workplace supervisor. The placement year provides invaluable real-world work experience to complement students' academic studies.

Uploaded by

slotolot
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 47

Business School

Business School Undergraduate Courses


Module Number: U58065
Module Title: Placement

Module Guide

Semester 1 and 2, 2010/11

Module Leader: Nigel Bryant


Room: N2.01
Email: [email protected]
Module number: U51085
Module title: Placement
CONTENTS

Module introduction..........................................................................................................3
Relationship With Other Modules.....................................................................................4
Learning Outcomes..........................................................................................................5
Teaching and Learning Experience..................................................................................6
What is this module all about?..........................................................................................7
Recommended Reading List............................................................................................9
So what is reflection and why do it?...............................................................................10
Further Food for Thought ..............................................................................................12
Timetable - what you have to do and when....................................................................13
Your Placement Journal.................................................................................................17
Your Skills Audit.............................................................................................................18
The Matrix......................................................................................................................20
Personal Development Plans (PDPs x 4).......................................................................22
26th Week Interim Progress Report ..............................................................................26
End of Placement - Tutor Visit & Your Presentation.......................................................29
Upgrade – Study Advice Service....................................................................................31
Assessment Details........................................................................................................32
Employer / Tutor Assessment Form 2010 / 2011...........................................................33
PDP(s) Assessment Criteria Grid...................................................................................36
26th Week Interim Progress Report Assessment Criteria Grid.......................................37
Presentation Assessment Criteria Grid..........................................................................38
Employer’s Placement Assessment Criteria Grid...........................................................39
Regulations....................................................................................................................41
Cheating.........................................................................................................................42
A note on equal opportunities and diversity....................................................................43
Student evaluation of the module...................................................................................44
U58065 Placement - Student Evaluation Form 2010/11.................................................45
OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Module introduction

Module Description
A placement job in a business organisation for a minimum of 48 weeks to give a significant
length of time to experience the realities of work. An opportunity for students to build on the
knowledge, understanding, skills and competencies acquired during the earlier part of the
course, to develop those skills to a higher level and acquire others.

Module leader contact details


Name: Nigel Bryant
Room: N2.01, Wheatley Campus
Telephone: 01865 485613
eMail: [email protected]
Office hours: tba

Contact by email is preferable because of teaching commitments.

WAVES Office
Name: John Lambertstock & Lynn Burge
Room: WAVES Office, Wheatley Campus
Telephone: 01865 485950/5738
eMail: [email protected]

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Relationship With Other Modules


Prerequisite: U51071 Skills for Placement Search
Level and Status: Level 5 Acceptable

Details of this module’s relationship with other modules & fields can be found on PIP.

Context
i. Students opting for Placement have a real and distinctive advantage in the graduate
job market. As a distinctive and central feature of the Business and Management
degree, all the modules in the first two years are leading up to this work based learning
experience.

ii. Although many of the varied skills can be simulated in the academic environment, there
is no substitute for the real experience of the world of work.

iii. As a group, students bring back to the fourth year of the course the accumulated work
experience of more than a working lifetime of an individual and so can enhance the
final academic study with actual examples from a wide range of different organisations.
In terms of time devoted to the course, the Placement year accounts for about one third
of the total and therefore has a major impact on student development.

iv. The student is required to submit a job description / outline, a letter from the
employers offering the placement and a copy of the company’s Terms and Conditions
of Employment (employment contract) to the Placement Manager for approval before
starting the placement. It is advisable to get the Placement Manager’s approval
before accepting an employment offer.

Content

The emphasis of the Placement year is as a formative process and as such it is very much the
responsibility of the student to analyse their strengths and weaknesses to enable them to
determine their own Learning Objectives and to plan their own development.

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Learning Outcomes

1 Knowledge and Understanding

Students will be able to:


a) Explain how business functions in practice
b) Apply theoretical knowledge and understanding to the workplace
c) Recognise the relationship between theory and practice

2 Disciplinary/Professional Skills

Students will be able to:


a) Explain the company’s business, products and services

b) Reflect on the culture and realities of working life

c) Participate in the continuous professional development process

Because of wide variety of Placement jobs, it is not possible to be specific, but students are
likely to be able to develop a range of technical skills, e.g. applications of computer packages,
presentations etc.

3. Transferable Skills

The wide variety of Placement jobs and opportunities make it impossible to state categorically
which Transferable Skills will be practised. However, the vast majority of students should be
able to practice:

• Learning Skills • Problem Solving


• Teamwork • Information Technology
• Communication • Self Management

Unless the Employing Organisation sends students on Training Courses they are unlikely to be
taught.

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Teaching and Learning Experience

As a learning opportunity the Placement year is perhaps the most valuable part of the course.
Employers can offer a learning environment which will enable students to have their own
unique experience of a working organisation. Although their Work Based Project is an entirely
separate module, there is an inevitable link as it provides one means for the student to use
some of their learning experiences at work to incorporate into the report.
Students will be supported by the WAVES Office and a University Tutor who will contact
students during the year to check on progress and help towards the achievement of objectives.
The Employer will be asked to appoint a Workplace Supervisor who is usually the immediate
superior but could be, for instance the Department Head or a Personnel Officer.

Halfway through the Placement Year students will submit an Interim Progress Report. During
the final month students will make a Presentation to the Tutor and the Workplace Supervisor
on their progress towards achieving the Learning Objectives. Students based outside the UK
will also submit an Interim Report. In addition they will be required to submit the visuals and a
supporting commentary for a Presentation; they may then be asked a series of questions about
the content, structure and method of presentation.
Students will be invited back to the University for a Re-Engagement Day when they will report
back on their experiences and progress.
As a minimum requirement, students will be required to demonstrate the achievement of
certain key skills determined by the University, and will be required to set their own personal
Learning Objectives, negotiate a PDP with their Employer and produce an Action Plan to help
monitor progress. The onus is on the student to assume ownership of this process and to use
the opportunities which it offers to their best advantage in order to learn the most from the
particular working environment in which they are placed.

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What is this module all about?

This module aims to assist you presenting your placement not only to your Placement
Tutor and host company but to future graduate employers. It is also possibly helping
you to gather a portfolio of material likely to be useful in your final year.

Gathering and presenting evidence based on:


• examples of your contribution to your employer and understanding of their business,
the sector in which it operates and your role within that,
• examples of your reflective approach to personal attributes and skills development,
• examples of your achievements and challenges you have faced on your placement.

This module expects you to be a ‘reflective practitioner’ - that is, not just doing
something but thinking about what you are going to do, doing it, thinking about what you
have done in terms of the impact on others and what it taught you about yourself and your
effectiveness.

Important Advice: If the assignments are not done at the correct time you may not be
able to properly evidence reflection on your progress.

It also requires you to think about your reaction and response to what is going on around you
and the people you work with a view to continued positive development of your placement
and informing your future approach.

It is strongly recommended that you keep any evidence of feedback from others about
your work or performance. Even if this is negative you can use it as a start point for
subsequent reflection.

This is not a theoretical module. The techniques and tools suggested in this module are
going to be encountered by you, all through your career and are used by most well structured
and successful businesses of any size or sector. The way you review, articulate and
develop good practice is crucial to your effectiveness, job satisfaction and success.

We are asking you to own the process of your development. Pro-actively seek
opportunities that are going to allow you to develop by evidencing added value to the
company. By maintaining and reviewing your own skills audit (Skills Matrix), Personal
Development Plans, Placement Journal and through shared reflection on your PDP
between you, your colleagues and your workplace manager you can more coherently
express your ideas and are therefore more likely get to where you want to go.

