Studying nursing in higher education

Learning outcomes

After reading this chapter you will:

• have gained knowledge of higher education and its place in the UK education system;

• understand some of the terminology and 'jargon' used in higher education;

• have gained knowledge of institutions which set standards for nursing education;

• have gained knowledge of levels and qualifications in nursing;

• understand the relevance and importance of lifelong learning and continuing professional development;

• understand the importance of student autonomy and independent learning in universities;

• have gained knowledge of how courses are structured and delivered.

This chapter will develop your knowledge and understanding of the study of nursing in UK universities. It will outline the 'qualification frameworks' that are relevant to becoming, and developing as, a nurse, and discuss the role of important educational and professional bodies. In addition, you will be introduced to the types of teaching and learning that you will encounter as a student nurse.

Before you read the chapter, test your knowledge with the Quick quiz below. You can revisit the quiz as you read, or come back to it after reading the whole chapter to see if your answers have changed. Key words in this chapter are highlighted in bold and can be found in the glossary in the Appendix.

What is HE?

HE stands for 'higher education', one of two options in UK tertiary education, ie education available to people of 16 years or above.

HE is mainly provided by universities, and principally awards degrees and diplomas. In contrast, further education (FE) is provided by colleges, which deliver courses and award qualifications which are vocational in nature (NVQs; City & Guilds; BTEC), preparing people directly for the workplace. However, in recent years, there has been a blurring of the line between the two types of institution, with many FE colleges, sometimes in association with partner universities, also offering degrees. This is one way of making degrees accessible to a wider range of people, some of whom may find it convenient to attend classes in a local FE college or to study in the evenings. Recently introduced 'degree apprenticeships', which offer the potential to obtain a degree while learning on the job, also blur the boundaries between vocational and academic learning.

Your nursing degree

Nursing and midwifery in the UK are today fully integrated into the HE sector. Although there is a large vocational component to these subjects, based on practical and clinical skills, they also require highly developed intellectual skills, and universities are considered to be the best place for students to acquire and develop these. Nursing is thus an academic subject, equivalent to any other, such as medicine, engineering or English literature, and therefore measured against the same standards.

Qualification frameworks

HE qualifications, sometimes called 'academic awards', are regulated across the UK via two frameworks: the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (QAA, 2008), and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in Scotland (QAA, 2014). These frameworks help institutions and employers judge the value of an individual's education and help ensure equity between academic subjects. Table 1.1 shows the academic levels assigned by the QAA to each stage of HE, and provides information on how they relate to a study pathway in nursing.

An undergraduate degree has four classifications. These are shown in Table 1.2, along with the marks usually required at each level.

Courses and credits

You can see from Table 1.1 that, in order to enter the nursing profession, you must obtain a degree from an HE institution, usually a university. If you study full time, it will take three years to obtain an honours degree (or four years in Scotland). However, universities recognise that this timescale is not possible or ideal for many people, so they have flexible learning systems which allow students to fit study into their lives in a practical way. This can involve:

• distance learning, where the student mainly studies from home via correspondence, using web-based resources – perhaps occasionally attending university workshops etc;

• blended learning, which combines traditional classroom study and web-based learning;

• part-time study (including the new degree apprenticeships mentioned earlier).

Flexible learning is facilitated by the credit points system which underpins HE education. Each course module that you study has a number of credit points attached to it. Each credit is equal to 10 hours of study, either in class, or through self-study (QAA, 2008, 2014). These credit points build up to eventually form your degree, whether over three years' full-time study, or over a longer period if you study part time. Table 1.3 shows that a student has to earn 360 credit points in order to be awarded an honours degree.

Look at the QAA frameworks (2008, 2014) online to see descriptors detailing exactly what is expected of a student at each level. Note that not all universities offer the CertHE. Some universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland may offer an ordinary degree without honours to students who have obtained a certain number of credits at Level 6. A four-year Scottish Honours Degree requires an additional 120 credits at Level 9/10.

Universities provide students with information on each module with regard to its academic level and the number of credit points it carries. Many modules, often called 'core modules', will be obligatory; some modules will be optional. All modules are organised around the following:

• a set of learning outcomes which identify what you will be able to do or understand by the end of the course;

• a process of teaching and learning which will help you achieve the learning outcomes;

• assessment which will measure your achievement and provide evidence of it.

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

Credit points can sometimes be assigned for prior learning or experience, through a process known as Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL). There are two branches of APL:

1) Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) allows you to transfer any credit points you already hold from one institution to another. One example of this is when English registered nurses holding only a diploma (having qualified before 2010) decide to 'top up' to an honours degree by completing 120 credit points at Level 6.

2) Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning...