Demystifying higher education

A new project aimed at demystifying higher education to mature students will launch at the University of St Andrews tomorrow (Tuesday 7th November 2006).

A group of over 100 potential students from further education colleges in the East of Scotland will visit the University as part of a unique drive aimed at making the transition to higher education easier for access students.

The Transitions Access Project is a partnership between SWAP East (Scottish Wider Access Partnership) and the Universities of St Andrews, Abertay and Dundee and the FE Colleges in the region. The events are funded by the Fife & Tayside Wider Access Regional Forum.

During a special visit day tomorrow, 110 Access to HE students from Elmwood, Adam Smith, Lauder, Dundee, Angus and Perth Colleges will visit St Andrews. Access courses are delivered in FE colleges across Scotland and are designed especially for mature students to ensure that they gain the entrance requirements for university. A number of guaranteed places are set aside for students who complete their course at an appropriate level.

During the visiting day, staff from the University of St Andrews will deliver talks on a range of subjects relating to university life, from the application process to funding and time management. The University’s SALTIRE (St Andrews Learning and Teaching: Innovation, Review and Enhancement) unit will deliver a seminar in the afternoon on effective listening and note taking at lectures.

Fraser Keir, Director of Scottish Recruitment and Access at St Andrews said, “The whole project is aimed at demystifying higher education and encouraging mature students to make informed choices about which university to attend.”

The initiative continues on 15 November with the students visiting Abertay in the morning and Dundee University during the afternoon to complete their learning journey. A third and final visiting day has been arranged in December for the remainder of the 200 mature students wishing to take part.

As a follow-up to the visiting days, the college students will have the opportunity to return to the three campuses in Spring 2007 to shadow existing undergraduate students to lectures and tutorials, before deciding which University they would like to progress to.

Iain Luke, Project Coordinator, said, “We are very glad for the positive response we have had to these events and visits with every college in Fife and Tayside participating . A very exciting programme with excellent materials has been brought together, which we believe will be of great benefit to those students who wish to make the transition from college to University.”

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE TRANSITIONS ACCESS PROJECT, CONTACT PROJECT COORDINATOR, IAIN LUKE ON: [email protected]

Issued by Beattie Media – www.beattiegroup.com on behalf of the University of St Andrews

Contact Gayle Cook, Press Officer on 01334 467227 / 462529, mobile 07900 050 103, or email gec3@st- andrews.ac.uk

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