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You may recognise the Kolb (1984) four stage ‘experiential learning cycle’ in your progress:

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Recommended Reading List

The following webpage is highly recommended and is designed to guide reflective writing.
http://www.rlo-cetl.ac.uk:8080/rlo/reflective_writing/reflective_writing.html

The following reading is recommended to support the completion of your assignments and
offer you long-term life / career skills that have the potential to significantly increase your
future success. Both are in the library at Oxford Brookes.
Neugebauer, J and Evans-Brain, J. (2009). Making the Most of Your Placement
(Sage Study Skills Series) (184 pages - £16.99)
A useful guide to obtaining and completing a placement.

Cottrell, S. (2003). Skills for Success: The Personal Development Handbook.


Palgrave Macmillan. (312 pages - £11.99) Brookes library shelf ref: 378.170281COT
This text offers valuable insights into your development and practical tools that you can apply
in the workplace. This text could be usefully used as a framework to guide your
developmental reflection in assignments for this module. There is a free access website that
supports this text at: http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/html/pdp/index.HTM

 Fanthome, C. (2004). Work Placements – A Survival Guide For Students.


Palgrave Macmillan. (160 pages - £10.99) Brookes library shelf ref: 331.128FAN
A complete guide to placements delivered in a very readable and informative way. Sections
cover topics from advice on dealing with issues and getting the most out of your placement to
practical techniques on how to complete assignments. It is expected that your assignments
engage with the issues and concepts in this text.

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So what is reflection and why do it?


As graduates in the workplace you will be expected to be able to manage your own
development and be able to effectively articulate objectives and progress to those around
you. Common forms in the work place are staff appraisals, task reviews and team meetings.

However you may find that you are in an environment where these formal structures do not
exist and yet you may still need to evidence your continued professional and personal
development, perhaps to gain a qualification or in order to win promotion. You may one day
be in a position yourself of managing and investing in a team in order to get the best results
and output from them. In all these cases, to be effective, you will need to have a clear idea
of how to reflect on your own practice as well as that of others and will usually have to
produce a wide variety of coherent, transparent evidence to support your conclusions.

In this module you will be using the tools of Personal Development Planning and reflective
writing to support your findings. You will, at the end of the placement, be bringing it all
together by giving a concluding presentation to your Placement Tutor and workplace
manager.

Reflection involves describing, analysing and evaluating your own thoughts, assumptions,
beliefs, theory base and actions. It includes:

• Looking forward (prospective reflection) – Personal Development Plans


• Looking at what we are doing now (spective reflection) – Journal, Skills Matrix
• Looking back (retrospective reflection) – Journal review, PDP review, Personal
Progress Reports

In completing the assignments in this workbook you will be using all three and should do so,
in a conscious and timely manner, you will be helped by the structured approach of this
module. When you look at a completed piece of reflective writing be aware of which of the
reflective styles above you are adopting and perhaps if there is a bias towards one, think
about how to include the other two.

Alsop and Ryan (1996) offer this useful metaphor to help understand the reflective process:

Reflecting by looking forward is like looking at a holiday brochure before we go away. We


get ideas about what the location might be like, what we might do and whom we might meet.

Reflecting by looking at what we are doing now is like looking at ourselves in a pool of water
or a mirror; it shows us as we are at that point in time.

Reflecting by looking back is like looking at a photograph or video when we return from our
holiday. It tells us about where we went and what we did and whom we met.

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In essence what you are trying to do is:

• Gather evidence and information (this can be in any format, formal or informal).
• Tell the story of your experience through prospective, spective and retrospective
reflection.
• Identifying themes or issues, taking a step back from the detail and looking holistically
at what you have written down and gathered.
• Thinking about everyone who is involved, from all angles.
• Consideration of the factors influencing your behaviours and experiences – feelings,
beliefs and assumptions as well as the facts.
• Linking thoughts to previous experience and future behaviours, similar / different?
Why / why not?

Learning to use reflective tools to prompt action based on effective reflective thinking will
potentially be a valuable outcome of this module that you can take away and apply widely for
success in development and decision making scenarios after you graduate.

(Acknowledgement to: Learning & Assessing Through Reflection, Stephanie Fade.


www.practicebasedlearning.org for basis of the text for this section)

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Further Food for Thought

The following is offered in order to perhaps either ‘kick-start’ your thoughts or to recap on some
of the language that whilst used in reflective writing and recruitment is not perhaps part of your
everyday vocabulary.
By looking at these and thinking about their meaning you perhaps discover a way of giving
your writing for this module more depth and context.
The Association of Graduate Recruiters in 2006 stated in a response to a survey of their
members that the following skills, ranked in order, are either important in a graduate’s profile or
difficult to find in graduates leaving University.
Important Skills Difficult to find skills

1. Motivation and enthusiasm 1. Commercial awareness


2. Team working 2. Skills associated with leadership
3. Oral Communication 3. Risk taking/enterprise
4. Written Communication 4. Project management
5. Flexibility 5. Managing own learning
6. Customer focus 6. Second language
7. Problem solving 7. Problem solving
8. Managing own learning 8. Customer focus
9. Commercial awareness 9. Report writing
10. Planning and organisation 10. Cultural sensitivity

If you look at many job descriptions and specifications you will see many of these skills either
listed as required or implied in the description of the responsibilities that the position offers.
When putting your placement into the context of your future career aspirations it is probably the
quality of your ability to articulate that you have these skills and attributes from a reflective
perspective that will get you the job.
More important than that, it is the continued attention to the set of skills that match the profile of
the job and your ability to re-evaluate, re-assess and re-align yourself to changing
circumstances that will enable you to progress and transfer success, experience and learning
from one context or opportunity to another.
One interpretation of this might be that, as we know, many undergraduates and graduates
have these skills, however they are not used to the language or the most effective way of
articulating the evidence in a meaningful way to employers or to whoever is wanting to make
an assessment of the individual student. It is the tools and methods that can be ‘learnt’ and
through them the engagement with a reflective way of thinking that can allow for a greater
success at articulating skills relevant to a particular context. At a deeper level a reflective
approach can also prompt positive conscious behavioural change in the individual often at the
micro level but sometimes with amazing results.
Hopefully this module has enabled you to be ahead of the rest in this respect.

"To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be safe."


(Dr P. Hawkins - The Art of Building Windmills, Career Tactics of the 21st Century)

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Timetable - what you have to do and when

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may need to make reference to your placement assignments
in final year modules before you can collect the coursework from the Undergraduate
Office in Semester 2. You are advised to keep your own copies for use in Semester 1
next year.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet deadlines -


put key dates in your diary.

Before you go on placement


ο You should have attended the Introductory Session to this module.

ο Read the whole Module Guide and Placement Survival Guide - do not attempt to do
anything except understand what is involved, if you need clarification contact us
before you go on placement.

ο MAKE SURE YOUR PLACEMENT IS APPROVED – you should have a signed copy of
the Placement Approval Form. If you have not you are strongly advised to check your
status with the WAVES Office BEFORE THE START OF YOUR PLACEMENT. You will
not pass the module unless your placement has been signed off as approved.

ο Ensure that you are fully enrolled and registered for U58065 across both semesters
on your PIP for your placement year. Don’t forget to update your term time
address.

By the end of your first two weeks on placement


ο You should have started your Placement Journal.

ο Hand your line manager the Manager’s Guide you were given at the Introductory
Session to this module.

