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Oxford education within reach for more students

11 January 2012

Part-time students from all over the UK and the world will be able to take the next step towards a university place thanks to Oxford University. From October 2012, the University’s Department for Continuing Education will be offering a Certificate in Higher Education, enabling serious students from all over the world to access Oxford’s resources in a way that has not been possible until now.

The course is a highly flexible, part-time qualification that provides a solid grounding in studying at university-level rigour – equivalent to the whole of a first year of study at a university, as well as a qualification in its own right. With university fees going up significantly from 2012, prospective students may take the decision of what and where to study more seriously – and the option of a part-time bridging course towards a university degree is an option that will be appealing to many considering higher education for the first time.

Dr Elizabeth Gemmill, Director of the Certificate in Higher Education, says: ‘Many people are ready to study at university, but may not be sure about which subjects they wish to specialise in, or may lack formal academic qualifications, or may simply need to be able to study part-time and flexibly. Our new certificate looks to bridge that gap. Flexible study is a long-standing strength of the Department, and we're now making it part of a newly designed award of Oxford University.

‘We are launching this course at a time of great change in higher education - not least in the funding arrangements. We have planned the Certificate so that it will work for people of a variety of backgrounds. The main requirements for admission will be genuine interest in the chosen academic subjects, and commitment to study at university level.

The Certificate in Higher Education gives students looking for a stepping-stone to university a solid grounding. Thanks to flexible options allowing students to choose between online courses and weekly classes in Oxford, the certificate can be undertaken by any student anywhere in the world. It does entail one face-to-face component in Oxford, which overseas students can complete via a summer school.

The certificate also allows students flexibility in the subject and intensity of their studies: students can study a broader range of subjects towards their certificate, and can take several modules concurrently to obtain the certificate in the shortest time (two years), or proceed more slowly.

Applications are now open for the certificate, and an on-site open day will be held for those interested on 19 January. There will be 60 places on the course offered for 2012, with the final deadline for applications falling on 30 June 2012.

For more information contact Julia Paolitto in the press office of Oxford University on 01865 280 531 or julia.paolitto@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes for editors

Oxford’s Certificate of Higher Education is a part-time course, lasting between two and four years depending on the intensity of study. Students choose a main subject discipline in which they do most of their classes, but they combine this with study in other academic subjects. The course enables students to use the credit that they obtain from taking weekly classes, short online courses, linked day schools, practical weekends and attendance at the Oxford University Summer School for Adults to count towards gaining an award from the University of Oxford.

Students who register for the Certificate will specialise in one of nine main subject areas. These are Archaeology, Art History, Architectural History, History, Italian, Literature, Creative Writing, Philosophy, or Spanish.

The Certificate is a highly flexible option for students from diverse educational backgrounds who want to be brought up to University-level rigour of study, from which they can, if they wish, pursue further educational opportunities. The course is particularly useful for students who are undecided between two subject areas: these students can take courses in each subject prior to enrolling on the Certificate to aid their decision, and then import the credit from those courses towards their certificate.

The Certificate gives students the chance to experiment with different subject areas: as well as choosing a main subject, they take modules in other subjects as well. This enables them to take advantage of the breadth of provision of courses available in the Department for Continuing Education, and to reflect on different disciplinary approaches.

Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education provision of online short courses has expanded significantly in recent years - in terms of subject range and the number of courses - and the Department is continuing to develop new courses, thus making Oxford's teaching and learning resources and experience available worldwide.

Oxford will be holding an open day for the course on 19 January; this will consist of a live ‘virtual’ online open day at 4pm open to anyone anywhere in the world, followed by an on-site event starting at 6pm.

Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education attracts more than 16,000 students a year to over 800 open-access programmes, weekend and summer schools, and online courses. This is on top of the University’s 20,000 full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.

For more information see:
http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/news/index.php?post=2011-09-19:182752:262
http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Y000-2