Flexibility for work, play and study

Colin Brown from Cromer, Norfolk
Sports Centre Manager
Studying Foundation Degree in Entrepreneurship

I have re-discovered a willingness to learn and have gained the confidence that I can achieve goals which I previously thought were out of my reach. I cannot see this course being anything but beneficial to me.

I had been searching for the right course for me for some time. Having previously completed a different distant learning course I knew that this type of learning suited me. I joined simply because I want to better myself both personally and professionally. I did not ever consider going to traditional university, but deep down I always knew that I wanted to study again one day. Having settled in to my current management role, I decided that now was the right time. I read through KOL’s prospectus and was impressed with what they had to offer. The main selling point was the freedom to study when I can, and not have daily or even weekly deadlines.

My life, like most, is pretty hectic. This is not helped by the fact that my girlfriend and I have just bought our first house together (which needs lots of work!). Working at the sports centre means I work very varied hours, including evenings and weekends. Some days I may be in and out of the office up to four or five times a day, working one or two hour blocks. I have overall responsibility for everything that happens so I like to keep on top of it as best I can. I work six days a week for anything between 40 - 50 hours. In school holidays it is even worse. Due to my rather random work patterns I do not have big blocks of time where I can sit down and study. Therefore I try to log on as often as I can, even if it just for half an hour. I have found that the course lends itself to this very well. I can log on at lunch and complete a little reading or post a discussion thread. It helps me greatly that I can complete little bits here and there. Even if I do not manage to log on for a couple of days, the course is set up in such a way that I do not feel overwhelmed with work when I do find time to study.

My favourite bits of the course:

- The support you get from tutor, classmates & academic advisors
- The structure of the course is very clever and easy to work with
- The fact that I can study from basically anywhere and when I want to

Even though I am still on the first module, I have already learnt things that I have put into practice on a daily basis. I have re-discovered a willingness to learn and have gained the confidence that I can achieve goals which I previously thought were out of my reach. I cannot see this course being anything but beneficial to me.