ο Send up to date contact information for yourself and your manager to the WAVES
Office.

ο Return the Health & Safety Induction form found in the Placement Survival Guide to
the WAVES Office.

ο Complete your first Skills Audit, and then …

ο Write your first (of four) quarterly PDPs; it is expected that you do this in discussion
with your manager, who will need to sign the PDP. You are expected to review, reflect
and rewrite your PDP four times during your placement year. These are assessed by
your tutor.

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As soon as possible after the first month on placement


ο Arrange a date and time for you and your manager to receive a telephone call from
the your Placement Tutor. We will make a visit to your placement location if requested.

Week 26 of your placement (halfway through your placement period of 52 weeks)

ο Submit your Interim Progress Report (IPR) and your 1st & 2nd fully reviewed
Personal Development Plans (PDP) to your Placement Tutor. The Module Leader will
have informed you of your academic placement (assessment) tutor‘s name and contact
information prior to this date by email to your Brookes email account (so make sure you
maintain contact through your Brookes email account).
ο You will receive feedback via email and telephone if necessary.
ο It would also be a good idea to arrange the date for your Assessment Visit (see below)
with your manager and Placement Tutor so that it is fixed in diaries early.

January 2011 ON CAMPUS RE-ENGAGEMENT EVENT (Date TBA)


ο Speakers and activities to support the increased value from your placement year – full
details will be emailed to your Brookes email account nearer the time.

6 to 4 weeks before you finish your period of placement


ο The Assessment Visit from your Placement Tutor. You are advised to speak to your
tutor about this date well before the end of the academic year although it may take place
over the summer. If based outside the UK you need to arrange a ‘virtual visit’.

A week before the Assessment Visit date


ο Completed the review of and be prepared to hand in your last 2 Quarterly PDPs for the
year.

By the visit date


ο Ensure that your workplace manager has completed the Placement Assessment
Form and is available to discuss this with your tutor when they visit you. If you are
based outside the UK you must ensure your manager completes the form - you are
responsible for sending it to your tutor; you may additionally need to arrange a convenient
time for your tutor to call or email your manager.
ο Prepare a presentation to your tutor and work manager. Even if you are based outside
the UK and your tutor may not visit, you are still expected to prepare and submit
the visuals and a supporting commentary for a presentation. You may then be asked a
series of questions about the content, structure and method of presentation.
ο
In the last week of your placement
ο complete and send back the Module Evaluation Form to the Undergraduate Office
so we can continue to develop and improve the module. Thank you.

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Contact Module Leader after one month of Placement

It is expected that you will email your Placement Tutor shortly after the first month on
placement, to arrange for us to contact both you and your manager by telephone to discuss
how the placement is progressing and to offer our support.

This contact will be by telephone to the number on your Placement Approval or Update
Form. It is your responsibility to ensure that we have the correct numbers to call (use
the form on page 6).
If you want to discuss issues in confidence please arrange a time / number for us to
call you or send an email.
Exceptionally, we will make a visit to your placement location if requested by either you or
your manager and if we think it would be of assistance.

Visits
If we are to visit we will ideally want to see both you and your manager. We will
expect you to coordinate this and agree the date with your manager. The usual format
of visits is that we see the student first for 30 – 40 minutes and then meet with the
manager too for 20 – 30 minutes.

If we make visits please be aware that geographical considerations, journey times and other
Semester One commitments play a part in our availability. (We do not visit outside the UK).
Any contact from us is about supporting you and your manager in order for both parties to
get the best out of your placement. We will talk about your progress – it is about honest and
open exchange of views and feelings in order to explore options for the most constructive
experience possible for both you and your employer.

Key Points to Remember:

• Listen and be receptive.


• Make notes of actions to be taken.
• It is a chance to gain advice and guidance if there is anything concerning you. Make sure
we all get the full picture. Early support can avoid later anxiety and stress!
• You should clarify or check your understanding of the advice and comments made.
• Consider, reflect and act on the feedback given.
• If you have an issue in the workplace it is your responsibility as an employee to talk
to your manager or a representative from the HR department or a Union
representative. We would always advise you to explore solutions in the workplace
as the first step to resolving any issues.

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Submitting or communicating by email

You are STRONGLY advised to ensure that get an acknowledgment that tutors have
received your work. Keep this confirmation and ALWAYS follow up by posting a hard copy.
Some external email addresses are sometimes seen as ‘junk’ by Brookes spam filters. If you
put a content-specific title to your email it may stop this happening.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALSO KEPT COPIES AND BACKUPS OF YOUR WORK.

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Your Placement Journal

To use a journal to its best effect it would be wise to read the section in this workbook on
reflection and reflective writing. It would be a good idea to carry a note book around with
you at work to capture your spective reflections.

Can you accurately remember in detail what you did 10 months ago and the observations
you made at the time about how this influenced you and those around you? Probably not!
This is why we ask you to keep a journal so you can use entries you make in the
assignments and the final presentation to your tutor and line manager at your
placement.

Material and personal accounts/reflections collected and written down by you will prove
invaluable when it comes to completing the assessed assignments. This journal is
confidential and for your eyes only; it is not part of the assessment of the module, but
you could use extracts in your reports. It could be a folder, a booklet, lever arch file or
even a weblog. It is definitely not a diary that has to be filled every day regardless of
value.

Some themes could be:


Names and contact details of important or memorable people you are introduced to.
Many ex-placement students are still in touch and networking in business several years later
with people and other students they met on placement.

Key incidents. These can come from good or bad moments or specific events. Initially you
may find you are recording everything as the start of a placement is a steep learning curve
and you have not developed the context for filtering material. This is OK as you can always
edit later, much better than not keeping a journal and forgetting something.

Your immediate (spective) response to a situation. Keep your journal or a notebook with
you to record things as they happen, your immediate thoughts and feelings and details.

Your later (retrospective) response to the same situation. Look at the situation and what
you wrote much later and record how you now feel about what happened, what you did, what
others did, what might have been done differently, etc. Compare what you write with your
immediate response above. What does that tell you about the event, you and others?

What did you do and observe to progress yourself and your understanding of
business and how it operates?

What did you contribute to your employer? You could use it to build a portfolio of your
work and achievements.

Things to add value to your degree? What will you bring back into your final year studies?
If used appropriately and in context, case material from your placement year may well be
noted very positively by final year academics when marking assignments.

Things that add to your future employability. In addition think about graduate recruitment
and all those difficult application and interview questions that you will be able to handle more
easily as a result of recording your year in this way. Any graduate recruiter will be asking
and expecting you to fluently recall and accurately describe your placement.

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Your Skills Audit

We ask you to begin with a process of self-analysis and then choose areas for development
during your placement year. From a vast range of possibilities we have developed a list of
Transferable Skills & Functional Objectives listed in the matrix which follows this section.
The idea is to build an honest picture of where you are and therefore which issues need
development and as a priority should therefore be included in your initial PDP. This will
enable you to reflect, structure your progress completing your PDPs, reports and
presentations to a better standard.
In the Personal Development Reports we will be asking you to profile your skills development
against those demanded by the roles and responsibilities of your placement.

Recommended: Complete your first Skills Audit when you start work to indicate to you
what skills objectives you could set for your 1st Quarter PDP. Repeat this analysis as
part of the preparation for each quarterly PDP.

This may help you to maintain logic in the objectives you are setting and give you
themes to explore and describe in your Reports and Presentation. You will be able to
monitor your progress and development, remember to gather the evidence in your
Journal.
Tip: If you are being honest and because later in your placement you realise you overstated
your skills at the start, you may even find ticks going backwards. This is not a problem as it
proves your greater appreciation for the context in which you are using your skills and this is
certainly worth commenting on in your Reports.

