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Employer Information PackSchool of Business and Economics Placements

Thank youThank you for offering a placement in your company to one or more of our students for a period of professional training during their next academic year.

The professional placement you are offering our student(s) is an integral element of our courses and something we believe is of particular benefit to our students. Over many years, Loughborough University has earned a high reputation for producing graduates who are well suited to the demands of modern businesses. Our placement programme will lead to the award of the Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) for our students and aims to further equip them with the skills needed to succeed in the current, rapidly changing job market.

This information pack gives you an overview of the requirements needed for the student to qualify for the award of DPS, as well as a summary of what we ask of your company. It also gives you details of the students’ online placement information; key information on the placement visit and contact details you may need for the Placements Office. Along with this pack you should also have received an Employer Appraisal Form and a Dissertation Cover Sheet.

Each student will be visited on placement by an academic member of staff allocated as the student’s placement visiting tutor. More details about this visit can be found in this information pack.

Finally, the recruitment process for next year’s placement students will begin in a few weeks’ time and second year students will begin looking for a placement from October. We would be grateful if you could send us the details of any placements you may be offering next year.

We hope that the year ahead goes well for you and for the student, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance at any stage.

What we require from the student

Our placement programme leads to the award of the Diploma of Professional Studies (DPS) on successful completion of the student placement.

To obtain the DPS on graduation, the student must satisfactorily complete:

• A minimum of 45 weeks (excluding holidays) in a business and/or management related role.

• A series of reflections on the placement experience which are to be submitted to the visiting tutor for assessment.

• A dissertation of up to 5000 words on a placement work related topic agreed in consultation with the company manager. A proposal for a suitable dissertation topic should be submitted to the visiting tutor at the placement visit. The dissertation should be ‘signed off’ by the company manager and submitted to the visiting tutor for assessment.

• A competent performance of duties on the placement; maintaining good conduct and upholding the reputation and standards of both the company and the University.

Student Responsibilities

• It is the overall responsibility of the student to ensure that they receive a suitable professional experience; to maintain satisfactory communication with the University; and to see that the requirements for the award of DPS are met.

• Students are to complete their assessments outside of their working hours.

• Students are equipped with all relevant information that they need for successful completion of their placement year, as well as the award of the DPS. This information is held on LEARN the School’s virtual learning environment (VLE). Please ask the student to access this information if and when you need it.

The Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS)

What we ask of the employer1. Prior to the placement• A Health and Safety checklist

should have been sent to you by the student to be completed and returned to the Placements Office as soon as possible. The placement cannot be approved for the purposes of DPS until we receive this.

2. At the start of the placement• Assign a supervisor to the student.

• Draw up a programme of work for the student, including suitable relevant experiences in business and management, which require a level of intellectual participation appropriate to a third year student.

• Complete an induction period with the student.

3. The visiting tutor • An academic member of staff will

be assigned to the student as a visiting tutor. The allocated visiting tutor will visit the student on site on at least one occasion, typically around December/January. More information on the visit is included later in this pack.

4. Prior to the visiting tutor meeting• Complete the first appraisal form.

The student will provide you with the form, which is available on the student’s VLE online. If you wish to use your company’s own appraisal documents please do so, but please be aware that the student will need a copy of the appraisals for their DPS folder.

• Assist the student in selecting a suitable work related topic for the dissertation.

5. The visiting tutor meeting• Please meet the student’s visiting

tutor and review the student’s progress. Adjust the programme of work as necessary.

6. Before the end of the placement• Complete the final appraisal form

and provide a copy to the student (as before). Typically this should be completed before the end of June if possible.

• Read and approve the student’s dissertation to indicate that the work is acceptable to you, by signing the cover sheet sent to you with this pack.

- Student assigned a line manager- Draw up programme of work- Student induction

- First appraisal- Discuss potential topics for dissertation

- Meet visiting tutor - Second appraisal

- Sign off student’s dissertation

Start of placement Nov – Jan Dec – Feb May – June End of placement

The Placement Visit

The purpose of the visit is for the student and their academic visiting tutor to meet and discuss the progress of the placement and the requirements of the DPS, and also for the visiting tutor to meet the student’s line manager to discuss the student’s progress and to address any queries you may have.

A placement visit usually lasts up to 90 minutes and typically comprises a meeting between the student and the visiting tutor; a meeting between the visiting tutor and the student’s line manager; and a meeting of all three parties. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange the visit, in order to suit all parties involved.

The student’s appraisal document can form the basis of the meetings and the visiting tutor will have a checklist to work through to ensure that they have gained all the information they need from the visit.

Should it be required, any further contact or even a further visit, can be arranged on a needs basis.

The placement visit typically takes place in the months of December and January but this can be flexible as needed.

Contact information• The first point of contact for a student on placement is their academic

visiting tutor.

• The Placements Office is open all year round except for Bank Holidays and University closures.

• Please contact Jo or Beccy if you have any queries.

Jo Higham

T. +44 (0)1509 223141 E. J.R.Higham@lboro.ac.uk

Rebecca Bass

T. +44 (0)1509 223143 E. R.L.Bass@lboro.ac.uk

Placements Office School of Business and Economics

Loughborough University Leicestershire LE11 3TU

E. SBE.Placements@lboro.ac.uk

Placements Manager Placements Officer Placements Office

@LboroSBEplcmnts

LboroSBEplacements

58529/D

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