looking at doing some courses through work, and interested if anyone has experience of open university??

good/bad/hard/easy?

Hi Jumpy Guy

Did five years of it! Found it really hard with working full time but got there in the end.

Excellent teaching methods and course materials.

Can be difficult working remotely - I only saw 1 tutor in 5 years and that was because I had to hand deliver an assignment that was ever so close to the deadline! I think I was a bit unusual though!

The modular approach is good becasue you can, within limits, pick and choose your subjects.

Regards

Wyn

im looking at possibly working towards a pg dip

i would need 120 points to get this, so i thought i'd get stuck in this May session.
I had thought of starting with 2 * 15 point courses, but the blurb suggests only doing 1 course in your first session....

whats your thoughts??

I've done a Computing MSc with them - very hard work, but good teaching in most cases (had one duff tutor). My son's currently doing a chemistry MSc.

It's worth remembering that the OU usually come in a 6th or 7th in the UK's university league table, so they're a very high standard.

Expect to have to do around 15 hours per week when doing a single unit. That is a LOT of work! I was lucky in that I was commuting into London every day, so that gave me 10 hours a week where I wasn't doing anything anyway. Start with a single unit, until you understand the level of work involved (and your own capabilities).

If you're doing a BSc/BA then expect to have one or two weeks at summer schools. They're not always compulsory, but they help a huge amount. You may also be expected to attend evenings at some local study centre at regular intervals. MSc makes less 'away day' demands.

As you may guess, it's a lot of work. It's very rewarding though, and the more intelligent employers do appreciate that someone whose holding down a job AND gets a OU degree is a bit special.

cheers,
David

[Edited on 5/3/07 by David Jenkins]

I did 90 points in my first and last years - hence got my 360 (BSc(Hons)) in 5 years not 6.

I found doing the 30 point courses more than half as much work (i.e. 60 point courses are less than twice the work) if that makes any sense. I found 60 points a year manageable with a full time job and renovating a house (no cars to play with though and no kids at the time!).

Wyn

I did a diploma in design and innovation a couple of years ago. Was very happy all round with OU. Only minor gripe is the timing of some courses that start in spring and run till the autum. Id rather it was the other way round

Im currently about halfway through my computer/mathematical MSc.
hard work espcially ifyou end up overlapping 3 courses at once like i have! but if you stick to one course at a time its a resonable workload.
Must admit though until you get your first course under your belt its all a bit daunghting!

very helpful info thanks

May I join the que of those praising the OU?

I'm doing 2 courses at the moment and the workload is a nightmare. But hey, my own fault for chosing it!

You've just got to be disciplined (note to self: be more disciplined). You'll never find time to study, you've got to make time to study. If you choose a subject that you actually enjoy then that's half the battle done already.

The OU is very well run. You get sent loads but it is managable.

Did have a postable prob once, half of the mailing never arrived, rang them up, they sent me the half I already had! So if you want textbooks 1-4 for course S205 - Molecular Chemisty - then let me know!

Oh and once a DVD didn't work, rang them up and the next day had a working copy thought the letter box.

Best of luck!
ed