Welcome to the University of Derby accounting and finance undergraduate programs I'm Dr Alexis Makropoulos and I'm the acting course leader for these programmes.
If you decide to join us at Derby you will be supported by a very experienced academic team myself Dr Stuart Green and other academics have had many years of teaching research and Industry experience. We are here to help you and share our experience with you and hopefully assist your academic learning at Derby. We are also interested to prepare you for successful professional career after you graduate.
Our Bachelors program in Accounting and Finance has three core modules and two optional modules. Looking at the core modules we have a Financial Strategy module, a Management Accounting and Performance Evaluation and an Independent Study which is effectively your dissertation. You can also choose two optional modules depending on your own interests you can choose from a list of modules such as Investing in Financial Market Behaviour, Financially Reporting Theory, Financial Statement Analysis or Contemporary Reporting Issues. Your selection should better reflect your individual interests and we hope that by doing so you will enhance your understanding and your learning in an area you're really interested in.
Our Accounting and Finance program takes into consideration prior learning you can gain exemptions if you have completed CIMAs F3 module or if you hold more than six ACCA F level papers For Acca you will need to have completed seven or eight of the F papers which must include F6 and F7.
for CIMA you need to have completed CIMA F3 paper.
Our Management Accounting program has four core 20 credit modules that you need to undertake and a 40 credit Independent Study. The modules are Financial Strategy, Strategic Management and Risk Management. You will also undertake a core a module on research methods that you will prepare you to perform your Independent Study work which is effectively your dissertation.
Our Management Accounting program also does take into consideration prior learning experiences if you have studied one of the modules or holds some of the papers from CIMA that we'll discuss in a minute you will be eligible for one or two module exemptions depending on what you hold If you're a CIMA member you will need to have completed the F3 module in order to receive a one module extension.
Now if you have completed successfully E3 CIMA paper you can get an exemption for our Strategic Management module if you have completed CIMA P3 paper you can take an exception for the Risk Management module and you can take an exception on financial strategy if you have completed every CIMA paper this is because our modules are developed and have been developed in a way that much the exams of professional bodies such as CIMA and their core body of knowledge.
Now studying online can be a unique experience our modules are typically 20 credit modules and they are made up of 10 units. We aim to cover one unit each week however within this time frame you can study at the time or place that works for you better we are using asynchronous learning which means that you can study at a point in time that works for you best and if you have any questions or if you want to participate in discussions or journals within the module you can do it in your own time your colleagues and your tutors will be able to see what you have posted and respond so you will be in a position that you can utilize feedback from others and other perspectives like you were in a classroom but in an asynchronous learning experience. You will have to work collaboratively using online discussions and journals which your tutor will comment upon and give you feedback and ideas for discussion. Your tutors will be here to assist your learning and if you have any academic queries they will be always here to help you there are a number of formative assessment opportunities just to make sure that you understand the main content of the module. At the end of the module there are summative assessments as well.
We have partnered with a number of professional bodies for these programs we have also partnered with CISI in particular which is a leading professional body for finance and investment sector.
You may take CISI qualifications while you're studying for your degree at Derby this may help your employability at the time of your graduation taking University sponsored CISI exams is usually highly valued by employers and of course by the regulators so offering you CISI membership including the opportunity to assign to attend face-to-face events will probably have a significant impact on your CPD and your employability after your graduation providing learning resources to help prepare you for CISI exams and reinforce your academic studies will be useful for your career therefore we are inviting you to participate in CISI education trust Awards should you wish to do so this will push and boost your professionalism and you will also have the opportunity to win cash prizes.
Apart from your tutors that are very experienced tutors and have been Professionals in their own fields we usually try to have guest lectures from a number of sectors recently we had a number of presentations given by experts in their field and we are aiming to continue doing so frequently in this way you can get an additional insight and hopefully will help your career.
Following successful competition of your course you can become a financial advisor or analyst you may move to financial related positions including at volunteer level or you may choose to progress into a Masters or PhD degree studies.
Here at Derby we are very proud of having a global student body and a global alumni within your course and within your modules you will be surrounded by a number of fellow students coming from a number of different areas of the world and countries. This way your learning experience would be much richer as you will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions and perspectives from many different parts of the world.
Our students have been very satisfied with our courses recently in a 2021 survey 91 of the students agreed that they were satisfied with the quality of the course.
With the way the course was organized and running and with the support they have been given.
This has been reflected in a number of very positive testimonials from our previous students here you can see one of the testimonials from Gabrielle Davis. Another testimonial from an MBA student that we had recently, and it has been very grateful for the learning experience we could offer it here.
Your virtual campus will be the place where you interact with your tutors and with each other your fellow students.
The University of Derby does have a very extensive XP virtual campus that also includes an online University Library the library in itself can be a main source for books journals or databases that you may want to utilize just to enhance your learning experience.
So when you join us please make sure that you make it work for you make sure you can allocate about 20 hours per week for your study we said earlier this can be 20 hours at your own convenience. It doesn't have to be a specified time every day but generally in order to progress throughout the program successfully you will need to manage to allocate this amount of time also regularly engage and interact with peers and academics will benefit your knowledge but also your wider learning experience and as I said your academics will be here to support you in every step you take frequently the learning portal for announcements updates and additional resources or frequent updates that guide your learning it's also good practice not to leave your assignments to the last minute be proactive and engage proactively there will be a number of opportunities to get feedback before any final assignments are required so please make the most of the resources that you will have available.
Within our virtual campus we utilize discussion forums each week we have some activities that students can participate in get feedback from their tutors and from others there are also some more informal discussion forums where you can interact with your colleagues and fellow students of course you can contact your academics or The Wider University Administration via email and we can have also a number of Blackboard collaborate live sessions typically between 1 and 3 per module for those that cannot attend the live sessions each session will be recorded and you can watch it in your own convenience.
There can also be ad hoc telephone and virtual meetings should you need to please contact your academic tutor so as to get more information for your particular needs for the particular module you're interested in.
You will also be supported by a wider support network will get academic support from your program lead the multi-leaders and also your personal tutors fellow students will be of course there for you to discuss any issues you have with them. You will have a number of online learning advisors for non-academic support and you of course have a number of student services such as the student well-being, the library careers and Union of Students.
You will get access to Microsoft Office 365 via the cloud stores that we have at the University and you will also have a 24/7 access to Student Portal and virtual lettering environment as we mentioned we have an extensive collection of books and journals in our e-library sources our Online Library among other things you can get support from subject expert lab Librarians in the library the library can also offer you access to databases as well as some short information and training courses on how to cite and reference correctly.
You will be given the opportunity to graduate on campus so should you choose so you will have the full University of Derby experience.
The next steps for you is to check the website for entry criteria the course fees payment plans and the next intakes please have a look and we are here to support you thank you very much and we are ready to work with you to transform your future.
The introduction to our online undergraduate Accounting and Finance courses video
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