Passport to university
Congratulations to the sixty students who completed the PASSPORT to Higher Education Programme at Lancaster University during July. The course is aimed at students who are capable of studying at Higher Education level, but who have been disadvantaged in some way by their personal circumstances, resulting in their A Level performance suffering.
Twenty of the students will be enrolling this year onto Lancaster University degree programmes, with the remainder enrolling at one of our PASSPORT partner institutions - Blackburn College, Blackpool and The Fylde College, Edge Hill University and St Martin's College – or at other HE institutions in the North West. Over a quarter of the students combined PASSPORT credits with their A Level results to achieve their place.
Keith Percy, Director of the School of Lifelong Learning and Widening Participation, said: “The PASSPORT programme is a central element of our widening participation work. It offers students the opportunity to experience what life at university will be like and is an excellent example of how Lancaster can work with other Higher Education institutions in the region, for the benefit of students.”
The students took six modules worth 45 Level C credits during the month. They attended lectures for 30 hours a week and completed coursework and exams while they were here.A number of the students completed modules by distance and online learning, with a non-residential programme at Blackburn College.
Rory Daly, PASSPORT Coordinator, noticed how the students’ confidence increased.
“For many of them the thing they needed most was confirmation that they were capable of working at undergraduate level away from friends and family, and that they would fit in. They worked very hard and I am glad that we will see so many of them at Lancaster in October.”
Some students with disabilities used PASSPORT to see how they could manage their disability when they came to university and to learn at first hand what type of support was available to them. PASSPORT is free to students who meet a number of Widening Participation criteria.
If you would like more information about PASSPORT, please contact Rory Daly on Tel: 01524 592622/44, passport2he@lancaster.ac.uk or visit http://www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/conted/passport/index.htm