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Summer School at WIT for mature students
Posted: Fri, June 19, 2009 |
People from various backgrounds across the southeast are this week celebrating their successful completion of the annual summer school for mature students at Waterford Institute of Technology.
The summer school attended by 70 students offered adults considering a return to education the chance to brush up on their study skills and experience student life.
The week, run by WIT’s School of Adult & Continuing Education and the Centre for Helping Access, Retention & Teaching (CHART), gave the mature students an insight to the commitment required in returning to education. The students were also able to attend sample classes in Business Studies; Computing; Science & Engineering; Sociology; Law; Nursing and Art.
“CHART personnel, previous participants on the Summer School and the related Foundation Certificate, as well as Institute graduates were on hand throughout the week to help the students identify and overcome obstacles to their learning,” says Aishling O’Toole of CHART. “We helped them to develop individual career plans and to acquire the confidence and skills necessary for further study.”
“It was great to see so many people interested in returning to college. The return to education after a prolonged absence can be an intimidating prospect for adults. During the summer school, we set out to reassure the students that their goals are achievable and that there is the support in place to make the transition to higher education as easy as possible. This is especially significant given the current economic climate when people who may not have traditionally thought of returning to education as an option for them are now seeing it as a real possibility as they act positively to shape their own future.”
Some of the adults who attended the summer school had already applied for courses at the Institute. However, a number of the students are likely to continue with the Institute’s Foundation Studies Certificate which runs on a full-time basis for one academic year at the College Street Campus, providing mature students with a base for applying for mainstream college places through the CAO system.
“The Foundation Certificate is designed to act as a bridge for people returning to education,” explains Aishling O’Toole. “Mature students can face obstacles to their learning, but as the many students now succeeding and achieving high marks here demonstrate, these can be overcome.”
• Further information about opportunities for adult learners at WIT is available online at www.wit.ie or by calling 051-302040 for information on part-time courses. Specific information about the WIT Certificate in Foundation Studies is available online at www.wit.ie/real.