Aims

To identify and focus on specific skills sets that have been evidenced to be the ones
graduate employers favour in recruitment and selection.

Method

• Read through the list of skills carefully and place a ‘‘ on the horizontal scale at the
point which best indicates where your current level of achievement lies. Be honest! You
are not being tested by us, and the matrix is not an assessed element in the module.
(Although you might want to include it as an appendix in your PPRs). It is your chance to
truthfully identify to yourself your strengths and weaknesses for development.

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Key to Matrix - and an indication of subjective values.

1. = none - never done it


2. = a little skill - done it but not really confidently or correctly
3. = some useful skill - done it a few times, with help and it worked
4. = a good level of competence - can get it right most of the time on my own
5. = a very good level of competence - can get it right all of the time
6. = an expert level of competence - have successfully taught others how to do it to
an evidenced good level of competence

• Add up your score for each skills set / box.

Results and What to Do With Them

The lower the score the higher the priority you should give this aspect in your
Personal Development Plans (PDPs).

Talk to your manager about what objectives you can set in your PDPs that will address your
findings and will also be on their agenda in terms of your contribution to the company. You
can then reflect on and discuss working towards them when you write your Personal
Progress Reports (PPRs).

There may be gaps in your skills assessment that your placement will not address. This is
ok, but will be something you need to comment on in your 2nd report when you will write a
skills profile for the job, yourself as you are at the end of the placement and an action plan for
your final year at University.

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The Matrix
By scoring yourself at the start of each quarter period you will be able to determine which set
of skills may need to be your first priority for each of your Personal Development Plans.
Reflective thinking: What benchmarks have I used / am I using? What has led to changes?

1. The World Of Work 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Understand culture and realities of working life


Understand functional links within the company
Understand functional links with other companies
Understand the company’s business
Understand the company’s products / services
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

2. Technical Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Word processing
Spreadsheets
Databases
Graphics / Presentation software
Internet / Intranet
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

3. Planning & Organising Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Organising Information
Setting & Meeting Deadlines
Co-ordinating Tasks & Prioritising Workload
Managing Time Effectively
Working Unsupervised
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

4. Information Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Asking Appropriate Questions


Assimilating (Learning, Understanding, Absorbing)
Information
Researching & Analysing Information
Keeping Records
Summarising Information
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

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5. Performance Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Making A Presentation
Speaking To A Large Group
Speaking At Meetings
Chairing Meetings
Attention to Accuracy
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

6. Communication Skills (Verbal and Written) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Explaining Complex Concepts & Ideas


Dealing Effectively With Colleagues / Clients
Writing Business Letters
Writing Proposals & Reports
Appropriate Use Of The Telephone
Put total score for this skills set in last column 

7. Interpersonal Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Relationships with Peers and Team Members


Understanding How Others Feel / Empathy
Networking
Encouraging / Motivating People
Relationships with Management
Put total Score for this skills set in last column 

8. Assertiveness Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Saying ‘No’ Appropriately


Responding to Criticism Appropriately
Stating Your Views To Management
Expressing A Grievance Appropriately
Expressing & Receiving Appreciation
Put total Score for this skills set in last column 

9. Developing Leadership Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score

Negotiating And Persuading Skills


Inspiring Trust through Sound Judgement
Taking And Carrying Out Complex Decisions
Seizing Opportunities
Creative And Innovative Problem Solving
Put total Score for this skills set in last column 

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Personal Development Plans (PDPs x 4)


You are expected to submit four fully reviewed PDPs to your Placement Tutor, two
with the Interim Report and two as part of the Presentation at the end of your
placement.
They are Quarterly forecasting and review documents. The format we use is the most
common form of staff appraisal in the UK. Some companies run appraisals for placement
students; feel free to incorporate these documents if the timescale fits and the company give
their permission.
Note: If you have not written the first one by the end of your second week on
placement you are already behind.

Ask your manager to sign each Plan to indicate they have read it through with you at
the start of each quarter and then again with their comments at the end of the quarter
to indicate to your tutor that a review has taken place.

Setting & Reviewing Objectives.

Divide your placement period into 4 quarters. At the start of each quarter period :

1. Do a Skills Audit using the Skills Matrix to suggest areas for attention,
each Quarter can be done in a different colour.

2. Detail at least 5 task objectives from the workplace that relate to identified shortcomings
in the Skills Matrix for inclusion in your PDP, talk to your manager about what they see
as the priority and try to link them with your matrix. Objectives should be a mix of yours
and your manager’s aspirations for you.

3. Set a review date for the end of the quarter.

4. Write up a review at the end of the quarter; ask for a review from your manager.

5. Use that review to help set objectives for the next period.

Your manager at work will probably direct you towards setting objectives that fulfil their
expectations and will therefore potentially be the best evidence of your contribution in the
workplace to use in your Reports. It will probably be up to you to link these with your Skills
Matrix, but if they do not match development needs then set your own objectives that do.

Your manager will probably be the best person to assist you to review your objectives at the
end of each quarterly period. Reference to PDPs and review comments can then be used in
your Personal Progress Reports.

Once set out to your satisfaction DO NOT amend your PDP. If an objective does not
work out in the way you or your manager intended DON’T change it – keep it in your
PDP and reflect in the report or presentation on what happened instead.
Most learning will be gained from change, as a potential future manager you will have
a lot to gain from noting in your journal yours and others’ responses to issues, how
you develop your coping strategies as well as examples of management practice you
observe.

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Personal Development Plans are the Action Plans agreed between you and your manager
at work for the implementation and achievement of your objectives whilst you are on
placement. They are active documents, drawn up in advance of a review period. You
may also want to refer to the Module Learning Outcomes and Placement Assessment Form
found later in this booklet to suggest goals and targets to work towards.

PDPs put you at the centre of the learning and development process. You can use them
to plan your placement learning and skills development with a view to your future career.
PDPs can also allow you to make connections between skills acquisition to meet your
objectives and future application of those skills in other areas whilst on placement. They can
also give you structure and coherence when presenting your placement year to tutors or
future employers.

Tips

• Use the C.S.M.A.R.T. objective format. Most corporate staff appraisal systems also use
this model, if your manager sees your PDP as Staff Appraisal then you have got it right.
• Do not set long term (whole placement) objectives, they are normally vague and
therefore difficult to evidence. If you cannot avoid setting long term objectives break them
down into several quarterly milestones, review and evidence achieving each step!

What are ‘C’.S.M.A.R.T. Objectives?

• Challenging - the objective should push personal boundaries and build on previous
experience. However, the biggest danger here is that you are too ambitious. There is
nothing quite as demoralising or pointless as an impossible objective! If possible, set
objectives that highlight transferable skills. Your next CV could usefully reflect these skills
and from your PDPs you would have the examples to use.

• Specific - use simple language, the objective should be singular and clear in purpose. Do
not be tempted to get too complicated.

• Measurable - set a method of measuring your achievement, at the end of the quarter is it
really going to provide a measure of your success? A numerical measure is good but not
essential, you may have to think quite carefully about this.

• Achievable – Challenge yourself but do not set out to fail – avoid being over optimistic as
consistently failing to meet expectation can be very demoralising.

• Relevant - Do not set objectives that are too basic or irrelevant either to you, your
supervisor, or your company.

