If you’re at university right now or waiting to start, you should be looking forward to the best years of your life! Uni is the time you make lifelong friends, honing all the skills you need to give you the brightest future. You’re meant to be getting drunk, having fun, going clubbing! Instead, you are sat at home wondering what on earth you’re meant to do with all this time on your hands or whether you’ll even be allowed back on campus at any time before Easter. The number of students now transferring their degrees or even deferring for a year are skyrocketing as the uncertainty of Covid-19 rumbles on. No one can blame governments for closing education establishments to slow the rise of infections but where does that leave you if your degree is suffering?
We’ve put together a list of questions that our admissions team have been asked by students looking to transfer their degree from another University.
What are the benefits of transferring my degree?
There are a variety of reasons for transferring your degree. We currently have transferring students who are looking after shielding family members, unhappy with their current course or who have simply decided that they would rather study for an online degree, rather than ever returning back to campus.
One of the benefits of transferring your degree is the stability of your education. The disruption Covid-19 has caused to education, from infant school to universities, has been unprecedented. It feels like it’s been 12 months where the saying ‘We plan, God laughs’ has never been more true. Once you’ve moved to an online degree you’re set, regardless of what life has left to throw at us. Studying an online degree means that you can study from home, whenever it suits you. If that means that you need to fit your degree in around home-schooling or a part-time job or you need to take a few weeks off to look after children or relatives, online degrees give you that flexibility. NDA degrees build in 4 weeks of holiday time, plus two additional weeks at Christmas. These days can be used when it suits you, rather than the sticking to the usual academic calendar. So, if you want to work your socks off until Covid disappears and then take your holiday time, you can do it with an online degree.
You’ll also save money. Online degrees are often cheaper than an on-campus alternative due to the lack of overheads spent on physical spaces such as lecture halls, halls of residence and studios. Our online interior design degree fees are around 40% lower than most other universities. Our profits also go into your progress – we offer a Progression Scholarship to all NDA students to allow them to access a discount on their tuition fees should they decide to continue onto the MA Interior Design.
Are online degrees as good as ‘normal’ degrees?
The NDA has been running distance learning courses for over 30 years and online degrees for over 15 years. We’ve been doing it for a long time and we’re pretty good at it. We came in the Top 1% for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey between 2017 and 2020. Students specifically praised our teaching staff and ‘intellectually stimulating’ course materials.
Making the transition to online learning can be difficult for both the student and university to get to grips with. It’s a complex thing to organise, especially when studying a hands-on and creative subject such as interior design. Our interactive Virtual Learning Studio has been honed of years of use and feedback from students and staff. We haven’t had to cobble together a quick fix, the VLS has been specifically designed to help people get a degree in Interior Design from home. You still get access to a personal tutor who is available by email, phone and VLS Mail and there’s also the opportunity for Peer 2 Peer support in a dedicated Facebook group, run by current and past students.
You also only study one module at a time with an NDA Online Interior Design Degrees. No running from lecture to lecture, sometimes campus to campus. We like to take it one step at a time, allowing you to focus solely on each aspect of your course.
What you may lack in on-campus activities, we make up for in specialised, tailored degree courses which actually prepare you for life after uni. We are closely connected with industry and our tutors are all professional interior designers themselves.
Our Interior Design degrees are also awarded by De Montfort University. This means you still get a degree from an Interior Design specialist and a Top UK university, as well as access to student discounts and benefits such as the NUS, library access, online resources and alumni activities once you complete your degree. It truly is the best of both worlds! You also graduate from De Montfort University and take part in their graduation ceremony, Covid-permitting, on their campus in Leicester. Degree certificates are also issued by DMU and make no reference to the degree being online.
What do I need to do to transfer my degree?
Before you decide to transfer your degree, you should consult with your personal tutor or course leader, as if you are experiencing personal difficulties, often extensions can be granted or a concession made to help you get through this testing time. If you’ve made up your mind or want to discuss your options with one of our admissions team, they will be able to run you through the basics of transferring your degree.
We will need to know what you have already covered in your current course – modules studied, topics covered, and credits attained. You will need a credit attainment transcript from your current university which is then submitted to us and De Montfort University. This is known at the Recognition of Prior Learning. Our tutors and admissions team will confirm that you are eligible and work out the best point of entry for you to ensure that you don’t miss out on any critical learning.
The great thing about the NDA’s online interior design degrees is that they can be started at any time. The resources for each module are online on the VLS so if our admissions team think you should start on a specific module, you can get going right away or wait until you’re ready. You don’t have to wait until September. There are no classes to attend, no timetables to stick to. This is an on-demand degree which you can mould to fit into your life.
What happens to my student loan if I transfer my degree to another university?
If you have a student loan, this will be associated with your current university. When you transfer your degree the student loan also needs to be moved to your new university. Our admissions team can help with this admin process and will let you know what you need to do.
I’m in the final year of my degree, can I still transfer universities?
You can transfer your degree from one establishment to another (in the UK) at any stage of your course as long as you have sufficient credits remaining on your degree. Our awarding partner, De Montfort University, expect that students study a minimum of 120 level 6 credits with them. This is usually the equivalent of one year. This would mean that if you are in the final year of your degree you’d either need to restart the year or would perhaps be better staying with your current institution.
Can I transfer my Master’s degree part way through the course?
Depending on where you are in the course and what you’ve already studied, you can still transfer your Master’s degree to an online MA with the NDA. Contact our admissions team for details.
Still unsure if transferring your degree is the best thing?
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to transferring your degree. You’ll want to weight up the pro’s and con’s of staying with your current university and waiting for the dust to settle and the benefits of moving either closer to home or to an online degree. Explore your options and ask questions. Our admissions team are always happy to help or you can get in touch via Facebook or Instagram.
