The changing face of Higher Education (and how this benefits students at Hopwood Hall College)

Tuesday 28th July

The education sector is still adjusting to the challenges brought on by lockdown restrictions. Now – with light at the end of the tunnel – we’re getting a clearer picture of what the ‘new normal’ will be in September.

There is, however, uncertainly over the long-term viability of traditional Higher Education. With a question mark over its future, the answer looks to benefit those institutions with a more alternative and emerging model of university life.

Take Hopwood Hall College. With a diverse range of full-time and part-time vocational courses – teamed with a record for delivering e-learning – it’s already a go to place for Further Education in Greater Manchester.

Its Higher Education offerings are quickly expanding too, with impressive academic results and 90% of students deeming their course to be ‘good, interesting and intellectually stimulating’.

Now Hopwood’s message that you can ‘Stay Near, Go Far’ is set to clinch a whole new generation of learners. After all, even with social distancing the make up of each pathway is set to be near identical to what was originally on the table.

This is down to its unique scale, which allows for real human interaction in which thoughts and ideas can thrive. The size of the classes mean people who signed up for face-to-face teaching will still get exactly what they paid for.

Each student’s investment – which at £6,000-per-year is significantly less than the £9,250-per-year sum demanded by competing institutions – is both affordable and pandemic-proof. Unlike other university routes, the essence isn’t stripped away due to COVID-19.

Everyone will feel welcome from day one. Everyone will have the chance to make friends. Most importantly, everyone will be taking one huge step towards achieving their potential.

Take, for instance, Hopwood’s HND in Animal Management. With elements of the course undertaken at the animal enclosure located on its 70-acre Middleton Campus, there will be physical on site and in group activities all year long. It’s an experience beyond what you can get elsewhere.

This is a luxury afforded to those institutions with small but effective models for offering Higher Education, like Hopwood Hall College. It is, unfortunately, not a luxury that others can afford right now.

The typical ‘university experience’ (like classes held in huge lecture theatres and student accommodation bustling with Freshers) is no longer a guarantee. In fact, at many city-based institutions day-to-day life might look almost unrecognisable from what people envisioned when they chose their path before the pandemic.

Simon Farrar, Director of Higher Education at Hopwood Hall College, said:

“We are proud to offer a personal and robust approach to Higher Education.

“Our promise to ‘Stay Near, Go Far’ has been appealing to those in the local area for years, but now more people than ever are seeing the benefit.

“During these uncertain times, you can be certain of the amazing experience you’ll receive as a student at Hopwood Hall College.”

The entire country has had to re-evaluate the way we expected the next few years to go. From holidays to weddings, people are thinking outside the box and considering options that – until now – they never thought applied to them.