ADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING 

You start a course right from the comfort of your own home or office. During your course, you’ll be reading course materials and studying books just like the one you will receive by electronic mail (email) as you improve your education and work towards a career in a different area.
 
Distance learning enables you to study at your own pace. If you’re having a problem with a particular section of material, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with the rest of your class. You can take your time and study your course manuals until you understand them. On the other hand, if you find certain material easy and you understand it quickly, you don’t have to be held back. You can move on as soon as you feel comfortable with the material.
 
You’ll also be able to study when you want to and when it’s convenient for you. In a conventional university or school or college setting, you must attend classes when they’re scheduled. With distance learning you are about to begin, you can choose when to study, based on your work and family schedule and on when you are most alert.
 
Distance learning (home study) can provide you with a method to accomplish your goals whether you’re preparing for a new career, working to advance in your present job, or just taking a course for enjoyment.
 
TUTOR TEAM HELP

The quickest way to get help from your tutor is by emailing your questions. The questions must relate to your study materials or prescribed textbooks. Please note that we cannot accept questions based on your reading of study texts or books that are not part of the Sussex College of Business course.
 
STUDY PLAN

This is a document that lists all the contents of your course – your learning material and assignments that you will complete and return for assessment. The items are listed within Study Periods in the order you will receive and use them. Study materials will be issued automatically as soon as the Test Paper in a Study Period has been received from you. There is no need for you to request them.
 
STUDY UNITS

Sussex College of Business study booklets are called Study Units. From time to time, materials from other sources are used, which may be called modules, workbooks or simply Study Booklets. No matter their origin, all study materials used by the college have been especially written by educational experts for use as distance learning texts, allowing you to:
 
write notes in them;
highlight key words/phrases;
cross things out;
change things around;
 
Initially you may feel reluctant to write on the pages. Don’t worry. As you work through the units, you will come across a variety of activities where you will be expected to write something.

 
Not only do they teach the subject in which you are interested, but also they do so in such a way that uses all the distance learning techniques with which the college is so experienced. This is why much of your studying may well be from these Units rather than from textbooks. In most cases they are simply far more effective. At the beginning of some Study Units, there will be a Course Route Map. Use the route map to see the order of your Study Units.
 
PROGRESS CHECKS

In most Study Units you will find questions to check your progress or practical tasks to reinforce your learning. Do not bypass these exercises as they are set for you to test your knowledge of what you have just studied. Do not send your answers for assessment; where appropriate, answers will be given at the end of the section or at the back of the Study Unit.
 
TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENTS/TEST PAPER
Tutor-marked Assignments (TMAs) or Test Papers may be of various types:
 
traditional written paper;
special or practical exercises
multiple-choice.
 
Multiple-choice papers give wider testing of the topics studied and save you time as they allow you to select appropriate answers, rather than writing them out in full. These can be submitted by email to the college. The email address will show in your Study Unit. Generally, TMAs/Test Papers are to be found in individual Study Units.
 
TEXTBOOKS

Sometimes a textbook may be prescribed for reading with your course. Your Study Unit will tell you which parts of it are to be read, and when.
 
PLAN AND ENJOY YOUR STUDIES

How you study is almost as important as what you study! As the college distance learner, you have access to an immense reservoir of knowledge, expertise, experience and, above all, unlimited goodwill in helping you.
 
BUT WE CAN’T DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU!
Here are some useful hints:
 
SOME USEFUL HINTS

Write down why you wish to complete the course and display the note in a highly visible place where you study. Motivation is very important. Choose your place of study. Sensible learning needs comfort and quiet – pubs, TV, radio, trains and other public transport are not recommended. A well-lit table in a bedroom may be ideal, for instance; many find that the public library is just right.
 
Few students plan to fail, but many fail to plan! Plan your study time. Although one of the advantages of distance learning is that you can study at your own pace. You should set a timetable for yourself; it can be as flexible as you need it to be.
  
STUDY SCHEDULES

Schedules put you in control of your time and your life. If you were attending a traditional school or college or university, you would have to be present in class at certain times, hand in assignments by the due date, and take examinations when the teacher/lecturer scheduled them. Since you don’t have a schedule set up by a teacher, you must create your own schedule so you can stay on track with your goals.
 
QUARTERLY SCHEDULE

Start with the big picture. Do you have a target date for completing your course? If so, start with that date. For example, suppose your goal is to complete the first four study units during the first three months. Buy or make a calendar with squares large enough to write in the information you need to remember. Set a deadline for completing each unit and mark that date on your calendar. That’s the day you should submit the test paper for the unit. Keep your calendar on your desk, or the wall near your desk, or some other place where you’ll see it every day.
 
WEEKLY SCHEDULE

To make your schedule a little more manageable, break down your quarterly schedule into weekly segments. Each week contains 168 hours. Your answer is the number of free hours you have each week. Is it more than you need for your studies? If so, great. Just decide how many of those hours you’re going to devote to your study. If you don’t have enough free hours for your studies, you may have to make some changes in your lifestyle.
 
For example, suppose you indicate that you watch television 25 hours each week. You may decide to eliminate an hour or an hour and a half of television every day and devote that time to your studying.
 
To help you analyse your allotment of time, ask yourself (and answer honestly) questions like these:

 

• On what activity do I spend the most time?
• On what activity do I spend the least time?
• Do I spend too much time on any one activity?
• Do I need to spend more time on any activity?
• Is the amount of time I spend studying producing the results I want?
• Overall, am I satisfied with the way I spend my time? Why or why not?
• If I could make some changes, what would they be?

