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Studying an International Foundation Programme - Middlesex University · Let Them Fly - Heather Harries Ed Hub

• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and today we're at Middlesex University, and I'm speaking to Dr.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Louise, who is head of the IFP program.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: IFP is the most amazing qualification.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to introduce you all to it very shortly.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Louise has been in the university and she's really grown this program and made it work for students here.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to find out.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, my love of education and on educ and go ongoing education always comes through.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to speak.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, let's welcome you.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for joining us today, Dr.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Louise.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for inviting me.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, Dr.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Louise, tell me, you are very involved in IFP.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: What does IFP actually mean?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: So the IFP stands for the International Foundation Programme.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a pre-university course, and it's the same level of education as A levels or B Tech or I B.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So how does that work?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So if they don't do A levels, I mean, I'm obviously very old-fashioned.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, you do your GCSEs, you do your A levels through IB, and then you go to university.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: But the one thing I know about this program is you can actually cut those two years of education down to six months or a year.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a course that students can do that gives them access to an undergraduate programme.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's a year, that's right.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: So we do access students straight from GCSE.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: So five GCSEs at, and I'm going to show my own ignorance here and say grade C, which is now a number, isn't it?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you need five GCSEs to get onto the program.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, it is a year.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: And what we do in that year is we are giving students a little bit of subject knowledge ready for their degree.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: So they choose a particular pathway.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: So they can choose the subject that they want to go on to study.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: But we're also giving them the skills that they need to be successful undergraduates.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the main thrust of the program.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm right, when a child does A levels, they basically study a subject at a much deeper level and they learn how to apply that study and how to kind of get higher level learning effectively.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's the change from here's my piece of paper, here's my here's my learning, I'm giving it back how I've learnt it, to here's my learning, let me analyze it and give it back to you.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: The the jump from GCSE, uh sorry, from A level to the undergraduate programme is really about higher level thinking skills.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So the purpose of the IFP is to give the students those skills to be able to teach them things like critical reading, critical thinking, critical researching, those kinds of skills.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's about thinking about the bigger picture.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of um, why do I do this?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Or what might happen if this doesn't happen, or how can I change this?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: How can I problem solve this?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's those kinds of skills.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Those words that we get in our A levels like analyze and Yes, okay, all those very difficult ones.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm just gonna backtrack here because I think I'm very guilty.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I keep saying IFP.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: So IFP is International Foundation Programme.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: An international foundation programme, once you've taken it in Middlesex, you can use it where?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can use it pretty much anywhere.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: It does have its own certification.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, in Dubai, circumstances change, parents move, dad gets a job in Singapore or Hong Kong and we and you move away.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: This uh qualification you can take with you.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the year, you get a certification and that gives you access to an undergraduate programme.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it certainly gives you access to at Middlesex University and it gives you priority at Middlesex University.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: So if you were choosing a course like graphic design, for example, or fashion design, it actually guarantees you a place on that course because we have very small numbers on those because of the equipment.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it gives you an advantage going into undergrad at Middlesex.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: You can also transfer to Middlesex in London, transfer to Middlesex in Mauritius.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: If you like the beach.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or you could go to any other UK university.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it's an equivalent to uh 3A levels, and so it would give you access to any undergraduate programme.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: It um I don't I don't know the numbers myself, but yes, I would think so.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: It gives you a certain number of uh CAT points.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it gives you 120 CAT points, which is transferable.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And most degrees are asking for about 118 to 121.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, okay.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then can they do any courses alongside?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, for instance, if they didn't do so well in GCSE maths and they need that for further learning, is that possible to do that here as well?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do cover maths.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: So they would the students come in and they study two subject modules.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: So it let's say that you're doing psychology.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll do one course which is foundations of psychology, which just places psychology into the bigger picture.