15 Questions to Ask at a College Open Day Before You Enrol
Open days are a strange kind of event. Everyone is on their best behaviour, the coffee is free, and it is easy to leave with a good feeling and no useful information.
The way to avoid that is to arrive with questions that cannot be answered from the website. What follows is the list we would want an applicant to bring, including the ones that are slightly awkward to ask. Any provider worth choosing will answer all of them without hesitation.
About the teaching
1. Who actually teaches this course, and what have they done?
You are looking for a mix of academic credentials and real sector experience. On a vocational qualification such as an HND, tutors who have run departments, managed budgets or built businesses bring something a purely academic team cannot. Ask to meet one if any are around.
2. How many students are in a typical class?
This determines how much individual attention you get and whether you can ask questions without an audience of two hundred. It is one of the clearest practical differences between a large university and a specialist provider.
3. What does a normal week look like on the timetable?
Ask for an actual timetable, not a description of one. How many days on site, which days, what times, and how much is scheduled versus independent study. If you are working, this question decides whether the course is possible at all, as our guide to studying while working full time explains.
4. How much of the course is online, and how does that work?
Blended delivery means different things at different providers. Find out what is live, what is recorded, what is expected on campus, and whether the online sessions are genuinely interactive or a video library.
About the qualification
5. Who awards the qualification, and is it regulated?
The provider teaches it, but a national awarding body such as Pearson awards it. Ask who, and check the qualification appears on the regulated qualifications register. This is a basic due diligence question and a straightforward answer is a good sign.
6. What level is it, and what is it equivalent to?
You should get a precise answer. An HND is a Level 5 qualification worth 240 credits, broadly equivalent to the first two years of an honours degree. Vagueness here is a warning sign. Our guide to HNC vs HND covers the distinction.
7. How is it assessed, and are there exams?
Coursework, examinations, presentations, portfolio, or a mixture. This matters enormously for planning, particularly if you work shifts. Ask how many assignments a term and when the heavy periods fall.
8. What happens if I fail an assignment?
Every provider has a resit and referral process. Ask what it is, how many attempts you get, whether resits are capped at a pass grade, and whether they cost anything. Nobody plans to need this, and it is much better to know in advance. See our guide to assessment and grading.
About support
9. What academic support exists if I have been out of education for years?
Study skills workshops, referencing sessions, one to one tutorials, draft feedback. Ask whether it is built into the course or something you have to seek out, and how quickly you can see a tutor when you are stuck.
10. Who is my point of contact when something goes wrong?
Named personal tutor, student services, or nobody in particular. The answer tells you a lot about how a provider handles the parts of student life that do not appear in a prospectus.
11. What support is there for disabilities, health conditions or caring responsibilities?
Ask specifically about reasonable adjustments, how you request them, and how long the process takes. If you have a condition affecting reading, writing or attendance, ask directly. The quality of the answer is a good measure of the institution.
About money
12. What are the fees for my intake, and what else will I pay?
Fees are set per academic year and per cohort, so ask for the figure for the intake you would join, not last year's. Then ask what is not included: books, printing, materials, resit fees, trips.
13. What funding am I eligible for, and who helps me apply?
Higher Nationals are designated higher education qualifications, so eligible students can apply for a tuition fee loan and possibly a maintenance loan. Ask whether the provider helps with the application. Our guide to student finance for adult learners covers the detail.
About what comes next
14. Where can I progress to afterwards, and which universities accept your students?
This is the question most worth asking and least often asked. You want named institutions and real examples, not "many of our students go on to university". Ask which universities have accepted their graduates into a final year top up recently, and at what entry point. See our guide to credit transfer and progression.
15. What have recent students gone on to do?
Ask for specifics. Job titles, sectors, whether people went into work or straight on to a degree. If a provider cannot describe what their graduates did, that is information too.
Three things to do while you are there
Look at the space you would actually use. Not the reception area. The classrooms, the library or study space, the IT facilities. Ask to see them if the tour does not include them.
Talk to a current student without a member of staff present. Ask what they would change about the course. The answer is almost always honest and almost always useful.
Do the journey at the time you would do it. A campus is a different proposition at eight in the morning on a wet Tuesday than at eleven on an open day Saturday. Our guides to the Harrow campus and to studying in London on a budget cover the travel and cost side.
Frequently asked questions
What should I bring to an open day?
Your questions, a note of your existing qualifications, and your CV if you want an informal view on whether you would meet entry requirements. Nothing formal is required.
Can I ask about entry requirements if my grades are poor?
Yes, and you should. Many providers admit students on relevant experience where tariff points are missing. See our guides to UCAS points for an HND and studying without A Levels.
Is an open day the same as an interview?
No. An open day is for you to assess the provider. An interview is a separate, later stage, although at some providers an informal chat with an admissions tutor can happen on the day.
Can I visit if I cannot make the advertised open day?
Most providers will arrange an individual visit or a call. Ask, especially if your work pattern makes weekend or weekday events difficult.
Should I go to more than one open day?
Yes, if you can. Comparing two providers directly is far more informative than assessing one in isolation.
Come and ask us
We would rather answer fifteen difficult questions before you enrol than have you find out in November that the timetable does not fit your job.
- Email: admissions@lckacademy.org.uk
- Phone: 020 8161 3300
Get in touch to arrange a visit to our Harrow campus, on an open day or at a time that suits you.