HIGHER EDUCATION
What are my choices if I’m in work and/or returning to study?
It’s never too late to study!
Did you leave school with few or low grade qualifications?
Don’t despair – If you decide you want to go to university and don’t have the qualifications then, once you are 19, you can apply to do an Access to Higher Education course at a local college. You can do it over 1 or 2 years [full-time or part-time] and it is accepted by universities as an entrance qualification.
ACCESS courses locally:East Surrey College, Brooklands College, NESCOT and Guildford College all offer ACCESS to Higher Education courses. Contact individual colleges for further details.
College Contact Details
Do you want to improve your promotion chances OR have a change of career?
As a mature student [aged over 21], it is possible to be accepted onto a First Degree, Foundation Degree or HND course without formal qualifications - you need to talk with the Admissions Tutors for the course you are interested in to see if they feel you have the necessary experience to do this.
Depending on how long it is since you last studied, you might want to do the Access to Higher Education course to help boost your confidence in the classroom!
REMEMBER!
Talk with individual colleges or universities about your study needs – they will be able to advise on the best route for YOU.
Foundation Degree [Higher Education] – These are relatively new vocational qualifications that can be studied part-time over 3-4 years or full-time over 2 years. Although they are a qualification in themselves, you can ‘top-up’ to a full degree usually with just one year’s additional study. Colleges and universities both offer Foundation Degrees so you can also study locally if you want to. Subjects on offer include Engineering, Motorsports, Child Care, Health Care and Teaching & Learning.
Visit
www.foundationdegrees.org.uk for more details.
see Note 1
HND/HNC [Higher Education] - These are similar to Foundation Degrees offering two years full time study [HND] or a part-time route [HNC]. They involve work-related study and are available in a wide range of subjects from Accounting and Nursing through to Engineering, Public Services, Video Production, Business Management, Motorsports and Sports Coaching. As with a Foundation Degree, you can progress onto a degree programme – with an HND you can often go straight into the second or third year of a degree programme.
Part-time study [Higher Education] - If it is difficult for you to study full-time, perhaps because you are in employment or have a young family, you may want to consider doing some part-time study or distance learning using web-based courses. The Open University offers many higher education courses through distance and part-time learning.
Visit their website at
www.openuniversity.com for more details.
REMEMBER!
There is some funding support available for Foundation Degrees, HNDs and Part-time study but it is always worth talking with individual colleges or universities to see exactly what’s on offer. Also, talk to your employer - they may be prepared to help you with your tuition fees and/or costs of studying.
Where do I go for advice?
- Look out for Higher Education Fairs and Careers Events at your local colleges where you can find out about the different courses on offer.
- Talk to your local Connexions Centre.
- Go to Aimhigher Higher Education activities or events.
- Attend university Open Days to see what university life is like and find out about the course you want to do. See if a friend will go with you – it always helps to have someone to share the experience with.
- If you know someone who has been to university or is at university now, ASK them what it’s like.
- Go on the internet -there are many excellent websites with information about Higher Education – visit the national Aimhigher link at
www.direct.gov.uk/uni