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BTEC Student Handbook

Business Studies Level 3

Mr D Vegad

Course Induction / Guide

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Business

(360 GLH) QAN: 601/7159/5

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Business

(720 GLH) QAN: 601/7157/1

Student Name ……………………………………….

Target Grade …….

Target Grade ……...

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Introduction

This document contains the rules and regulations regarding policies in BTEC NQF courses at

the Phoenix Collegiate.

The BTEC courses will be assessed in accordance with the BTEC rules and the students must

follow them in order to be awarded a qualifications.

Throughout your BTEC course you will be fully supported by your teachers.

The Phoenix Collegiate will be expected to comply with these policies.

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What Will Teachers Expect Of Me?

• Take responsibility for your learning

• Complete homework, classwork, and controlled assessments according to the time

frames given by your teacher

• Organise yourself effectively (using diaries, planners, or electronic devices) so you can

manage submission dates and important events in your course

• Develop the ability to work independently, and produce the evidence required, to

ensure you can be credited with meeting all the assessment criteria that applies to

your course

• Submit work/evidence (and complete tasks) by the required deadline

• Be present at school the day of your assessment/deadline

• Maintain good attendance throughout the course

• Tell your teacher well in advance if there is any reason you may not be able to submit

your work by the required deadline (must be exceptional circumstances)

What Can I Expect From My Teachers? You can expect that your teachers will….

• Teach you the skills and knowledge necessary to help you undertake each assignment •

Structure the course as required by the exam board (in relation to the Guided Learning

Hours, assessment windows, external assessments, units required, etc.)

• Set deadlines and time frames for work

• Make connections between what you are learning and the world of work (industry

links)

• Formally assess your work (using an Assessment Record) within one month of the

submission date. You will be told which of the grading criteria (ie. Pass, Merit,

Distinction) you have achieved and why

• Assess your work accurately in relation to the exam board specification and national

standards

• Scrutinise your work for issues of plagiarism and ensure the work you submit is entirely

your own

• Follow-up any issues regarding deadlines or classwork with relevant people (Parents,

Form Tutor, BTEC Quality Nominee, Lead Internal Verifier)

• Not grant any deadline extensions, re-submissions, or re-takes (unless under

exceptional circumstances)

• Put sanctions in place in accordance with this policy, if necessary, to ensure students

complete work and meet the required deadline

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Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate

in Business (360 GLH) QAN: 601/7159/5

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Business

(720 GLH) QAN: 601/7157/1

Which Units will you be studying

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended

Certificate in Business (360 GLH) 4 Units - 1,2,3 & 8

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in

Business (720 GLH) 8 Units - 1,2,3 & 8 + 4,5,6 & 23

Year 12 Unit 1 Exploring Business 90 Unit 3 Personal and Business Finance 120 Exam

Year 12 Unit 5 International Business 90 Unit 23 The English Legal System 60

Year 13 Unit 2 Developing a Marketing Campaign 90 Exam Unit 8 Recruitment and Selection Process 60

Year 13 Unit 6 Principles of Management 120 Exam Unit 4 Managing an Event 90

Pearson assignment briefs

1 re-submission allowed - Re-sub within 10 days

Exam - 1 resit allowed

Possible assignment grades Fail Pass Merit Distinction

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Submission and Assessment Policy

The Importance of Meeting Deadlines

Meeting deadlines is one of life’s most important skills to acquire. All of us, no matter what job we will

do in our life, will need this skill in order to be successful. BTEC courses are designed to reflect and

acknowledge real-world employment conditions and, as such, teaching students how to meet

deadlines is a top priority. Therefore, at Phoenix we intend to equip students with the professional

qualities and time-management skills needed to meet deadlines.

All BTEC assignments must be submitted by the relevant deadlines set and up to a good standard.

Once submitted, the work will be graded. It is, therefore, absolutely crucial that you develop good

working habits as soon as you begin the course.

Resubmission

If you do not achieve the targeted assessment criteria on the first submission you may be given one

opportunity to improve and resubmit your work, either to gain a Pass or a higher grade. The school has

a nominated Lead Internal Verifier for the course. Your teacher will need to ask the Lead Internal

Verifier to give authorisation to allow you to resubmit your work, but will NOT be granted

automatically.

This will only be authorised if:

1. Your coursework was handed in by the original deadline date

2. The work submitted is credible

3. The work was signed and dated by you confirming it to be your own work

4. The teacher feels that you are capable of improving your work without further guidance

5. It is not a Pass presentation task

If you are allowed to resubmit a piece of work you must improve/add to the original piece without

further guidance and must hand this in on the date agreed with your teacher (usually within 10 working

days).

If you miss initial deadlines the following will take place:

1: Contact with parents and meeting with Head of Department and teacher

2: Phone call home to parents and the Head of House will be notified.

3: Meeting with Parents and HOD

4: Meeting with Parents, HOD and Head of House

However, in exceptional circumstances, there may be a legitimate reason for not being able to meet the assignment

deadline and you can request an extension.

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Presentation of an Assignment

Front page

Header/footer

Contents page

Theory/Application

Bibliography

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Assessment Rules (Instructions for both teachers and learners)

Submission of evidence

Only one submission is allowed for each assignment.

The assessor must formally record the assessment result and confirm the

achievement of specific assessment criteria. Assessment criteria in each unit are

assessed once only.

The assessor must:

formally record and confirm the achievement of specific assessment criteria

complete a confirmation that the evidence they have assessed is authentic and is the learner’s own work.

