How to bridge the gap

Nursing student Cara Jones takes a blood-pressure reading. Picture / Martin Sykes

People who have not been academically successful in Year 13, or left school before getting University Entrance, can still enter degree-level study through a raft of tertiary bridging and staircasing programmes.

Cara Jones, who is halfway through her nursing degree, is well on the way to achieving a career dream that seemed inconceivable when she left school 10 years ago without UE.

As a school leaver she worked in restaurants and as a nanny before heading overseas. After three years she came back, and worked in an office for a year before deciding she wanted more. So she visited the University of Auckland and was told about Tertiary Foundation Studies - and she hasn't looked back.

The year-long course, which provides an alternative pathway into degree study, built her confidence in learning. Her strengths were English and sciences, especially biology. "I really like the practical side of science which has led me into nursing."

Learning to write academic essays and discovering her learning style - kinesthetic - were other major milestones.

"It is still a big jump up to university level but the course helps with the transition and gives you confidence. I probably would have given up if it hadn't been for the knowledge and confidence I gained that year," she says.

Acting co-ordinator of the University of Auckland's Tertiary Foundation Certificate, Stephanie Wyatt, agrees the step-up is hard. "But through the course, students become comfortable in the study environment and learn skills such as writing academic essays and reports which makes a big difference in thetransition.

"Bridging study provides alternative access for people who turned off education early and is a valid pathway to tertiary study," says Manukau Institute of Technology Head of Foundation Studies, David Coltman.

Unitec Acting Head of Foundation Studies Beth O'Leary agrees.

"Many of our students didn't like school but have realised they want to take an academic path and need to bridge in."

MIT, Auckland University and Unitec offer bridging foundation study courses and staircasing in Auckland as does Massey. AUT provides only staircasing programmes. The institutions also offer foundation programmes for international students.

All providers' programmes include generic compulsory courses in literacy, numeracy and computing, plus specialist strands. MIT specialisations include nursing, engineering, teacher education, visual arts. Unitec offers business, computing, nursing, sciences and social practice. University of Auckland has two strands, science or the arts.

Coltman says people sometimes perceive foundation studies as hand holding. "But it is traditional teaching of skills such as academic writing, maths and basic computing. It is not fluffy stuff at all."

Some of the courses tend to be flexible to accommodate people who have strong and weak skills, says O'Leary, like the person who is proficient in English but lost when working with percentages and measurements. Unitec for example, accommodates this by offering the main options at three different skill levels.

School leavers make up a third to half of foundation students. Some are developing skills and confidence, others are content-filling, says Coltman. "They are picking up subjects they didn't do at school because they need them, like biology for nursing or maths for engineering."

Students do one to three semesters of study, and school leavers are often ready to move on after one semester. Auckland University's course is a compulsory year and graduates generally bridge into arts or science degrees.

Nursing study is a favourite at Unitec, followed by psychology, business and design.

MIT students enter a range of diplomas and degrees including nursing, sciences, engineering and police.

Staircasing through certificate programmes is another approach to entering tertiary study and most tertiary institutions offer certificate study. If you have a good idea of what you want to do, certificates can be more exciting because they are more relevant, but if you're not sure of your path, bridging programmes are more appropriate, explains Coltman.

Staircasing is not an option at Auckland University because the university doesn't have undergraduate certificate and diploma programmes. However, it is the main foundation approach at Massey and AUT.

AUT Academic Director Dr Patsy Paxton says staircasing is their preference, and a major strength of AUT. The main difference between staircasing certificates and diplomas and foundation bridging courses is that certificates provide specific background knowledge in preparation towards a specific degree. Foundation courses provide more generic learning to prepare students for general tertiary study.

So AUT applicants without the required pre-requisites are counselled by faculty coordinators to enrol at certificate or diploma level in their discipline of choice - such as health, design, communications, business.

"In some cases, after six months, if a student achieves good grades they can staircase into the degree," says Paxton.

"People often come alive when they study in an area of interest and staircasing also provides a taster."

Universities traditionally don't offer undergraduate certificate and diploma programmes, but Paxton says AUT is committed to retaining the current certificates and diplomas because of the communities they serve.

However, a foundation programme for domestic students is under consideration.

Don't forget that any New Zealander over 20 years can apply for special admission into a general diploma or degree course. Many of those adult students choose to go into foundation courses first, rather than taking a sink-or-swim approach.