University chief says degrees on your doorstep are becoming more common ahead of open day in Bury St Edmunds

Current student has no regrets about choosing University Studies and says ‘I genuinely feel at home’....

A University Studies at West Suffolk College class of 2022 student had a workshop with Ken Scott, a former producer of The Beatles and David Bowie. Another got to interview Lorne Balfe, the composer who created scores for Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible – Fallout. These are the experiences that people can hear about at an upcoming open day that is taking place at the University Studies Development Centre on Saturday 4 March 2023 on Western Way in Bury St Edmunds between 9.30am and 12.30pm. The occasion will give students the chance 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. People like Esther Starling, 22, from Kentford in Suffolk. 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 less at University Studies in comparison with elsewhere is also a positive factor. Esther continued: “The fees are cheaper here (£8,500 per year) – so that is a big saving over three years in comparison with other universities.” Other course options include gateway to degree options such as HNCs, HNDs and Access courses.

41 year old Colleen Wright from Haverhill left school at 15 but came back into education in 2016 to study on an access course and received the ‘most improved student of the year’ prize at the University Studies graduation ceremony in October last year. 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.”

Elspeth Lees is the Executive Dean of University Studies at West Suffolk College. Elspeth said: “My message to others about the open day and University Studies is to come along and find out more about the array of degrees that on your doorstep. This higher educational route (degrees on your doorstep) is becoming more popular. We attract mature learners, career changers, school leavers and we also have seen lots of new students who went away to other parts of the UK, but decided to switch their courses to us at they preferred 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 space age XR lab and we pride ourselves on our pastoral care that offers support to students all year round. She added: “Our team really look forward to chatting people at our upcoming open day on Saturday 4 March 2023.”