…he front line for the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). The 46-year-old graduated with a First in BA (Hons) in Social Work in July 2017 and now works for Lancashire County Council’s Children’s Social Care team. Simon’s education journey wasn’t entirely straightforward. He was rejected from 13 universities because, although he held a range of management qualifications, he had left school before sitting his exams. UCLan offered Simon the opp…
…inally set on a career in the RAF, however he was forced to have a major re-think about his future plans when he was told his eye-sight wasn’t up to standard. It was during this time that he decided to study for a Business Law LLB at Nottingham Trent University. To help him get to grips with managing his finances, Sam took part in a budgeting workshop with SCCO. He also joined a ‘bridging event’ for mature students and those who’d be living at hom…
…career path at the time. Instead she decided to take up a BSc in Internet Computing at London South Bank University in 2005. Since graduating she was employed in various administration roles, including with the Department of Engineering and Maths at Sheffield Hallam University where she was inspired by the passionate staff she worked with. When the MSc scholarship was announced, Victoria took up the chance to follow a new career path. She hopes t…
…sity directly, he was offered a place studying business. During his study, with the support of lecturers and Portsmouth’s Innovation Space, he was able to put together a business plan and develop ‘What’s Up?’ – an app that’s all about asking ‘how are you today?’ Upon completing his studies, Vincent was able to leave Portsmouth with a qualification, two clients and links with partners such as Mind and the NHS. Portsmouth didn’t just look at my grad…
…rd Former soldier Ryan Mulvey, from Hyde, decided to pursue his dream of becoming an actor and won a degree place at the University of Salford despite not having any qualifications. He was offered the chance to study via the Alternative Entry Scheme which provides access to higher education for talented students who can’t get in through the traditional routes – such as mature students who have been out of education for a long time. Ryan served for…
…nse to the government The University Alliance of business-focused universities said in its response to the consultation that it also “strongly disagree[s] with the introduction of a measure of teaching intensity”. “[T]he options proposed to measure this are complex, resource-intensive and time-intensive,” its response says. “They…are not structured in ways that encourage active student engagement. Also, they may not fully take into account the exp…
…luencing government and working in Whitehall, from a female perspective. You can read the full article here. Why not check out our series of blogs for International Women’s Day 2018 from Helen Thompson-Whiteside on female entrepreneurship, Nicky Danino on encouraging more girls into computing and Kay Standing and Sara Parker on pressing for progress on periods in Nepal. …
…fair. It is also an opportunity to revisit the question of support for part-time students, mature students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, where it is now clear the current system has a range of flaws. “Alliance universities have been at the forefront of innovation and flexible provision in higher education to widen choices for students, including through two-year accelerated degrees, so we support any further development of these rou…
…drop of 40% in applications this year. As many mature students used to study at Levels 4 and 5, there has been a decline in demand for these courses and an increase in complaints from employers that they cannot recruit sufficient people at this level.” Read the full article here….
…the EU; EU students and research programmes. “Universities need to better communicate their civic role, because the institutions in my group, and I’m sure across the sector as a whole, make a huge difference to their local area. Regional stakeholders understand the value of the various universities in their area, but it’s about how we lift that into the national debate. We need to move away from the old-fashioned image of a university and into wh…
