Once upon a time there was University, which stood alone with mystical qualifications named degrees that only top people could hope to acquire. A three or four year degree gave you a ticket to ride, and nothing else counted. Underneath this magisterial realm existed lesser institutions that aspired to be real universities but could never hope to be so special. Among this dowdy number were further education and technical colleges 
in the last twenty years or so however, universities untouchable place at the top of the hierarchy has been brought under scrutiny. Increased negative publicity has adhered to the courses that many offer. These, many believe, are taught by academics who are only concerned with their personal research projects, and are less-than-committed to their teaching responsibilities. 
Universities meanwhile, have begun to offer ‘trendy’ courses like media studies. There is a widespread perception that this was an error: when universities became trendy was when the Emperor lost his clothes in the eyes of the public. In tandem with this drift has been an important and muscular expansion within the rest of the ‘tertiary’ education sector, both in terms of provision and also ambition. Short courses and vocational courses have grown in reputation and stature, both among the public and among employers. Courses provided in the sector tend these days to be modular, enabling students to study part-time or through a distance learning programme, meaning they can fit study around other commitments and dip in and out of education as their lives permit. 
No longer is it obligatory to annexe three or four years of your life merely to obtain a qualification which often has no relevance to the wider world of work. Moreover, most courses can now be converted into degrees through extra study, with the crucial difference being that the jobs market can also be accessed en route. Basically there has been a blurring of the lines between further and higher education, responding to society’s needs in terms of flexibility, re-skilling, ongoing training and an education sector that does not operate in isolation. 
The final factor in the story of course is the eye-popping rise in university tuition fees. The level and quality of education on offer from universities is demonstrably ‘variable’, going on ‘poor’. Conversely the further education sector, both site-based and online, is performing splendidly and in a targeted and industry-specific way. Why then concentrate only on the merits of university? 
You may leave saddled with a debt in excess of £50,000 and a degree which in the final analysis can be pretty much useless. Alternatively, you could take say a Business HND or another online learning course which dovetails with work commitments and is perfect for your career needs. 
Modern students are discovering there are different paths to get to where they want to go – and they’re following them.