Your Next Steps | Interview, Enrolment and Welcome Day Information

What happens after I apply?

Once your application has been submitted our admissions team will complete some data checks including checking that you meet the published entry criteria for your chosen subject.

For most programmes you will then receive an email inviting you to log back into your account to book your interview. If you have applied for Music, Performing Arts or an Art related subject we will email you with a date and for an audition or portfolio review.

Please check your emails as all communication will be sent by this method.

What Happens at my interview?

You will be here between 1-2 hours depending on the programme you have chosen. (2-3 hours for performing arts) You will normally have a presentation or talk to from a member of staff, telling you more about the programme, followed by an individual interview for about 5/10 minutes.

If you are having an audition or portfolio review, more information will be given in your email.

How will I know if have been offered a place?

Offers will be subject to meeting the entry requirements of the programme, as published.

Once you have attended an interview / audition we will email you to let you know if you have an offer. Offers will be subject to you meeting the published entry requirements of the chosen programme.

If you are not offered a place on your chosen programme, we will do our best to support you in finding an appropriate alternative.

Welcome and Induction Days

Due to the continuing restrictions on social distancing, sadly we have had to cancel our Welcome and Induction Days planned for 29^th and 30^th June 2020. These days were meant to give you the opportunity to come to campus and meet the teaching teams, to find out more about your chosen course, and to see where and what you will be studying.

As an alternative our teaching staff have put together welcome day packs with photos and information about the team, the courses, and the college environment, as well as useful information that you will need to know before  you enrol. For some areas, this will also give you details of any equipment, kit or uniform that you need to get in advance of starting. Please click the button below to see this information.

Exam results and Advice Days

One of the most exciting – and scary – days of all is when you receive your exam results.  This year is slightly different and you won’t be collecting your results in person but instead will be sent them either via email, or you will have already been asked to create an account (for GCSE results) so you can login to a secure portal to access your results on the day.  It is important to keep regularly checking your emails for the latest information!

For learners receiving GCSE, results will be available on Thursday 20th August 2020.  You should have already received your ‘welcome email’ from Pearson ResultsPlusDirect, so make sure you have read the instruction and activated your account so you can access your results on the day!

For learners looking to study a higher education qualification with us, the results day for AS and A2 exams is a week earlier on Thursday 13th August 2020.

Information about collecting Exam results can be found here:

What happens next?

Fingers crossed that all your hard work will have resulted in great results, but if your GCSE results do not meet the entry requirements or you are still unsure please don’t panic!

The information in the Advice Day section will be regularly updated with what you need to do next.

****Important information about GCSE grades***

Student enrolment, August 2020 and GCSE grades

Secondary School Students

This statement is to assure applicants that Colchester Institute will accept either your published GCSE grades on Thursday or the Centre Assessed Grade that your school produced in the summer and sent to the Awarding Bodies, whichever grade is higher. We have contacted the headteachers of local secondary schools in North Essex to ask them to provide you with a copy of your Centre Assessed Grades. We will need you to share with us this documented evidence as a part of your on-line enrolment. As with your published GSCE results, this could be a photo of a document or email or a screenshot, whichever works best for you.

We will be doing all we can to ensure you are enrolled onto the course you want, at the highest level that you are qualified for.

Colchester Institute Students 2019-20

Some of our own students took qualifications in GCSE English and/or mathematics. On Thursday 20^th August, we will share our Centre Assessed Grade with all such students though their College email. This will be done by noon. Additionally, students will need to access their published GCSE grade from the Awarding Body. You can see how to do that by clicking here:

How to access your GCSE results

Students should understand that for these GCSEs your final, confirmed GCSE grade will be the highest from either your Centre Assessed Grade or your grade as published on Thursday 20th August by the Awarding Body.

We have now received confirmation that it is not possible to appeal against your Centre Assessed grade – unless you believe you have been the victim of discrimination or bias, which must be evidenced.

Please choose a button below appropriate to the awarding body for your qualification.

