Where can DD (with ASD) top up her computing foundation degree?

[FuckYouCorona]

It seems to be a bit of a needle in a haystack situation. Because of her ASD, DD chose to do a foundation degree (in computing) at our local college. She finishes in 2021 & has decided she wants to top it up to a full degree. We never considered she would choose to finish off the degree due to her severe anxiety & social difficulties, but happy that she is.

Its not easy trying to find the right place due to the sheer lack of appropriate top-up courses. We are also looking into established courses she may join part way through, ideally year 3, (if necessary year 2) but most unis don't state if they accept students partway through so its a case of contacting them all & asking relevant questions so I thought I'd ask on here!

The most important thing is that the uni is good with ASD students. Small campus, halls within walking distance of lectures, class sizes not huge, preferably some on campus support in addition to her DSA mentors, etc. Any ideas on unis that are good with computing that fit the brief for ASD students? Thanks!

She needs to put 'Computing top-up' into the search bar on the UCAS website - job done! Lots of options.

Maybe leave it a couple of weeks though - the UCAS website is very slow at the moment.

To add, she could ask her current college where students typically go to to top-up, and a very general rule if thumb (yes I know there are exceptions...) a post-92 (former poly or college) will have more money to spend on support than a pre-92.

I don't know if Cardiff Metropolitan will accept students as a top up so give them a call. I'm only mentioning it as the campus is small, halls are in walking distance and its very supportive to students with ASD. I know that students have transferred in on other courses into second and final years because it offers better courses (accreditation by professional bodies) but these were from degree courses. Its still worth a shot. One of the students atm has ASD and had been able to stay in halls for his whole degree.

Uni of Gloucestershire does an HND top up, would that be equivalent? HND is level 5 and a degree is level 6 so the top up course is for one year. What level is the foundation degree?

Yes, just googling, a foundation degree is also level 5. If you add HND top up to your searches you may get some more choices come up.

My DS also has ASD and has completed his HND in computing, and I did look into top up courses for him, but he’s had enough now, after completing his HND from home. All the DSA funded mentoring stopped in March!

www.glos.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/cot/pages/computing-level-6-bsc-hons.aspx

The UCAS course code is 22D8 so that might find you some other locations as well as Uni of Glos

It specifies foundation degree or HND in the entry requirements.

Thanks for the replies guys & apologies for the delay in coming back to you. I had meetings with DD's mentors yesterday, who I have also had on the job of trying to find an appropriate course!

Thank you titchy, I wish it were as simple as putting "Computing top up" in the UCAS search. Sadly that comes up with nothing. Hence the faff of having to search up computer science & looking at anything that comes up to see if it fits. We will ask her current tutors when she returns, but don't hold out much hope of them knowing much tbh, especially in relation to ASD support, which is definitely not their forte!

Thank you Northernsoullover I will look into Cardiff Metropolitan. Hadn't seen that one yet. It looks like a good possibility. We have family in Wales too, within a reasonable distance of Cardiff, so that would be helpful if she ends up there.

Thank you MillicentMartha At quick glance Gloucestershire actually looks kind of perfect, well to me it does anyway. Hopefully DD agrees.

I have a massive spreadsheet filled with various unis, potential courses & various other pieces of information about them, so I will now start to add Cardiff & Gloustershire to it. Please feel free to make any further suggestions if anyone has any ideas, particularly related to ASD support.

Just noticed what you said about your DS's DSA funding for mentors stopping in March, MillicentMartha. That is unfortunate. I think it varies depending on the company they use for mentoring & their interpretation of the rules, as DD has still got hers until the end of August. Or perhaps its a final year thing?

That's all I put into the search and it brought loads up

https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/results/providers?searchTerm=Computing%20top-up&studyYear=2021&destination=Undergraduate&postcodeDistanceSystem=imperial&pageNumber=1&sort=MostRelevant&clearingPreference=NextYear

The funding didn’t stop for his mentor, rather the lockdown cancelled it!