Higher Education:
Access to HE programmes
The Access to Higher Education Programme has been designed to be attractive to a wide range of adult learners who wish to gain entry into higher education courses. The aim of the programme is to prepare students academically for demands of study at HE institutions in a variety of disciplines. The programmes are offered in both day and evening sessions. During the day the programmes run for one year and are timetabled to provide maximum flexibility for those learners with children or who may be working, etc. The evening provision is offered over a period of one or two years*. The variety of pathways on offer is intended to give a student the widest possible choice of future progression. The pathways open the way for students without subject-based AS and A2 qualifications to study a wide variety of courses at degree level. All the pathways focus on core topics relevant to future modes of study in HE and are able to meet the entry requirements of the vast majority of Degree courses.
While there are no formal entry qualifications for the Access programmes there are, in some instances, degree entry requirements for certain areas of study, particularly in relation to education, teacher training, midwifery, physiotherapy and certain professions allied to medicine and health.
*The Access to HE Health pathway and the Access to HE Children and Young People pathways are only available as TWO year programmes if studied in the evening.
These are a list of the pathways available:
Access to HE: Humanities and Social Science pathway
The Humanities Social Science pathway offers the opportunity for subject based degrees, vocational courses including social work, applied psychology, forensics and law and much more. A variety of units are available including Psychology and Criminology.
Access to HE: Educational Studies pathway
Educational Studies is particularly targeted at those wishing to advance into teaching at all levels and /or working with children. Units studied include English Literature and English Workshop.
Access to HE: Business / ICT pathway
Business/ICT is particularly attractive to students hoping to develop either their vocational qualifications or promote their employment prospects in the specialist fields of programming and business-related courses. Units studied include Word Processing and Advanced Spreadsheets.
Access to HE: Health Pathway
The units that make up the pathway (including Health Promotion and Psychological Aspects of Health and Illness) provide the student with a broad insight into a range of health-related concepts and prepare students for entry into nursing and other health-related professions.