If you don’t see your awarding body listed here, don’t worry – details with regards to all other awarding bodies/qualifications will follow shortly. Please visit this page regularly for new and updated information.

Please contact iltservicedesk@colchester.ac.uk if you are having problems accessing your CI email account or have forgotten the password.

Enrolment Information 2020

Due to the current COVID 19 situation, we have needed to adapt to a fully online enrolment process for this academic year. Whilst this will support the need for social distancing, it will be a different process and will be reliant on your young person checking their emails and following instructions carefully, but also quickly. The campuses will not be open for applicants to come in and enrol.

If you have now successfully enrolled on your new programme, or you returning to a higher level, then we are really excited to see you starting at Colchester Institute in September.

Please read the following information to help you to prepare to start the new academic year.

Your first day at College

After the buzz of enrolment the teaching teams are now reviewing student numbers and putting people into their groups for learning. When this is done you will receive an email to tell you about your First Day including: when this is and what time to arrive; where to go, and what to bring with you. This will also include information about any special kit or equipment that you need for your subject area.

If you are a student who was with us last year and you are progressing onto the next level of your course your first day is most likely to be on either Thursday 3^rd September or Friday 4^th September.

If this is your first year at Colchester Institute, or you were with us last year but are starting a new subject, then you are most likely to be starting in week commencing 7^th September.

Please keep checking your emails for this information, and we will send this out over the next few days.

Life at Colchester Institute

We have been working hard to prepare for students to start attending our campuses, and we have put lots of steps in place to make sure we are offering a really safe place for you to come to. The safety of our students and staff remain our top priority.

Safe campus:

• Social distancing will be required throughout the campus: at least 1m+
• Students will wear face coverings inside buildings, until staff give permission for their removal. This includes in common areas and corridors and some learning spaces.
• A ‘keep left’ system runs in corridors and stairwells.
• High traffic touch points such as door handles will be cleaned regularly, and screens will be installed where necessary
• To maximise space, we will continue to minimise the number of people on campus, with most non-teaching staff continuing to work from home. However, this will not affect the services you can access, or your student experience.

Safe study:

• We plan to hold socially distanced face-to-face teaching sessions which, where relevant, will include practical sessions
• These lessons will benefit from our additional safety measures, and be accompanied by high-quality online teaching, learning activities and resources
• We will provide support on how you can get the most from your online learning and access study skills support
• Our libraries will operate a ‘click and collect’ service, allowing you to collect and return books safely at collection points across the campus
• Study spaces in our libraries can be booked in advance and will have social-distancing and additional safety measures in place

Timetables

We are planning for all students to be in College for at least one full day, and for some of your learning to take place online from home. A small minority of students will attend for more than one day and everyone will be given their timetables during their first day and induction.

For studying from home, we recommend that you have access to mobile data or Wi-Fi / broadband and a laptop, tablet, Mac or Chromebook with an internet connection for this purpose. If you are considering purchasing something for this purpose, then a Chromebook is a reasonably priced option, which will work well with the technology used by the College.

We will continue to monitor Government guidance on social distancing and we aspire to bringing students on campus full time when we are advised that it is safe to do so.

Students who are Clinically Vulnerable or who have medical conditions

We know that some of you may have been shielding over the last few months and may be anxious about coming to campus if you have a disability or medical condition which means you are clinically extremely vulnerable or clinically vulnerable.

If we are aware of your medical condition you will be sent a health questionnaire so that the College can carry out an individual risk assessment with you.

If you believe that you are in this category and you haven’t received this questionnaire then please email us at als@colchester.ac.uk for more information.

Thank you for reading this, please keep checking your emails for your First Day information, and we really look forward to seeing you on campus very soon.

At Colchester Institute we have worked hard over the summer to keep everyone safe. If you are starting a course, or returning to an existing course, it is really important that you take the time to read the following information.

Our term starts on Wednesday 2nd September 2020.

Term Dates 2020-2021

*Please note that the College is closed on Bank Holidays and for Learning and Teaching Development Days.

More detailed term dates and our academic calendar can be found here.