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: So you're looking at the social sciences in general, where does psychology fit, and then you'll do a psychology module.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: In addition to that, you will do maths.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody who takes the program does maths regardless of their pathway, because in the undergraduate program, you are going to need to be able to read statistics, you might need and interpret statistics, you might have to produce statistics of some sort.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so all research tends to um work around those skills.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: So we teach some mathematics, and then there are two other modules that the students do.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: One is academic writing, because that's key to being in the undergraduate program.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we teach you things like researching, synthesis of research, we teach you referencing, those kinds of things that pretty boring stuff, but it's necessary things.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have a lovely module which is critical thinking, and we do lots of fun, lots of generating of new ways of thinking, but in lots and lots of fun ways.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And those modules run um concurrently.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: So you study all five modules at the same time.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you mentioned psychology, but I think there's more than one IFP you can do here.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Indeed, yeah, we actually have six different pathways.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a business pathway, law, psychology.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Media is split into two.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: So um we have a pathway that's for graphic designers and fashion designers because at the end of the IFP year you need to produce a portfolio.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: So um that portfolio is developed throughout the course so that you are guaranteed that place on the graphic design or the fashion design course.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have uh another media pathway which covers film, journalism, creative writing, all of the other um digital um media courses that we do.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have IT.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And we have that's a very big programme.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: We have quite a lot of students interested in IT because they want to go on to do cybersecurity or electrical engineering, those kinds of courses.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So we also have uh that pathway as well.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, everyone's talking at the moment.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Every child I talk to wants to do cybersecurity.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, really?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then in terms of the student life, how does how how different is being a student here to be on an IFP program to being a student in the UK?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's we try to make it the same.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um the IFP students are fully paid up members of Middlesex University.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: They are um they can access everything that the undergrads can access.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: We have loads of events, guest speakers, internships, volunteer opportunities, fun things.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have Freshers Week, we have Freshers Party, you know, everything that you would have in a standard university in the UK, we try to offer here.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um so and the IFP students can access everything the undergrads can.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: So they can sit on the student council, um, they will have um, I would call it a class rep.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's got a proper name, but the students will understand if I say it's your class rep, you're the head of the class, um, who have meetings with us to give us feedback and bring challenges to us that they're experiencing.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: All of those kinds of opportunities for sort of management roles, volunteer roles, all of that can be accessed by the IFP students.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's I think it's an amazing way of just continuing education.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you access at 16, presumably you feel a little bit young, a little bit insecure.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: What's your sort of inclusion and your pastoral care for those younger students?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we actually have a department called the Centre for Academic Success.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: So within that department, we support students who have learning difficulties because we're an inclusive university.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean learn learn difficulty doesn't prevent you from coming to do the foundation programme.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um there the tutors there are also there to guide students on academic matters as well.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: We also have a student counsellor, um, and we're about to recruit a second one.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so students can make a confidential, completely confidential appointment with a counsellor and discuss any problems that they've got.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got that support.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Within IFP, we also provide additional uh support sessions, both for maths and English.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: So those are accessed, um, there's two hours a week, and we offer those.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: We actually have two campuses, one in Knowledge Park and one at Academic City.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: So the support sessions are offered at both.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you live nearer to Academic City, you can go there.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then all of the lecturers have also consultation hours.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always in my office, and students can just literally just knock on the door and come in and see me.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: So there's plenty of opportunity for support.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all of the departments, the academic departments um have support, all of the admin departments also have support.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: So they can go, we have the lovely campus central, which is good, they've got the most beautiful office downstairs.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's all glass and it's lovely.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the students can go there and talk through anything that's not academic.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: So if they can't find the bus timetable, if they can't access something, you know, or um they want to know where the piano is, you know, so there's there's all of those um support services as well.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And in terms of the lessons, are they lecture theatre style, seminar style?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: How are they delivered?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's a mixture of both.