Access to Higher Education

Want to be at university this time next year but don’t have the qualifications? Invest in yourself with an Access to Higher Education qualification.

Access to HE courses have been specifically designed for adult learners aged 19 or over who do not currently have the relevant entry requirements or qualifications to go to university. There is no upper age limit, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve been out of education for a period of time or wish to return to education to change career.

Access to HE qualifications are equal to three A Levels, giving you the UCAS points you need to apply for university-level study. Programmes will last one year (36 weeks of study), after which you will have the diploma, knowledge, skills and confidence to study at degree level. Throughout the programme, you will experience a variety of teaching and learning strategies to suit all learning styles, including essay and report writing, group work and presentations.

From Access to HE to MP

Like many Access to HE students, Nadia Whittome sought to continue her studies outside of the traditional A-level system. She reflects on her experience of Access to HE, and her pathway to becoming a Member of Parliament.

Find out more about Nadia's journey with Access to HE

Don’t let fees hold you back! Study an Access to HE Diploma for FREE with an Advanced Learner Loan! If you take out an Advanced Learner Loan to cover the cost of your Access to HE Diploma and go on to successfully complete your Higher Education course, Student Finance England will write off your Advanced Learner Loan debt. Find out more about Advanced Learner Loans here.

Each year, around 95% of our Access to HE students progress to university on completion of their programme, going on to over 100 different universities across many different degrees and disciplines.

Read our student stories.

Support

Although the programme is intensive and demanding, it is structured in a way that recognises the pressures on mature learners. Many students successfully balance the programme with work, family, and childcare commitments, and find it to be a rewarding experience. Our friendly team are on hand to support you through your studies as well as any funding, career and learning support you may need.

Throughout your time on the programme, we will provide support through a personal tutor as well as our dedicated team of study support specialists who are on hand to give you extra support, if required. We will work with you to develop a study plan so that you can meet coursework deadlines and schedule study time around your other responsibilities.

We will also guide you through the process of your UCAS applications. This includes checking your applications and personal statement as well as providing the supporting reference before they are submitted.

Don’t let fees prevent you from following your dream of going to university! There are plenty of funding options to help you, including:

19+ Advanced Learner Loan: If you are aged 19 and over, and want to study an Access to Higher Education programme, you are eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to cover your tuition fees. Student Finance England will write off any outstanding Advanced Learner Loan balances you owe for an Access to HE programme, if you go on to complete a higher education/university level course. This means you do not have to repay it.

If you don’t go on to study a higher education/university level course you won’t need to start paying back the loan until you earn over £25,725 per year.

Nursing Bursary: New and continuing degree level nursing, midwifery and many allied health students will benefit from guaranteed, additional support of at least £5,000 a year to help with living costs from September 2020. Read more about how it is expected to benefit more than 35,000 students every year.

Find out more about your funding options here.
 

Key programme features

• one-year programme
• supportive personal tutor
• equivalent to three A Levels, which means you can achieve the UCAS points you need for university
• designed exclusively for adults
• widely recognised and accepted by UK universities
• funding options available
• designed to fit around your lifestyle

Our pathways

Whether you want to work in the healthcare sector as a nurse or midwife, or in the legal, business, engineering, finance or education sectors, an Access to HE course can get you on to a relevant degree and into your chosen career.

We have an exciting range of pathways, with lots of courses to choose from, to help you to progress to university and beyond. Each course includes core modules to support you in skills for degree level study and subject specific modules.

Search our Access to HE programmes

Industry partnerships

Access to HE students at Activate Learning benefit from our many links with leading universities, such as the University of Reading, Oxford Brookes University, the University of Winchester and Southampton Solent University.

In autumn each year, Access students take part in UCAS Takeover Week, with workshops run by universities on subjects such as personal statements and student finance.

We also hold two higher education fairs, with over 40 university exhibitors at Oxford and Reading.

What’s happening in Access to Higher Education

20 August 2020

GCSE success for Activate Learning’s Reading College students