Patricia Joseph, Preparation for HE Study Course

Currently 1st year student on BSc Hons SocialWork at Wiltshire College

Patricia had been working as a Community Care Officer in Salisbury for five years when her employers, Wiltshire County Council, offered her the chance to study for a BSc Hons in Social Work on a secondment basis. The degree course is validated by the University of Bath and taught at WiltshireCollege.

“I left school after O levels and had been out of education for ages so the college recommended that I took the six-week Preparation for HE course before starting the degree. I had done an NVQ Level 4 fairly recently, but it didn’t involve academic writing at all. When I started the NVQ Level 4 I was told that it was the same level as the first year of a degree, but it turned out that it wasn’t the same in terms of the approach to studying. The six-week preparation course ran on one morning so it fitted in really well with work and it seemed the best way forward.

The course was absolutely invaluable as I had no knowledge of things like how to set out assignments, do references or avoid plagiarism. The tutor took us through the different processes involved inputting together an assignment step-by-step and over the six weeks we completed two written assignments. As a result,by the end, you felt confidentthat you could go into the first year of a degree and produce an essay.

The way the tutor taughtthrough lots of group interaction,made it easy to understand – I really can’t speak highly enough about her. She was very patient, encouraged us a lot and understood that we might be feeling anxious about starting the course. She was able to recommend particular books on study skills for us to buy - I’ve found these really useful from the beginning of my degree.

I’ve already done one assignment which has been marked and I’ve passed that, so it shows that the Preparation to HE course works! I definitely don’t think I would have passed the assignment if I hadn’t done it… I think the course content was well thought out and comprehensive – it fitted in everything we needed in order to make a good start on a degree course.

I’m finding the BSc Social Work degree course to be hard work and a challenge – but I’m enjoying it! My advice to others who have been out of education for a while and plan to start a degree would be to take the opportunity to do the six-week preparation course. For me, it helped to demystify the processes involved in studying for a degree.”

For more information contact: Ruth Waring Tel: 01225 386286