Local MP Backs Degree Programmes At New College

North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson, has praised New College for becoming one of the first colleges in the UK to offer a pioneering new method of studying for a university degree in the local community.

This opportunity is the result of a new partnership between the college and leading UK distance learning provider RDI, forming a new study model called OnlinePlus – online study with the added campus access and weekend seminars.

From October, local residents will be able to study for university awarded degrees in Business, Computing and Psychology, learning online while also benefitting from a social and academic life on campus through 'associate student' status. Applications are now been taken for the October 2014 intake.

Students choosing to study through OnlinePlus at New College are also entitled to apply for a tuition fee loan to cover their course fees from the Student Loans Company. Student loans are available to all ages, with no upper age limit on tuition fee loans. This provides the financial confidence for a working adult or parent to take that step into higher education.

A sports centre, gym, chaplaincy, open learning centre, counselling service and full IT support are just some of the New College campus facilities on offer to "OnlinePlus" students.

The aim of the partnership is to make university degrees more accessible to local people, and more affordable - OnlinePlus fees are the equivalent of £3,995 per level compared to up to £9,000 per level for full-time on-campus university study.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to combine increasingly popular online learning, with the full support of the local New College facilities. This will be of great benefit to both busy, hardworking people and local businesses seeking to invest in their staff – a real boost for our town and local economy."

College Principal Graham Taylor: "This is an exciting development which opens up new opportunities and important new subject areas for our students, and for the wider local community.We are especially proud to be one of the first further education colleges in the country to offer this new way to study a degree which fits around busy people's lives."