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: So in the subject modules, the students will have a lecture and the same in mass, and that delivers the content that they're going to have to understand for the week.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then they'll have seminars where they do um group work and individual work.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: In the academic modules, um, they would just have seminars.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a bit like being at school.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we might talk about something together, have discussions, debates, all sorts of different types of activities.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's definitely not where you're sitting listening to me droning on for an hour.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely not that vibe in IFP.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the nice thing is for children that have found school difficult, they can actually find themselves here.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's not they're they're stepping out aside that rigid timetable and they've got a bit of self-just self-freedom and self-expression.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: They have, and we teach them how to be when they come to university.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that sounds ridiculous.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that they think that 16-year-olds think that they already know how how to how to get along with these things.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: But so with some of the early tuition that we have in the critical thinking skills module is about how to be at university, how to be an independent learner.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because at school it it um the teachers tend to tell you what to do all the time.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, they'll remind you that you've got assessments coming up.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Have you read this?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Have you done that?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: At university, it's a lot more about self-driven learning.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so we do a lot of teaching at the very beginning of the course about how to develop those self-driven um skills, how to keep yourself motivated, um, where to go for help if you fall behind or you feel like you're struggling or you're overwhelmed.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think the other thing to say is that the course is very popular with 16-year-olds.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's quite a big program.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: We have around about 500 students who will join us in September, but probably um about 200 of those will be students who are only 16.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: So you're not alone.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you will make friends.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you're also integrated into the university, so we don't have a separate section for IFP or anything like that.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: We like students to mingle with the student population, they can join all the clubs and societies.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a student area called the student hub where they can go and play games.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: So they will meet students on other courses, and that really helps because they can see what they're going to become.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we also have in the classroom, we also have SLA student learning assistants.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And for the first time this year, um, we actually invited students who had just finished IFP and were in year one to come back as our student learning assistants.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that worked really well because again, the students who are new in IFP, you're only 16, you're sitting in this classroom, you can see someone who's been successful.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: They come back into the classroom and say, Do you know what?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: You need to do it like this.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Listen to what this teacher says, don't ignore this, do this, make sure that you are aware that you, you know, you you can do whatever you want.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: We actually gave them an exercise, we give them an exercise to do at the end of the year where they write a reflection on what they've learned in IFP and what advice they would give to an IFP student coming in.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing that comes up the most is how the IFP has inspired them to reach their potential.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be frightened to reach for the stars if you want to be something, if you don't ever think that you can't do something.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that came up a lot in the feedback that they felt that they've been encouraged and supported to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that was such a lovely thing to hear.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: I and I think, do you know what I think obviously we deal a lot with children with sort of inclusion needs?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think one of the problems is with school curriculums, it's so rigid, it's so um set on a framework.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: There is no expression, there is no chance to actually analyse your own thoughts and to feel like you're that person.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think moving out of that rigid framework, a lot of people do find themselves when they get to university if they haven't been turned off by education in school.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it's you you're giving them that opportunity here, which is it's fantastic.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're filling that gap because there's a massive gap.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: There's no FE colleges, but this really fills that gap for them.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: It does.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things we do teach them is how to reflect on their own learning, how to think about yourself.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: What have I learned about myself?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of the students do appreciate that and and realise that, you know, actually I can become this if I want to be.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, within the course, we try to allow the students to have as much choice in the activities that they do.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: So when they do essays, they choose their own topics.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: So they can choose things they're interested in.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, when they're doing presentations, when we're doing debates, you know, they get quite passionate and they they choose um their own subject.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: So again, that that's about um thinking about what you're going to go on to do and how do I decide what it is I'm going on on to do.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's so important.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I just think, you know, to be able to choose something that you're interested in, you can enjoy writing about it.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: When you're given a title in school, you know, write about Macbeth's wife or whatever it is.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, really?
