Access to HE Diploma (Nursing)

Study level: Access courses
Nursing students in a mock hospital ward

The Access to Nursing course is designed to give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to start your journey to a rewarding career in nursing upon graduation.

Year of entry

Location

CU Coventry (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

1 year full-time

Course code

CUCA010

Start date

September 2025

The information on this page is for 2024-25 entry and should be used as guidance for 2025-26 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.


Course overview

The course provides you with the practical skills and knowledge relevant to the profession. You will also have the opportunity to learn about the six core values required to provide high-quality care: compassion, care, courage, communication, commitment and competence.

Nursing is a very varied role and you will have the chance to gain an understanding of the different specialisms such as Adult Nursing, Learning Disabilities Nursing, Children and Young People’s Nursing and Mental Health Nursing, and the range of settings in which nurses work.

We are passionate about the difference high-quality nursing care can make to the quality of people’s lives. We want to inspire you and help you on your journey to explore your potential future career options. We want to enable you to become an outstanding nurse following successful completion of a nursing undergraduate degree, one who can provide the care and support people need, often at a very difficult time in their lives.

Access courses are designed for people who are returning to education having not formally studied for some time. You will be supported to develop study skills and habits which should enable you to successfully study nursing courses at undergraduate level upon successful completion of the course.

Why you should study this course

  • Quickest route to Higher Education.
  • No end-of-year exams.
  • Mapped to match with modules taught on Nursing degree programmes.
  • Open learning environment.
  • Student Finance England will ‘write off’ any outstanding Advanced Learner Loan balances you owe for an Access to HE course once you complete an eligible higher education course (subject to SFE requirements). For more information visit the Advanced Learner Loan website.

Accreditation and professional recognition

This course is Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) regulated.

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What you'll study

You will study basic human anatomy and biology which aims to help you to gain an understanding of how the human body works, both when healthy and during illness. The course has been designed with support from tutors on Coventry University’s nursing courses, with the focus on providing you with the opportunity to gain the foundation knowledge required to successfully study an undergraduate nursing degree.

You will also examine the factors that impact on health, including economic, political and technological factors, and how the focus of healthcare provision has changed from treatment to also incorporating prevention of ill health.

You will explore the challenges faced by disadvantaged groups in accessing healthcare, the importance of mental as well as physical health and ensuring equality in healthcare provision.

Throughout the course you should develop the ability to study independently, ask probing questions and analyse information from different sources and perspectives. You will explore how to search for information, assess the quality and legitimacy of information from various sources and develop your ability to work individually and collectively to produce academic work. All of these skills aim to enhance your ability to study at degree level.

Modules

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.


How you'll learn

This course has been specifically designed to enable you, upon successful completion, to acquire the foundation skills and knowledge required for your potential future career options in nursing and provide you with the potential to apply for a nursing undergraduate degree-level course at Coventry University.

The course has been developed with the support of lecturers on the nursing degree programmes at Coventry University who have an excellent understanding of the competencies required to begin a nursing degree. This course aims to offer you:

  • An understanding of the various nursing specialisms.
  • Support and guidance in preparing your application for nursing degrees.
  • Guaranteed interview for nursing courses at Coventry University on successful completion of this course.

Teaching contact hours

The course is taught Monday to Thursday from 9am – 2pm (times and days are subject to change). Teaching consists of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.


Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods may include:

  • Phase tests
  • Essays
  • Group work
  • Presentations
  • Projects
  • Coursework

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression toward achieving the intended learning outcomes.


Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English are preferable but not mandatory for commencing the Access course. Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English can be acquired alongside the Access course as they are a pre-requisite to progress onto universities.

As part of the application process, an interview and a literacy and numeracy assessment will be required so that our tutors are satisfied that you can benefit from the course and be able to cope with the future requirements of studying in higher education.

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Fees and funding

Student Full-time Part-time
UK 2025/26 fees TBC*
2024/25 fees- £5,040  
Not available

You may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan. Visit the Advanced Learner Loan website for full information and to check your eligibility. If you are eligible and awarded an Advanced Learner Loan, and successfully complete an eligible Higher Education course, the outstanding balance from your Access course could be written off.

The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permits an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.


Facilities

All our facilities are located at Mile Lane. Our building has been designed to enable collaboration, creativity and innovation to flourish, and includes (subject to availability):

  • Indoor and outdoor social spaces, including a café.
  • A library that includes loan laptops, over 115,000 eBooks and a silent study area.
  • Open access IT suites and 83-inch teaching screens.
  • Engineering lab, science lab and a moot courtroom.
  • Student support and careers advice teams.

Careers and opportunities

On successful completion of this course, you will have knowledge of a range of health and social science-related topics that could help you start a degree programme. You will have also gained a range of study skills that will be useful throughout your studies and future career, including research, referencing and the correct style of academic writing.

On successful completion you will be guaranteed an interview for the following courses:

Successful completion of this course will also guarantee you a place on any CU Coventry degree programme (subject to meeting progression requirements). The most suited progression is on the following degree programmes:

Where our graduates work

Our graduates are employed in acute care organisations, community care settings and within general practice and social care.


How to apply