POSTED: 30.3.2006

Crichton Campus launch 2006 Summer School

Where will you send your postcards from this summer?

Spring may be officially here, but summer has already arrived at the Crichton Campus, with local staff already preparing to launch the 2006 Summer School. Marketing staff got into holiday mode earlier this week when set with the challenge of recruiting new students onto the annual Summer School.

The new Summer School campaign will see many local people receiving a holiday postcard through their door, encouraging them to take on the challenge of university life for a few weeks in the summer. The 2006 Summer School will run from the 12th June – 14th July with attendance required either two days or two evenings a week, depending on subject choice. Subjects include Business, Computing and Arts/Humanities each leading to relevant degree programmes available from the University of Paisley or the University of Glasgow at the Crichton Campus.

The Summer School is offered free of charge to school leavers and adults thinking about returning to study. As well as offering an insight into the relevant subject areas, study skills and university induction classes are also included to help students make the transition to university that little bit easier!

Information and application packs are now available for those wishing to access university through the Campus Summer School.

Caroline Bell, Marketing Officer with the University of Paisley said: “Summer School has been a great catalyst for many local students. It provides students, young and old, with the opportunity to experience university life, try out new subject areas and decide if university study at the Crichton Campus is for them. More than anything else, it prepares students for studying at university level and gives them the confidence they need to go on and succeed at university. Many people enrol on the Summer School for different reasons but at the end of the day it has proven to be a very successful route into Higher Education for most of them.”

Some past Summer School students have taken time to reflect on their experience and offer advice to anyone thinking about taking the next step into Higher Education.

One of the first Summer School students on the campus was Bruce Robertson. Bruce is now a University of Glasgow graduate and still continues to study on the campus. Bruce still speaks positively about his experience of Summer School, which he started in 1999. He said: “When I left school in 1978 I joined the army and served mostly in Germany with the Royal Signals. After several years I decided to return to full-time education and enrolled on the Campus Summer School. After completing the summer school I started to study on a part-time basis. Like many others, I then transferred to full time study and graduated with Honours in 2004.

As an undergraduate student I specialised in Environmental Studies, developing a particular interest in coastal geomorphology. I was keen to undertake further research, but unfortunately the lack of funding frustrated my plans for a short while, until Scottish National Heritage came to my rescue. SNH were looking to fund a studentship in partnership with Glasgow University looking at saltmarsh response to climate change. As a result I started work on my PhD at the end of September 2005.”

Sandra Marshall, University of Paisley Computing Graduate, took her first steps into Higher Education as a Summer School student in 2001. She said: “I attended the summer school to get experience of adult learning and to see if I could cope with it. Following an injury, I wanted to prove to myself that I could develop new skills. I hoped that this would lead to a new career and better job prospects. Following a very successful experience at the Summer School, I went on and completed a full-time degree course with the University of Paisley at Dumfries in Computing. I then went on to take an honours year at the Paisley campus. I have recently applied for a teacher training course which I will start in August 2006. If it hadn’t been for Summer School I might never have got this far.”

Adele Hannah, University of Glasgow Student also enrolled on the 2002 Summer School as a mature student, but for very different reasons. She said: “Being made redundant is a blow for anyone. I saw an advert for summer school at Glasgow University, Crichton Campus. After being cocooned for 22 years the idea appealed to me and I thought it would open up my mind and hopefully my options for future employment. The course was free - all I had to contribute was my time and effort. The modules I undertook at summer school were like a breath of fresh air. There were people from all walks of life young and old. The support and enthusiasm from the tutors was so encouraging and the resources available were first class.

My experience at summer school was so positive that I decided do a full-time degree and now I find myself in my honours year. It has not been easy at times combining a family life with my studies. However, I can honestly say that I have never regretted taking the decision. Something positive came out of my redundancy as it allowed me to experience Summer School and to be in the position I am in today”.

Other students have benefited from Summer School straight after leaving school. This included Natalie Graham, University of Paisley Business Student, who completed the Summer School in 2003. “I didn’t want to leave home to go to university so I decided to apply to the University of Paisley in Dumfries. I was given a conditional offer, which meant I had to pass my Highers before taking up my place. When I heard about Summer School I thought I would apply, it was only 6 hours a week for 6 weeks at the time, and I knew it would boost my qualifications, just in case I didn’t get the exam results I needed. As it turned out, I got the results, but I was really glad I did Summer School anyway. I met new people and had the chance to sample life at university in advance of starting my degree. When my course started in September I was already comfortable with the environment and knew some of the other students and lecturers. It certainly made my first few weeks at university easier.”

In a similar position, was Susan Rady, University of Paisley Business Student, who benefited from her experience of Summer School in 2004. She said: “I left Dumfries High School in May 2004 and then took the University of Paisley business route through the Summer School. It was a great experience and gave me a better understanding of what to expect at university. I really enjoyed it and it convinced me to come to the campus and study for a degree in Business on a full-time basis. I was more confident about starting my course in September after having done the Summer School and it gave me the chance to meet some other students. As a local school-leaver, I also benefit from the Crichton University Scholarship Agreement (CUSA) which means I also get £200 a year to support my studies. The campus therefore offers a number of benefits to local school leavers and you don’t have to leave home.”

Also leaving a local school in 2004, was Julia Callaghan who enrolled on the University of Glasgow Arts route of the Summer School. She said: “I went to the Summer School in 2004 and took the Arts stream as I wanted to get a preview of university life before joining a full-time course. Summer School gave me the advantage of having a taster of some of the courses available and boosted my confidence about joining university. I believe the Summer School helped me choose the right subject and I am now studying for a Humanities degree with the University of Glasgow in Dumfries. After I finish I aim to go to the campus in Glasgow to continue my studies and specialise in archaeology.

Alan Oswald, University of Paisley Student currently studying BA Business, took advantage of the 2005 Summer School after he realised he hadn’t picked the right university course. He said: ”After deciding to change my course to BA Business at the start of second year, I attended the summer school to gain some knowledge of the parts of the course I had missed in the first year. I would highly recommend the Summer School as it was very useful to me on my new course. One of the other benefits of the summer school was that I made a lot of new friends and many of them are now studying at the Crichton campus full time”.

Whether you want to try out university life, need help deciding what subjects to study, want to get back into studying after a long break or want to boost your entry qualifications, Summer School may be a good place to start.

For more information on Summer School call 01387 702075 or email: summer@crichton.gla.ac.uk. Alternatively, apply on-line at www.crichton.ac.uk.