“It sounds cliché but the Access Diploma changed my life”

Darlington based Aislyn Hay studied the Access to Higher Education Diploma in Health (Distance Learning) at Middlesbrough College last year with the ambition of becoming a qualified nurse.

The Distance Learning Access to Higher Education programme in Health is a new flexible programme that is taught 100% online and is designed to make the transition to Higher Education easier for students who have been out of education for some time.

Aislyn is now studying Adult Nursing at Northumbria University after gaining offers from all of her University applications and thanks Middlesbrough College for helping to get her there.

Aislyn said “I really enjoyed studying the Access to Health Diploma. I was slightly apprehensive as to how it would work and how I would manage with everything being taught purely online, however it soon became apparent that the level of support on offer to us from our tutors was no different to the support on offer for students that were taught on campus.

“We were able to access 24 hour learning material on ‘canvas’, the online learning platform, and contact our tutors by phone, email or actually drop in to college if we could.

“I would without a doubt recommend studying the programme to anyone who has ambitions to progress to University but doesn’t have the entry requirements! It sounds cliché but it has changed my life, not only did it get me into University but I ended up with a choice of where to go and did better than I could have imagined.

“Studying from home made it so much more accessible for me to get the qualifications that I needed to get to the next level. I was also able to work full-time whilst studying for my programme which was a huge bonus!

 “The teaching and support I received was excellent. My tutors gave us round the clock support with genuine encouragement every step of the way. If I was worried about anything or struggling with any element of the course, I knew I had them to turn to for the best advice.

“University was something that I had pretty much accepted I was never going to do, however with the support and guidance from the staff at Middlesbrough College I am now studying for a degree that I love! I’m in my first year at Northumbria University and I’m loving it!  It still feels surreal to be in a uniform out on wards or in the community when just a year ago in January I was completing my UCAS application and working as a Recruitment Consultant.

“Without doing the Access Diploma at Middlesbrough College I would not be where I am right now, it really opened up a door for me and gave me a second chance at education.”