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Campaign Encourages Students to Build Up Life Skills

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:29:15 +0000

A campaign was launched to encourage students acquiring their GCSE grades to start developing their talents and gather experiences in order for them to have the edge in university and employment applications in the future. York St. John University’ Standout’s goal is to persuade 16-year-old students to start thinking about how they are going to improve their personal statements and their CVs.

They warned that universities might pay no attention to applicants that were unsuccessful in expressing their passion and organizational skills, even if they are young and talented. York St. John has made a support material package that may facilitate the construction of the students Ucas (Universities and Colleges Admission Service) application forms.

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The Vice Chancellor of York St John University vice chancellor Professor David Fleming said, “Academic success is very important but young people often overlook the skills gained from out of school activities that help them to stand out.

“Despite fee increases there will be high competition for university places next year and we expect many applications for each place. Five key qualities that universities and employers look for in their recruits are initiative, team-work, organization, passion and effective communication.

“A student who helps their local theatre group with stage design can demonstrate these skills. Of course academic achievement is a requirement but someone who gets up every Saturday to help others regardless of the weather demonstrates to us that they have the determination and right attitude to succeed at university.”

York St. John students openly support this campaign.

Another Record Year for Plymouth U!

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:36:37 +0000

For a fifth consecutive year, applications at Plymouth University have increased by 10 percent this year and record numbers attended the Open Day in June. With more students come new challenged for adminstrators and professors. To meet the demand of thousands of new students, the University decided to set up a Confirmation and Clearing call centre called Actionline which aims to support students with questions once they receive their A Level results this month. For those working at the University, it has been one of the busiest summers yet. Many courses are full already, but students keep calling to confirm their spots.

As for the reasons behind this surge in applications despite all the bad news coming out of the UK higher education system recently, Plymouth University’s official website quotes the university’s UK Recruitment and Admissions Manager, Andrea Johnson: “Plymouth University is continuing to rise in the national league tables for higher education, and the excellence of our teaching and learning is reflected in top 20 placements for a number of our subject areas.” And as for the challenges arising from the increase in students: “We have some new programmes which have recently been validated, such as Optometry and Healthcare Sciences, and some places are available in these. There will be some places open in strategically important STEM subjects, such as engineering, and in Arts.”

Additionally, some students might have to spend some time at partner colleges across the region which reserved some places of Plymouth students. During a special Clearing Open Day on August 24th, late entrants will be able to experience the atmosphere on campus for themselves.

For the full article on Plymouth University’s homepage, go to: http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=36948

Tuition: Students graduate with 50,000 GBP in debt?

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:23:48 +0000

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The recent change in government rules regarding college and higher education funding has complicated an already hectic fall process of college application. According to some estimates, the 9000 GBP tuition fee burden falling on families, coupled with other living expenses, means that the average student entering college this fall will graduate with debts that might reach 50,000 GBP. This amounts to taking out a small mortgage. And just like mortgages, the burden of repaying this debt is spread out through many years.

Recent changes in the student loan scheme mean that while a few graduates will pay lower monthly repayments than they do now, the bulk of students will have their school and course decisions affected. Many are left asking if they need to go to university in the first place. Others are considering reducing their choice of schools to institutions close to their parents’ homes so they can reduce costs. Others are contemplating working part-time to minimize the size of their debts when they graduate. Although lower income students can count on some form of subsidy, fee waivers, and other lower income educational assistance schemes, the average fee still totals 7,793 GBP. By some estimates, many incoming students’ debt repayment will stretch out over 30 years. Due to the Cameron government’s austerity measures, the UK’s previously generous education subsidies have all but evaporated for most English students. However, Scottish students studying in Scottish universities still retain the old feeds – namely zero pounds tuition. Unfortunately, Welsh and English students who wish to go to school in Scotland would have to pay fees.

A Glimpse of Oxford Life

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:03:46 +0000

Every July, Oxford’s differing colleges and departments open their doors to welcome visitors. This year, the University offered new features. Oxford’s Open days are held annually to give would-be applicants a chance to visit Oxford and find out more about its undergraduate course offerings as well as get more information on the differing colleges that comprise Oxford. Most colleges and departments are open for visitation along with their attached museums, libraries, and other educational facilities.

Visitors are encouraged to go to the Examination Schools located on the high street of the University. This area serves as the central base of operation for the Open Day Information Centre. Talks are held here by the Undergraduate Admissions Office of Oxford for visiting students and their parents. Additionally, there are stands that offer admissions advice and other crucial information. For those interested in getting a glimpse of student life, the Oxford University Student Union offers visitors a peek at the wide diversity and choice made available by the 600 clubs and other campus organizations to Oxford undergraduates.

Talks also include student financial aid and career assistance in light of recent changes in rules for government educational funding. Oxford has a generous student financial aid package. As for career assistance, the value of an Oxford degree is emphasized irrespective of which particular subject visitors wish to study.

In order to facilitate smooth and convenient campus visitations, the University coordinates closely with the county council, local transportation, and local businesses to make sure the visitors’ needs are adequately addressed. Oxford seeks to do its utmost in keeping the local community aware of Open day events. This would help local businesses generate more trade from both visitors and school travelers.

Higher Education at Even Higher Prices

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:28:35 +0000

Picture by Ian Britton - www.freefoto.com

Today, we get the news that the government watchdog, the Office for Fair Access, allowed almost 50 of Britains 123 universities to charge as much £9,000 per year. See this Guardian article for details. If you are not familiar with the higher education system in the UK it is important to know that British students pay among the highest fees in Europe. Recently there has been a lot of governmental controversy to do with fees because, despite promises made by certain high ranking politicians, fees are set to triple from 2012. At present students must pay in the region of £3,500 a year for each year they are at university. A normal undergraduate or bachelor’s degree is three years but others, medicine for example, are a great deal longer.
The average degree currently costs about £7,500 per student. The extra funding is given to universities by the central government and paid for by tax revenues. From 2012 this is set to change with the cap on fees being raised to a staggering £9,000 a year. Many institutions, including all twenty members of the Russell group (the UK’s leading institutions), have declared fee increases to the upper limit. The increase in fees is due to a complete cut in central government funding. With the average degree costing about £7,500 many students
will feel that their fees are in fact funding other bachelor programmes that cost more leading students, staff and commentators to question where value for money will come from under the new system.
The fee increase could massively effect the image of the hedonistic, drunken and partying student. In fact we now may have a scenario where only students from wealthy backgrounds can afford to go to university with poorer students being effectively priced out of the market.

Hello dear Students !

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:39:48 +0000

Hi, my name is Chan and I am a proud student of the University of Plymouth. Together with some friends i decided to rebuilt a service I once used – years ago. Yeah – this means help for you guys. Feel free to contact me – I can give you some ideas about this great plymouth university and all the opportunities you will find here. Just ask !