Open enrolment is a phrase you will see a lot when looking at online learning, but what exactly does that mean? Open enrolment refers to the entry requirements for the course. With traditional schools and colleges, there are usually mountains of restrictions on who can and can’t enrol on a course. These restrictions include things such as the qualifications you need to enrol on the course and when you can enrol on the course.
Online learning is different. Almost every course, even the ones that have examinations tied to examination periods (like GCSEs or A-Levels) are available for students with open enrolment. So in effect, you can decide on a rainy Sunday afternoon that you want to change your career path and go back to uni, with a quick Google search you will find online colleges like Open College and within minutes, you can find yourself enrolled and beginning your education journey.
Why is Open Enrolment a good thing?
Well that’s a good question! Surely if a course is open to anyone and doesn’t have any special requirements, it can’t possibly be good or worthy of studying! But actually, that’s not the case at all. To achieve a course, you usually have to complete coursework or sit exams, these factors are what ensure you are going to hit the needed level to be awarded the course. Open enrolment, just makes it quicker and easier for you to enrol when you want and get going. In this modern world, nothing is more frustrating than having to wait for things, so imaging being all geared up to start studying A-Levels only to find you have to wait until September to start them!
Another perk of open enrolment is if you have decided to follow a different career path or you need to get a higher grade in your A-Levels, you can enrol onto an online A-Level course a few months before the examination period, regardless of your previous experience or grades, study the course and achieve your new A-Level results in a matter of months! So there really is no downside to open enrolment.
Courses that are Available with Open Enrolment
Thanks to online learning, the range of course types available with this type of enrolment is vast. They range from Level 1 qualifications all the way up to Level 3. Examples of course types are listed below:
The great thing about these courses as well is that you aren’t restricted by term times. So, you can enrol and start studying at any time to get your learning journey started.