Anyone got experience with Open University?

[WingingItMumma]

I have been considering completing a degree with the OU. I don't need a degree for my job, but I'm only 30 so feel it could help me progress my career in the future (with COVID, the role I was working towards pre mat leave has now been made redundant, so I'm having a bit of a career crisis). But like I said, not an essential so just researching at the moment. If anyone has completed a course, I'd love to hear your experiences.

I'm about to return to work after mat leave, and will be working 4 days per week. If I were to do the course full time, how much work realistically is expected per week? Would I be able to do it? I just don't really want it to take 6 years, that intimidates me more than working my ass off for 3 years.

Also, I read that you should have access to headphones with a mic, does this mean that there are scheduled online seminars/lectures? If so, this wouldn't work for me as I would be completing the qualification around looking after dd and also working.

If I do decide to go ahead, any tips or advice would be very much appreciated

Hi OP, I'm studying with the OU at the moment.

If I were to do the course full time, how much work realistically is expected per week? Would I be able to do it? Full time is roughly 35 hours a week of studying and part time is 16 a week. With full time, you study two modules at the same time so you need to be very good at time management. I started off at full time but reduced to part time as I really struggled managing 2 modules.

Also, I read that you should have access to headphones with a mic, does this mean that there are scheduled online seminars/lectures? If so, this wouldn't work for me as I would be completing the qualification around looking after dd and also working.

Yes there a online tutorials but there are usually a few of the same each week at different times so that people can attend. For example one on a Tuesday at 10:30am-12pm and then the same one again on Thursday 7pm-9:30pm. They are done using Adobe Connect, nobody can see you, you're just listening to the tutor as they go through slides but you can type in the chat box. Also, these are usually recorded so if you can't make it you can just watch the recording which I find easier as you can pause it. If you'll be working and looking after your DC I would recommend doing part-time.

If I do decide to go ahead, any tips or advice would be very much appreciated Use the study planner to manage your time, don't be afraid of asking your tutor lots of questions, use the Tutor Group Forum to connect with other people studying. Depending on your course, you don't usually need to buy any extra materials as everything you will need will be on the module website or in the textbooks that are posted to you.

Also, if you're on a low income then apply for the Student Study Related Costs scheme, they reimbursed the cost of my laptop, WiFi bills, printer, ink and stationery.

I studied with the OU many years ago. I was working full time and had two young children and as long as you plan your work it is perfectly manageable. It is designed for people who have other commitments and you will find the tutors are very understanding. If you are working you cant sign up ‘full time’ as that would be unmanageable. Sign up for one module at a time. It is better to complete one module at a time successfully rather than set your self a task which is unachievable. Good luck!

These are so helpful, thank you! I think Part time sounds like the way to go then, 16 hours a week sounds much more manageable.

It is very expensive, they charge the same as they would if they were a bricks and mortar university offering face to face tuition, albeit that they split it by module. Depending on what you want to study I wonder if a Futurelearn "microcredential" might work better. For example, they do a (postgraduate) course in international politics for £600 (that is one of many examples).

I finished my OU degree this year (yay!). I studied part time for 6 years while working full time and looking after two DC and found it perfectly manageable. There were only 5-6 assignments for each module and either an extended essay or an exam at the end. If you want to do something science-based then I believe there's a compulsory week-long residential at the end of the first module. Otherwise, the face-to-face tutorials are only a few times a year and there's a range of times and locations. It's possible to do the whole 6 years without going to a tutorial but I do recommend attending if you can.

If I was going to do it again then I'd go for the full time option. Six years was a slog and it really wasn't that much work. I was studying mainly to open up future career prospects so I didn't need to learn everything in-depth anyway.

*It is very expensive, they charge the same as they would if they were a bricks and mortar university offering face to face tuition, albeit that they split it by module.

This isn’t correct, it’s much cheaper than face to face. A degree course costs around £6000 in total, so part time it’s about £1000 per year. I am doing my first year now and got a student loan which covers the tuition fees plus some living costs.

I would recommend it, the work is manageable, they say 16 hours a week but it hasn’t taken me that long (so far). You don’t have to attend the tutorials if you can’t fit them in. It’s designed for people with other commitments so would be sympathetic to all that.

Where are you based @singingstones it may differ throughout Uk? My OU degree (in England) cost just under 3k for a 60 credit module, so FT equivalent about 6k per year. I know there was an old fee rate for people that started a long time ago before PT Student loans came in. I know that there were some fab modules for Scottish historians I couldn't access .

@WingingItMumma I would not recommend doing 120 credits in the final level of study but you could cut the time it takes at the beginning. Lots of people do it just depends on the course and how much of a perfectionist you are. The earlier modules just need passing.

@OrangeCinnamon1
Good point, I had no idea it was more expensive in England. I am in Wales, £6k for the whole degree (like Scotland and NI), whereas in England it’s £18k, so roughly 2/3 of the fees that a traditional university would charge. How terrible that it’s 3x the price in England, why is that?

[quote singingstones]@OrangeCinnamon1
Good point, I had no idea it was more expensive in England. I am in Wales, £6k for the whole degree (like Scotland and NI), whereas in England it’s £18k, so roughly 2/3 of the fees that a traditional university would charge. How terrible that it’s 3x the price in England, why is that?[/quote]
Thank devolution for that.