Business, Finance and Accounting Foundation Year

Teaching and learning

You will be taught by a multidisciplinary team of lecturers who are subject specialists and experts in shaping their teaching approaches to each student.  

Your teachers will equip you with academic skills that will form the bedrock of your studies, e.g. referencing, lab reports, data analysis. They will share their enthusiasm for their subject whilst giving you a road-map so you can succeed in your assignments.  

The Business, Finance and Accounting Foundation Year teaching team is:    

• Nick Edwards (Foundation Year Programme lead)
• Erivan White 
• Zainab Atta
• Gerald Dampier
• Dr Antonia Voigt.

Pastoral care

The Foundation Year at Surrey provides a particularly supportive environment through close attention to pastoral care and the development of your academic and organisational skills.  

All Foundation students are assigned a personal tutor to support you while you study. Regular individual communication with your personal tutor, who will normally be one of your academic teaching staff, is very much encouraged.   

We have designed the Foundation Year curriculum to develop the skills and attributes which will underpin your success at this level and throughout the main degree that follows. 

In this way, the Foundation Year provides opportunities for you to grow and build the confidence and resilience which are so important in deriving benefit from both your taught sessions and independent study, and to succeed in your assessments across the year.

Day-to-day learning 

We focus on active learning, encouraging you to take the initiative in finding answers to your questions, and on developing your skills for research, presentation or self-reflection. 

The programme integrates the development of knowledge in your chosen subject area with ongoing and structured work on skills such as academic writing, AI literacy, working in teams, public speaking, research, critical thinking, learning in lecture situations, revision and exam technique, time management, and more. 

Our foundation academics apply effective and innovative teaching methods through interactive learning, direct observation and simulation games.   

You’ll benefit from group seminars, small group tutorials, projects, lectures and workshops. We find that our students learn most effectively in this environment, and teamwork projects during the year will contribute to the development of your personal skills in leadership, effective communication and analytical ability. 

Preparing you for your career

• Team-building through group work   
• Personal brand through vlogging and blogging 
• Leadership and innovation with high profile industry guest speakers 
• Students develop and run their own business in Semester 2.   

These assignments sit alongside many other activities that seek to foster and develop employability in an uncertain and demanding employment market.    

Find out more about how we prepare our Foundation Year students for their professional lives. 

Assessment

The assessment methods on the course have been designed to assist you to develop and adapt your skills for further study and employment. They include vlogs, blogs, group presentations, business plans and independent research to name a few.   

In some cases, you will have an opportunity to submit a practice piece of work for feedback and comment before you submit the finished article. In every case you will have the opportunity to seek guidance and advice from experienced lecturers who are there to support you to succeed in your ambitions.