Michelle Hall - FdA Business and Management

Michelle is the Administration Manager at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

'I had previously considered undertaking a degree but had set aside the idea because I did not wish to be a full-time student and wanted to stay in work with my current employer. However, when I saw the Foundation degree advertised I realised that this would provide me with an opportunity to work and study at the same time. Indeed, many aspects of the course overlapped with work projects ongoing at that time, e.g. 'Lean Working'.

Although three years seemed like a long time at the start of the course, the time flew by and it was a great personal achievement to graduate. I had an excellent mentor and the encouragement of my family to support me along the way. The FdA Business and Management has also taught me the importance of time management, which is essential to stay on track with work and study commitments.

The course was very rewarding and I realised I thoroughly enjoyed studying once again, so returned to the University the following year to complete the top-up programme to achieve a first class BA (Hons) Leadership, Business and Management degree. There will be some challenging times ahead in the NHS with the government's aim of streamlining public sector services but I am positive that units studied during the Foundation degree (e.g. human resource management, the economic environment of business, and financial resource planning, to name a few), will stand me in good stead to meet these head on.'

Mark Hunt, BA (Hons) Leadership, Business and Management

'I chose to come on this course because my HR Manager at work mentioned it and I thought that it was an excellent opportunity for me to develop my skills and career potential. My employer has been very helpful, paying the course fees and giving me time off to attend lectures – unfortunately I couldn’t persuade them to give me time off to study as well.

At first I thought returning to education after more than 14 years would be scary, but it’s not. Studying does take up a lot of time, but if you put the effort in you get a lot back. The lecturers here are very helpful and welcome feedback. My favourite session so far has been the business conference, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I feel that this course will develop my range of skills and experiences, giving me another string to my bow, which will not only be useful to my current employer, but also to any employer I may have in the future.'

David Jones – FdA Business and Management and BA (Hons) Leadership, Business and Management

David Jones set up diving centre Triton Scuba in 1998. The centre has expanded rapidly and is now one of the biggest providers of diver training in the UK. Knowing that some of his business decisions were more luck than judgement, David decided to study for a Foundation degree in Business and Management before progressing on to the BA (Hons) Leadership, Business and Management. He was awarded a First Class Honours Degree and top student prize.

The Foundation degree was ideal for me as the workload was such that I was able to balance family, study and work commitments. Continuing onto the BA (Hons) was a natural progression and the culmination of all my hard work.

The course made me realize that some of the things we did were based on solid business theory. It also provided me with a better understanding of business activities and how best to control them. I learnt about pricing policies, marketing strategies, the inclusion of sustainable strategies and much more, all of which helped to provide a competitive advantage.

We now apply business theory in the everyday running of the organisation and, as a direct result, we have experienced continued growth even through difficult times. We recently moved to new larger premises, diversifying and expanding our product and training lines to attract new customers. We were also awarded the Portsmouth Best Small Business prize, an award sponsored by the Portsmouth Business School. This continuous improvement can be attributed in some respects to the knowledge gained on the course.

My experience of the Business School and its staff is extremely positive. Lecturers and tutors are keen to help and have an infectious enthusiasm for their subject areas. The city of Portsmouth has a good spirit and atmosphere, and with easy access to London and south coast towns and cities, it makes it ideal for business as well as a good place to live.’