CDA is a self-funded research & think-tank network. We aim to secure the best conditions for sustainable degree apprenticeships through research and analyses. Early research findings suggest that the sustainable implementation of degree apprenticeships (DAs) requires:

• Strong institutional leadership is essential including clarity that DAs are ‘core business’
• That DAs are developed from the ground up as apprenticeship programmes
• Better, more effective, sustained and systematic collaboration with employers
• A specific focus on systems and practices that enable recruitment and progression
• An effective learning culture in the workplace
• The workplace as the source of learning not just a site for its application
• Effective and comprehensive integration of on and off-the-job learning
• Authentic assessment that reflects working practices and work-integrated pedagogies
• Quality assurance approaches that maintain professional and academic standards but also accommodate the contribution of multiple stakeholders