Daily Archives: September 21, 2011

Education, Educational Fundraising, Educational Institution, eLearning, Schools, Student, Universities

Online Education Provider Interactive Design Institute Introduces the Employers Discount Scheme

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The UK’s leading provider of online qualifications in Art & Design has introduced a scheme that enables those already in employment, the opportunity to gain the degree they’ve always wanted.

Spokesperson for the Interactive Design Institute, Michael Stewart, says, “Our admissions team was frequently approached by working professionals keen to upgrade existing design based qualifications and those looking for a means to retrain for an alternative career in design. At the Institute, we already have the type of courses that suit the learner who is looking for a flexible mode of study but we were prompted to look for ways in which we could make these courses even more affordable and that’s when we came up with the “Employers Discount Scheme”.

The idea behind the scheme is simple; both the employer and the employee are responsible for the overall course fee but because this is shared, the cost is minimised. The scheme is designed to assist both the employer and their employees, not only through generous discounts on course fees, but also by providing cost effective, in service training and career development opportunities. Employees are encouraged to enhance their qualifications at a fraction of the usual cost while employers may be able to offset their portion of the fees against tax, safe in the knowledge that the service provider, IDI, is a collaborative partner of the University of Hertfordshire, one of the UK’s leading universities.

“It really is a “win win” situation”, says Stewart. “IDI is widely recognised as a provider of high quality design based courses and we take the burden of organising continued professional training away from the employer and provide a comprehensive educational programme that leads to a universally recognised, UK based qualification”.

Praise for the scheme is already flooding in to the Institute in form of unsolicited testimony;

“Without the employer discount I don’t think it would have been possible for me to study with IDI” said student James Latham.

Uniquely, IDI’s Employers Discount Scheme is also available to those who are self employed.

“I am part owner in the company, I will personally benefit and my company will also benefit from my newly gained knowledge and its implementation into our company” said student Josh Grindal.

For several years now The Interactive Design Institute’s online learning courses have enabled students to combine their studies with other commitments, such as family obligations or work related issues. IDI students can study flexibly, at times which suit them, and can combine their studies with full or part time employment.

This latest initiative from IDI, The Employers Discount Scheme, is straightforward, uncomplicated and intended to provide access to an even wider range of prospective students. For every contribution an employer makes towards an employee’s course fees, the Interactive Design Institute will contribute a further 35%. The combined savings for employees are considerable as can be seen from these illustrative examples:

For employers paying the maximum on behalf of their employees, the fees are broken down as follows:

For Higher Education courses, the course fee is £4,000 of which the employer contribution is £2,963 while IDI contributes £1,073. The student pays nothing and therefore saves £4,000.

For Foundation courses, the course fee is £3,000 of which the employer contribution is £2,223 while IDI contributes £778. The student pays nothing and therefore saves £3,000

Naturally, the admissions team at IDI is excited about this latest product from an Institute that prides itself on providing high quality educational courses to an ever increasing student market.

Employers who have already taken advantage of the scheme include Bread & Butter Design, Layla Lingerie and Siuin Design.

For more information on individual circumstances, or to make an application through the IDI Employers Discount Scheme, please contact Carolyn Hall on 01875 320 597 or Freephone 0800 917 1118 or by e-mail at: carolyn.hall@idesigni.co.uk.

Via EPR Network
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Education, Educational Fundraising, Educational Institution, eLearning, Schools, Student, Universities

Online Education A More Attractive Option For Students As Universities Continue Increasing Tuition Fees

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The Government’s decision to allow universities in the UK to set their own levels of course fees has had an unexpected knock on effect for providers of distance learning.

As the dust begins to settle on the furore surrounding many universities plans to increase course fees to the maximum level permitted, distance learning organisations look poised to cash in – literally.

Established companies such as the Interactive Design Institute have remained largely unaffected by the scrabble to establish record levels of tuition fees across the UK’s higher education sector. “The cost of providing higher education courses need not be prohibitive” according to Michael Stewart, director at IDI, “Distance learning providers are able to deliver the many of the same courses with the same high levels of student support but at a fraction of the cost”.

For example, universities in Wales are proposing to charge student tuition fees of up to £9,000 per annum after their original applications were rejected by the Higher Education Funding Council. The HEFCW stated that the universities would be required to show that their proposals demonstrated how they would allocate a proportion of the new fee to the promotion of higher education and the encouragement of equality of opportunity.

The cost of the new scheme could result in long term financial difficulties for university level education in Wales.

In England, the fees will be paid directly to the university as a government loan. The university then recoups this loan from students following graduation. However, in Wales the government are planning to cover the increase by providing a grant to fund the difference between the current course fee and the proposed higher fee.

Consequently, 75% of Welsh students will be unaffected by the increase as they will be in receipt of this government grant. The cost to the Welsh Assembly will be in the region of £1.5 billion and this explains why the Welsh Assembly is anxious to ensure the maximum return on this investment.

Some commentators feel that the delivery of higher education requires a major overhaul but in the interim, innovative providers such as the Interactive Design Institute are generating significant enquiries from students seeking other modes of learning.

For these new providers, issues of affordability, flexibility and inclusion can be tackled quickly by re-evaluating the way in which education is delivered. Face to face interaction at an attendance based university is a resource heavy, inflexible and expensive model that requires the provision of an extensive infrastructure.

The physical classroom is no longer the centre of the educational universe, fact recognised by the collaborative partnership between The University of Hertfordshire’s and the Interactive Design Institute.

Distance learning providers such as the Interactive Design Institute deliver their courses to students through an online learning environment where each student has their own studio and can communicate with their tutors and fellow students in a series of dedicated forums.

Via EPR Network
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