Studying as a higher education student is definitely not just a case of ‘more of the same’.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the increased focus on self-responsibility and independent learning. Here are some of the main differences that our students have noticed when they started their degree:
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Higher education |
School or further education |
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You are treated as an adult who is fully responsible for your own learning and progress, and for the consequences of your decisions. |
You will usually be told what your responsibilities are and be corrected if your behaviour is out of line. |
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Achievement is measured by your ability to apply what you’ve learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems. |
Achievement is measured by your ability to reproduce what you were taught in class or to solve the kinds of problems you were shown how to solve. |
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You have more control over how to manage your work and time. |
Your work and time are usually structured by others (e.g. teachers). |
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Content is more dynamic and goes beyond that of any assigned textbook. Some modules may only offer a general reading list. |
Content usually reflects a more structured, textbook-focused curriculum. |
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You have greater responsibility for extracting the main information and ideas by yourself. You may, also, be presented with a variety of ideas, to discuss and evaluate. |
Teaching specifications will tell you the most important information and ideas. |
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Lectures take up less of your learning time. In your first year, you will have between 12 and 14 hours of ‘contact/lecture time’ per week. Aim to do two hours of self-directed study per each hour of lecture e.g. background reading, or research. |
Lessons make up most of your learning time and your timetabled contact hours are fixed. |
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Most assessments will be submitted online via Turnitin, and are marked anonymously. |
You will hand in your assessments personally, and your teacher will know whose work they are marking. |
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If you miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to find out and catch up on anything you have missed. |
Teachers will provide you with the information you missed if you were absent. |
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You must pass your first year to progress to the second year, (usually at a pass mark of 40% per module), but your first year (Level 4) grades do not count towards your final degree classification. |
Most of your grades count towards your final mark. |
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Assessments tend to be longer, more varied, and less frequent. |
Assessments tend to be shorter, of a similar type (e.g., essay) and more frequent. |
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Academic integrity: using references and citations, and acknowledging the source of your information is very important. It is checked in all your assessments by Turnitin, the text-matching software used by UCM, and the University of Chester. |
Using referencing and citations, and providing a Reference List is less common. |