It's Not too Late to Enrol - East Anglian Daily Times Education Page, 21 September 2004

Autumn seems to have arrived very suddenly this year. The wind has a definite chill to it and the evenings are noticeably shorter.

If the arrival of late September has taken you by surprise, you may think that you’ve left it too late to take up that course you’ve been thinking about. It’s true that Suffolk College has experienced a very heavy demand for full time study courses, especially from this summer’s school leavers, but as the College offers the widest range of learning opportunities in Suffolk there is a good chance that you still have time if you act quickly.

With a total enrolment of around 20,000 students there is clearly a broad cross section of people enjoying a wide range of courses that are delivered in a variety of ways. Those school leavers who decided to take up employment are keen on the part-time options, particularly evening classes, to build up their commercial skills and improve their prospects. There are people who have decided to return to learning as part of their career development plan, especially in the ICT and business areas. And there are those who are just plain fascinated by a subject.

This is a particularly good year to come to Suffolk College, as there are all kinds of financial support schemes available. Those taking up further education courses - such as GCSEs, A levels and National Diplomas – could benefit from free tuition. Students aged over nineteen will only have to meet costs such as registration and, if applicable, exam fees. Under nineteen year-olds don’t have to pay at all. Those aged between 16 and 18 could even be eligible to receive money to come to college with the introduction of the new Education Maintenance Allowance.

Higher education – such as professional qualifications, Foundation Degrees and Degrees – also attracts financial help. New this year are grants for part-time courses, and there are bursaries for Foundation degrees. There are, of course, eligibility criteria to be met, but our student support team are trained to guide you to the help that is available for your individual circumstances.

There are people at Suffolk College happy to talk to you about the best way to achieve your goals. Whether it’s a question of which qualification will best support your career ambitions, or you want to find out how you can gain the sort of study skills you need to embark on a degree programme, there is a specialist here who can use their knowledge and experience to give you an answer.

This may be the time when we start to close our curtains early, but that’s all the more reason to make sure we don’t close our minds.