‘Taught Degree Awarding Powers’ are here!
Posted on: 9 April, 2013
The College of Estate Management is set to offer its first self-validated BSc programmes after being granted degree awarding powers.
CEM, based in Reading, provides supported distance learning for people in the property and construction industries worldwide. Each year it enrols thousands of students in the UK, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, the Gulf region and the Far East.
From January this year, CEM was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers by the UK’s Privy Council, putting the College on a par with universities for the first time. It is the first not-for-profit, solely distance learning institution to gain this coveted status.
Now the College has validated its first BSc (Hons) degree programmes. Pending the programmes gaining accreditation from the relevant professional bodies such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Building, the College’s new cohort will begin studying for them this autumn. The first students will graduate from 2016 onwards.
This represents a major milestone in CEM’s 94-year history. Until now it has relied on university partners for validation of its undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses.
“This is a very proud moment for the College of Estate Management,” said Principal Dr Ann Heywood. “Last year we went through very rigorous scrutiny by the UK Quality Assurance Agency to achieve degree awarding powers, and received a glowing report. Please click here to view the report.
“And now we have validated our first BSc programmes under these new powers. For our students, this transition will be seamless – we continue to give them the highest-quality distance learning, allowing them to study part-time while working in any location, and enhancing their employability and career prospects.
“Our new-found independence also gives us the flexibility we need to develop new academic programmes much more quickly in response to the needs of the property and construction industries we serve.”
The newly-validated BSc (Hons) programmes include courses in Estate Management, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Building Surveying and Property Management. From this autumn, CEM will also begin enrolling two student cohorts per year – in October and April.
The College’s postgraduate courses, including MBA and MSc programmes will undergo validation from mid-2013. Subject to validation, CEM also plans to begin offering a Foundation Degree from October 2014 so there will be a complete suite of degree programmes from foundation through to postgraduate level.
