Bury St Edmunds university open day tomorrow at West Suffolk College's University and Professional Development Centre in Western Way
An open day tomorrow, Saturday, March 4, will give people the chance to find out more about the array of higher education programmes that are on their doorstep.
The event at the University and Professional Development Centre in Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, is taking place from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
It will give people the opportunity to tour the facilities, get involved in taster sessions, chat to tutors and find out about courses that range from construction to commercial music.
Current students will also be on hand to share their experiences, like Esther Starling, 22, from Kentford, near Newmarket.
Esther, who is part way through an early childhood studies degree, thinks one of the advantages of University Studies at West Suffolk College is the homely feel it creates.
She said: “I’d say the benefits of University Studies are that we have smaller classroom sizes, the lecturers know your name, I’m used to how we are taught, the tutors know what targets you are working towards and the students I study with are all so lovely. I genuinely feel at home.”
The fact that degrees are validated by the University of East Anglia and the fees at University Studies are cheaper in comparison with elsewhere is also a positive factor.
Other course options include gateway to degree options such as HNCs, HNDs and access courses.
Colleen Wright, 41, from Haverhill, left school at 15 but came back into education in 2016 to study on an access course. She completed her degree in 2022 and received the ‘most improved student of the year’ prize at the University Studies graduation ceremony.
During graduation, Colleen said: “I decided to go back into education to improve my skills and get an understanding of what my four children were doing at school.
"It took six years (to get my degree) but I ended up with a 2:1. Having this second chance has been amazing.”
Dr Elspeth Lees, executive dean of University Studies at West Suffolk College, said: “Degrees and higher educational routes are gateways to future employment; we attract mature learners, career changers, school leavers and increasingly students transferring from other higher educational institutions as they prefer being nearer to home.
“Our degrees are slightly cheaper than elsewhere, we pride ourselves on having small class sizes and the environment gives our learners a real sense of belonging.
“We are investing heavily in new facilities like our innovative virtual reality lab. Importantly, we pride ourselves on our academic and pastoral care.”
