Foundation Degree FAQs

What are Foundation Degrees?
What are the benefits of Foundation Degrees?
Will Foundation Degrees replace the existing Higher National Diplomas?
When will Foundation Degree-based programmes be available?
How will Foundation Degrees ‘add value’ to officer training?
My company operates within a part of the industry that doesn’t need so-called ‘high-fliers’ and I doubt that the Foundation Degree programme would be appropriate for our cadet training and the types of officers we want. Will I have to use this programme or will there be an alternative that will meet my needs?
How have the Merchant Navy Foundation Degrees been developed?
What is happening in Scotland, where Foundation Degrees do not exist?

What are Foundation Degrees?
Foundation Degrees are designed to appeal to learners wishing to enter a profession as well as those seeking continuing professional development. Foundation Degrees provide self-standing qualifications of specific value, but they can also provide pathways for lifelong learning and the opportunity to progress to other qualifications. Foundation Degrees will normally link to at least one programme leading to a bachelors degree with honours.

What are the benefits of Foundation Degrees?
Partnership and collaboration between employers and providers of higher education, the planned integration of work-based skills and academic learning and the relevance of skills and their application in a work-based environment are all central to the concept of the Foundation Degree. The distinctive features of Foundation Degrees align very closely with the planned and progressive nature of cadet training in the merchant navy and fit well with the industry’s agenda for maintaining and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of training – and for attracting more high calibre people into the industry.

Will Foundation Degrees replace the existing Higher National Diplomas?
The Foundation Degree will replace the HND for those with the right ability and will focus on achievement of the skills, knowledge and understanding needed for the highest levels of ‘STCW’ certification. It is envisaged that training schemes incorporating a Foundation Degree will become the mainstream entry for those who are recruited and trained as officer cadets (i.e. individuals who are committed to going to sea from the outset but may progress in different directions at a later stage of their careers).

When will Foundation Degree-based programmes be available?
The target for the first enrolments on to Foundation Degree programmes is September 2006. It is expected that the existing HND-based schemes will continue for a transitional period after that. This will safeguard supply during the transitional period and provide a fall-back position should there be any difficulties in recruiting for the Foundation Degree.

How will Foundation Degrees ‘add value’ to officer training?
From the outset, the programmes leading to a Foundation Degree will include an introduction to management competences alongside the technical content. The planned articulation to an Honours level degree gives the opportunity to take this further and enable senior officers to better develop competencies for managing projects, managing people, managing emergency situations should they occur and managing the overall business of the ship.

My company operates within a part of the industry that doesn’t need so-called ‘high-fliers’ and I doubt that the Foundation Degree programme would be appropriate for our cadet training and the types of officers we want. Will I have to use this programme or will there be an alternative that will meet my needs?
Alternative training programmes will continue to be available for:

• those sections of the industry where degree-level programmes are not appropriate and to provide an entry route for potential officers and ratings who have the right attributes, motivation and ambition to succeed but not the academic standard appropriate for Foundation Degree entry;
• individuals holding relevant qualifications obtained prior to entry, including graduates and engineering apprentices;
• serving seafarers seeking to upgrade their skills and qualifications.

How have the Merchant Navy Foundation Degrees been developed?
The MNTB set up a steering group to guide the development work. This includes representatives from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, NUMAST, the UK colleges in membership of the International Association of Maritime Institutes, the Chamber of Shipping and Foundation Degree Forward.

What is happening in Scotland, where Foundation Degrees do not exist?
Foundation degrees do not exist in the Scottish Qualifications Framework and no Scottish University has a charter to validate Foundation Degrees. However, new Merchant Navy qualifications have been developed in Scotland to provide an equivalent programme with all the same features and covering the same content as the Foundation Degree.

Click here for the new Foundation Degree promotional leaflet (PDF 256KB)
For more information on Foundation Degrees and career information please visit www.careersatsea.org and www.fdf.ac.uk