A very warm welcome!
As Deputy Director (Partnerships) for the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC), I’m delighted to be able to introduce our new blog!
Formally established in 2005, the LLC has evolved out of over 70 years of Adult and Continuing Education provision at Leeds. As the University continues to review its approach to lifelong learning, here at the LLC we remain committed to working with local communities and building on our established relationships with local community organisations, Further Education colleges and Adult Education providers.
We deliver full and part-time undergraduate courses ‘in-house’, including Foundation Years and Apprenticeships, across multiple disciplines (Arts, Business, Education, Healthcare, Science and Professional Studies).
We also work with people who are considering going to university after the age of 18 by providing free, impartial and confidential advice and guidance, and non-accredited pre-entry transition courses like our JumpStart course — sometimes working with individuals over a number of years before they ultimately progress to Higher Education.
In this way we’re proud to provide an access route for many students who might not otherwise study at Leeds. Our Alternative Entry Scheme is available to help mature students (i.e. anyone who will be aged 21 or over at the start of their studies) to progress to all faculties across the University through a contextual admissions process.
One such student is Tracy Hyde, who talks about her journey to becoming a Community Mental Health Nurse (by way of our part-time Preparation for Higher Education (PHE) course) in her own words here — as well as on the LLC YouTube channel:
Three recent experiences capture for me some features of our current work at the LLC and help shape our hopes for this blog.
At a recent event in our ‘Research Conversations’ series, which brings together LLC staff with current and former LLC students to share their ideas about research in an open forum — one of our graduates, Ann-Marie Pyke, spoke about her autoethnographic undergraduate research project into the impact of bullying in adolescence on adult mental health. Rosa Mas Giralt (Deputy Programme Manager for our Professional Studies BA), meanwhile, discussed the international participatory action research project she’s currently undertaking with refugees and migrants.
A range of issues were talked about at the event and the theme of ‘voice’ came strongly to the fore. Our students are the core of all of our work and we want their voices to be heard across the University — this blog, therefore, will feature contributions from students and alumni as well as members of LLC staff.
We’ve recently set up a Mature Student Advisory Board — which my colleague Lauren Huxley talks about in more detail here — with students representing all faculties at the University. In a discussion about spaces of belonging on campus, one of the students described being laughed at and questioned by staff.
The physical and virtual spaces at the University can be experienced in various ways by our different communities of students and the culture at Leeds is striving to be inclusive, but there remains work to be done.
Here at the LLC we run welcome events, mature student and Foundation Year inductions, a mature student café, campus tours, ‘Give it a go’ sessions to encourage students to access Leeds University Union, family events and Saturday sessions, as well as providing a physical space for both LLC students and mature undergraduates from across the University…but we all know it only takes one negative experience to alienate someone.
We want to contribute to the current cultural shift in the University towards creating more inclusive spaces and approaches to working, more collaboration and a meaningful learning community for all. This blog will reflect that aspiration.
We enjoy and are grateful for all of our collaborative work, both externally and with fantastic colleagues across the University in faculties, Educational Engagement, Student Support, Disability Services, Skills@Library, the Library service and the Careers Centre (among many others — apologies if I’ve overlooked anyone!).
Whether you work at the University or in a Higher Education setting elsewhere, in Further Education or in community development in a role which brings you into contact with adult learners — or whether you’re an adult learner yourself thinking about your options for the future — we hope that reading the contributions to this blog will encourage you to get in touch!