• Time defined - you need to set a target date for achieving your objectives. The timespan
within any quarter for meeting your objective can be as short or as long as you want. Some
objectives will run for the whole quarter, some might refer to a specific event and be
measured over 24 hours. Try to have a mix of deadlines.

The next couple of pages are examples of the sort of documents you could produce to
evidence your preparation and completion of Personal Development Plans.

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An Example Personal Development Plan :


Example Layout and Notes for Guidance

The Challenging Measurable by: Achievable Relevant to your Timescale for


and Specific through: job & Skills Matrix meeting the
Objective / because: objective is:
Outcome. (this is the ‘what,
when, who and
how’)

Maybe have one How do you think When and what are State the relevance Remember no long-
objective per page you will know if you the specific events of the objective set term dates. Try to
so you can expand have succeeded? that are going to to you, to the keep them within
on them or add help you reach your company and where each quarterly period
comments and The ideal is to come goal? it fits your
notes at a later date. up with a numerical / (i.e. meetings, development / Skills
statistical measure. promotions, training Matrix.
If you really cannot Break a long-term
courses, etc.) objective down into
identify a numerical
value here make What resources do achievable & specific
sure what you do you need for Use the code 1 – 9 milestones that you
choose does success? to identify the aim to have
measure your sections (there may completed by the end
success. Who do you need to be more than one) in of each quarter.
contact? the Skills Matrix that
i.e. “At the end of the objective will
the review period I How are you going highlight and allow
will know I have to make it happen? you to evidence your
achieved this development.
objective
because…”

Repeat the above for each objective and then set out one page for review at the end of the completed
PDP that looks something like this:

End of Quarter Review Date: ............................

My end of quarter review of this PDP …

My Manager’s end of quarter feedback …

I will apply both of the above to my placement in the following way …

Signed: ......................................................... Signed: .........................................................


You Your Manager

You are advised to attach notes or guidance so that your tutor can more easily put the
comments in their context (i.e. a glossary of acronyms, abbreviations, organisational maps.)
It is the feedback, re-doing the Matrix and reflective thought that can guide the
formulation of your next set of objectives.

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Mind Maps
Mind Maps can be a useful way of clearly thinking through objectives before writing them into your
PDP and can visually present your ideas and planning in your Reports.

MIND MAP EXAMPLE

My key skill: Interpersonal/Communication


Additional matrix skill:
• With peers, teams & management
• Finding new creative ways to report/ display • Relationships – understanding others’
data more efficiently and quickly e.g. control feelings/empathy
pages to update sheets speedily and
creating user friendly files.

Job specific goal:

Mind Map Example

PDP.
Mind Maps can be a useful way of clearly thinking through objectives before writing them into your
• Develop Excel skills to a
Job specific goal: required standard, as it is the
• Prioritise workload main programme I use.
on a daily basis and
set own deadlines.

My Personal
Development
Derived from matrix and
own work experience

Job specific goal: Area for improvement: Assertiveness


• Look beyond completing the • Responding to criticism.
work – stop and begin to • Stating views.
analyse the figures/ trends. • Having confidence in what I say & do
– appreciate other people’s view of how
to improve and develop rather than
automatically see criticism as negative.

Area for improvement: Developing leadership skills


• Inspiring trust through sound judgement – I doubt
my knowledge & judgement.
• Worrying about path taken when carrying out
complex decisions.

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26th Week Interim Progress Report

Recommended Reading: Chp 10 of the text by Christine Fanthome.


The following weblink is also highly recommended:
http://www.rlo-cetl.ac.uk:8080/rlo/reflective_writing/reflective_writing.html

Please respect any commercial confidentiality that your company require you to maintain in
your reports and submissions. Most managers are happy for information to be included if
you have asked first. You may be able to include sensitive material by changing dates,
names, details if it does not alter the sense of what you are saying.

Looking at the Learning Outcomes in the module description at the back of this workbook may also
help you order your reflective assignment. You might like to attach and talk about your Skills
Matrix. The report should reflect on personal attributes (‘self’ development) as well as practical
skills development. Below is a guide to content:

Your Introduction:
• A brief description of the company, its organisational structure, products and services.
• Describe your understanding of the commercial reality of the business sector your employer
operates within.
• Describe your role within the organisation and the link with both of the above. Your PDP
objectives as well as company mission statements / policy documents might help.

Reflective Content:
Attach and talk about your first two PDPs, how and why did you set the objectives? What
happened? Why? Give a description of and include the evidence you have collected in order to
measure your objectives. What skills sets in the matrix are you focused on and why?
(It is recommended that you re-read the earlier section on reflection). Think about the detail each
question demands to make it more than just a superficial answer. If you have followed our advice
you should hopefully find the detail in your journal. The questions are examples of the sort of
reflective approach we want you to take in these reports. Ensure you have a balance of spective,
retrospective and prospective comments. You may like to pose questions of your own but make
sure they challenge you to think and reflect on your actions, those of others around you and the
effectiveness and learning you gained.

You are required to answer these four questions, with examples:


1. What have you done to fit in at work? Has it worked? How do you know? What would you do
differently next time?
2. How do you get your opinions heard and get other people’s attention? Is this the best way?
Why / why not? What alternatives could you use?
3. How do you proactively seek feedback and apply it to your work?
4. Using examples from your PDPs or Journal describe how critical events have led to you
learning about yourself, others and the skills requirements of the placement.

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Below are further questions to prompt additional content for this report. The point of this
report is for you to include anything that has been of value to you and your employer during
the first 6 months.
These are not in any particular order of importance or necessarily all be relevant to you as this report
will come from your experience. They are here to suggest themes for your report. They indicate the
style of reflective questions you should be asking yourself to successfully complete this report. You
can make up your own if they are more relevant and don’t forget to include examples as without
examples there is no evidence!

• How did you feel in your first week? How do you feel now? What is the difference and why? Is
it through something you have done, through the support from others or a bit of both? Give
examples.

• What is the sense or strategy behind the tasks that you are doing?

• How do you plan your activities and manage your time effectively? What undermines this and
how do you cope?

• What achievements have you had, what strategies have you used to achieve your goals?

• What challenges have you faced, how did you cope, what happened, why, what would you do in
similar circumstances next time?

• How do you respond to other people’s comments and positive or negative feedback? Describe
with examples how your reaction can influence your progression at work.

• Why do other people respond to you in the way they do? What might you want to change and
how might you go about influencing their response style or content?

• What efforts have you made to pro-actively develop your roles and responsibilities, has it worked,
if not why not and what can you do?

• Have you made recommendations that have been adopted, what was the reasoning behind your
recommendation?

• When presented with a problem how did you find the solution, what alternative strategies could
you have used, why did you pick the one you did?

• What skills have been developed the most, how did the development take place, was the
learning intended as training or not?

• Are you in control of your own development? Do you want to be? Why might it be left up to you?
Why might this be a good thing / why might it not be positive?

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• Have you had to work unsupervised? How did you handle this, what factors were important to
you and why?

• How do you contribute in formal and informal settings? Is your approach different? Why?

• How do you maintain your professionalism whilst also fitting in with others and being part of a
team?

• How do you motivate yourself? What strategies do you use?

• Can you manage those around you? How could you / do you do this?

• Describe your decision making process, have you had to make decisions based on incomplete
information? How did you feel? What would you do next time?

• Have you an example of reacting to things beyond your control? What happened? Why? How did
this make you feel? How did you cope?

Although it is not assessed it is recommended for your academic progress to attempt to link any
theoretical concepts with your practice or experience of the company and its operation and note
what observations you have undertaken and those that you will need to carry out.

