Sports students boosted by University of Chichester’s new CIMSPA accreditation
SPORTS students at the University of Chichester are to benefit from its new association with a leading professional body which will help improve learning and job prospects.
The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, known as CIMSPA, has given its backing for the University to become one of its higher education partners. The agreement with the chartered body will also provide an endorsement for Chichester’s BA (Hons) Sport Management degree, which is recognised as a mark of quality by industry employers.
Paul Wheeler, who leads the University course, said: “Our partnership with CIMSPA will enable us to develop new links with organisations. It will help provide students with work placement and project opportunities, and improve their employability prospects after graduating.”
While the University of Chichester has been a longstanding member of CIMSPA, the new affiliation will see it become join 19 of the body’s official higher education partners.
Once endorsed against the professional standards, the agreement will also align the BA (Hons) Sport Management’s curriculum with CIMSPA’s standards framework, ensuring students graduate with the qualifications and skills needed to work in the UK’s sports and physical activity industry.
University-CIMSPA partnership opens new possibilities for students
CIMSPA Higher Education Officer Helen Hiley said: “We are pleased to be working with the University of Chichester and cultivating a lasting partnership with an exciting and innovative organisation. As a CIMSPA higher education partner, they have made a commitment to embedding employability into their degree programmes which we are positive will have a lasting impact on their students.
“It is important that all students entering our sector have access to degree programmes that will help them have fruitful and lasting career pathways in sport and physical activity. By endorsing their degree programmes against the CIMSPA professional standards, the University of Chichester are guaranteeing that their students will have the employability tools that they need to succeed in the future post-graduation and to take their careers to the next level.
“We are looking forward to seeing their list of endorsed degrees grow and to being able to offer their students a host of benefits to help them progress and see them grow into the Chartered Members of the future.”
As part of the partnership, students will become members of CIMSPA and will get access to free training and learning resources, as well as networking opportunities with the body’s many industry partners for volunteering and internships. It also builds on the national reputation of University’s established sports courses, within which 93 per cent of students find employment or undertake further education just six months after graduating.
Professor Mike Lauder, Director of the University’s Institute of Sport, added: “We are excited by our new partnership with CIMSPA, which is central to our plans to endorse our new sport and physical activity curriculum across the Institute, which launches this September.
“Integrating employability and CIMSPA standards into our BA (Hons) Sport Management has been a driver for the newly designed programme and the CIMSPA professional standards will ensure our students graduate with the skills and competencies required for employment in the sector.
“We will also be embedding the standards into our Coaching, Sport Development, and other relevant Institute of Sport programmes to ensure our high-quality, research, and professional practice-led programmes are also underpinned by essential employment skills and competencies.”
For more about the University’s new partnership with CIMSPA go to www.cimspa.co.uk. Or find out how the BA (Hons) Sport Management degree can help pursue a career in the sports and physical activity industry at www.chi.ac.uk/sport.