foundation programme

File:Talbot from the Sunken Gardens.jpg - the only Oxbridge college to offer a foundation year exclusively to disadvantaged students]]

In the UK, foundation year programmes, also known as "year zero" or "gateway programmes", are designed to develop skills and subject-specific knowledge to prepare a student for a degree course. They may be offered as stand-alone one-year courses or integrated into degree programmes. Some programmes are for students who have not received suitable grades at A Level or IB while others are aimed at students who did not have the opportunity to take such qualifications.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/ucas-undergraduate-what-study|title=UCAS Undergraduate: what to study|date=8 October 2014 |at=2. Types of undergraduate course: Foundation years|publisher=UCAS|accessdate=28 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ucas.com/ucas/subject-guide-list/medicine-and-allied-subjects|title=Medicine and allied subjects|at=Entry requirements|publisher=UCAS|accessdate=28 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/foundation.programme/thefoundationyear/|title=The Foundation Year|publisher=Durham University|accessdate=28 August 2018}} {{as of |January 2023|post=,}} foundation year programmes were available at 122 institutions through UCAS.{{cite web|url=https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?SearchText=Foundation+Year&AutoSuggestType=&SearchType=searchbarbutton&SortOrder=ProviderAtoZ&CurrentView=Provider&PreviouslyAppliedFilters=V_0_eng__&AcademicYearId=2019&ClearingOptOut=False&vacancy-rb=rbb&filters=Vacancy_eng&filters=Destination_Undergraduate&ProviderText=&SubjectText=&DistanceFromPostcode=1mi&RegionDistancePostcode=&pageNumber=1|title=Search|publisher=UCAS|accessdate=11 January 2023}}

Foundation programmes in England for home students that are integrated with degree programmes are eligible for student fee support at the same level as degree programmes. {{as of|July 2023|post=,}} the UK government is looking at whether fee levels (and student loan levels) for foundation years should be reduced. A government-commissioned report in July 2023 found that the cost of running foundation years is similar to, and in some cases could be higher than, the cost of running degree courses.{{cite web|url=https://wonkhe.com/blogs/we-know-very-little-about-foundation-years/|title=Cutting fees for foundation years could turn out to be foolhardy|date=18 July 2023|author= David Kernohan|website=Wonkhe|access-date=30 August 2023}}

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford offers a foundation year exclusively to students from poor socio-economic backgrounds. This aims to help them overcome disadvantages that would hinder their application process to the university.{{cite web |title=LMH Foundation Year |url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/alumni/current-lmh-projects/lmh-foundation-year |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113155348/https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/alumni/current-lmh-projects/lmh-foundation-year |archive-date=Jan 13, 2020 |website=Lady Margaret Hall}}

File:Durham University Queens Campus (geograph 4019740).jpg's Queen's Campus]]

For international students, universities often partner with providers such as Study Group or INTO University Partnerships. Study Group offers international foundation year programmes in conjunction with a number of British universities including ({{as of|January 2023|lc=y}}) Aberdeen, Cardiff, Durham, Huddersfield, Kingston, Lancaster, Leeds and Leeds Beckett (jointly as Leeds International Study Centre), Liverpool John Moores, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Surrey, Sussex, and Teesside.{{cite web|url=https://corporate.studygroup.com/higher-education-pathways/united-kingdom|title=United Kingdom|publisher=Study Group|accessdate=11 January 2023}} INTO University Partnerships partners with UEA, Exeter, Newcastle, Manchester, Queen's Belfast, City, Manchester Metropolitan, Stirling and Lancaster.{{cite web|url=https://www.intoglobal.com/partnerships/comprehensive-partnerships/|title=Comprehensive Partnerships|website=INTO Global|access-date=30 August 2023}} Some universities offer their own international foundation programmes, including Warwick (since 1983){{cite web|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/study/ifp/aboutus/|title=About the Warwick IFP|accessdate=28 August 2018|publisher=University of Warwick}} and SOAS University of London, specifically for students who do not speak English as a first language (since 1985).{{cite web|url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/ifcels/ugfoundation/|title=International Foundation Programme?|publisher=SOAS|accessdate=7 December 2018}} UCL has offered Undergraduate Preparatory Certificate international foundation year courses since 1991.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/preparation-courses/upc-foundation|title=Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates - UCL's International Foundation Year|date=11 July 2018 |publisher=UCL|accessdate=11 January 2023}}