Hand in details
There is no word count. However you are expected to keep it concise and readable. Order
your report logically and provide a contents page.

Referencing.

If you want to quote academic texts please reference these in a bibliography.

Deadline.

Submit your Report and 2 PDPs to your Placement Tutor by week 26 of your placement (that is at
the halfway point of your placement. Your tutor will have this date in their diary). If you are on
placement outside the UK please email your submission to your tutor to meet this deadline and
check they have received it.

DO NOT FORGET:
You will receive feedback via email and telephone if necessary.
You also have to attend the ‘Re-engagement Event in January 2010. Details will be sent to
your Brookes email address nearer the time.

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End of Placement - Tutor Visit & Your Presentation

You are responsible for arranging this to occur during the last month of your placement. This
meeting is essential for a pass mark to be awarded for the module.

Your Placement Tutor will need to visit you and your manager towards the end of the placement to
discuss your assessment. It is your responsibility to arrange this meeting at a mutually convenient
time for all concerned. Please bear in mind that the tutors often work to semester dates and will
often plan other activities and take holidays over the summer period.

Purpose of your Presentation


During the Placement Tutor Visit you are expected to give a 15-30 minute presentation to your
Tutor and your work based Manager(s). The presentation is:
1. To summarise your personal development in your placement.
2. To summarise your contribution to your employer. It gives you the chance to present
information that might not have been easy to present in a report and a chance to leave your
placement on a positive note.
3. To describe the tangible and reflective outcomes you are taking away from your placement to
apply to your final year and graduate career choices.
Note: Your manager would probably welcome your constructive comments on what you thought
went well, the support the company offered and suggestions for developing the placement role
further. This is a chance for you to give some useful feedback.

Content of your Presentation


You will be expected to present on the following themes your presentation. As long as you
maintain a logical approach you can combine points below and order them in the way that
you feel is most appropriate to your placement. (you could reference your journal, PDPs and
Interim report):
Context & Contribution:
• What business challenges did you and/or your host company experience during your placement?
How do you think the Business School and Oxford Brookes University prepared you to meet
those challenges? Did any other past experience help you?
• Describe with examples any responsibility development over the year. (Make reference to all 4
of your PDPs). How did you help this process? What have been your most important
achievements and why? What have been your major challenges? Looking back what might you
have done differently and why?
• Evidence and reflect on how the development of your skills profile matched the company and
the requirements of the job. What steps and initiative did you display to make this happen?
Continuing Reflective Development:
• What has the year shown you about your likes and dislikes associated with employment?
What can you do about these to ensure effectiveness in your next job?
• Consider your future career options and give evidence with examples from your placement of
the key skills that might be required on your CV to match this aspiration. Has the placement
helped you to achieve any focus about what you do or do not want to do?

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• Identify the skills you have gained and those you think need further development in order to
strengthen your CV and successfully complete your degree. Describe anything you are going
do to ensure further reflective development during your final year?

The following is not expected to be part of your presentation it is offered in order to suggest
the additional value your placement could have to you.
Before you leave your placement think about accumulating case study material and useful contacts
amongst your colleagues at work for your final year modules. It is this that can sometimes be a
useful boost to the final year grades of a placement student.
The work you have done for this module will be directly relevant to graduate job seeking,
application, CVs, interview and early career development. The assignments, written well and in the
spirit of honest reflection would be a very valuable reference for you for your graduate job search
and interview preparation. You will be asked questions about your placement year and be
expected to describe the transferable skills and attributes you acquired during your year in an
articulate and business-relevant manner.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE ASSESSMENT FORM ON PAGE 31 / 32 HAS BEEN COMPLETED
AND IS READY TO HAND TO YOUR TUTOR WHEN THEY VISIT YOU.

ARE YOU OUTSIDE THE UK ?


You will need to contact your Placement Tutor and agree an arrangement for a ‘virtual visit’ based on
emails as well as ensuring that your Placements Tutor has the following documents in advance:

1. The 2nd Personal Progress Report.


2. The visuals and a supporting commentary for your presentation.
3. The Placement Assessment Form completed by your manager.

It would be a good idea to inform your manager in advance that this ‘virtual visit’ will be taking place
so that they can engage with the process. It is recommended that you submit the visuals and a
supporting commentary for a presentation to your Placements Tutor well in advance of the
virtual visit.

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Upgrade – Study Advice Service


Upgrade is the university's confidential study advice service for anyone who wants advice on
 Statistics or maths
 Study skills: planning and writing essays, assignments and dissertations - and more…
Just email us to book a 30 minute tutorial, or drop in to Upgrade. Check the website for opening
times (http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/timetable.html) and make a not of them here…

Campus Location Days Times

Headington Library Entrance foyer Monday - Friday

Tues, Weds, Thurs


twilight
Wk 4 - 11

Marston Road* Pooled computer room Monday

Tuesday

Harcourt Hill* Refectory Tuesday

Thursday

Wheatley Costa Cafe Tuesday

Simon Williams Thursday


Undergraduate Centre

Remember to bring your work and Module Handbook with you.


Email [email protected]
Checkout the Study Advice online, and Study Skills A/Z for some start points.

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Assessment Details

Assessment
Coursework ....................................................................................................................100%
This module is Level 5 Acceptable. It will be graded as pass/fail for the purpose of Degree Credits.
Assessment will be based on the following:
i Students are required to satisfactorily complete a minimum of 48 weeks of employment. The
Employer and the Tutor will grade the student on the achievement of the Student Learning
Objectives and Completion of the PDP.
Learning outcomes assessed: 1 (a), 2 (a), 3

ii Students will be required complete:


4 PDPs setting out learning objectives for year
1 Interim Report
A presentation (or equivalent if based outside the UK) to the Placement Tutor and
workplace supervisor.
Learning outcomes assessed: 1 (a), (b), (c) 2 (a), (b), (c) 3
Each element must be adjudged as satisfactory performance for the Module to be passed.
The module leader reserves the right to conduct vivas on coursework before a mark is awarded.
This is undertaken as a routine measure and you may find yourself selected as part of a random
sample.

MODULE ASSESSMENT - IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE


You will be assessed by your Placement Tutor and your workplace manager based on:
♦ The assignments required to be completed as outlined in this workbook,
♦ Your contribution to the company and your colleagues at work as well as evidence of your personal
development,
♦ The Assessment Form - It is your responsibility to ensure that your tutor is given this form
already completed by your workplace manager in time for end of placement visit.

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Employer / Tutor Assessment Form 2010 / 2011

Student Name: ...........................................................................................


Company: ..................................................................................................
Name of Manager giving this report:............................................................
Student’s Position/Title: ............................... Start Date:.........................
Placement Period in weeks (excluding leave): ......................Finish Date:
Please place a tick & comment in the appropriate boxes below and complete the section overleaf.
Thank you.

Please refer to the criteria Exceptional Good Satisfactory Less than


grid for this assessment satisfactory

Understanding company
business and purpose

Adjustment to work
responsibilities and
requirements.

Technical Skills &


Competence

Planning & Organising


Skills

Ability to Manage &


Handle Information

Personal Performance &


Professionalism

Interpersonal &
Teamworking Skills

Communication Skills
(Oral & Written)

Business Awareness &


Analytical Ability

Achievement towards
objectives set out in the
student’s PDPs.

