HEFC Diploma

HEFC stands for Higher Education Foundation Course. There may be many of you who like myself decided to go back to college and after hearing about HEFC's decided that was the path to take to get into university. Now there may be people here who are doing HEFC's at the moment or who are thinking of taking HEFC's and I know a lot of you have questions about it. I know I did! So in this blog I am going to try and address some of the concerns you may have.
Courses and Grading
You are required to take up three courses. I myself chose Psychology, Sociology and Social Welfare as they complimented the course I wished to go on to study at university. You are also required to take on the mandatory Toolbox course. More about Toolbox later. Your three main courses are divided into two units. Each unit is then divided into two assignments. The average grade you receive over the two assignments makes up the final mark for the unit. Still with me?
There are four grading criteria for HEFC's. Now I am pretty sure on the percentages here but don't quote me on that! The highest grade is a distinction which is a mark of over 70%, next is merit for over 60%, pass for over 50% and anything under 50% is a fail. I believe that if you fail an assignment you are allowed to do it again but you are restricted to getting a pass.
Your mark is based on meeting the grading criteria established and for the quality of the work. I know it is very vague, all I can say is keep writing and going over your work until you have something that you think is of the highest quality you can produce.
Toolbox is just one unit but does last the whole year. To be honest for nearly everyone it is a waste of time. If you have basic computer skills then you are not going to learn anything. It is supposed to prepare you for the rigours of university but it does not teach you anything new and gets in the way of all your other subjects. But sadly as I said it is mandatory.
I should also probably mention the length of assignments. Written essays can vary between 1,000 and 2,500 words and exams typically last one and a half hours.
Lecturers and Lessons
All of the lecturers I had were extremely knowledgeable and very helpful, often going out of their way to give you help with any work. I would also say do try and make all your lessons as there are always new things to learn every time. Apart from one class I had where no-one ever bothered and the lecturer had to keep reading out the same material as everyone was so far behind. So please turn up, it is not fair on those who are there every week. In case you do miss a few lessons, I think the percentage required for attendance may be 80% but that is very rarely or never adhered to. I knew many with around 50% who did not get into any trouble.
Each subject usually takes up about four hours a week and Toolbox two hours. Normal lessons take place between around 10:30 and 3:30. If you have engagements to attend during the day evening classes are usually available. My Sociology class took place between 5:00 and 9:00pm.
UCAS
If anyone has any worries about UCAS it is best to see your Toolbox tutor about any issues. In Toolbox a lot of time is spent going through the UCAS process and your tutor deals with your application personally. By the  way it is also best to try and get your UCAS sorted as soon as possible, especially if the course you want to do at uni requires an interview or assessment.
Your final preliminary results appear on Northumbria University's website near the start of July and near the end of the month the results are sent out in the post to you. You may have to take a copy of these results to your chosen university.
Prior Requirements
There are no prior requirements needed to do HEFC's other than a good level of English and Maths. I think you need a C at GCSE level for each. If you do not have these you have to undertake a literacy or numeracy test to prove yourself capable.
Is It Worth It?
The short answer is YES! If you want to go to university this is the way to do it. A course at the same level of A Levels which takes half the time to complete. It may also awaken a side of you which you may have forgotten about. Such as myself, I have found a new love of learning after taking HEFC's and have found myself interested in things I would never have even considered before. The work can be hard at times and it may be difficult to fit around other things in your life but if you put the effort in you will do well. Everyone I know who stayed on until the end of the year at least passed. Most getting very high grades. Universities also look very kindly on people who have done HEFC's. It takes time and effort to dedication to do HEFC's if you have other things going on in your life and they appreciate that. The fact you will also be more mature and have more experience than most people coming out of school wanting to go to uni also goes in your favour. If you do choose to do HEFC's or are currently doing HEFC's I wish you the best of luck.

If anyone has any queries which I have not addressed please leave a comment and I will do my best to try and get back to you and help you with any issues.