CertHE Sciences - Distance learning (Not OU)

Does anyone know if there is one out there?

I will be completing my GCSE Maths this year, after having done the Access to Health Sciences course at my local college (they screwed up my registration for the GCSE at the time).

I know I will get horribly bored if I don't study something else while doing the Math course, so I would like to study a CertHE for a year alongside it to keep me going towards the end goal of Paramedicine.

All I have found so far are courses MILES away requiring attendance or CertHE art/english/business.

Hope someone can help me out!

Reply 1

JamesN88

Personally I wouldn't as it can affect your student finance entitlement even if you pay for it out of your own pocket. AFAIK it reduces your entitlement by 1 year as you'd have the equivalent of 1 years uni education.

If you're going into Paramedicine you could think about volunteering with St John's ambulance to get some experience.

Reply 2

LadyCadaver

Hi James, thanks for your reply.

This is why I would rather not study with the OU, as the certHE would take away two years entitlement instead of the one year it would take at an FE college or uni. Thus leaving me with 3 more years of entitlement :smile:

I already volunteer and work for the NHS - without that GCSE though I cannot get onto the Paramedicine course.

Reply 3

SuperCat007

Original post by LadyCadaver

I already volunteer and work for the NHS - without that GCSE though I cannot get onto the Paramedicine course.

That isn't true. If you can do the Cert HE in one year with the OU then you'll only lose 1 year's SFE entitlement. But that does mean that if you have any problems in your intended course you won't have your extra year to fall back on. It's based on how many years or partial years you spend studying in HE, not how long the course *should* take.

Reply 4

LadyCadaver

Original post by SuperCat007

Thank you for your input. Having done a lot of research I am aware that SF is based on the number of years you study, and when I enquired with the OU I was informed it counted as 2 years.

Anyway, I didn't ask about funding. I asked about available CertHE options outside of the OU.

Reply 5

SuperCat007

Original post by LadyCadaver

No. The OU suggest you study at 50% rate, so that would take you 2 years and you would lose 2 years of funding. So they're wrong, you don't automatically lose 2 years because you study with the OU.

Ok... :s-smilie:

Reply 6

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by LadyCadaver

SuperCat007 is correct, if you do an OU CertHE in one year then you only lose one year of SFE funding.

However, if you have already done an Access course, I don't see the point of doing a CertHE just to pass the time. Perhaps you could do a stand-alone distance learning module instead? I know that a number of Swedish universities offer these and they're free.

http://www.uu.se/en/admissions/freestanding-courses/courses/
http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/lubas/webcourses
http://utbildning.gu.se/education/courses-and-programmes/search?&sc=55,139&es=23,28
http://www.su.se/english/study/courses/distance-courses
http://www.umu.se/english/education/courses-and-programmes/distance-and-web-based-education
https://www.kau.se/en/education/courses/distance
https://lnu.se/en/education/choose-programme-or-course/?s=Relevance&dm=Cards&Main=Education&ShowOnWebType=For+international+students&Level=Bachelor%E2%80%99s+level&TeachingLanguage=English&TeachingForm=Distance

Reply 7

Klix88

If you do a CertHE, this will mean that SF will not fund the first year of a degree in future, regardless.

A CertHE is the qualification you would get from the first year at uni. You cannot get SF for a qualification which is equivalent to, or lower than, one you already hold. This is the ELQ - "Equivalent or Lower Qualification" - rule. It trumps the basic calculation for the number of years of SF you're allowed, which is being discussed above,