Each learner must submit:

an assignment for assessment which consists of evidence towards the targeted assessment criteria

a signed-and-dated declaration of authenticity with each assignment which confirms they have produced the evidence themselves.

The assessor must not:

provide feedback or guidance on how to improve the evidence to achieve higher grades.

The learner must formally authenticate every assignment that they hand in to:

confirm that the evidence they are presenting is their own

recognise that they understand the impact and consequences of submitting plagiarised work.

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Internal Moderation and Sampling Procedure

Every time a class completes a unit it will be moderated by the Internal Verifier. This is

concerned with monitoring the quality of the outcomes. Your work will be moderated to

check that the criteria are being met and that standards are being applied.

Internal verification / moderation are integral parts of the course. This on-going process

requires sufficient time for:

• Looking at assignment briefs • Sampling assignments • Monitoring assessment practice • Standardising assessment practice

For each unit a minimum of three students will be selected at random for sampling. The unit

teacher will mark the work. The selected students work will then be passed on to the internal

verifier. The work will be marked independently of the unit teacher.

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Plagiarism

Authenticity of your work

You are encouraged to read around the units of work that you study and to use a range of

resources. Assignments that are thoroughly researched are of a higher quality. You will

need to quote from your sources and be able to site examples that illustrate your ideas.

Teachers will explain how to quote and reference work in your units. There will be a lesson

on referencing your work at the start of the unit. However, if you take another author’s

work as your own and do not reference it, you will be plagiarising.

The following forms of plagiarism are:

• Copying from texts or journals.

• Copying from other students.

• Wholesale downloading from the internet.

Assignments will be held by teachers until the unit has been completed by all students.

The teaching team will monitor the progress of assignments as they are being undertaken

and will discourage plagiarism.

If your teacher feels that you have plagiarised then a meeting will take place to consider

the case and the outcome. There is a high chance that you will fail the unit if found

plagiarising.

Therefore, you must always reference your work, preferably using the Harvard reference

system.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/library/public/Harvard.pdf

Group Work

Some tasks will be completed in groups. You can work in groups to prepare fully for

the assignment but you must complete and submit the work individually.

What happens if I fail to achieve a PASS standard when work is resubmitted?

With authorisation form the Course Lead Internal Verifier you can retake the Pass criteria, however

you will need to take a new assessment which will only cover PASS criteria and will not get the

opportunity to attempt Merit or Distinction criteria.

You will need to obtain a signed witness and or observation record sheet to confirm your contribution

to group tasks.

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Assignment

Submission Checklist

When you feel that your work is complete and ready to be handed in, it is important that you

follow the checklist below to ensure that your work is completed to the highest standard.

1. All work must have your name on every page using either a header or footer

2. All written reports to contain page numbers

3. Clearly mark on your work using headings & subheadings, where appropriate, which

Unit and task(s) you are submitting work for

4. If you include more than one task in a word document always insert a page break

between the end of one and the beginning of another

5. The main body of text should be in font size 12 with 1.15 line spacing

6. Read your work through to ensure it makes sense (always leave some time between

finishing and reading it through as this process is more effective)

7. Check work against the assignment brief, have you included all requirements?

8. Print the assignment brief and sign to declare it is your own work, submit this with

your work

9. Once you have done points 6 & 7 ask a friend to do the same for you

10. Any diagrams, charts, quotations must be properly referenced

11. Make sure you know when your work is due to be handed in, remember this is your

responsibility

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Assessment Criteria Terms and command verbs

Command verbs that you will see in internal assessments can be confusing. Different command verbs will

ask for different types of information. Below is a table, which has the command verb and definition and

whether it is linked to a Pass, Merit or Distinction grade.

Assessment/Command word Definition

Pass Command Words

List Write a list of the main items (not

sentences).

State Point out or list the main features.

Define To state the meaning of something using

the correct terms.

Identify Give all the basic facts which relate to a

topic.

Outline Write a clear description but without going

into too much detail

Demonstrate Show that you can do a particular activity or

skill.

Explain Make your point clear by providing

sufficient detail.

Describe Give a clear, straightforward description

which includes all of the main points.

Summarise Write down or articulate briefly the main

points or essential features.

Merit Command Words

Discuss To present an argument for and against.

Explain Give logical reasons to support your view.

Describe Give a full description including details of all

the relevant features.

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Demonstrate Prove you can carry out a more complex

activity.

Analyse Identify the factors that apply, and state

how these are linked and how each of them

relates to the topic.

Justify Give reasons for the points you are marking

so that the marker knows how you arrived

at that conclusion.

Suggest Give your own ideas and thoughts.

Distinction Command Words

Assess Evaluate in terms of advantages and

disadvantages.

Analyse Identify several relevant factors, show how

they are linked, and explain the importance

of each.

Evaluate Bring together all of your information and

make a judgement on the importance or

success of something.

Recommend Suggest changes or improvements.

Make recommendations Make relevant and appropriate suggestions;

usually for improvement.

Select and demonstrate Select several relevant examples or pieces

of related evidence which clearly support

the arguments you are making. This may

include showing particular practical skills.

Review Consider each factor in turn, providing a

description and explanation of their uses,

strengths and weaknesses, making

recommendations.

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BTEC Level 3 and UCAS Tariff points

Diploma

720 GLH

Extended

Certificate

360 GLH

A level UCAS tariff points

D*D* 112

D*D 104

DD 96

84

DM 80

78

72

MM 64

D* A* 56

MP D A 48

B 40

PP M C 32

28

D 24

20

P E 16

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Some useful web sites

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/btec-nationals/business-2016.html

https://www.tutor2u.net/business

http://www.beebusinessbee.co.uk/