A wide variety of United Kingdom courses and qualifications are now available via distance learning . Using methods that are up to date and varied, distance learning can give you a UK education, with its prestige and reputation, but much more cheaply thanif you attended a college or university.
There is a wide range of courses including:
GCSEs/Scottish Standard Grades
A-levels/Scottish Highers
undergraduate certificates/diplomas
first degrees
Master’s programmes
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
PhD research (less usual).
Most programmes are very flexible, and you can choose your own pace. The minimum time for a degree programme is three years, but some degrees can be taken over as long as eight years. Postgraduate students usually complete their course in a minimum of two years and a maximum of five.
The range of institutions offering distance learning is almost as wide as the range of courses on offer. There are four principal providers, and more than fifty universities offering postgraduate training.
University of London External Programme
Courses offered: University of London degrees
Features: qualifications for both internal and external students are of the same standard. Some courses require students to spend a short time in London or at recognised classes.
National Extension College (NEC)
Courses offered: first degrees, A-levels, GCSEs, professional and career-based training
Features: all courses are accredited by the distance learning standards body, Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC). You can enrol at any time.
The Open Learning Foundation (OLF)
Courses offered: Honours degree and Higher National Diplomas/Certificates, also MBA.
Features: the forty member universities and institutions award their own degrees, using OFL materials.
The Open University (OU)
Incorporates the International Centre for Distance Learning (ICDL)
Courses offered: first degrees, postgraduate and professional training, and special-interest subjects.
Features: students must live in the UK or EU at the start of their course, but certain degree programmes are offered in Singapore and Central and Eastern Europe through partners. In Romania, the OU official partner is CODECS.
Do several institutions offer the course? If so, compare the course contents and study patterns.
What is the subject content? Does it match your expectations?
Is there any residential element or travel to the UK involved?
Do you want to study alone or with advice and support?
Who awards the qualifications?
Is the qualification recognised by the government or a professional body?
How much will the course cost?
How long will the course take?
What course materials are provided - books, videos, tapes? Will I have to pay extra for these?
What are the entry qualifications?
How much of the course is evaluated by continual assessment?
How many exams do you take and where would you sit them?
Are there opportunities to transfer as an internal student to a college/university when you have completed part of the course?
Entry requirement vary depending on the course. Some organisations - such as the Open University - have no academic requirements. But many master's programmes expect you to have a good first degree before you register. Between these two, there is a wide variety of entrance requirements, depending on the course.
For more information, refer to Study for a degree in your country in the British Council Education Information Sheets.
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