Sheffield College asking for £724 to do a GCSE! :-(

[redruby 279]

If you are unemployed and in receipt of benefits you can study GCSEs for free. If you don't already have C or above in English or Maths it's also free.

[Mr Mandate 10]

I'm not surprised. Some of us were forced onto a course at Sheffield College called "Essential Employability Skills" (there's a thread on this subject on Sheff Forum).

 

The course is designed for young children, very patronising and waste of our time. But paid for by taxpayers money via the Department of Work and Pensions. When we questionned the course manager he explained that the course was good for Sheff College's "income generation". Sheff College is more like a business than an educational or training college.

[AdamSmith 10]

The thing is, we shouldnt gain debt for basic skills. Make it reasonable (the course I just completed was £150, but not a GSCE) which I thought was fair, but I was also in full time employment at the time and could afford to put a few quid aside each pay packet to pay for it...

 

i dont understand your logic sorry!! why should it be a right to gain basic skills? these things have a cost and somebody picks up the tab...the tax payer, i think £700 odd quid for a course that gives a GCSE is a pretty fair price and as i said before its subsidised heavily.........the world or the country does NOT owe any of us a living, qualification or anything else for that matter, thats why this country and others are in such a mess!

[Total Chaos 10]

I'm not surprised. Some of us were forced onto a course at Sheffield College called "Essential Employability Skills" (there's a thread on this subject on Sheff Forum).

 

The course is designed for young children, very patronising and waste of our time. But paid for by taxpayers money via the Department of Work and Pensions. When we questionned the course manager he explained that the course was good for Sheff College's "income generation". Sheff College is more like a business than an educational or training college.

 

It is now,when the government decided to keep A levels in schools, they stopped the funding. The government changed it from an education establishment, to a business.The college lost 3 million per year in funding from the government,so now it is classed as a business,it now has to find most of the money for themselves.A part of that was all the redundancies and restructuring two years back.

[Bojolo 10]

I am all for adult education, and know many who have gone to college to study subjects they never got the chance to when they were at school.

 

But when this country offers free education from 5-18 years old, I really take exception to people moaning about paying for GCSEs when they are in their 20s/30s etc. They will have been told at school that GCSEs were important, but didn't listen. And when later on in life they realise that GCSEs are important, they expect an extension of their free state education.

 

While there is some truth in what you (and others) are saying here its not as simple as that. When you are at school you can only do the GCSEs that the school offers (above the core). 10 years down the line, is it fair to judge someone on a handful of Grades Ds (just an example) that they got before they were legally an adult - does that seem fair that people are judged on the choices they made as children?

 

There is also the fact that , when I was at school, you were just expected to know how to study and revise - I thought that mean copying out my notes before the exam - and was never tutored in effective independent learning and revision.

 

We also seem to think that children are better at learning than adults. I did my A levels at 18, had no self discipline and no role models in the family to guide me and as a result I got poor A levels. Then, aged 30 I took one at night school (less hours of tutoring than day students get) and I got an A (whilst in full time work). But I was only studying 1 thing which leads to my next point.

 

GCSEs are important, but there is a lot to study there. Some young people are gaining 10 or 12 at once. Some people can't cope with that work load. If we were to study one at once, we might all do better.

 

But as we feel children shouldn't be working () the useful thing for them to do is qualifications.

 

Society can only improve from the education of people. I don't see why we should need valid reasons to do another GCSE or A level. I think its acceptable and good principle to learn because you can.

 

The only people who will be able to afford these courses now are the ones who are already educated above this level and earn enough, or those who earn above this level without the need for qualification. So the people who actually need to, or should be doing this are priced out of it.

 

There will be no perfect system but I thought the subsidised prices were fair.

 

---------- Post added 01-08-2013 at 16:23 ----------

 

i dont understand your logic sorry!! why should it be a right to gain basic skills? these things have a cost and somebody picks up the tab...the tax payer, i think £700 odd quid for a course that gives a GCSE is a pretty fair price and as i said before its subsidised heavily.........the world or the country does NOT owe any of us a living, qualification or anything else for that matter, thats why this country and others are in such a mess!

 

Don't we owe it to society to educate people? I pay tax so I think I'd rather some of it be re-invested in me. After all isn't that what taxes are for - share the cost, share the benefit?

 

---------- Post added 01-08-2013 at 16:24 ----------

 

If you are unemployed and in receipt of benefits you can study GCSEs for free. If you don't already have C or above in English or Maths it's also free.

 

But if you've managed to get a job without good GCSEs then you're penalised. If you're paying tax you should get a discount.

