A school should not be a preparation for life.

A school should be life.

E.Hubbard

EDUCATION

What are the colleges and institutes of higher education?

Most people could name a university. But how many could name a college or institute of higher education, or appreciate their role in the higher education sector alongside the universities? Too often there is confusion between colleges of Higher Education and colleges of Further Education.

Briefly, there are 55 HE colleges and institutes throughout England and Wales. They give degrees, diplomas, certificates and postgraduate awards which are welcomed by employers nationally and internationally. They range from specialist colleges (many of which are leaders in their field) to large, multi-campus establishments. They are particularly known for teacher training, the links with local business and the community, and the vocational content, quality and professionalism of the courses.

Being smaller in size than universities, HEcolleges and institutes also have the advantage of greater flexibility. The range of courses and subject combinations is very broad; traditional single-subject courses are offered, together with a vast range of technical, professional and postgraduate qualifications.

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

The Open University (OU) offers degrees for people who do not have a formal education and qualifications, or who are older and do not want to enroll at a university or college. Students study and write essays at home and then post them off to a tutor for marking. BBC2 and Radio 5 broadcast teaching programmers and lectures early in the morning and late at night on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings. There is a summer school of one week every year when students can meet each other and their tutors. Each student must do a year's foundation course in a variety of subjects before specializing in a particular course. Most courses take six years and students get a number of credits for each year's work. The OU was founded in 1969 and started its first course in 1971. About 120,000 people have enrolled since then.

FURTHER EDUCATION

Further education (FE) in Britain is for people over 16 taking courses at various levels up to the standard required for entry to higher education. Courses are run by further education colleges, many of which also provide higher education courses.

Many further education courses are vocational, ranging from lower-level technical and commercial courses to more advanced courses for those aiming at higher level jobs in business, administration and the professions. Most colleges also offer non-vocational courses, including GCSEs and GCE A-levels.

Colleges have strong links with universities and other higher educational institutions, and these links can enable students to progress from the further education college into an advanced stage of a degree course at university.