Mandy Hill: Projects and Events Manager

I have always wanted to earn a degree. But where I grew up, further education was not even considered as an option. I was raised on a Council Estate in Hull in a “very working class neighbourhood” where there was no culture of achievement and no encouragement to learn. In fact, I’m the first in my family to enrol in higher education.

After searching the internet for a degree programme, I settled on the Kaplan Open Learning course because it allows me to earn a degree without ever having to travel to a traditional classroom. This was vital for me because I live with my family in Cyprus and I needed a programme that I could complete from abroad and that gave me the time and flexibility to raise my two small children, work as a youth and community volunteer and support my husband’s career in the British Forces. When we return to the UK in several years’ time, I want to be looking for a job having earned a degree first.

In the very first seminar, we were all a bit nervous, but the lecturer, David, was so welcoming, such a normal bloke, that he put us at ease almost right away. I know I can ring the academic adviser for support and advice any time, and David is very accessible for more course-related questions.

Most of us in the class thought that we’d be among hundreds of other students listening in on lectures, but we couldn’t have been more wrong. There are only about 25 students in each class, and we are interacting with each other all the time.

The biggest challenge for most of us has been getting used to “attending class” using an internet platform -- it was really quite weird at first. But it is very straightforward, so within the first week or so, it became almost second nature to “click” my way around the classroom. We attend virtual seminars once a week with the lecturer who calls on us to participate and answers our questions. We also compare notes with each other through the chatroom function.

Some of the students who live in the same cities are even talking about getting together on their own socially, something I think the course designers didn’t expect. Since I live abroad, I won’t be able to join them, but I still feel like I’ve made some great friends already.

So far, I’m keeping up with the lessons and completing all of the assignments. In fact, now I know that earning a degree is something I can do.

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