 

---------- Post added 01-08-2013 at 16:32 ----------

 

Of course, if we had the old 'O' level system, you could study yourself, and just pay to sit the exam. Presumably if you're doing a GCSE there is too much coursework that has to be tutor marked for that to happen now

 

if you do the IGCSE you can choose to be assessed 100% by exams or by exam/coursework combination.

 

So you should be able (in theory) to study yourself and just pay for your exams - http://www.cie.org.uk/profiles/students/ukcandidates/#privatecandidates

Edited August 1, 2013 by Bojolo

[SheffCollege 10]

Hi everyone

 

Some visitors to the College website have noted that we are currently displaying the full cost of qualifications, without any discounts or funding support from the government. However, in most cases the student will not pay the full Course cost. We realise that this has caused some confusion and we will be altering our Course fees section so that it is more reflective of what students may actually expect to pay.

 

The government funding agencies may pay up to 50% and in some cases 100% of the full course tuition fee.

 

The only students who may be required to pay full cost are those applying for a course designated FULL COST (no government funding available for the course) or if the student is 24 or over at the start of a course which is Level 3 or above who in most cases will be able to secure a 24+ Advanced Learning Loan. These are available for students over 24 starting on a Level 3 course or above, so you may not have to pay course fees up front if you are eligible. You can read more on our website about 24 + Advanced Learning Loans (we're unable to post a link at this time).

 

The final actual cost you pay will be calculated during the enrolment process.

[Chez2 10]

Well, I've already got my maths GCSE, but I may have to retake it because I can't work out how £724 for lessons once per week for 6 months comes to less than £2 per day.

 

£27 per day is what I make it.

 

£724 fee divided by 365 days per year equals £1.98 per day to put in piggy bank or economise on something.

[Norseman 10]

Thank you

 

I was thinking about doing the health science access course after completing my gcse's as a gateway to higher education, and now even that course has doubled in fees £3,022.00 <---- and this only for one year

 

Try a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma instead

[Chez2 10]

Here is the OU list of courses.

 

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/access/england.htm

 

You can do a foundation or access course if you don't have A level/OND/ONC Diploma or if you are a bit rusty and have had a few years off study. I had done a HNC about eight years previously so did a foundation course to get my brain working again with the maths /calculations. The OU offers flexible learning so you can get lots of different qualifications. I started with Science but then part way through decided to do the units for a Dimploma so I still had a qualification if I decided not to do the degree. I then decided to do Environmental Science degree. If you have an income of less that £25,000 per annum you can do the access course for only £25 (or something similar) rather than pay the full fees. There are lots of other Science, nursing, social science related subjects. I'm sure there will be something for you.

 

I could have gone back as a full time student but I didn't want that route. You have to be dedicated to study while working though. You meet so many people from different walks of life and at so many different stages of their life and career with the OU.

[Mr Tibbs 10]

I went on several College courses in the 90's to better my career and as I was working had to always pay the full fee but the unemployed got the same for free.

 

My last course was book keeping at Hillsborough College with Clive (a good but funny teacher) and as I re call it was about £300ish back in 2006.

 

In the first year it was a full class but halfway through most of the free people had quit and 1 payer.

 

Most of us saw it through the 3 year course and there was 1 free of fees person at the end of it.

 

Of all the courses I have been on the payers wanted their money's worth and saw it through to the end as most who got it for free quit with nothing to lose. But at enrolment it was on a first come first served basis. Just how much did the free people cost the college?

 

No wonder the fees are so high.

[Helga 10]

It is a real shame that funding to adult education has been cut and I would hope that at some point in the future things might improve. The real cost of education is high although it is invaluable in its ability to help people progress in their lives and has a lasting impact on the children of those adult learners too. Anyone with an understanding of how people learn will understand that by necessity some people will need to learn later. The pre-frontal cortex and executive function in the brain is not fully developed until early to mid 20s and before that time some people simply won't have the capacity to make themselves attend to things that they are not interested in. Others will have the capacity to attend sufficiently well, brains develop at different rates. Motivation is often far greater in later life too when an individual has had more life experience and can clearly see the purpose of learning rather than just being told it is important.

I would like to see student loans extended to further education so that people can budget and pay back their investment in themselves. Unfortunately people have lost sight of the cost and the value of education and when it has been free people have dropped out of courses wasting money in much the same way as when people fail to turn up to their medical appointments. In some countries you pay when you make an appointment at the doctor and get it back when you attend. I'd love to see that here! But I digress, if you extended the principal to education you would pay at the beginning and perhaps get some of the money back when you have submitted all the work and passed the exam. If funding ever returns maybe that would be the way to go.

Maybe the OP might consider one of the OU's new shorter courses. No previous study/qualifications are necessary and you can obtain a student loan if it is classed as a part-time degree. I hope you don't feel put off by some of the unhelpful commentators on here, I for one think it is great that you want to improve yourself.