Higher Nationals Digital Technologies Programme Specification For use with the Higher National Certificate and Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies First Teaching from March 2021 First Certification from 2022 Higher National Certificate Lvl 4 Higher National Diploma Lvl 5 Edexcel, BTEC and LCCI qualifications Edexcel, BTEC and LCCI qualifications are awarded by Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked. For further information, please visit our qualifications website at qualifications.pearson.com. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at qualifications.pearson.com/contact us About Pearson We are the world's learning company, operating in 70 countries around the world, with more than 22,500 employees. 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BTEC Higher Nationals in Digital Technologies – original image by © Solskin/Getty Images ISBN 978 1 292 40370 0 All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Limited 2021 Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 The Student Voice 1 1.2 Why choose Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals? 1 1.3 HN Global 2 1.4 Qualification titles 3 1.5 Qualification codes 4 1.6 Awarding institution 4 1.7 Key features 4 1.8 Collaborative development 5 2 Programme purpose and objectives 7 2.1 Purpose of the Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals 7 2.2 Objectives of the Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals 7 2.3 Aims of the Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Digital Technologies 8 2.4 Aims of the Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies 8 2.5 Developing students’ employability skills and academic study skills 9 2.5.1 Use of maths and English within the curriculum 11 2.6 What could these qualifications lead to? 11 2.6.1 Progression to university 12 3 Planning your programme 13 3.1 Designing with employers, for employers 13 3.1.1 Employability skills and competencies for student career success 14 3.1.2 Developing competencies for the workplace 15 3.1.3 Professional body recognition and exemption 20 3.1.4 Programme combinations that support delivery of Higher Apprenticeships and Occupational Standards 21 4 Centre support 29 Support for setting up your course and preparing to teach 29 4.1 This document 29 4.2 HN Global 29 4.3 Authorised Assignment Briefs 30 4.4 Assignment checking service 30 4.5 Pearson English 30 5 Planning your programme 31 5.1 Delivering the Higher Nationals 31 5.1.1 Centre approval 31 5.1.2 Tutor knowledge 31 5.1.3 Resources 32 5.1.4 Delivering learning 32 5.1.5 Support from Pearson 32 5.2 Entry requirements and admissions 32 5.2.1 English language requirements 33 5.3 Access to study 33 5.4 Student registration and entry 34 5.5 Access to assessments 34 5.6 Administrative arrangements for internal assessment 35 5.6.1 Records 35 5.6.2 Reasonable adjustments to assessment 35 5.6.3 Special consideration 35 5.6.4 Appeals against assessment 36 5.7 Dealing with malpractice in assessment 36 5.7.1 Learner malpractice 37 5.7.2 Staff/centre malpractice 37 5.7.3 Sanctions and appeals 37 6 Programme structure 39 6.1 Units, credits and total qualification time (TQT) 39 6.2 Programme structures 41 6.2.1 Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Digital Technologies 41 6.2.2 Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies 50 6.2.3 Units selected from the Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals suite 61 6.2.4 Meeting local needs 63 6.2.5 Commissioning new units for Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals 64 6.3 Unit descriptor example 65 7 Assessment 68 7.1 Principles of internal assessment 68 7.1.1 Assessment through assignments 68 7.1.2 Using unit-based criteria 68 7.1.3 The assessment team 69 7.1.4 Effective organisation 71 7.1.5 Preparing students 71 7.2 Making valid assessment decisions 72 7.2.1 Authentic student work 72 7.2.2 Making assessment decisions using criteria 72 7.2.3 Dealing with late assignments 72 7.2.4 Providing assessment decisions and feedback 73 7.2.5 The opportunity to resubmit an assignment 73 7.2.6 Repeat units 74 7.2.7 Assessment boards 74 7.3 Planning and record keeping 74 7.4 Calculating the final qualification grade 75 7.4.1 Conditions for the award 75 7.4.2 Compensation 76 7.4.3 Calculating the overall qualification grade 76 7.4.4 Modelled student outcomes 77 8 Quality assurance 79 8.1 The approval process 79 8.2 Centre and qualification approval 80 8.3 Monitoring internal systems 80 8.4 Independent review of assessments 81 8.5 Annual