 
Then, on a separate piece of paper, keep track of the actual hours you spend on the activities during the next week. Write down the actual hours as you spend them.

 

STUDY HINTS: USE YOUR LESSONS
 
Most students find that they prefer not to read the Study Units like a book, i.e., straight through from beginning to end of the section being studied. Far more effective is to first read two or three paragraphs. Then THINK and see if you can recall the main points made. Read the same piece again – possibly realizing some aspects previously not fully understood. As you read, underline or highlight the key points. This concentrates understanding, helps if you are making notes, and is invaluable when later rereading your Units for revision.
 
TAKE NOTES:

You will find it a tremendous help to take notes as you study; keep a notebook for this purpose. At the end of each section, go back over back over what you have read and write down the major points that have been covered.
This is where the previous idea of highlighting will prove useful. You will find that making these notes will strongly reinforce your learning at the time. Also, when revising, your notebook will be invaluable!
 
TEST YOURSELF

Before attempting a Progress Check, read through your notes and check over your highlights. If you cannot recollect some details, quickly read through the relevant section again. Then do the Progress Check and compare your answers with the answers provided. Again, if you have wrong answers, take another look at your notes highlights the relevant section of the Study Unit.
 
USE THE TMAs/TEST PAPERS TO HELP YOU

 

• It is most important that all Tutor Marked Assignments/Test Papers are completed and sent for assessment.
• They consolidate and reinforce your learning.
• They show your tutor how you are progressing.
• They enable your tutor to help you over difficult points.

 
Prior to attempting an assignment, by all means revise. However, once you have started, keep your study material and notes out of sight; then any points that you have not fully grasped will show in your answers. That is precisely what you want to happen, so that your tutor can help you.
 
On receiving your answers, your tutor will assess your work, comment on it, and give you a grade. Great care is always taken in assessing the hard work you have put into your answers, and this naturally take. You should allow at least 10 to 14 working days for their return (more for overseas students, holiday periods and possible postal delays). The following points will ensure that your answers are clear and readable, that they receive full attention by your tutor, and are returned to you speedily.
 
FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSIGNMENTS

 

• Submit your answers by email.
• For written assignments:
• Submit your answers by email or complete a Tutor Marked Assignment/Test Paper cover Sheet and send it   with your work
• Use A4 paper.
• Leave a good left-hand margin, where your tutor can write comments.
• Write as much as is required to answer the question fully. Remember the number required.
• Marks allocated to the question will indicate the length of the answer
• Do not pad out your answers with lots of unnecessary words; make them concise, accurate and relevant.

• Write neatly; leave plenty of spacing, use paragraphs and tabulations. If you type your answers, use double spacing between lines.

• Attempt to answer every question, unless instructed otherwise.

• Don’t send any more than one assignment at any one time. In this way you will be able to rectify any weaknesses in your knowledge pointed out by your tutor, before attempting the next assignment. 

• Where possible, attach the TMA/Test Paper itself to your answer sheets.

 
FOR ORAL ASSIGNMENTS 

Wind the tape back to the start of your recording. Remember to include all details to identify your tape so it may be returned quickly to you.
 
FOR PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS

Follow instructions in your course and remember to identify your work. Send all answers for a particular assignment together. There is no need to enclose postage stamps for return of your work. This is included in your course fee.
 
YOU AND YOUR TUTOR

Do remember that your tutors are not here to catch you out in your assignment answers. They are here to help you all the way through, and it is your answers that enable them to do just that. So, don’t cheat! Anyone can copy passages straight out of the study materials! You won’t fool anybody, except yourself!
 
If you have any difficulty in understanding any of the study material, don’t hesitate to ask for your tutor’s advice. You have only to give specific details by emailing your questions to tutorservices@apmuniversity.eu
 
TAKE THE EXAMINATION

In addition to continuous assessment (the TMAs), there is one three-hour examination. You will take your examination at the examination centre to which you will be allocated automatically according to your address.
The examination is the third element of the three things you need to do to obtain your certificate: -pass the continuous assessment element. Be recorded as having fully participated in the course and pass the examination.
 
THE EXAMINATION HAS SEVERAL PURPOSES

 

enhance the international credibility of your Certificate, Diploma and Degree award because passing proves you have undertaken the necessary study and been able to apply it serves as an incentive to consolidate and internalize the concepts covered in the course allows you to demonstrate that you can recall, choose, reflect on and apply management concepts in a pressured situation – i.e. not unlike many management situations.

 
If your work is graded W, your tutor will advise you to resubmit the assignment. Obviously, you should digest his/her comments on your original work before resubmitting any assignment. Few students receive a W grade, which should be looked upon as constructive criticism and not an indication of failure. If you have not mastered a topic and receive a low grade, your tutor will always show where your difficulty lies. Possibly, you will be asked to re-learn that topic and attempt the question(s) again.
 
The marking system above is used for all APMU courses. Some other courses may have a slightly different marking scheme, which will be outlined in their course-specific documents.
 
ACCREDITATION

Sussex College of Business is registered as a private college and is fully incorporated in the United Kingdom to operate globally 
 
LOCAL ACCREDITATION COUNCIL

It is the student’s responsibility to find out from the Local Accreditation Council in his or her home country about the suitability of a certificate or diploma issued by Sussex College of Business in the United Kingdom.