To ask about OU courses

[MrsSocks]

I hope you don't mind me picking your brains. I am looking at starting an OU degree. (Brief educational history, top GCSE results, average A levels in biology, sports studies and general studies and ASs in sociology and English lit. Started a sport science degree at 18yrs but left (bored) after 6 months. Have since worked the healthcare sector and website management until maternity with DS1, 4yrs)

I'm 28. Ideally, I would like to complete an OU degree over 3 years while still at home with DD1. Following that, a PGCE with the aim to teach at primary level.

What do I do a degree in? Am I best sticking to a curriculum base subject? Has anyone any experience of their 'open degree'? Would it be acceptable before a PGCE?

Any help would be much appreciated

I also transferred credits from a degree I hadn't finished so missed L1. L1 credit transfers don't even need to be in the same subject. I transferred 120 L1 English credits to a history degree. They really are very good. You can do it in 4 years if you transfer your credits.

I would also echo not trying to do a full degree in 3 years, it's incredibly hard. I am in a lot of OU facebook groups and a lot of people doing that drop out. I've also noticed a lot of people who've done that have been disappointed with their results if they did finish.

Can I get credit transfer for a grade C English GCSE from the early 1990s ?.

No. It's only further education level qualifications that can gain credits, like HNC/HND or university study.

I was having joke..... Not being Serious...

sunshield don't take the piss.

OP - your question is more about what type of degree is going to get you accepted for teacher training. Look at the 'Teach' website or go to them for info on this. You need a certain proportion of national curriculum subjects and it's best (from what I've heard) to have nearly all modules in these subjects.

You can study OU full time if the degree allows it (some won't as courses need to be taken in a certain order and you can't double up). I did one year of 2 x 60 point courses but it was too much, although I also work full time. I was going to pass, but not get the grades I want, so I deferred one part way through. Deferring means you stop studying it that year, and pick up again the next year where you left off.

I do know people that do it and I think that if I hadn't been working full time it wouldnt have been a problem. I didn't have young children though. The pace of the courses at Level 3 is really intense - if you get behind one week it's really hard to catch up again. How will you study full time during school holidays etc? the OU year is non stop from Oct to June, no holidays built into it, although if you are lucky they'll give you a 'study week' or two during the year, but it varies from course to course.

I think it also depends what your learning style is, how well you get on with the subject, and how academic you are. I've never done the amount of hours recommended for the courses and I'm about to graduate with a First. Other people struggle even if they do extra time. Every one is different and it's hard to predict how you will get on until you start.

Thank you. Yes I guess the answer is to start and see how I get on with it. I'd happily spread the degree over a longer time frame if required. Part of my reasoning for wanting it condensed into three was that I didn't want any opportunity to start getting bored with it. I tend to function better under pressure with lots to do. I fear if the pace was too slow I would be a bit complacent. I think a strongly tailored open degree could work for me. It's all very exciting and scary at the same time!

My last tutor told me that the amount of hours needed per week quoted for modules is intended to be worst case scenario, for people with absolutely no prior knowledge or who haven't studied for years and years or who aren't very computer literate etc. I've done all my L1s in about half the recommended hours per week, however for all the biological sciences ones I have a certain amount of prior knowledge.

I've skipped level 1 and got a 2:1 on a demanding level 2 module and I didn't even read some chapters until I started revising I'm aware that the next modules are going to be far harder.

Well, I'd never studied law before, nor even got A levels, nor really studied at a higher level. I am good at English and computer literate. And I did about the recommended weekly hours each month. If that. I had very few extensions and got a first overall.

I still wouldn't have wanted to do two at once though. Not the hours so much as the stress of the deadlines.

Disappointing, are you on a degree course? How did you skip a year? Wish I could have done that.

love. Sorry for the Piss Take...

You are correct the learning styles and peoples prior attainment in education will determine the hours required for study. I needed all the hours recommended to achieve 69% for the Continuous OCA and 65% for the Examinable part of DD 102.

However, I have not studied since my GCSEs over 20 years ago and have learning disabilities such as Dyspraxia/Dyslexia and ASD symptoms.

Although you have the grading from A- G D being a 40% pass 85% being a distinction or A . The tutors said at this stage , we should not get upset as long as we got a pass.

I had 2 part-time jobs and managed to do a named OU honours degree in 3 years. I also overlapped teacher training with the 3rd year. Nearly killed me but I did it and my career prospects have become so much better because I firstly have a degree and secondly because I did it so fast.

Sorry - not just my prospects but my actual career. My wage has tripled since doing the degree and gaining a much better job as a result.

If you want to do an Open degree I would strongly suggest that you contact the place you intend to do teacher training and query if they will accept it as some places don't.

An open degree does have drawbacks. Particularly in employment where employers often see them as a sign that you are a jack of all trades and a master of none. Plus if an employer receives six CVs and five have degrees in a specific subject which makes it clear what skills they can bring to the role, and the last one just has a vague Open degree, the one with the open degree is more likely to fall by the wayside.

I'm an HR consultant: I get most of my work because I have a broad set of knowledge, skills and experience. I'm doing the degree for fun, but it's got professional merit too. Gone are the days of choosing one subject to suit a career.*

Desert Yes. I got 120 credits at level one against the open degree for a HNC I got previously. It would have been 60 had I gone for the law degree I was looking at. So I only need 120 credits at level 2 and 120 at level 3 to get my honours degree. I should come away with 2 professional certificates too.

*except maybe teaching