Bpp College Of Professional Studies

BPP is famous for its law courses but I have more experience of it’s professional qualifications in marketing, which are based on the syllabus set by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). There are 4 levels of CIM qualification; Introduction level, Certificate level, Professional Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma. I think that BPP only offer professional diploma and postgrad diploma. Most people who have some knowledge of business (i.e. have been working in an office environment for 1 – 2 years), and have experienced study at university should be able to join at Professional Diploma level.
I haven’t tried other providers as BPP’s location in Holborn is convenient to me, as it is close to bus and tube links and a nice area. There do not seem to be that many providers of CIM courses in London that are larger professional qualifications providers (FTC Kaplan do not run CIM courses in London currently), and BPP’s course books are offered at a number of CIM events as being good study guides for the syllabus.
The professional diploma is split into 4 modules, and you can take as many of these at a time as you want. Courses run either two nights per week, 6−9pm, fortnightly, or one Saturday every fortnight 9−5pm, and start in September or January. Each module takes about 3 months to complete and you can choose either assignment or exam for your assessment which will be held in a CIM exam centre (usually Fulham town hall)
The teaching was good, though perhaps not as coherent as other professional qualifications such as the ACA for accounting. The BPP textbooks are comprehensive but could be better laid out and structured to help you study in the short time you have. You are also given a bank of past paper questions to familiarise yourself with question styles and a small notebook of printed flashcard style revision notes which are a condensed version of the book. Mock exams are also included and as part of the couse you will also attempt 2 mock exams at home per module.
The classes are very interactive and involve a number of discussions and are rarely boring. Attending the classes is a great way to meet other people from a wide variety of different businesses and is a learning opportunity in itself.
I took the CIM Professional Diploma to try and improve my CV and give me practial skills for marketing that I hope to be able to use in my work in the future. I feel that I can achieve this with the course at BPP.
My main criticisms would be the admin at BPP which is badly organised and slow when sending out student cards and going through enrollment procedures. Other than that my experience so far has generally been good and I will return to complete my professional diploma in January by taking a further two modules.
Classrooms are modern and never cramped; teaching uses powerpoint presentations and group work in class.
Overall this course is good value for money and a good option for people who want to improve their knowledge of marketing procedures to improve their general business knowledge.

It offers a wide range of professional courses in areas such as accountancy, taxation, etc. It is pricey but has a very good reputation.
If a company is paying, then choose the best, otherwise, try a smaller college or distant learning (which is a quarter of the price)!