Any experience of NMITE? (Engineering degree/MEng)

[ItWillBeDone]

Hello
Does anyone have any experience of NMITE? Google has very little info. It looks good on the face of it but the lack of reviews makes me wonder. Especially as entry requirements are lower than for other engineering courses. Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

I've never heard of them sorry.

@ItWillBeDone No maths or physics A level required is a huge red flag. Plus are these courses recognised by the Engineering Council? I cannot find them and there’s little info on the web site, I would be very careful about this because it looks unlikely to lead to much. To progress in engineering you do need a recognised degree and doing one with out maths is going to lack theory. No exams either so goodness knows what they are teaching?

Seems to be a new HE provider, and only given the power to award degrees last year.

Its MEng is an accelerated course, so done over 3 years rather than 4. The summer break is also shorter (from end of July to beginning of September).

There’s some discussion on accelerated courses here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5180121-length-of-a-degree?page=2

The website also carefully says that the course is designed to meet the Engineering Council’s requirements without saying it is accredited, and like @TizerorFizz I couldn’t see it on the list of accredited courses.

Personally, I think you need a full 3 years for a BEng and 4 years for an MEng, to cover topics in enough breadth and depth.

Thank you. It would be good to hear from someone who's had direct experience. But they've had very few graduates yet. Personally the lack of formal exams doesn't make it a bad course. Not everyone performs well in an exam so alternative assessments can be good. The marketing wording says they will teach the required maths, etc, in Year 1. But it does seem odd that every other engineering course requires maths A level. Definitely some red flags there.

It’s virtually impossible to teach the maths to be good enough for an accelerated MEng when students at other unis will have Maths A level and sometimes FM as well and they need 4 years. So how can a short course cover all of this? There are many accredited engineering courses so why on earth choose this one? Exams do matter but of course lots of projects count too. At the moment no grad can go in to gain professional status directly from this course. So anyone looking at it needs to understand this.

It also depends what you think engineering is. What professional level is ultimately required? Or none? Finding anyone from this course will be difficult as it’s a minnow in the uni sector and in engineering.

Regarding exams: engineers do have to work under time pressure and deadlines. Exams show students can perform to a high level accurately when time matters. At work it does.

If the Course is accredited and there's no need for Maths A'Level and no exams I'd be advising my DC not to apply.

They mention working with JCB. Could your DC apply for one of their apprenticeships instead?

It’s not accredited I believe. I also cannot see how it fits into what JCB look for.

JCB engineering degree apprenticeship requires a maths A level, so not a viable route.

There aren't any engineering degree apprenticeships that don't require a level maths. Often another science subject too.

Not any I've come across anyway

Of course. Sorry I did think of they right after I posted 🤦‍♀️

If you’re specifically looking for engineering courses or apprenticeships that don’t require maths A level then you’re going to struggle.

You could consider engineering courses with a foundation year? You could look at Cardiff and Birmingham, which both require no maths A level for the foundation year.

I'm not specifically looking for that. Just want to make sure I explore all available options. A level 3 apprenticeship might be the best option. Have considered a foundation degree too. Do you have any idea of employers accept a foundation degree in engineering for a degree apprenticeship? I can only find reference to a levels or btec/equivalent.

I would think most people do A levels or T levels before a degree apprenticeship, or do a foundation year to lead onto an undergrad course.

Another option could be an Access to HE course, depending on age?

People could give you more advice if you actually said what qualifications have been achieved / are being studied.

A levels being studied by child are not at all related to engineering. Will do well but has had a change of heart. So is not going to follow the typical path. I understand the typical path but that's not an option in this case.

So Access to HE is not an option. You may be best off looking at courses with a foundation year that lead on to an accredited degree at a good university. You’d need a Masters level degree to progress to Chartered status, and the MEng is the standard route to this now.

University of Nottingham has a foundation year for engineering / science - and if you pass the year you are guaranteed a place on the undergraduate degree, might be worth looking at? It’s a good route in, especially for people who may have changed their minds on direction since choosing A-levels (they actually mention this on the website). I spoke to the course leader 18 months ago, he said they don’t tend to be in clearing, so you would need to apply at usual time.

And there are a number of different courses that the foundation year can give access to…

Nottingham has always had a good reputation for engineering, so definitely worth looking at.

@ItWillBeDone Engineering is a scrience. It’s virtually impossible to gain entry to a high quality degree level course without maths. However a foundation course (I would suggest a lower ranking uni) might take DC without maths. Many of the high tariff courses will want Physics too, but lower tariff ones might waive that. After a foundation course, DC go forward to the BEng or MEng.

Or, alternatively, cut losses and study the correct A levels. In all honesty, most DC do know they want to study sciences. Other options might be planning or building degrees which might not be so onerous regarding A levels.

Thank you. We'll speak to some employers and see if they'd take a foundation degree for someone who wanted to do a degree apprenticeship. I wonder if there might be a funding reason why they couldn't. If there isn't then I'd hope it would be a viable option.

(Most foundation degrees I've found don't require maths. Some even say you wouldn't be accepted with maths.)

@TizerorFizz I mentioned Cardiff and Birmingham as both are open to students who have not studied A level maths / received a low grade - and both are good unis.

I think you're getting confused between a degree with a foundation year and a foundation degree.

People are suggesting degree with FY because they are suitable for people with the wrong A levels. They are 'year 0' - one year courses done at university roughly level 3, integrated into a degree course, so progression to year 1 of the degree is automatic as long as they pass the FY.

They go to uni and get loans, halls same as all other undergrads.

A Foundation degree is a two year course equivalent to the first two years of a degree. There can be the option to top up to a full degree.