Students should receive each assignment as an assignment brief with a hand-out date, a completion date and clear requirements for the evidence they must provide. There may also be specific practical activities which the student must complete under tutor observation as part of the assignment. Assignments can be divided into separate parts and may require several forms of evidence. A valid assignment will enable a clear and formal assessment grade based on the assessment criteria.

The qualifications are recognised by higher education providers as contributing to meeting admission requirements to many relevant courses, for example: 

• BSc (Hons) in Business and Management 
• BA (Hons) in Business and Finance 
• BA (Hons) in Business with Human Resource Management
• BA (Hons) and BSc (Hons) in Business Studies 
• BSc (Hons) in International Management
• BSc (Hons) or BA (Hons) in Marketing
• BSc (Hons) in Retail Management. 

Learners should always check the entry requirements for degree programmes with the institute for further advice. After this qualification, learners can also progress directly into employment, however it is likely that many will do so via higher study. Areas of employment include junior business roles in marketing, administration, finance, financial services, procurement, events management, human resources, and other related areas in the business sector.

Advance diploma programme in Business curriculum provides a clear line of sight to employment, depending on which specialist areas students complete. The aim is to produce students who are equipped to thrive in the changing world of work, whether they leave with first year of the programme or an advance diploma qualification. Core competencies developed on the specialist pathways of the programme will support students in preparing for a range of employment opportunities in their chosen sector. These core competencies collectively summarise the key capabilities that are important across the sector, covering areas of relevant expertise and technical skills that would be required within the sector to successfully perform a job, as defined in current advertised job vacancies. Core competencies are developed on programme within a balanced framework of cognitive (knowledge), affective (behaviours) and psychomotor (practical) learning outcomes to encourage a more vocational and practical approach to learning.

Assessment is designed to fit the purpose and objective of the qualification. It includes a range of assessment types and styles suited to vocational qualifications in the sector. All assessment is internal but some mandatory units have extra controls on assessment and are assessed using Pearson Set Assignments. Additionally, some units are synoptic. Set assignment units Some mandatory units in the qualifications are assessed using a set assignment. Each assessment is set by Pearson and may need to be taken under controlled conditions before it is marked by teachers. Set assignment units are subject to external standards verification processes common to all BTEC units. By setting an assignment for some units, we can ensure that all learners take the same assessment for a specific unit. Learners are permitted to resit set assignment units during their programme. Please see Section 6 Internal assessment for further information. Set assignments are available from September each year and are valid for one year only. For detailed information on the Pearson Set Assignment, please see the table in Section 2 Structure. For further information on preparing for assessment, see Section 5 Assessment structure.

Internal assessment All units in the sector are internally assessed and subject to external standards verification. Before you assess you will need to become an approved centre, if you are not one already. You will need to prepare to assess using the guidance in Section 6 Internal assessment. For units where there is no Pearson Set Assignment, you select the most appropriate assessment styles according to the learning set out in the unit. This ensures that learners are assessed using a variety of styles to help them develop a broad range of transferable skills. Learners could be given opportunities to: • write up the findings of their own research • use case studies to explore complex or unfamiliar situations • carry out projects for which they have choice over the direction and outcomes • demonstrate practical and technical skills using appropriate processes. For these units, Pearson will provide an Authorised Assignment brief that you can use. You will make grading decisions based on the requirements and supporting guidance given in the units. Learners may not make repeated submissions of assignment evidence. For further information, please see Section 6 Internal assessment.

Language of assessment Assessment of the units for these qualifications are available in English but can be translated as necessary. All learner work must be available for standardisation in English. A learner taking the qualification/s may be assessed in sign language where it is permitted for the purpose of reasonable adjustment. For information on reasonable adjustments,.