Last week I reported on the costs and options available for further education abroad. This week we focus on Bermuda College as an option for further education here in Bermuda. In today’s world I am sure the costs for colleges and universities climb further up the priority list for family discussion … Fortunately Bermuda doesn’t have to look further than its shores; Bermuda College offers residents both value and a quality further education right here on island.Former Senator and radio host Thaao Dill the Bermuda College Recruitment Officer, shared his thoughts and facts on what the college offers:“Bermuda College, in principle and practice, exists to connect our people up with the life that they want to live.Post-secondary qualifications are necessary, nearly non-negotiable details you must earn to maximise your chances for real success, for lasting stability.No matter the career, no matter the opportunity, the 21st century baseline for access to basically everything is college experience.With that in mind, in every way that counts, Bermuda College is here to give you a clear pathway to the future you’re trying to find.No matter your interest, no matter your goals, you can get started moving towards them here at Bermuda College.Our Applied Science Degree and Diploma Programmes provide the hands on practical experience and technical theory foundation you’ll need to learn how to fix and make the things we all rely on every day; cars, homes, plumbing systems, electrical circuitry, furniture, etc …The programmes offered through our Business and Hospitality Management Division will prepare you to lead the next generation of business owners and key personnel, particularly in the tourism industry.Equally, Bermuda Colleges’ Liberal Arts Division graduates students with the first two years of the knowledge and understanding to successfully earn their undergrad in almost any discipline they’re minded to pursue; from law, to education, to healthcare, to social work, it all can start with an Associate’s Degree here at Bermuda College.With that in mind, choosing the right college to get you to the next stage of your progress is key, since where you start will determine what you’re going to finish with. Put another way, not every college or university is created equal.There are different standards of course content offered at different institutions, with some providing credits that just won’t be useful outside the original school. Bermuda College is not one of those schools.In fact, since 2010, Bermuda College has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; the same body that verifies the academic rigour and value of classes taught at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University, etc.We gained and have maintained that accreditation because of the way our school runs, who our faculty is and how they teach, along with the content of our coursework.Accordingly, the academic credits you earn at Bermuda College are generally transferable to colleges and universities across North America, Europe and the Caribbean.So, the credits you gain at Bermuda College can be taken with you around the world, as sufficient currency to earn you a place in the next stage of your pathway towards success.Bermuda College also has specific articulation agreements with a wide range of four year universities, offering our students a two plus two pathway to a bachelor’s degree.Basically, the articulation agreements are an acknowledgment that our course work is directly parallel with everything these particular universities offer in the first two years of certain programmes.So, once you leave Bermuda College with an associate’s degree in the required discipline, you can walk right into your third year of study overseas.The universities we have these agreements with include Acadia, Temple, St John’s, St Mary’s and many others.Bear in mind, the list keeps growing as more and more universities around the world learn about our programmes, and reach out to make it easier for our students to attend them.An added benefit to the articulation agreements is that they often contain provisions to reduce the cost of tuition for Bermuda College students that end up at these four year institutions.For example, if you start at Bermuda College and finish up your degree at Georgia State University’s Business Administration Programme, you’ll only be charged instate fees rather than having to cover the standard cost for international students.That’s a difference of over $15,000 per semester versus less than $5,000. So, start off at Bermuda College and get your degree from GSU for about a third of the normal cost.That cost/benefit ratio is generally applicable to Bermuda College’s tuition and supplies fees, when compared to almost every college or university that our people choose to attend.As was described in last week’s article, attending a US university will cost about the same as buying a new car here in Bermuda every single year for four years.At Bermuda College, your entire associate’s degree — the first two years of your bachelor’s — will cost about the same as a nice vacation.Put another way, your whole associate’s from Bermuda College — the entire two years — will cost about the same as a single semester in the US and the UK and still less than one year at the least expensive Canadian university.If budgeting is something you have to do, Bermuda College needs to be part of the discussion about your pathway to success. Frankly, leaving it out just doesn’t make sense.Beyond all that, Bermuda College fills a valuable role for students who aren’t yet ready to make the transition into fully independent, overseas life.Plus, it gives students more room to find exactly what they’re looking for from their study experience, career and life in a space with significantly less financial and emotional pressure attached to the process.Let’s say you start at Bermuda College pursuing an associate’s degree in Actuarial Science.However, after two semesters, you decide that your real passion lies in moving towards a career in healthcare through our Nursing Education Pathway.Changing your programme at Bermuda College at that stage will mean — at the absolute most — it cost a couple thousand dollars to learn what you’re genuinely interested in.If you have the same transitional experience — one that’s completely normal and reasonable for people, young or otherwise — overseas it will cost maybe ten times as much.Equally, Bermuda College is an environment that maintains rigorous, college level academic study for high school graduates who are academically ready but need more time to develop the social and life skills necessary to have a healthy, self-sufficient university experience.This is not hubris, there is hard data that validates the premise.Recently published statistics show that university graduation rates are around 53 percent.However, students who’ve transitioned from a community college — like Bermuda College — with an associate’s degree — are nearly twice as likely to graduate with their bachelor’s degree than their counterparts who’ve gone directly into a four year institution.Basically, Bermuda College makes it more likely you’ll be successful, no matter what academic path you take.Bermuda College is here to get you closer to your goals, to connect you with the future you’re trying to find.Academically, we do it as well as virtually anywhere you’ll go overseas.Additionally, Bermuda College gets you the education you need in a way that’s significantly less costly, financially and emotionally.As such, if you’re looking for a postsecondary institution to study with, make it Bermuda College. It just makes sense.”For further details please call Thaao on 239 4099 or at tdill@college.bm