Course description
Content
The Diploma course consists of six modules which are taught in blocks of three days, supported by 'open learning' materials (see below) and two which may be taken entirely at a distance, or with some optional workshop attendance. Students wishing to proceed to the Master's Level are required to complete a 60 credit dissertation.
Modules are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, so some of them may change whilst you are on the course, but the overall aims and broad content of the course will remain the same.
Housing Policy
This module looks at the national policy context, including the financial framework for housing production and consumption. The module aims to be forward looking, as well as providing a detailed introduction to contemporary policy issues, set in a clear historical framework. There is a brief historical overview which provides a framework for understanding the development of policy. Contemporary issues and themes include meeting housing need through the market; social exclusion and residualisation; restructuring social housing provision; rent restructuring and housing benefit reform; governance.
Regeneration and Community Renewal
This distance learning module draws on a wide range of research expertise in the Faculty of the Built Environment. It introduces the nature of urban and rural change and the ways in which regeneration and community renewal have been interpreted and the problems involved translated into policy and practice. It also examines the concepts of neighbourhood and community and looks at current issues in regeneration, in particular the range of area-based initiatives which have characterised policy over the last decade, specifically the New Deal for Communities, Health, Employment and Education Action Zones, and the Sure Start Initiative.
Housing Development and Renewal
This module examines housing development and maintenance management processes. It will also consider the relationship between initial investment and subsequent costs and discuss how an understanding and evaluation of these can inform effective decision making. It provides an introduction to the development process, including regulatory mechanisms and procurement methods. It also looks at building defects and repairs, including forecasting future repairs needs; option appraisals for existing dwellings; prioritising repairs and improvements; establishing maintenance strategies; implementing programmes of repair and improvement; measuring performance of the maintenance service.
Financial Management of Social Businesses
This includes the economic characteristics of housing and the implications for the way in which housing is financed. The module introduces basic concepts in housing finance before moving on to look at the process by which a corporate strategy is converted into a business plan. It also looks at issues in treasury management, including the need for a strategic approach to financial planning, risk assessment and management.
Housing Law
This will focus on the law dealing with tenants or members of the public who require advice or assistance relating to their housing needs. It introduces students to the types of tenancies, the grounds for possession for each and the changes to the social housing regime brought in by the Housing Act 1996. Consideration will also be given to other forms of occupation, such as licences and unprotected tenancies, and harassment and illegal evictions. Other issues covered include homelessness, relationship breakdown, equal opportunities and obligations in relation to repairs and housing conditions.
Communities and Neighbourhoods
This distance learning module provides an introduction to, and a brief history of, community studies, neighbourhoods and inequality. It looks at the literature on civil society, social networks and social movements; community leadership and neighbourhood regeneration.
Issues in Housing Management
This module addresses the practical issues involved in the management of housing in the social rented sector. It considers the diversity of provision in the sector and explores the seemingly competing demands being made upon it. In particular, it considers how practitioners can respond to the demands of regulation and business economics whilst maintaining an holistic and community-focused approach to the management of housing.
Research for Policy and Practice
This module includes an investigation of the questions and debates related to the nature and function of research, how it should be conducted, and how it relates to 'professional' practice. It involves the identification and critical evaluation of ethical and legal issues related to research, and a critical analysis of the process of planning and designing research.
Placement
Full-time students have the option to undertake a paid placement with an appropriate organisation. This enables them to gain experience of working in the field, and to complete the practical experience requirements for CIH membership.
Dissertation
The culmination of the programme of study involving such features as high level critical analysis, self-directed inquiry and working near the boundaries of existing knowledge, in a subject selected by the student.
Learning approaches
The Housing and Community Renewal course is aimed at mature students from a range of backgrounds. The course uses a wide variety of materials and resources to provide an educational experience appropriate for postgraduate students. The aim is to assist students to relate theory to practice and encourage the ability to understand, interpret and positively develop, policy and practice in a way which reflects the intellectual foundations of the course.
The course therefore emphasises teaching and learning methods that involve interpretation, discussion and the exchange of ideas amongst students. In addition to lectures and seminars there is an emphasis on workshops, case studies, visits, group work and private study.
The Graduate School
The Faculty's Graduate School was established in 2005. Its main purpose is to foster an active graduate community, encompassing students on postgraduate taught courses and students undertaking research degrees. There are currently around 700 postgraduate students (400 attending and 300 distance learning) on taught courses, and about 40 postgraduate research students. The Graduate School has dedicated space in the Faculty's building on the main campus, with teaching accommodation, a kitchen and informal areas. The work of the Graduate School is based on the Faculty's extensive research programmes, and on the innovativeness and high quality of its teaching. Student advisers for all postgraduate courses are located in the Graduate School Office, and they are your first point of contact if you have any problems or need information. The Student Handbook is also an essential source of information.
You may also use the well equipped laboratories for concrete and environmental services, environmental physics, earth sciences, spatial analysis (including mapping and Geographical Information Systems) and surveying technology, each with specialist technicians supporting both teaching and research. An audio-visual group provides support for photography, digital imaging, filming and sound recording.
The Faculty has invested in online and offline computer-based resources to support modules, and especially those offered by distance learning. You also have access to a vast number of journals and databases online through the Bristol UWE library. The library and some computer labs on campus are open 24 hours, and the Faculty's suite of computer rooms supports software for word processing, data analysis, spatial analysis, computer aided design and other specialist software required by our students.
Assessment
Each module is taught and assessed over one semester (September to January or January to June). Assessment methods include a combination of essays, seminar presentations, case studies and examinations.
Pattern and duration of study
The Diploma may be completed in nine months full-time (21 months with a placement) or 21 months part-time. The MA takes a further three to 10 months.
The pattern of attendance is based on two day blocks, with full time students attending for 20 blocks per academic year and part time students for 10 blocks. Additional days will be required for assessment. This pattern of study depends on students undertaking the 'open learning' activities and reading between visits to the University (learning support materials are provided) and with additional academic support sessions being available between the blocks.
You may also spread the course over a longer period, by taking fewer modules each semester.
