Topping up to an Honours Degree . How long?

[Lisa O`Brien]

I cannot seem to find anywhere details of exactly how many years you have between starting an Undergraduate course and finishing it. I know the Open University gives you 12 years from starting with them to having to complete your degree. My son's late father did a Certificate in Higher Education, then a Diploma in Higher Education at our local college, before transferring to Ulster University to do the Humanities degree. Having the Dip.HE allowed him to transfer to either the second or final year, I can't remember which. However, he left after a term, and planned to go back and finish his degree at some point in the future. Was always talking about it. Then one day when he enquired he found out he had left it too long and he would have to have started from scratch with his degree all over again. Does anyone know the time limit you have to complete it in? Thanks.

[Colman]

I'm not terribly familiar with the UK system, but that has the feel of the sort of thing that's very specific to an institution, when you started, what path you took, your circumstances and so on. 

Edited August 29, 2016 by Colman

[Lisa O`Brien]

So do you think individual universities would have their own policy on it? My son is going in to the second year of his HND in a fortnight. Sadly it's only worth the first year of a degree, as not enough modules have been covered. But some point in the future he might want to enter year two of the Honours degree and top up his HND,maybe after working for a few years, I don't know. But if there is a time limit of say 10 years, it would be better if he knew what the consequences of not completing the full Honours degree in time were.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Lisa O`Brien

[Colman]

I'd ask the/a university admissions office what the current rules are. 

[Lisa O`Brien]

Or could it be that the HND will be "banked" and safe? So he could wait 20 years and then top it up? Maybe the time limit only applies when you are actually at the university doing the final part of it, I don't know.[ Think I will phone Ulster Uni tomorrow].

[Lisa O`Brien]

Managed to get hold of someone at Ulster. She said from the time between completion of the HND and it being used as valid entry criteria is 10 years. Don't know if other unis have different time lengths, but I doubt he would want to go anywhere else, if indeed any uni at all. But i'll tell Sean when he comes in, so he knows what his options are.