Learning to Deliver Non-Standard Degree Programmes

: Organisational Learning in UK Higher Education

Abstract

This professional doctorate examines how UK Higher Education Institutions learn to deliver Non-Standard Degree Programmes, including degree apprenticeships and other hybrid provision within regulatory, structural and cultural constraints.
End Point Assessment serves as the focal point of this study, selected in response to failures experienced both personally by the researcher as a practitioner-researcher and institutionally within the University of Portsmouth’s Faculty of Business and Law. These challenges provided the impetus to examine non-standard degree programmes in detail through a Doctorate of Business Administration, with the aim to address three objectives. (1) To propose a sector informed working definition of NSDPs for UK Higher Education Institutions; (2) to analyse how higher education institutions learn to deliver non-standard degree programmes (3) to develop a fit for purpose OL framework for the higher education institution context.
The research is grounded in a critical realist ontology and abductive logic; Secondary data comprised a purposive set of core course approval artefacts and operational records (e.g., programme specifications, assessment maps, handbooks, EPA guides, panel commentary, role descriptions, project plans, internal surveys) spanning 2016–2023. These were subjected to temporal and thematic review, including targeted scans for EPA terms to assess alignment between external requirements and institutional practice. Primary data consisted of fifteen semi-structured interviews with academic and professional services staff across four apprenticeship programmes, conducted in three waves to iteratively refine a template analysis. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim then analysed abductively to test and elaborate mechanisms surfaced in the secondary analysis with triangulation, enhancing credibility.
Findings reveal recurrent problems such as ownership ambiguity, fragmented knowledge flows, weak institutional memory and reliance on short-term workarounds driven by regulatory misalignment and ‘loose coupling’ between academic and professional services. In response, the thesis proposes a hybrid non-standard degree programme organisational learning framework, comprising five interrelated components: Regulatory Alignment, Knowledge Systems, Integration Mechanisms, Collaborative Culture and Adaptive Embedding, moving provision from compliance-led reaction to continuous, system level learning. To test its applicability beyond the case institution, the framework was subjected to validation with both an independent training provider and a Russell Group university, ensuring its relevance across diverse higher education contexts and strengthening its potential contribution to sector wide practice.
The thesis contributes theoretically by integrating classic organisational learning constructs with the distinctive regulatory dynamics of non-standard degree programmes, and practically by offering a roadmap for leaders to strengthen governance, knowledge continuity and learning culture. In addition, it advances sector practice by proposing a working definition of non-standard degree programmes that is grounded in the empirical realities of a UK Higher Education Institution but informed by wider policy and regulatory discourse. This definition not only clarifies the parameters of provision that diverge from traditional degree structures but also provides a foundation for consistent sector wide discussions, evaluation and improvement. By delineating non-standard degree programmes in this way, the research opens pathways for further comparative inquiry across apprenticeship standards, and other forms of provision, contributing both to practitioner understanding and to the scholarly knowledge base on how such programmes can be designed, governed and sustained. Limitations include the single institution focus and future work should test the framework across multiple sites with outcome metrics (e.g., EPA readiness, continuation, employer satisfaction).

Date of Award	24 Apr 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Portsmouth
Supervisor	Philip Brabazon (Supervisor), Nigel Williams (Supervisor) & Maria Barbati (Supervisor)