In January 2024, universities offering international foundation years were accused by the Sunday Times of allowing foreign students to "buy their way in" to top universities.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/cash-for-courses-the-foreign-students-with-low-grades-at-top-universities-pcskjb6xx|title=Cash for courses: top universities recruit foreign students on low grades|newspaper=Sunday Times|date=27 January 2024}}{{cite web|title=The Sunday Times on international foundation years|url=https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/the-sunday-times-on-international-foundation-years/|date=28 January 2024|author=David Kernohan|website=Wonkhe}} In response, Universities UK requested a review of the quality of international foundation year programmes by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).{{cite web|title=QAA to the rescue on international foundation programmes|url=https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/qaa-to-the-rescue-on-international-foundation-programmes/|date=2 February 2024|author=David Kernohan|website=Wonkhe}} It was also pointed out that the Sunday Times had compared admission requirements for international foundation years to those for admission to full degrees for home students.{{cite web|url=https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2024/03/12/international-fys-placeholder/|title=How much of a problem are international foundation years?|date=12 March 2024|author=Josh Freeman|website=Higher Education Policy Institute}}{{cite web|url=https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/universities-uk-responds-sunday-times|title= Universities UK responds to the Sunday Times article about international student recruitment|date=30 January 2024 |website=Universities UK}}{{cite web|url=https://russellgroup.ac.uk/news/russell-group-response-to-sunday-times-article-on-international-student-pathways/|title=Russell Group response to Sunday Times article on international student pathways|date=27 January 2024|website=Russell Group}} The QAA review found that there was broad equivalence between the entry requirements for international foundation years and domestic foundation years but that there were some differences in regulations, particularly regarding resitting examinations, that were more likely when the international foundation years were delivered by a partner provider rather than in-house by the universities themselves. Progression rates from foundation years to degree courses were identified as needing monitoring. However, commentators noted that this was based on voluntary responses from 34 institutions providing international pathways (of which 32 had international foundation years) out of 124 providers that had international pathways, making it possible that the responses are skewed towards institutions less likely to have problems. Thus, while the Russell Group universities that the Sunday Times article focused on have 'a clean bill of health', problems elsewhere in the sector may not have been uncovered by the report.{{cite web|url=https://wonkhe.com/blogs/qaa-findings-on-international-foundation-years-and-international-year-ones/|title=QAA findings on international foundation years and international year ones|author= David Kernohan|date=16 July 2024|website=Wonkhe}}

At a number of universities in the United States, the SABIC Foundation Year Program is a university preparation course aimed specifically at Saudi students that will return to work for SABIC after completing a bachelor's degree in the US.{{cite web|url=https://global.utexas.edu/news/sabic-foundation-year-students-embrace-service-learning-puerto-rico|title=SABIC Foundation Year Students Embrace Service-Learning in Puerto Rico|date=6 July 2023|author= Kayla Johnson|website=Texas Global|publisher=University of Texas at Austin}}

At Salem Kolleg by Lake Constance, Germany, Kolleg students are introduced to many different university courses over a period of three terms as part of their studium generale program.{{Cite web|url=https://www.salemkolleg.de/de/header/english|title=Salem Kolleg|website=www.salemkolleg.de|access-date=2019-12-05}}

At Constructor University in Germany, the Foundation Year Programme is a preparatory year.{{cite web|url=http://www.jacobs-university.de/foundation-description|title=Foundation Year Program Description - Jacobs University|publisher=}}

At Karlshochschule International University in Germany, the Foundation Year Programme (Studienkolleg) is a preparatory year for international students.{{cite web |title=International Foundation Year (Studienkolleg) |url=https://karlshochschule.de/de/bachelor/international-foundation-year |website=Karlshochschule International University |date=28 November 2023 |publisher=}}

At Maastricht University, the Netherlands, the Foundation Programme trains motivated international students to make them eligible (to apply) for a bachelor's programme at Maastricht University.{{cite web |title=Foundation Programme |url=https://curriculum.maastrichtuniversity.nl/education/pre-bachelors/foundation-programme |website=Maastricht University}}

At the University of Queensland, the Foundation Year Programme is a university preparation program for students who are not citizens or permanent residents of Australia.{{cite web |title=IES College |url=http://www.foundationyear.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204105336/https://foundationyear.com/ |archive-date=Dec 4, 2022 |website=foundationyear.com}}{{cite web |title=Program Information |url=http://www.foundationyear.com/ProgramInformation.asp?menu=about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518183945/http://foundationyear.com:80/ProgramInformation.asp?menu=about |archive-date=May 18, 2018 |website=IES Foundation Year}}

At Vanderbilt University, the Foundation Year Programme aims to prepare students from outside the United States to enter the American university system.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121006090011/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/elc/FoundationProgram English Language Center | Vanderbilt University]

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Category:Curricula