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WORKPLACE SUPERVISOR COMMENTS:

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Based on the students exceptional contribution outlined above, I recommend this student for
a Placement Commendation Award...........................................................Yes  No 
Please can we contact you to profile this placement for use in our Undergraduate Prospectus
and for other marketing purposes?............................................................Yes  No 
Signed: Date:

VISITING PLACEMENT TUTOR’S COMMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Seen and deemed satisfactory (please tick box as appropriate):


4 Personal Development Plans ............................................................................
1st Personal Progress Report ...............................................................................
Presentation (or ‘virtual’ alternative if based outside the UK) .................................
This form completed by work based manager.......................................................
Placement Tutors Recommendations :

This student has passed U50185 Placement..............................................Yes  No 


I recommend this student for a Placement Commendation Award..........Yes  No 
This is either for exceptional contribution to the employer or exceptional personal development whilst
on placement. In each case coursework needs to be complete and of a good standard. In order to
activate this recommendation please submit a short statement of support with this form.
Tutor’s signature:.......................................................... Date:.......................

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Why ‘0DF’ grade for this module on my PIP?


You will all see - 0 DF - on your PIP against this module in the first semester of your final
year. Don’t panic - this indicates a Deferred grade, not a fail grade! Most placements finish
after the end of semester 2 and so results are deferred until the following semester 1 exam
committee at Christmas and therefore cannot published on your PIP until January of your final
year.

If you have registered an approved placement, submitted all the required work to a suitable standard
for this module and your Placement Tutor has a positive report from your employer you will have
passed the module.

Placement Commendation Awards


When the assessment of your year has been made your Placement Tutor will be asked by the
module leader if any of their placement tutees have made exceptional personal progress and/or
an exceptional contribution to the workplace during their placement year.
If they indicate this to be the case you will receive (after the module results are officially released) a
Letter of Commendation from the Business School signed by a member of the senior academic
staff outlining why you received the award.
Apart from the satisfaction of gaining this recognition, you will be able to present this to future
employers as clear evidence of your skills development, personal drive, your awareness of and
commitment to, business.

CRITERIA
Recommendation made by either the employer or the Placement Tutor
• Employer – majority of ticks in the ‘Exceptional’ column with positive comments.
• Tutor – based on content and comparison of module coursework and presentation
evidencing exceptional personal progress during the placement.

In both cases to be successful students needed to have submitted ALL the assessed pieces
of work for this module to a good standard.

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PDP(s) Assessment Criteria Grid

CRITERION A B+ B PASS REFER/FAIL


Presentation & style

1 Presentation of Shows a polished and Carefully and logically Shows organisation and Shows some attempt to Disorganised/
assignment imaginative approach to coherence organise in a logical
organised incoherent
the topic manner

Conforming to instructions/clarity of objectives.

7 Attention to Has addressed the Has addressed the purpose Has addressed the main Some of the work is Fails to address the
purpose purpose of the assignment of the assignment coherently purpose of the focused on the aims task set
comprehensively and and with some attempt to assignment and themes of the
imaginatively demonstrate imagination assignment

9 Clarity of objectives Has defined objectives in Has defined objectives and Has outlined objectives Has provided NO INFO PROVIDED
and focus of work detail and addressed them addressed them through the and addressed them at generalised objectives
comprehensively and work the end of the work and focused the work
imaginatively. on the topic area

Content and knowledge

14 Context in which Takes account of complex Takes some account of Recognises defined Context acknowledged Context not recognised
subject is used context and selects context and selects some context and uses but not really taken into as relevant
appropriate technique appropriate techniques standard techniques for account
that context

Please note that the descriptions are typical in the middle of the grade range

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26th Week Interim Progress Report Assessment Criteria Grid

CRITERION A B+ B PASS REFER/FAIL


Presentation & style
1 Presentation of Shows a polished and Carefully and logically Shows organisation and Shows some attempt to Disorganised/
assignment imaginative approach to organised coherence organise in a logical incoherent
the topic manner
Conforming to instructions/clarity of objectives.
6 Conforming with Deviates slightly from Work has been
instructions (e.g. the required submitted late with no
word length) Work has been submitted within time boundaries and within prescribed parameters parameters allow-able reason, or
deviates significantly
from the required
parameters
14 Context in which Takes account of complex Takes some account of Recognises defined Context acknowledged Context not recognised
subject is used context and selects context and selects some context and uses but not really taken into as relevant
appropriate technique appropriate techniques standard techniques for account
that context
Practical/Interpersonal Skills
27 Self-criticism Is confident in application Is able to evaluate own Is largely dependent on Dependent on criteria Fails to meaningfully
(include. reflection of own criteria of strengths and weaknesses; criteria set by others but set by others. Begins to undertake the process
on practice) judgement and in can challenge received begins to recognise own recognise own of self criticism.
challenge of received opinion and begins to strengths and strengths and
opinion in action and can develop own criteria and weaknesses. weakness.
reflect on action. judgement.

Please note that the descriptions are typical in the middle of the grade range

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Presentation Assessment Criteria Grid

CRITERION A B+ B PASS REFER/FAIL


Presentation & style

1 Presentation of Shows a polished and Carefully and logically Shows organisation and Shows some attempt to Disorganised/
assignment imaginative approach to organised coherence organise in a logical
incoherent
the topic manner

3 Communication Can engage effectively in Can communicate effectively Can communicate Some communication is Communication is
and presentation debate in a professional in a format appropriate to the effectively in a format effective and in a unstructured and
(appropriate to manner and produce discipline and report appropriate to the format appropriate to unfocused and/or in a
discipline) detailed and coherent practical procedures in a discipline and report the discipline. Can format inappropriate to
project reports clear and concise manner procedures in a clear report practical the discipline
with all relevant information and concise manner with procedures in a
in a variety of formats all relevant information structured way

Please note that the descriptions are typical in the middle of the grade range

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Employer’s Placement Assessment Criteria Grid


MODULAR CRITERION AS PER EXCEPTIONAL GOOD SATISFACTORY LESS THAN
MARKGRID ASSESSMENT FORM SATISFACTORY
REFERENCE
NUMBER
10 Understanding company Comprehensive/detailed Has given a factual and/or Evidence of limited Lacks evidence of
business and purpose knowledge of topic with conceptual knowledge base knowledge of topic and knowledge relevant to
areas of specialisation is and appropriate some use of appropriate the topic and/or
depth and awareness of terminology terminology significantly misuses
provisional nature of terminology
knowledge
34 Adjustment to work Uses imagination to With guidance can assess Where goals and Unable to undertake
responsibilities & assess the needs of the needs of situation and take methods are defined will tasks beyond routine and
requirements situation and underlay a action necessary to achieve undertake tasks requiring standardised.
series of actions to goals. some imagination and
achieve goals. independence.
23 Technical Skills & Can perform complex Able to perform basic skills Able to perform basic Fails to perform even
Competence skills consistently with with awareness of the skills with guidance on basic skills.
confidence. Able to necessary techniques and the necessary technique.
choose an appropriate their potential uses and Needs external
response from a hazards. Needs external evaluation.
repertoire of actions, and evaluation.
can evaluate own and
others’ performance.
30 Planning & Organising Plans well ahead, sets Almost always meets Usually meets important Rarely meets deadlines.
Skills self determined deadlines. Makes plans deadlines, but often Unable to make and
deadlines, and uses and implements them in a despite lack of planning. implement plans.
contingency planning. satisfactory manner.
25 Ability to Manage & Selects and processes Makes a selection from Collects some information Random information
Handle Information data with confidence and data and applies and makes some use of gathering. Inappropriate
imagination. processing tools. processing tools. use of processing tools.