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: You want me to be excited about this?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can't be.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not possible.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing that I think I love particularly is how accessible it is, how affordable it is for students to come.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: We have quite a lot of scholarships.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the fees are around about um, the basic fees are around about 48,000, 50,000, something I'm not a numbers person, I'm afraid.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we do have a lot of scholarships.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if you come from certain schools or you have certain quote um certain grades at GCSE, I think um quite a substantial number of the IFP students do achieve scholarships and they and you can carry those on into undergrad.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we also have uh within undergrad, once you get into the the undergraduate program here, we also have top student awards, which gives you money off.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um if you pay early, you get money off.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's lots of opportunities for you not to pay that top figure.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really good because I think at the moment parents are so squeezed financially, you know, quite a lot are dropping out of school because the school fees are astronomical.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: They are.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And the other thing to say about IFP is that once you've paid your fees, there are there are no hidden costs.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: All of your materials, all of your books, everything that you need is available to you.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: We don't charge for any of those.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: That that just makes education affordable.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: It makes those next steps very possible for so many people that they weren't before.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when they come into lectures, um what do they write these days or is it computers?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: What do they how do they record their notes?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: They can they can do either.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: We have an online platform.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: So all of the materials that are delivered in the classroom are always available to the students.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing hidden, we're completely transparent.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: As soon as they start the course, they're given a handbook for every module, which is online.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: We don't do paper because we're a sustainable university.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um so everything is online for them.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: And in the handbook, it tells them exactly what they're going to be studying all year.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: It tells them exactly what their assessments are going to be, it tells them what the criteria for those assessments are.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: So right from the get-go, they've got everything that they need.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they can access that material whenever they want to.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: We try to encourage them to write things down by hand.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: And this is, I know I'm a dinosaur, um, but we do do some in-person assessments.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: And but also I think when you write something down, you do remember it a little bit better.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: It and you can refer back to it later.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: Going online, if you've got to say, oh, I've got to find where that is, and I've got to log in, and I am my Wi-Fi is a very good, if you can just open a notebook and think, oh yeah, that was what she said.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a little bit easier.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: So we do try and encourage them to write things down, but they are, of course, if students need laptops, they they can bring in a laptop or an iPad.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we also have a um a laptop lending uh library.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: So students can, if they haven't got a laptop, they can't afford one, we you can borrow them from the library.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so lovely as well.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think I I'm I'm a dinosaur.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely agree.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: I I have an old-fashioned diary and my and my PA recently, she's kind of like, you need to be online.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I I really I actually I like writing.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: I like that, you know.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's very relaxing and it's very therapeutic.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I also, one of the things I find particularly at the moment with children that are doing A levels and GCSEs, you know, they haven't when when I was in school, we had one notebook and we followed our revision through in that one notebook.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now that information is online, it's in a notebook, it's in a book, it's on this, it's on Teams, it's on whatever.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And finding that sort of journey of learning is actually quite tough for a lot of students these days.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it is.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think the platform that we've got is very useful in that respect because everything that they have in the classroom is on there.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: So any handouts or anything, activities that you're you've done, you can go back and do again because the materials are all always available to you on there.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: So they can go back and revise those.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, like you say, I think it's, you know, if you write a shopping list and you write it by hand, you remember before you get to the shop, don't you?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: But it's just, it's just fun.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I know I I'm sounding so old and so boring, but I actually I love having it looking nice and writing it beautifully.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Too old, I'm too old.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then the question that I know a lot of parents would want to know is and it's this is one of those how how long's a piece of string, how easy is it for a student to keep up and pass this course?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, the pass rate is very high.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we have they have a few chances um to do assessments.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: So we always do drafts of assessments.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Everything that they're given to do as an assessment will have been practiced in the classroom.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not something it's not going to come as a shock.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and most of the time um and the students can do drafts, get feedback on those drafts.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that's where the centre for academic success comes in, because they do that for all students in the university.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got several opportunities to get feedback on your work.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um if for some reason a student just doesn't meet the requirements for the course, there are resits in the summer.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: So what they have a second opportunity, and again, they can go to the centre for academic success for tutoring for that.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: And are these open book exams or are these they they've got to pre-learn their material before they sit the exam?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, they they're sort of it's the way that we uh do it in IFP is uh ordinarily we would have sort of online submissions um with the AI.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: This is becoming more difficult.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um so what we tend to do is practice something in the classroom.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: So the first assessment in academic skills, for example, is um it it's it's a simple summary of um an unknown um article from a magazine or something like that.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll practice that in the classroom, the kinds of resources that they might be looking for um to do research when they're in undergrad.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: We read the article, we write a summary of it.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll practice, practice, practice in the classroom, and then that would be their assessment.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a really good skill, even if they're even going on to an undergraduate programme, because I know my son started university and that whole, well, should I have to go and research?