programme monitoring report (APMR) 81 8.6 Annual student survey 81 8.7 Continuing quality assurance and standards verification 81 9 Recognition of prior learning and attainment 83 10 Equality and diversity 84 11 Units 86 Unit 1: Professional Practice in the Digital Economy 87 Unit 2: Innovation & Digital Transformation 96 Unit 3: Cyber Security 103 Unit 4: Programming 112 Unit 5: Big Data & Visualisation 117 Unit 6: Networking in the Cloud 126 Unit 7: Cloud Fundamentals 133 Unit 8: Security 141 Unit 9: Networking 147 Unit 10: Database Design & Development 154 Unit 11: Software Development Lifecycles 160 Unit 12: Data Analytics 165 Unit 13: Principles of Animation 172 Unit 14: Game Development 181 Unit 15: Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligent (AI) & Intelligent Systems 190 Unit 16: Website Design & Development 200 Unit 17: Management in the Digital Economy 207 Unit 18: Project Management 216 Unit 19: Business Intelligence 226 Unit 20: Internet of Things 234 Unit 21: Emerging Technologies 242 Unit 22: Work-based Learning in the Digital Economy 249 Unit 23: Applied Security in the Cloud 259 Unit 24: Applied Cryptography in the Cloud 266 Unit 25: Information Security Management in the Cloud 277 Unit 26: Data Structures & Algorithms 285 Unit 27: Advanced Programming 292 Unit 28: Risk Analysis & Systems Testing 297 Unit 29: Applied Analytical Models 304 Unit 30: Business Information Technology Systems 311 Unit 31: Network Management 318 Unit 32: Digital Technology as a Catalyst for Change 324 Unit 33: 3D Sculpting for Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR) 335 Unit 34: Advanced Rendering & Visualisation 342 Unit 35: Advanced Animation 350 Unit 36: Application Development 360 Unit 37: Application Program Interfaces 367 Unit 38: Planning Social Media Campaigns 372 Unit 39: Digital Marketing 381 Unit 40: Customer Value Management 389 Unit 41: Digital Sustainability 396 Unit 42: Pitching and Negotiating Skills 403 11 Appendices 410 Appendix 1: Mapping of HND in Digital Technologies against FHEQ Level 5 411 Appendix 2: HNC/HND Digital Technologies Programme Outcomes for Students 416 Appendix 3: Transferable skills mapping 418 Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Digital Technologies: mapping of transferable employability and academic study skills 418 Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies: mapping of transferable employability and academic study skills 420 1 Introduction BTEC is an established brand of choice for the world’s learning communities, engaging students in applied, practical, interpersonal and thinking skills for more than three decades. The BTEC suite of Pearson qualifications, Higher Nationals (HNs) are widely supported by higher education and industry as the principal vocational qualifications at Levels 4 and 5. BTEC is one of the world's most successful applied learning brands, helping students develop their practical, interpersonal and thinking skills for more than 30 years. When developing our BTEC Higher National qualifications, we worked with a wide range of students, employers, higher education providers, colleges and subject experts to make sure the qualifications met their needs and expectations. We also work closely with professional organisations to make sure the qualifications were in line with recognised professional standards. The Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications are designed to reflect the increasing need for high quality professional and technical education at Levels 4 and 5. They provide students with a clear line of sight to employment and to a degree at Level 6 if they choose. 1.1 The Student Voice Students are at the heart of what we do. That is why we consult them from the start when developing our Higher National qualifications. We involve them in writing groups, seek their feedback and take note of their opinions. This helps us develop the best possible qualifications and learning experience for students worldwide. 1.2 Why choose Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals? Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications take a student-centred approach to the curriculum. There is a flexible, unit-based structure that focuses on developing the practical, interpersonal and thinking skills the student will need to succeed in employment and higher education. They represent the latest in professional standards and provide opportunities for students to develop skills and behaviours for work, for example by taking part in a group project or meeting a client brief.