Is a HND in Business a good qualification?

[Tolivebythesea]

My son is thinking of starting a HND in Business (1 year course) apparently equivalent to the 1st year of a university degree or a foundation degree.
The reason for this is that his A level results were not great, partly due to external factors and partly due to his struggling with time during exams.
His thinking is that this qualification will enable him to top up to a batchelor degree (starting in year 2) at university, or possibly enable him to start work without gaining a degree.
This is at a local college and there is no information as to how good the course is on unistats so I feel a bit in the dark. Does anyone have any knowledge about HND's (particularly in Business) or anything else which may help him make a decision. The course fees are £5,500. This is fine if he is going to gain a good stepping stone into a good degree or work but not so good if it's not that useful.
Many thanks.

I thought HNDs used to be 2 yrs not 1? The 2 yrs is equivalent to 1st yr of a similar degree , allowing him to join in yr2 of the degree course.

From what I remember it is a good/alternative route into uni, like your DS said for those who may struggle with A'levels although I'm not sure if all universities accept them.

I've got a HND in business studies which I then topped up to degree level. He's right in saying it's basically a 'foundation' year but the difference is he'll walk away with a qualification if he decides not to continue and then later if he can top it up if he chooses. It's a good way to gain a degree if he doesn't have good college grades and it's easier then 'regular' uni

As long as the uni offers a 'top up' course they'll accept it. I did my HND at London south bank university and topped up at Leeds Beckett university

.Vodka Was your HND I yr? OP perhaps double check this, I'm a bit long in the tooth but have never heard of a 1 year HND, how would it be equivilent to a first year of a degree? I can understand crossing over to a foundation course but transferring into 2nd yr of a degree sounds unlikely.

Your DS needs to be clear on the route he is following to avoid any disappointments.

Thank you for your replies. I have just double checked, the HND is 1 year (35 weeks) in college for 2 full days per week plus obviously working at home. Maybe the 2 year HND's are in college for 1 full day per week?

Vodka - Did your HND cover several areas of Business? The other thing I am thinking is that hopefully it will give him a taste of different topics which will help in deciding what exact degree to top up to. Also, did you have any difficulty getting your uni of choice to study the top up? Checking UCAS a HND is not stated as the 'usual' admissions criteria, so don't know how amenable they are as opposed to A' Levels for entry.

I did HND Business many years ago as a two year full time course. During my second year, we were able to choose from various options including marketing, law, HR etc etc. When applying for jobs, the HND was accepted as equivalent to a degree on application forms. I found that I learnt skills that were directly relevant to the jobs that I did. Before a recent career change, I was earning a very good wage for a well known large corporate. Best of luck to your DS.

Thank you for your replies. I have just double checked, the HND is 1 year (35 weeks) in college for 2 full days per week plus obviously working at home. Maybe the 2 year HND's are in college for 1 full day per week?
I used to teach (lecture) on an HND course (not Business but Science) and it definitely was 2 years full-time. It was the HNC students who were part-time (most of these were on day-release with relevant work). I think the system has changed since then and all qualifications are labelled as HNDs. HND Students could progress onto the second year of the related Applied Science degree at the local university (which at the time had just converted from being a polytechnic).
HNDs are related to BTECs and have different "levels". A level 3 qualification would be A level equivalent so would be the same as a Foundation degree so he would then go into the first year of a degree course. Level 4 qualification would either mean that he can go into year 2 of a related degree course (or possibly even year 3) OR may be considered as equivalent to a degree by some employers in terms of work.
Hope that helps.

i thought the first year was HNC then HND in second year?

Redken that's kind of what I thought. Higher National Certificate (HNC) 1st year, followed by the Higher National Diploma (HND) 2nd year. Perhaps it's all changed.

HND is 2 years full time, HNC is one year full time or two years part time.

Yes you can 'top up' to a degree afterwards.

OP don't search UCAS with NHD as entry requirements, search for it as a course. Lots of places teaching HNC/HND either do degrees as well or have a link with a uni that does a top up.

I did HNC Business Studies 2 years part time as I was day release from work. Iit would have allowed me to transfer into the second year of the degree at an ex Poly. It is worthwhile and the subjects studies are very relevant to the degree.

Back in the 80s my DBro did an engineering HND at a poly which had the option of going on to the second year of the degree course at the same poly if grades were high enough. A lot of the HND students followed this route. The HND was 2 years full time.

I would have a look for HND courses with a similar direct link to a degree course myself, otherwise there might be difficulty transferring to a degree course later.