英国高等院校根据其性质、特点和学位授予情况的不同而分为不同类型。目前共有大学90多所，学院123所，高等教育学院50所。

英国的大学都是独立的法人实体，均有学位授予权，可自主设置不同课程，并根据开设课程授予各级学位。除白金汉大学为私立大学以外，其他大学均为公立大学。

高等教育文凭证书(Diploma in Higher Education)和高等文凭证书(Higher Diploma)，英国在一些学院和高等教育学校开设两年制或三年制的专业课程。两年制课程完成后，学生考试合格，可获取高等教育文凭证书(Diploma in Higher Education),学生毕业后，如果申请本科生课程，其两年制所学课程有可能被录取大学认可。三年制课程主要为工业界培养职业学生，学生毕业后，可获得高等文凭证书(Higher Diploma)。

Twenty-six per cent of Access to Higher Education students left university with a First class deGREe last year, despite many of them having left school without the qualifications they needed to enter higher education.

去年，在接受高等教育的学生中，有26%的人在大学毕业时获得了一级学位，尽管他们中的许多人在离校时没有获得进入高等教育所需的资格。

The 2017-18 Access to Higher Education (HE) statistics, published today, show that: 37,045 students registered to study for an Access Diploma 23,295 Access students were offered places to start university in September 2018 25.6% of Access students graduating university in 2018 achieved a First, compared with the UK average of 26.4% 50% of Access to HE registrations were to health courses 34% of Access students (over 8,000) entered HE to study nursing.

2017 - 18接受高等教育(他)统计,今天发表,表明:37045名学生注册学习一个访问文凭23295访问学生提供地方开始大学2018年9月2018年25.6%的访问学生毕业大学取得了第一,相比之下,英国26.4%的平均水平50%的访问他注册健康课程34%的访问学生(超过8000)进入他学习护理。

'A student entering university through the Access to HE route is more than twice as likely as a student entering with other qualifications to be over 25 and from a disadvantaged background,' says Julie Mizon, who manages the Access programme for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).

英国高等教育质量保证机构(QAA)入学项目负责人朱莉·麦克森(Julie Mizon)说:“通过高等教育入学途径进入大学的学生年龄超过25岁、来自贫困家庭的可能性是其他途径的学生的两倍多。”

They are also 50% more likely to have a disability or mental health condition and are three times more likely to be black than students entering from other routes.

他们也有50%的可能有残疾或精神健康问题，黑人学生进入学校的可能性是其他途径学生的三倍。

This shows the importance of Access in helping widen participation into higher education.

这显示了获得机会在帮助扩大高等教育参与方面的重要性。

'In addition, Access students demonstrate the learning gain that can be achieved through grit, determination and a commitment to succeed, matching the average university student almost grade for grade.

此外，Access学生展示了通过勇气、决心和对成功的承诺可以实现的学习收获，几乎与普通大学生的年级相当。

' Today's report shows that 50% of Access to Higher Education registrations in 2017-18 were to health courses, with more than a third of Access university entrants choosing to study for a Nursing degree.

今天的报告显示，2017年至2018年，50%的高等教育注册是健康课程，超过三分之一的进入大学的学生选择攻读护理学位。

More than three-quarters of Access students going on to higher education studied close to home, with north east and north west figures for attending a local institution particularly high at 90% and 84% respectively.

在接受高等教育的学生中，超过四分之三的人是在离家不远的地方学习的，东北和西北地区在当地大学就读的比例尤其高，分别为90%和84%。

'Access to Higher Education was designed as a flexible course with its roots in the local education and industrial community,' says Julie Mizon.

Julie Mizon说:“接受高等教育被设计成一门灵活的课程，它植根于当地的教育和工业社区。”

'That was its foundation when it launched 40 years ago, and it's just as relevant today.

这是40年前该公司成立时的基础，今天依然适用。

We're working closely with the Access Validating Agencies that design the courses to make sure we're increasing provision in the areas with a projected skills shortage.

我们正在与设计课程的准入验证机构密切合作，以确保我们在预计技能短缺的领域增加供应。

'We want next year's Access students to be qualified and ready four or five years from now to work in the areas where they are most needed, such as IT, teaching and nursing and maternity services.'

“我们希望明年入学的学生从现在起的四五年内具备资格，准备好在最需要他们的领域工作，比如IT、教学、护理和产科服务。”

所以，灵活的英国教育理念，让英国的学生去选择专业的包容度还是很宽松的。那么，进入中国大学的学生，假设进入大一就觉得不喜欢自己的专业，可以立刻马上启动申请。在大二的时候，拿到英国大学的录取通知书，就给重新选择专业，多了一次机会。国内的大一学习，可以替代英国的预科课程，读后续的三年本科课程，即可拿到英国本科学历。