AIBU to wonder if the open university is seen as a poor relation?

[TheActualRealCinderella]

I’m thinking of doing some postgrad qualifications. Aibu to think the open university is looked down upon in comparison with something like LSE?

Totally wrong. The O.U is a very well respected institution.

Not at all. You need to be very organised, motivated, dedicated etc to do OU. All plus points! Good Luck!

FWIW as an Interviewer I have a great deal of respect for anyone that has done OU because it tells me something extra about that person- they are self starters and amazing "jugglers" of all the other stuff they were dealing with to get that degree.

Thanks. I was worried it might be seen as someone who failed to get into a ‘proper’ uni.

I’m watching this with interest. I’ve always felt sad about not getting a degree and would love to consider it. OU is my only viable option really and wouldn’t want it to be a waste of time

I got my degree with the OU. In my experience it is extremely respected and well thought of in the vast majority of places.
There are a small minority of people who think only a certain degree from a certain Uni matters but tbh I wouldn’t want to work somewhere like that anyway :)

An Open University degree is valued as highly as any other degree. It shows you have exceptional application and organisational skills, since people often study them as well as working, having family commitments, etc. They are a fantastic institution and an OU degree is a passport to improving your career. I loved studying with them (ended up with a B A Hons 2.1) and not only was it a completely wonderful experience, it helped me get to where I wanted to be career wise. You definitely won't regret doing one!!!

Well it depends what you're comparing to. To be blunt comparing to somewhere like LSE, Imperial, Oxford, then no the OU can't touch them. But if your comparators are SOAS, Leicester, Kent then it compares very well.

I agree with titchy, there's no way an OU University post grad qualification would be seen to be equivalent to an LSE qualification, sorry.

My dad was a professor of maths at an RG university and used to take some OU courses over the summer, he always said the OU students were some of the most motivated and talented he had come across and OU qualifications are highly respected by employers for the reasons previously mentioned.

I’m not denying that it takes organisation and dedication to get an OU qualification, but it certainly doesn’t have the prestige of a Russel Group uni.

It also depends on the subject area how well regarded (or disregarded) it will be.

Someone close to me works for OU and a Russel Group uni, he says that marking criteria is widely different and some pieces of work that wouldn’t even scrape a pass at the ‘real’ uni are being passed by OU and tutors are encouraged to ‘mark up’ to make things passable. The standard of submissions are miles apart.

" but it certainly doesn’t have the prestige of a Russel Group uni".

Well that depends doesn't it. Some Russel Group unis aren't actually leaders in their field in subjects, the "prestige" of the Russel Group actually comes from people misunderstanding that they are actually are, and pretending that its like the Ivy League.

I would take the anecdote about marking here with a significant pinch of salt.

Im probably starting a Masters with OU in September. I would LOVE to go back to where I did my undergrad and do a Masters there, but I cant commit to a full time course over an hour from my house. More local uni doesn't do the course I want. So its basically OU or nothing. Its difficult now the cost of any sort of university level qualification is so high, but given I will always be a low earner anyway (back to teaching or similar I think) more student loans are just a bit of a theoretical worry.

Definitely a plus. I'd hire an OU candidate with the right experience over some of our 'Oxbridge' staff, who have frankly been coasting since they did well in their A Levels thirty years ago.

(I'm thinking of a very specific example here - I agree that generally of course your Oxbridge candidate will be preferred! In my case though, this is very much someone who had the specific talents Oxbridge wanted but utterly useless as an employee.)

It depends.

For undergraduate degrees it is well respected because the people who do them tend to be working and from backgrounds where going to a standard university is hard.

For postgraduate degrees I'm related to and know people who have done them part-time from a range of institutions with different levels of contact throughout their degree. If the degree is relevant to the job/career then it can help a lot, if not then it doesn't help.

Thanks for all the replies.