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Which Type of Course to Choose?
We have many different subjects for you to choose from, but we also have a number of different levels of course. The different types of course are known by various abbreviations, but the principles behind them are quite simple.
The main categories are Further Education and Higher Education.
Further Education courses
Further Education courses are intended to provide a sound basis of knowledge, skills and values which allow students to get jobs or progress to Higher Education. They have a strong work-based focus through content, work placement, and realistic work environments. These courses lead to National Qualifications (NQs) at Access, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Higher levels, or to Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).
Higher Education courses
These are the courses that allow progression from Further Education or other direct entry for those who are already appropriately qualified or experienced. They include Higher National Certificate (HNC) courses which run for 1 year when taken full-time, Higher National Diploma (HND) courses (2 years when full-time), degrees (3 years full-time) and Honours degrees (4 years full-time).
In many cases the HNC is often considered as equivalent to the first year of a degree, and the HND as equivalent to the first two degree years. In a number of cases, the HNC/D courses lead directly into the third year of a degree.
The admission requirements for these courses are often 2 relevant school Highers (and sometimes additional experience where specialist skills are needed). This may not apply in the case of mature students, as we shall shortly explain.
Mature students
For mature students, entrance qualifications are more flexible, taking account of their experience in life and in work. This experience gives them various forms of background knowledge and study skills, and so although it is not a formalised qualification, it can still be taken account of.
Where students need, or feel they need, some additional grounding before entering Higher Education, some non-advanced provision is specifically designed to assist access to areas such as Science or Health Care. These courses may work well for those students who have spent considerable time out of education and need to build their confidence.
The College is very proud of the varied backgrounds of experience that its older students come from, and it finds that these backgrounds enrich the classes and groups in which they study.
Flexible study
Most courses can be studied part-time. In some cases this involves attendance in evenings, in others it may be day release, or part-time day. We recognise that many people have heavy work or family commitments, so we aim to be as flexible as possible in our course provision. Increasingly it is possible to learn without formally attending college at all. Open- and distance-learning material and electronic communication provide ways for students to gain qualifications without having to physically come into College.
Evening classes are an enjoyable way to learn a skill, or follow up an interest, or take the first step on the road to a qualification. The atmosphere is friendly, and the range of subjects available is very wide.
We currently publish a full list of evening classes and other part-time learning opportunities in a newspaper tabloid supplement in January and August each year. Full details of these learning opportunities are also available from the College Registry - telephone 01343 576216 and from the College website www.moray.ac.uk
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