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And he's really struggled with that.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: He struggled with APA um referencing as well, but that's another story.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: So so far, I might add.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but he's but that that whole, I'm saying to him, haven't you read this journal?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And he's going, What journal?
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I just think they're so used to being given all the information to actually have to go and look for it.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's quite a big jump.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: It is, and we we teach them that.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we have a lovely library course that they do that um our librarian has written um for everybody in the university.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so they uh in IFP that's a compulsory component.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: So it's an online course.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: We start them off in the classroom, they finish it at home, and that teaches them how to use the library resources because we've got the most fantastic access to all sorts of journals, um, thousands and thousands of journals.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we teach them how to do that, we teach them how to do research, we teach them also how to read a journal article.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because some of them are quite, you know, you sort of look at it, it's 10,000 words.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to read that.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we teach them how to read journal articles and how to use that information once they've got it.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously you and I are quite boring because I actually love going to a journal and kind of pulling out those bits of information and kind of go, oh, you know, it's not quite so exciting for a 16-year-old.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: I do get.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so in terms in terms of um IFP, you've got open days they can come and look round?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: They can.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: We've got several open days.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: We've got two next week.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: We've got one next Wednesday evening, we've got one next Saturday.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think that between now and September, I think there are nine open days.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, and I'll be at most of those.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: So please do come in.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'll be sitting here, so please come and entertain me.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, we've got lots of open days, but in fact, if you wanted a tour around the university, you can just come.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um so somebody will take you around the university.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um recruitment team are always available.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we send quite a lot.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: We we do quite a lot of counselling, we do send quite a lot to you.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then if they look round, so it tell me a student success story.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: So a student that kind of left school, I mean, I know I've sent one recently to you to do fashion, and she really just didn't fit in in school, and she has bounced since she's been here, it's like a different person.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, there must be a lot of students like that.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're just not fitted in in school.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think sometimes um, you know, once you get to 16, school isn't what you're looking for.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want the discipline, you don't want to have to wear the uniform, you don't want to be told what to do all the time.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think for some students it works really well just to have that little bit more of independence.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we have a lot of students who come in and they, like you say, they haven't really enjoyed school.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think the thing with IFP is that from the get-go, you're learning something that you've chosen.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: At school, you know, when you do GCSEs, you do what, twenty, twelve.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: You're obviously going to be studying something that you not interested.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: You didn't necessarily choose.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: At least in IFP, you've already chosen that you want to do psychology or fashion design, and you're learning that straight from the get-go.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: So there's that interest immediately, and that helps to motivate you through perhaps some of the bits that, you know, inevitably you might not like some of the maths, you might not like some of the essay writing, but you know that your essay writing is going to be about fashion.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so therefore, that gives you that little bit of impetus to work at that little bit harder.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And how many assignments roughly over a year are they going to have to complete?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: They usually do um probably two in each module.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: In the maths, they do like little um tests every week.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um so but they're little, I've I've done them.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's maybe two questions.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I can only do the first couple, to be fair.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not a maths person, but um there are only maybe one or two questions each week.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um in the other modules, most of the assessments come at the end of the year, obviously, because we have to teach you something before we can test that you can do it.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um but often they'll have something at the end of the first term, so something just before Christmas, and that'll be a little bit smaller, and then they'll have something um at the end of the year.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: So there's usually two assessments, but the build-up to those assessments is quite big.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: So we will start working on those weeks and weeks before.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: So so long as students are going to class, um, they will pass.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: The pass rate is very high.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and so and what's really interesting is that you'll often see students who just started in year one in Costa or in the corridor somewhere, and they say, Oh miss, I'm so glad I did IFP because now I really know what I'm doing.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so that's so lovely, and that's what it's that's what it's about.