Resettlement needs advanced planning. If you are considering a strategic career move into the health professions, why waste valuable time and money to gain the qualifications you’ll need? An online Access to HE Diploma allows you to plan ahead and mean you can study whilst still earning from wherever you are serving. Much better than leaving it to the last minute. With ELCAS funding, it won’t cost the earth either.
Elcas funding would still be available to you once you have left the services, but you’ll have to give up your personal time in civvy street to study, meaning valuable time has been lost in terms of progression towards your future career goals.
Elcas or ELC (enhanced learning credit scheme) promotes lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces and is an entitlement to both serving and ex-military personnel who fulfil the criteria i.e. number of years served. However, if you have been discharged on medical grounds the time served rule will be much shorter. If you are still serving, speak to your local Education Staff as they will be able to check your entitlement for you. If you have left the forces, contact ELCAS and they can make the appropriate checks.
How does Elcas work?
What is the Access to Higher Education Diploma?
The Access to HE Diploma is a qualification which has enabled thousands of adult learners to gain entry into university each year. It provides a non-traditional route for adults who may not have A levels and is perfectly designed for adult returners to education! If you’re thinking, ‘but I didn’t do very well at school’, it doesn’t matter! An Access to HE Diploma is a fast-track way to develop academic skills, which along with life skills and experience make an attractive package to many universities. Access students are often noted as being ‘well prepared’ for degree level study as they are disciplined, organised and self-motivated.
The diploma qualification is designed to support adult returners from start to finish, so even if you feel a bit nervous at the prospect of studying, the support is there every step of the way. If your school experiences weren’t the ‘best years of your life’, don’t worry. It is not like school! The most rewarding part of being an Access tutor (many of whom have come through the Access route themselves) is to relate to and witness a student blossoming and achieving what they were always capable of. Access tutors can really get to know their learners to be able to offer personalised support which carries on right through to you receiving your certificate! It’s a journey with positive results for all concerned every time.
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Funding
ELCs, or Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme from the MOD aims to encourage personnel of the armed forces to continue learning throughout their lives. Our courses can be found in the ELC database as Academy Online Learning Ltd. (our ELCAS Funding Number is: 6066). Visit the ELC website if you have ELCs and want to use them to study with us or see more information HERE.
(SLC), or Standard Learning Credits
Armed Forces Personnel may apply to use Standard Learning Credits (SLC) towards the cost of their education for Level 2 Functional Skills and GCSEs. If you want to study with Academy Online Learning using Standard Learning Credits, you should get guidance from your local education officer to see whether you qualify and how to apply. SLC is a refund programme that runs from 1 April to 31 March as an annualised allowance and cannot be carried over from year to year. SLC funds are paid to claimants after learning is complete, and you will need to show proof of payment and attendance or completion.
University? Who me?
Why not? You probably already know you can contribute to the welfare of others and may have lots of hands-on experience as an army medic or you are just driven by a passion to be part of important healthcare provision. Either way, you will make a difference. Don’t let the idea of ‘not doing well at school’ put you off as this is no longer a barrier. Don’t let the idea of University and study put you off as at least 50% of the time of a degree is spent in clinical practice placements. You are given the uniform and opportunity to work with qualified people and gain great insights through a variety of different settings within your chosen sector via work placements right from the start. One day you will be that person showing students the ropes. On the academic side of things, this should be a breeze as your Access to HE really starts to pay off in terms of being ‘fully prepared’ in writing up an assignment.
What if I am posted overseas and have no access to my studies?
This happens regularly with our serving personnel students yet many can still have access to the internet and tutors so are able to use this valuable time to study. Where this isn’t possible we ensure that no study time is lost; study time can be frozen and can be picked up at the point where you left off…seamlessly.
So finally, we hope you have gleaned more information and also confidence in making your career change. Decisions don’t make themselves and if you are planning your resettlement, why wait? Start now with an online Access to HE Diploma and you will be one step closer to meeting your next career goals.