Please note that the descriptions are typical in the middle of the grade range

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MODULAR CRITERION AS PER EXCEPTIONAL GOOD SATISFACTORY LESS THAN


MARKGRID ASSESSMENT FORM SATISFACTORY
REF NUMBER
24 Personal Performance Understood company and Understood company and Has developed Little or no attempt to
& Professionalism clients problems/needs and clients needs but has objectives which for the ascertain company or
developed specific developed objectives most part meet the clients needs and develop
objectives which meet the which the student cannot company and clients a workable brief.
client’s needs and which reasonably be expected to needs.
the student can reasonably meet.
be expected to meet.
31 Interpersonal & Can interact effectively Meets obligations to others Makes efforts to develop Has problems working
Teamworking Skills within a learning or (tutors and/or peers); can interactive skills. Uses with others/ avoids work
professional group. Can offer and/or support basic interactive skills with others. Does not
recognise or support or be initiatives; can recognise appropriately. contribute or contributes
proactive in leadership. and assess alternative inappropriately in groups.
Can negotiate and handle options.
conflict.
3 Communication Skills Can engage effectively in Can communicate Some communication is Communication is
(Oral & Written) debate in a professional effectively in a format effective and in a format unstructured and
manner and produce appropriate to the appropriate to the unfocused and/or in a
detailed and coherent discipline and report discipline. Can report format inappropriate to
project reports procedures in a clear and practical procedures in a the discipline
concise manner with all structured way
relevant information
16 Business Awareness & Can analyse new and/or Can analyse with guidance Can analyse a limited Fails to analyse
Analytical Ability abstract data and situations using given classification / range of information with information
without guidance using a principles guidance using
wide range of techniques classification / principles
appropriate to the topic

9 Achievement towards Has defined objectives in Has outlined objectives Has provided NO INFO PROVIDED
Objectives set in the detail and addressed them and addressed them at the generalised objectives
PDPs comprehensively and end of the work and focused the work on
imaginatively. the topic area

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Regulations

Authenticating your coursework


You must be able to demonstrate that the course work you submit for assessment is your
own. You must therefore keep all working documents (electronic and paper) that you used or
created while preparing the assignment, such as photocopies of sources and internet pages,
your own notes on your reading and preparation and where primary research has been
conducted, completed questionnaires or interview schedules, details of the process of
analysis, field notes and so on. Most importantly, you should keep the early developing
drafts of your coursework as evidence of the originality of your work by saving each revision
to a file with a different name. This material should be kept until after the module results
have been published on PIP. Please note that you may be required to submit an electronic
version of your work.

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OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Cheating
All assessments are intended to determine the skills, abilities, understanding and knowledge
of each of the individual students undertaking the assessment. Cheating is defined as
obtaining OR ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN an unfair academic advantage, attempting to cheat
or assisting someone else to cheat may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with
the University's Disciplinary Procedure. The University takes this issue very seriously and
students have been expelled or had their degrees withheld for cheating in assessments. If
you are having difficulty with your work it is important to seek help from your tutor rather than
be tempted to use unfair means to gain marks. Do not risk losing your degree and all the
work you have done.
The University's regulations define a number of different forms of cheating, although any
form of cheating is strictly forbidden. These are:
 Submitting other people's work as your own - either with or without their knowledge.
This includes copying in examinations; using notes or unauthorised materials in
examinations;
impersonation - taking an assessment on behalf of or pretending to be another student,
or allowing another person to take an assessment on your behalf or pretend to be you;
 Plagiarism - taking or using another person's thoughts, writings or inventions as your
own. To avoid plagiarism you must make sure that quotations from whatever source
must be clearly identified and attributed at the point where they occur in the text of your
work by using one of the standard conventions for referencing. The Library has a leaflet
about how to reference your work correctly and your tutor can also help you. It is not
enough just to list sources in a bibliography at the end of your essay or dissertation if
you do not acknowledge the actual quotations in the text. Neither is it acceptable to
change some of the words or the order of sentences if, by failing to acknowledge the
source properly, you give the impression that it is your own work;
 Collusion - except where written instructions specify that work for assessment may be
produced jointly and submitted as the work of more than one student, you must not
collude with others to produce a piece of work jointly, copy or share another student's
work or lend your work to another student in the reasonable knowledge that some or all
of it will be copied;
 Duplication - submitting work for assessment that is the same as, or broadly similar to,
work submitted earlier for academic credit, without acknowledgement of the previous
submission;
 Falsification - the invention of data, its alteration, its copying from any other source, or
otherwise obtaining it by unfair means, or inventing quotations and/or references.
Matthew Andrews, Academic Registrar
September 2008

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A note on equal opportunities and diversity

Oxford Brookes University is committed to the elimination of any form of unfair


discrimination, to the establishment of equal opportunity and to the development of policies
and practices to ensure these objectives are met.
The Business School aims, within its courses, to provide and promote equality of opportunity
for learning to students from diverse backgrounds, irrespective of their gender, race,
disability, sexual orientation, age, religion and maturity.
Modules are designed to provide an inclusive learning and teaching environment for all
students. If you feel this module is not fulfilling this aim, please take it up with the module
leader, or ask your student representative to do so. You are invited to comment on this
aspect of the module in the evaluation.

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OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Student evaluation of the module


It is hard to stress enough how valuable past students’ comments have been in order to
continue to develop this module. They have shaped the content, style and nature of the
assignments as well as the delivery of appropriate support, tutorship and our relationship with
employers.

For this reason to ensure that your experience is part of this on-going process please could
you fill out and submit the Module Evaluation Form.

We wish to continue to offer the high quality of placement support and module content that
currently gets positive attention from employers and students alike.

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OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

U58065 Placement - Student Evaluation Form 2010/11


Please complete and return to the Undergraduate Office at the end of your placement.
The purpose of this form is for you to feedback to us in order that we may reflect on the
module and appropriate ways of developing it in the future. By sending this form back you
are ensuring that students’ views are valued and included in this process.
Please Note: This form relates only to the Placement Module not the second year
preparation module or any support given to you regarding your Honours choice (i.e.
dissertation tutoring).

If you prefer to submit this form anonymously you need not fill in this section:
Student name (please print clearly)...........................................................................................
Company name (please print clearly)........................................................................................

To respond please tick from 1 (Good / High / Yes) to 4 (Poor / Low / No).
Please qualify your answers by making comments in the appropriate box.
Question 1/+ 2 3 4/- Comments
(Continue on other side if required)
1. Was the workbook easy to
follow?

2. Did the workbook contribute to


your self-development in the
placement?

3. If you used the recommended


reading did you find it helpful?

4. Did the PDPs as a reviewed


documents assist you to reach
your objectives?

5. Were the aims of each task


apparent in the workbook?
Please give specific comment.
6. Are the module objectives (see
module description in the
workbook) being met?
7. Support from your Employers .
Please give specific comment.

8. Support from Academic Tutors.


Please give specific comment.

9. Support from the Placements


Office. Please give specific
comment.

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PLEASE TURN OVER AND COMPLETE THE OTHER SIDE

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It is helpful to us to have some feedback on the company you did your placement with
in order to be better informed when talking to other students. In the same way if you
have any comments about any aspect of your year we would be pleased to hear it.
This could be your chance to tell us something substantial or just be a couple of
handy hints for the next student:
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Thank you, please return to:


The Undergraduate Office /U58065
Simon Williams Building
Business School
Oxford Brookes University
Wheatley Campus
Wheatley, Oxon. OX33 1HX.

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