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's that journey, isn't it?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: And how many of them will stay here and how many a lot go away, or do a lot of them just stay on a We do have some students who go home, and sometimes I think that's because uh back home you get a better deal because you're um uh you know, if you go uh for example, if you go back to Australia, you your education is free.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: So of course, why wouldn't you?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we have uh probably usually about 85% of students will go on to our undergraduate programme here.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Some will go to London um because they want to go to Middlesex in London, and they can transfer, so long as they're 18, they can transfer to London at any point during their career with us.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: So they can go after IFP after year one after year two, because everything that's delivered here is the same as it is in London.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, amazing.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if they join you early, they could actually just do their they could do their one year here, they could do their IFP their first year, and then do their last two years in London, which again, that's financially a better option for a lot of parents as well.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because having got one and another one going to university, I can only say how expensive I can't wait.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait for the definition.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of like, oh, you know, it it's just expensive.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: Education is just expensive in the UK.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: So have you got space?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the the the leading question now, have you got space in September?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: We have indeed, yeah.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: So we're the um admissions are open, and it's not a decision you need to make right now.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: So you can uh turn up on the first day that we start and you will be accepted into IFP.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: We accept students into up to about two or three weeks into the course and we catch you up.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: As long as they've got five GCSEs, yes, that's C now that would have received English as one of those.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but recruitment can confirm that.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so um we we take students up to about week three, and then we cat the students who start late, we catch them up.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we do some extra support with them to catch them up.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's a decision you've got to make between now and mid-October.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And am I right that it's only about 16 hours a week the programme, 16, 17 hours?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's yes, it's 16 hours a week.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: So they can do a part-time job alongside it, maybe, and and you employ them in the college as well, I believe.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that's volunteer where they get a small payment.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think I was talking to somebody and I think some of some of your um opportunity was very, very small payment, but there was a small payment there as well.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: And we do have an we have a careers department who you can find internships as well.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of students um do something over the summer because the course finishes um at the beginning of May.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got plenty of time before your undergrad to get a little bit of experience before or earn a little bit of money before you go into undergrad.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I have to say, it though, you know, when you from the outside it does look like a bit of a sort of businessy building, but when you come in, it's got a lovely university college feel to it, and it's quite bright and it's it's always full of very lively students here.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: I always find it's it's lovely.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot going on.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: There's always something going on.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: So there's always music playing, there's always I can hear in this office, I can hear when they've got the because the student hub is two floors up, I can hear the music from here.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: So there's lots, yeah, there's lots of always lots going on.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: At the moment, it's very quiet because the undergrads have just finished and they're doing their exams.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a shh.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm going to do then, Louise, thank you so much.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I absolutely love this IFP programme.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think for so many students, it's absolutely the right course.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, you have to be selective.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to go into medicine or you want to be a lawyer, it's probably not going to be the perfect course for you.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: But for a lot of other careers, it is absolutely and if you don't know what you want to do, why are you wasting two years of mum's, mum and dad's money in school just filling in time just because you to go to university whereas here, you can actually start that direct route.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because a lot of children take psychology thinking it's going to be amazing and they they don't find it as easy as they think it's going to be.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Writing and reading, and yeah, so yeah, so they can change their mind at any point.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm going to do is I'm going to tag you in in the bottom of our social media and then we're going to send as many students as want to come.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, we're as always we're open to counsel, we chat to parents, any parents who want a conversation about IFP, A levels, B tech, what's right for their student.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're we're available, and then we will we have a very good working relationship with you as a as a university.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: So we're very happy to, you know, lead lead you down the path to the right, the right course, which may be a um an undergraduate degree, it may be an IFP, or you know, it might be stay in school just to finish that last exam and then do the IFP.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that there are so many options out there, but as long as you get to where you want to go, it doesn't matter which route you take.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you so much for joining us on Let Them Fly.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: You are most welcome, thank you.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: And next week we will be talking about anxiety.