Spending time travelling the country and speaking to students from all walks of life at various careers and higher education fairs has given me an insight into how aware (or unaware) students can be about the options available to them. Encouraging students with the potential to study a degree in the current economic and political climate can be a challenge; students often have worries about financial debt, spending more time in education when they could be earning money and concerns over the value of a degree. Considering a two year degree is a concept both students and parents are not usually familiar with, yet it offers students a variety of benefits financially, socially, academically and career wise.

Two years means hard work and commitment to their future. A common misconception of a two year degree is that it does not cover as much as a three or four year degree – wrong. For example a two year degree in Hotel Management or Events Management with Hospitality at the Edge Hotel School covers the content of a standard length degree in just two years, as well as providing students with valuable practical management experience in a real life hotel. Therefore students have to be prepared to take on the responsibility of an accelerated degree - and students often do not realise how quickly two years will fly by.

Yes, a more intensive course means there are fewer holidays, but this is compensated with the opportunity to start their careers at least a year earlier than other graduates. An intensive degree, in turn, also prepares students for the realities of working life and our Hotel Management graduates have commented on how working shifts in the hotel while completing their studies provided them with the experience that employers look for in a graduate, such as management skills, being able to prioritise in a real working environment and taking initiative.

Student debt can also be an obstacle for teachers and careers advisors to tackle, yet a two year degree means only two years’ worth of tuition fees, therefore students instantly reduce their debt – a welcomed advantage for many of our current students! However, this doesn’t mean we compromise on quality; shorter degree programmes also teach undergraduates to manage their workload effectively as they are often working on a number of assignments at any one time.

Many students also want to travel the world expand their horizons either before or after embarking on a degree. With a two year degree students can travel for a year before going to University, or spend some time working and travelling as a graduate. This way, students have the option to travel and head into employment at the same time as their peers who are studying a three year degree programme.