University of Salford to offer more two-year degrees

SALFORD University is planning more two-year degrees after a successful pilot scheme which lowers the costs for students.

The government is encouraging universities around the UK to offer the accelerated degrees to ease the debt burden on undergraduates.

The University of Salford is already running a selection of accelerated building and construction courses which began last year.

The University’s School of Built Environment is set to host a range of courses across the building sector, with a range of subjects available, such as: quantity surveying, building surveying, property and real estate, construction project management and architectural design & technology.

Senior Press and PR Officer at the university, Gareth Hollyman said: “We are pleased to be already breaking the mould and the courses are proving a hit with students at Salford.

“The ‘accelerated full-time’, programmes pack all the learning opportunities of a traditional three year degree into two years, and for UK/EU students it’s also around £9,000 cheaper than other routes.”

According to reports by the BBC, the cost of the course being condensed in to two years would mean a large increase in the current cost of £9,250 per year, up to £11,000 per year.

This comes prior to a larger review of the university fees and funding which will take place in the next few weeks, which will see MP Jo Johnson, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, argue that the two-year degrees will be a much more practical option which is likely to see an increase in students.

Gareth commented: “We are expecting numbers to grow and we would welcome the freedom to be more flexible in fee setting in relation to these new degrees.”

The opportunity of two-year degrees are likely to attract mature students into undertaking further education in degree courses, something which has been in decline in recent years.

“This policy will be particularly attractive for mature students who are looking to change their skills and adapt to changes in the economy – and who might want to go through higher education at a faster pace,” Jo Johnson told the BBC.

Based on statistics from whatuni.com, the University Of Salford currently has a mature student population of 39% out of 14,735- meaning there are only 5,746 who have applied for undergraduate courses.

Alexander Costello is a third year student at the University, studying Multimedia Journalism and since hearing the news has been considering the outcome of the proposed plans.

He explains: “In hindsight, it is a good idea because it is cutting fees so it is cheaper and no one is getting in as much debt, but then I wonder if it is as beneficial as three years, because then you will have to cram more work in to two, so it will make it harder.

“I feel like work placements and experience are a massive part of your degree and in two years there might not be enough time to fit that all in- that experience is more beneficial than sitting in a lecture hall.”

Although, Alexander understands that the plans to undertake a two-year degree could be beneficial due to lower debt and means “you could have a job quicker to an extent.”

This timeline shows the history of university fees:

With the plans only proposing a start to the change in the length of courses offered by various universities around England, the University of Salford have explained that it is ‘too early to say’ whether these type of degrees will be offered in other departments across the university.

To find out about existing two year degrees, click here.