Foundation Degree Or Ba? Any Advice Please

[Guest]

I am currently level 3 and a room leader, hoping to progress to degree/EYP level. I cannot decide whether to do a full BA in Early Years/Childhood studies or Foundation degree? I will probably choose to study with OU. Can anyone help me with the differences between if I do Foundation degree or BA please? Which will be the higher level of qualification, how does the Foundation degree top up work, which path would take the longest etc?

 

Any advice will be greatly received.

[Deb]

Hi LucyLou, I've recently completed the FD with the OU, and the next step is the BA in Early Years (for me) - its pathway. Have you looked on the OU website, I think you should be able to track the modules needed to first complete the FD, then the BA.

 

Good luck.

[Helen]

Yes, that's right. The Foundation Degree comes first (3 years part time) , followed by the BA top up (1 year), and then honours/EYPS after that! You can also do the top up to BA and EYPS simultaneously. All very worthwhile....good luck with your choices

[Guest]

Hi there!!

 

I was an NNEB level 3 before I start this educating myself!!

 

I have done the FD one day a week at a local college, then moved to my nearest university to do 4 BA modules, again one day a week, which gave me 300 credits to be able to do the EYPS.

(Apparently 300 credits is classed as a non honours degree in some places)

This all took about 3 and a half years!!!!!!!!!

 

Having completed EYPS and passed I am now going to go on and do 4 more BA modules to get a full and "proper" degree. This will mean 2 modules during evening classes and 2 modules that are the research project

 

When I began the FD it was to become an EYP because the government at that time said all private settings had to have an EYP by 2015. Funding was avaialble so I was released one day a week and there was money to cover me being out too.

I only had to pay 25% of the course costs. The LA paid the rest. I was reallly lucky.

 

Obviously now I am an EYP anything else I do from here on in must be in my own time and paid for by me!!

 

I wish I had done all of the studying at university.

The college assignments were very prescriptive and they needed to be written in a certain way.Feedback was very poor. My marks there averaged at around a B-

(Not bad considering I left school in 1980!!!)

However the BA modules at uni were about my thoughts and opinions and my own interpretation of the assignment really and although up at the next level I was getting A's and A- for my work.

 

My job is precarious right now and I feel a full degree will open more doors for me at a later point.

 

Good luck!!!

[Helen]

When you say "full degree" do you mean "honours"? I think you already have a full degree (unclassified), otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted on the EYPS course. Are the extra courses you're planning going to take you to an honours, classified (ie first class, 2i, 2ii, etc) degree? Or have I lost the plot?

[Guest]

Hi

I studied for my Foundation Degree one evening a week and one Saturday a month over a two year period at an FE college. I then went on to complete the BA Hons one evening a week for an extra year at the Uni which validated the Foundation Degree - This was a progression route made available by the Uni. This meant that it took me three years to complete the full BA Hons ...the same as it would have if I had given up work and studied the normal route through Uni. It was a very 'full on' route - classed as full time with a lot of work in your own time but I did manage to achieve a Distinction for the Foundation Degree and a First Class for my BA Hons, so it really was achievable! I choose not to continue onto the EYPS but you can now follow the same route and combine your BA(Hons) with the EYPS as an 18mnth top up. There are lots of options available so best to choose the College/Uni you want to study with and then to research what is on offer with them as they are all different. Good luck, I am sure that you will enjoy it! :rolleyes: