As if reading for a degree isn’t stressful enough!
Now we have to cope with the contagion of COVID-19!
Reading for a degree involves so much more than just ‘reading’ and ‘studying’ for examinations. Higher education is the time where an emerging adult will gain very important life skills, and many of these life skills are gained from and with peers. How will the necessity for social distancing effect higher education in the next academic year, and those that will follow if a safe vaccine is not found to permanently immunise the population against the Covid-19 virus.
Reading for a degree is not an activity that a student can do on his or her own. To get the true benefit students need to be surrounded by other students, each challenging their lecturer and each other in understanding and assimilating concepts. A good lecture is never a one way preach, but a two way dialogue many a time verging on a heated debate with students gaining the ability to communicate verbally, base their arguments on facts and structuring discourse to convince rather than attack and hurt.
Students learn the skill of time management, and start devising their work-life balance. University life starts preparing young men and women (and the not so young for those who are taking the opportunity at a later age) to the world of work, and set them up on the first rungs of their career ladder.
The ability to cope
A group of freshmen students this year, are going to face an uphill struggle. Coping with the stress of A-Level examinations on the eve of their first year of studies at a University is not going to be easy. First year is always a transition year, where students need to learn new skills on how to cope with University life. Added to the work load of the academic year, some students who may fail to attain the necessary points to remain in their chosen study programme, will need to revise and resit their exams. Add to this the uncertainty of whether face to face lectures will actually be held, or teaching will have to be shifted to online means owing to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic combined with the seasonal influenza!
Is reading for a degree a waste of time?
Well in some exceptional cases we do find proof that an unqualified individual has progressed well in life, but to be fair, the millions of graduates who have fared so much better surpasses those who opted out of education at age 16!
Richard Branson is dyslexic and left school at 15, and yet he still managed to build a business empire. He does say that he misses the advantage of formal education, that he could not attain owing to his learning difficulties. In one of his famous quotes, Richard Branson says ‘To be successful you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running.’ He admits he made mistakes because in some cases he was not knowledgeable on how he should run!
What role does a good University play in one’s life?
Reading for a degree at a University is the transition from very basic schooling attained during compulsory education, to the first step towards truly building your competences towards a rewarding career. The three year undergraduate programmes offer concentrated knowledge — three years of assimilation of know-how that used to take previous generations a life-time to learn. Serious institutions seek to provide every opportunity for students to use the knowledge they are assimilating, through simulations as an integral part of their study programme, and through real life experiences by facilitating on the job internships.
Do not fear the future, fear only your inability to take the right decisions now!
You cannot foresee what the future holds for you.
But you can take the best decisions right now. A decision that will have a positive influence on your future by choosing the institution for your undergraduate studies that has proven year on year that your needs come first.
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education has been found to exceed expectations in Student Centered Learning by the NCFHE External Quality Assurance Audit Team!
Of course, at SMI you are #NotJustaNumber
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And if you think that higher education that provides personal attention will bankrupt you, think again. Check our Fees Package! Click Here
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education
Facilitating your successful journey
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education is determined to facilitate and not block students’ ability to succeed. It is a known fact that stress is a killer and students who suffer from exam related tension tend to do very badly mostly because their inability to manage their examination tension.
The Institute mitigates this through;
- The entry requirements for students to embark on a degree conferred by the world renowned University of London are based on your attainment at ordinary level. If you possess a minimum of four ordinary levels, at grade 1 to 5 including Mathematics and English, and you will be 17 years old by 30th April 2020, you do not need to worry about what you will attain in your September a-level sitting.
- You will study for an MQF level 5 Diploma for the first academic year, and after successfully completing this year, you may join the University of London degree of your choice at second year (the first year of the degree is exempted on the merit of your MQF level 5 Diploma). You may even transfer to another University, in Malta and overseas, based on the achievement of the SMI Diploma, that is accredited by the NCFHE.
- Your assessment is throughout your study programme, based on home assignments and unseen examination paper sessions, and all marks gained in the Autumn, Winter and Spring semester accumulate for your final grades.
- The standards achieved during the year are as approved by the University of London, a University of the highest international reputation. But the pedagogy used at SMI makes the process achievable and students are fascinated by their own abilities.
You may choose from a wide variety of fields of study. Check our prospectus for Commerce or Computing to join some of the most highly demanded career fields in Malta and overseas!
If you wish to have a one to one chat with regard to your choice of qualification, you may complete this online contact form call us on +356 2123 5451 for an appointment, or communicate with us through our website or Facebook or email us on infodesk@stmartins.edu
If you are already convinced that you want to join us for the upcoming academic year, then just complete this Application Form and email it to us on infodesk@stmartins.edu
