Blended learning has become increasingly important to deliver a flexible, accessible and personalised learning experience to learners from different walks of life. To meet centre and learner needs, Pearson has developed HN Online, which enables the delivery of Higher Nationals through a blend of online and classroom learning.

Both the BTEC HNC and HND in Business are available now for delivery via HN Online.

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Our goal at Pearson is to improve access and outcomes in education​ through our world-class capabilities in educational content and assessment, powered by services and technology. We have recently updated our BTEC Higher Nationals qualifications to the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) and now we want to power these qualifications with technology through HN Online.

What is HN Online?

HN Online is a  digital solution created by Pearson that enables flexible delivery of BTEC Higher National qualifications. 

The learning materials included in HN Online allow students to engage with critical course content via a personalised learning path, enabling you to focus on high value face-to-face teaching and assignment support.

HN Online allows you to:

  • Widen access: HN Online will make learning accessible to students who cannot attend a full face-to-face course, allowing you to appeal to a broader mix of students.
  • Improve student engagement: To help students learn without becoming overwhelmed, all content is segmented into manageable pieces. HN Online is built around a diverse range of learning tools, including video case studies, interactive exercises and self-assessment questions.
  • Save time: Creating online resources in-house requires a considerable investment of staff time, particularly if you do not have learning design expertise in your college. HN Online offers you a high-quality resource, aligning to all BTEC HNC learning outcomes, that easily integrates into your VLE.
  • Make effective interventions: You have access to all student data through a performance dashboard. Student activity and formative assessments can be easily tracked, and used to highlight where students are struggling.
  • Deliver high value face-to-face teaching and assignment support: Using HN Online to deliver core course content enables you to build on that knowledge in your face-to-face teaching time, questioning around tricky concepts, instigating debates and offering help where it’s needed most.

Course content

When creating HN Online, we applied the same rigorous learning design principles we use to develop any qualification and all content aligns to the learning outcomes of the BTEC Higher Nationals.

What is included in HN Online:

  • Currently HN Online is available for BTEC Higher Nationals in Business (RQF);
  • Content is available for eight (six core and two optional units) out of the ten units covered in the qualification;
  • Each online unit covers 30 of the 60 required Guided Learning Hours (GLH);
  • Each online unit covers all the learning outcomes listed in the specification;
  • HN Online integrates with your college's VLE, so it can be accessed via a platform both you and your students are familiar with;Pearson will provide integration support and new user training to help you to become more comfortable with the functionality.

We launched HN Online in 2018 and currently the content has only been developed for the BTEC Higher Nationals in Business, but more subjects will follow soon. 
Course content - BTEC Higher National in Business (HNC and HND)

BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC)
Core/optional Unit title Credits
Core

1 Business and the Business Environment

 15

Core

2 Marketing Essentials

 15
Core

3 Human Resource Management

 15
Core

4 Management and Operations

 15
Core

5 Management Accounting

 15
Core

6 Managing a Successful Business Project (Pearson-set)

 15
Optional

9 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management

 15
Optional

10 Financial Accounting

 15

BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND)
Core/optional Unit title Credits Pathway
Core 11 Research Project (Pearson-set) 30 All
Core 12 Organisational Behaviour 15 All
Mandatory (Specialist) 16 Operations and Project Management 15 Business Management
Mandatory (Specialist) 17 Understanding and Leading Change 15 Business Management
Optional 18 Global Business Environment 15 Business Management
Optional 32 Business Strategy 15 All
Optional 33 Business IT Systems 15 All
Optional 36 Human Resources - Value and Contribution to Organisational Success 15 All
Optional 42 Planning for Growth 15 All

Adopting HN Online at your centre

HN Online comprises all critical course content supporting blended delivery of BTEC Higher National qualifications. Centres wishing to adopt it and deliver the qualification will first need to obtain approval. 

Education providers can purchase access to HN Online as required, and cost will vary depending on the number of units adopted by the centre, and number of students registered on the programme. Find out more by requesting the information pack for HN Online below.

To help you succeed in blended delivery of our qualifications, we will fully support you with your training needs, both with product functionality and the move to teaching using a blended model of face-to-face and online delivery. We offer regional training sessions, and where necessary, individual college training, and assist you through the process of integrating HN Online into your LMS.