More students doing Degrees at UCOL Wairarapa

12 March 2013

More students doing Degrees at UCOL Wairarapa

UCOL Wairarapa is experiencing a big increase in people studying Degree programmes.

Early enrolment figures also suggest more students are choosing to study Health-related qualifications.

There are two Degree programmes available on the Masterton campus: the Bachelor of Nursing, which has attracted students since it was introduced eight years ago, and the Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood), in partnership with the Open Polytechnic, introduced last year.

Campus Manager Angela Hewitt says a total of 123 students are studying on the three year Degree programmes this year. “This includes an increase in the number studying for the Bachelor of Nursing – a total of 97 students this year compared with 82 last year. Our usual intake of first year students is 30 but this year it is up to 38. The important thing is that we have been able to arrange clinical experience for all of them, although some of it will be a bit further afield, for example, in Dannevirke and Wellington.”

Numbers studying for the Early Childhood Degree are also up, from 16 last year to 27 this year.

There is early interest in the Introduction to Health Science Certificate Level 3. The programme starts in the second semester but enrolments are already in double figures. Many students gain confidence and skills by doing the Certificate first and then progress the Bachelor of Nursing programme.

Angela says the increase in students undertaking Degrees and Health programmes suggests students are thinking carefully about choosing qualifications that offer reasonable employment prospects. “There’s an awareness that higher level qualifications count in a tight job market.”

Enrolments in the Certificates in Early Childhood Education and Business Management and Computing, and the Diploma in Beauty Therapy are steady, compared to last year.

A total of 333 students, who have enrolled or have enrolments in the pipeline, will study at the UCOL Wairarapa campus this semester, compared with 289 at the same time last year. This includes 32 secondary students on U-Skills Trades Academy programmes who study for a qualification at UCOL while getting their NCEA at secondary school. At the same time last year, 24 students were enrolled in U-Skills programmes.

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