“Look No Further, It Is All Here” Is Message To Students Thinking Of Wrexham

The new Vice Chancellor of Glyndwr had a simple message to prospective students today, saying she believes the Wrexham institution has it all.

It’s been all systems go at Wrexham Glyndwr University this morning as the phone lines and web chats opened to students who are looking for courses through the Clearing process.

A designated team of staff are on hand until 8pm this evening to answer all queries from students following this morning’s A Level results. Around ten staff at a time at at the university to answer phone calls and answer prospective students questions on the online chat.

Preparation for Clearing itself began for staff at the end of June, just a few days before the Clearing process opened up on UCAS. However as readers will know it is A Level results day and the weeks that follow that see an increase in course enquiries.

This year’s team is also larger than normal and has a number of academics on the end of the phone to help deal with any specific student queries.

Julie Cowley, head of marketing, recruitment and admissions told Wrexham.com that the admissions team started work this morning at 6:30am, with the first call about Clearing coming through at 6:40am.

“The whole admissions team are giving help and advice to students ringing this morning. We are giving out instant decisions and offers where possible,” said Julie.

“We are a very friendly team and students shouldn’t worry about ringing us.”

Although it is only a few hours into the Clearing process, the number of calls to the university is already on a par with previous years.

Courses which have already seen a peak of interest throughout this morning include education, psychology, business and health.

Julie said: “It is a constant process throughout the day. UCAS has been open since 8am, but we have been getting calls before then.

“Some students who call have not got a place on a specialised course and want to discuss alternatives with us and we are here to help advise and point people in the right direction.

“We expect a lot of the calls that come through today to be local. It is potentially a cheaper option – some ring today because they have they decided they don’t want to move away from home and want to discuss other choices.”

She added: “We are urging students to give us a call, but also invite them to the Clearing Open Day on Saturday where we can offer support and guidance.”

In the past the Clearing process has been seen as a lesser and possibly scarier option to those who have missed out on the grades for their chosen course. However Andy Phillips, admissions & enquiries manager noted that this perception has changed over the years.

He said: “It is more of a back up and a second chance really. We want to make sure they make the right decision. We tell them there is no rush to accept this offer, particularly if they have not considered us before.”

It has also been a busy period for careers advisors at the university, who have been helping prospective students find out more information about the career prospects of particular Glyndwr courses.

Andrea Hilditch, careers advisor at the university explained standard queries they deal with include; where do people go at the end of this course, what is the work experience like, what is expected of me on the course and if it fits in with a students personality and what they are looking for.

Andrea added: “We don’t have all the answers, but we can help people get reasonable conclusions. We see potential students and advise them on a set of questions to ask the tutors to help find out if the course is right for them.”

Job prospects is often a big draw to those who choose to study at Glyndwr, with the university amongst the top performing for student employability in Wales.

This, along with the university’s recent increase in student satisfaction, are part of the ‘unique strengths’ of Glyndwr according to Vice-Chancellor, Professor Maria Hinfelaar.

Speaking about the University, Professor Hinfelaar told us this morning: “It is very important for students to make the right choices. Is it likely to lead to a job? 92% of students who graduate from this university find jobs inside six months.

Professor Hinfelaar added: “There is lots of hope and growth in north east Wales. There are lots of opportunities for people to study, then stay and work in north east Wales.

“There are key growth areas for north Wales, with food, drink, manufacturing and health leading the way. We have our courses in a full sweep of all those sectors. There is a good match, look no further, it is all here!

“In a sense there are a lot of students from north east Wales who do not appreciate the opportunities there are for them locally. There is an impression people leave Wales to study elsewhere, and there is nothing wrong with mobility, but we can offer an experience in Wales.

“This does not mean students don’t have to feel constrained, there are opportunities for placements outside the region and also internationally. Welsh students underestimate the opportunities inside their own system.

Professor Hinfelaar is quite new to Glyndwr, only joining the University in April, and explained: “Today is a very big day for the students and a very important day for them with perhaps some anxious moments. We are here to help and answer the questions from students and covert that into firm acceptance and registration, or, if they are still in an orientation process and need a rethink to help them.

We asked how the process compares to elsewhere, and what her first impressions were, “It is a very professional system compared perhaps to Ireland and the Netherlands. The people here are so focused and professional. There are lots of people in over the summer here with a real service mentality. We are very supportive of students and are open to students from all walks of life, I think that is a great strength of this University.”

“I started in April at the latter end of the UCAS cycle, and have had management meetings every two weeks. We get progress updates on applications and some courses do better than others. For next year we are going to look at the whole programme portfolio and see which ones need refreshing.

“In my role as Vice Chancellor I need to be speaking with the Students Union all the time, and speaking with students to their input on that.”

More information about Clearing at Wrexham Glyndwr University can be found here on their website!