[00:44.66]ANDREW:Excuse me, I was told to come here for advice about, erm, Management Diploma courses?
[00:51.60]MONICA:You've certainly come to the right place.
[00:53.00]Hi, my name is Monica.
[00:55.95]ANDREW:Nice to meet you.
[00:57.21]My name is Andrew, Andrew Harris.
[01:00.07]MONICA:So, Andrew, have you seen our diploma course prospectus yet?
[01:04.44]ANDREW:Yes, I've already looked at it.
[01:06.38]In fact, I thought the information on course content was really useful, but I'm afraid I'm a bit confused by all the different ways you can do the course: full-time intensive, part-time and so on.
[01:19.79]MONICA:Well, let's see if I can help.
[01:22.23]I think each course type has its advantages and disadvantages, so it really depends on you - your own study habits, and your financial circumstances, of course.
[01:34.00]Are you working at the moment?
[01:36.78]ANDREW:Yes.
[01:37.46]I've been working in the administration section of the local hospital for the last three years.
[01:43.18]And before that I worked in the office of a computer engineering company for two years.
[01:48.15]So, I've got about five years of relevant work experience.
[01:51.80]And what I'm hoping to focus on is Personnel Management.
[01:54.83]MONICA:I see.
[01:56.30]And are you planning to leave your current job to study , or are you thinking about just taking a year off?
[02:03.00]ANDREW:I want to know what my options are, really.
[02:06.35]I don't want to quit my job or anything and my employers are keen for me to get some more qualifications but obviously, it would be better if I could do a course without taking too much time away from work.
[02:20.15]MONICA:Right, so you don't really want to do the full-time course, then?
[02:24.70]ANDREW:No, not really.
[02:26.28]It's also a question of finances.
[02:28.80]You see, my office have agreed to pay the cost of the course itself, but I would have to take unpaid leave if I want to study full-time and, well, I don't think I could afford to support myself with no salary for a whole year.
[02:42.66]MONICA:OK.
[02:43.70]Well, you have two other possibilities: you could either do the part-time course - that would be over two years and you wouldn't have to take any time off work - or you could do what we call a 'modular' course.
[02:57.46]You could do that in eighteen months if you wanted - or longer, it's quite flexible and it would be up to you.
[03:03.72]ANDREW:Mmm.
[03:05.28]So what does the part-time course involve?
[03:08.00]MONICA:For that you would join an evening class and have a lecture twice a week.
[03:12.51]Then, you'd have to attend a seminar or discussion workshop one weekend a month.
[03:18.30]ANDREW:What kind of coursework would I have to do?
[03:20.68]MONICA:Well, it's a mixture.
[03:22.00]You'd be expected to write (Q24-25) an essay each month, which counts towards your final assessment.
[03:27.41]You have a case study to do by the end of the course, which might involve doing a survey or something like that, and also you need to hand in (Q24-25) a short report every four weeks.
[03:38.53]ANDREW:So, that's quite a lot of work, then, on top of working every day.
[03:42.52]It sounds like a lot of studying - and really tiring.
[03:46.50]MONICA:Yes, you certainly wouldn't have much free time!
[04:27.89]ANDREW:What about the 'modular' course?
[04:30.10]What would I have to do for that?
[04:31.86]MONICA:That's where you get the opportunity to study full-time for short periods.
[04:36.58]That way you can cover a lot of coursework and attend lectures and seminars during the day.
[04:41.79]And each module lasts for one term, say, about twelve weeks at a time.
[04:47.56]There are obvious advantages in this - the main one being that you can study in a much more intensive way, which suits some people much better.
[04:55.61]ANDREW:And how many of these 'modules' would I have to do to get the diploma?
[05:00.25]MONICA:The current programme is two modules - and then you have to choose a topic to work in more depth - but you can base that on your job, and so you don't need to be away from the office, and how long it takes is up to you.
[05:13.90]The important thing is that you don't have to study and work.
[05:17.61]You can focus on one thing at a time.
[05:20.07]ANDREW:Yes, I can see that.
[05:21.43]It certainly sounds attractive!
[05:23.49]It would be more expensive, though.
[05:25.24]I mean, I'd have to support myself without pay for each module.
[05:29.16]MONICA:That's true, so that might be a problem for you.
[05:31.87]Look, why don't you talk this over with your employers and...
