Information for employers

Thank you for offering a placement in your company to one or more of our students for a period of professional training during the third year of their degree programme.

A placement student speaking with another member of staff in the office, looking at a laptop.

The professional placement is an integral element of our degree courses and something we believe is of particular benefit to our students. Over many years, Loughborough University has earned a high reputation for producing graduates who are well suited to the demands of modern businesses. Our placement programme will lead to the award of the Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) for our students and aims to further equip them with the skills needed to succeed in the current, rapidly changing job market.

This webpage gives you an overview of the requirements needed for the student to qualify for the DPS award, as well as a summary of what we ask of your company. It also gives you details of the students’ online placement information; key information on the placement progress meeting and contact details you may need for the Placements Office. Alongside this information, you should also have received a Certificate of Satisfactory Performance (CASP) for the student.

Each student will be allocated a Placement Tutor – an academic member of staff who will contact the student whilst on placement and will also want to meet with the student and their manager; this will most likely be online, but face-to-face visits can be undertaken if required. The allocated Placement Tutor will hold at least two placement progress meetings with the student, typically between November and March, for a full year placement. Only one meeting is needed for short term placements.

Finally, every year our second year students will begin looking for a placement from October. We would be grateful if you could send us the details of any placements you may be offering next year, or contact us if you wish to chat about this.

We hope that the year ahead goes well for you and for the student, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance at any stage.

What we ask of employers

A Host Organisation Declaration Form (HODF) should have been sent to you by the student to be completed and returned to the Placements Office as soon as possible. The placement cannot be approved for the purposes of the DPS until we receive this.

Employers may be asked to complete a Placement Criteria Form. This helps us to establish that the role is suitable for the student.

  • Assign a supervisor to the student.
  • Draw up a programme of work for the student, including suitable relevant experiences in business which require a level of intellectual participation appropriate to a third year student.
  • Complete an induction period with the student.

An academic member of staff will be assigned to the student as a Placement Tutor. The allocated Placement Tutor will hold at least two placement progress meetings with the student, typically between November and March. The default position is these meetings will be online and one of these meetings should include the manager of the placement student.

Complete the first Certificate of Satisfactory Perfomance (CASP). The student completes the first part of the form before passing this to the manager.  

If you wish to use your company’s own development review/appraisal documents please do so, but please be aware that the student will need a signed copy of two reviews/appraisals for their DPS folder at the end of the year.

Please meet the student’s Placement Tutor and review the student’s progress. Adjust the programme of work as necessary.

  • Review the student's DPS work.
  • Complete the final part of the Certifiacte of Satisfactory Performance (CASP) with the student.

The placement progress meetings

The purpose of the placement progress meetings is for the student and their academic Placement Tutor to meet and discuss the progress of the placement. The first meeting will usually be between the student and the Placement Tutor only, but at the second meeting the Placement Tutor will also want to meet the student’s line manager to discuss the student’s progress and to address any queries or issues you may have.

The second placement progress meeting usually lasts up to 60 to 90 minutes and typically comprises a meeting between the student and the Placement Tutor; and a meeting with the student, manager and placement. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange the meetings to suit all parties involved. It generally takes place between January and March but can be arranged around business needs. 

The student’s Certificate of Satisfactory Performance (CASP) can form the basis of the meetings and the Placement Tutor will have a checklist to work through to ensure that they have gained all the information they need from the meeting. Should it be required, any further contact or even a further meeting can be arranged on a needs basis.

Diploma in Professional Studies

To obtain the DPS on graduation, the student must satisfactorily complete:

  • A minimum of 35 weeks (excluding holidays). The aim is 45 weeks, or a minimum of 25 weeks (excluding holidays) plus an additional 10 weeks of supplementary activity. Any supplementary activity is not part of the placement and is agreed between the student and the Placements Office.
  • A competent performance of duties on the placement; maintaining good conduct and upholding the reputation and standards of both the company and the University.
  • A 1500 word piece of work reflecting on their placement year.
  • Prepare a marketing ‘product’ (for example a poster, infographic, presentation etc) that communicates their experience at your placement organisation.

It is the overall responsibility of the student to ensure that they receive a suitable professional experience; to maintain satisfactory communication with the University and to see that the requirements for the award of DPS are met.

Help and support

Most if not all of our students’ placements go well with no issues, as we like to ensure that our students behave and act accordingly to your organisation’s policy, rules and regulations – with our health and safety and pre-placement briefings carried out before they start at your organisation. However, things do not always go to plan on placement such as work issues with company culture, roles and responsibilities, behavioural issues and more.

Therefore, it is very important that we are aware of any issues that may arise as soon as they occur. Please contact the student’s Placement Tutor and/or the Placements Office. The team will then help to resolve the issue the best they can, finding the best solution for your organisation as well as the student.

Contact information

The Placements Office is open all year round except for bank holidays and University closures. The first point of contact for you as a placement employer is the Placements Manager or Placements Team. Please do contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Claire Walker Placements Manager

Placements Team