Open university a fantastic way to gain a qualification very flexible (Open University in general)

Member Name: jenjade

Product:	Open University in general
Date:	06/11/08 (214 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can be done anytime any where easy to fit in with your life great study aids

Disadvantages: It is expensive and you need to show a lot of commitment and motervation

I have completed a course in Health and Social Care through the Open University and I have to say I am so impressed with they way it allows people who might not be able to get to uni to gain a recognised qualification.

I am a single mother to a 6 year old and I don't have much in the way of babysitting services to allow me to attending a college or venue. I also work 20 hours a week so I do not have time available in the day to attending a venue either. I had come to the conclusion that I had no hope of gaining any qualifications until my daughter was much older and independent (if that will ever happen)

My manager suggested a course with the Open University at level One. I phoned the Open University and requested a prospectus from which I decided I would like to do an introduction to health and social care. (K100 in Open Uni language) I was more than happy with this idea until I noticed the price! ouch nearly £600!! Plus books etc on top. I phoned the Open University and discover I could be eligible for funding and a grant so Open University sent me the form to fill in for funding and a course application form. I completed al the form and was lucky enough to be eligible for all my course fees being paid (due to being a single parent on a low income)

I received a lot of guidance from the Open University to read through before the course began which was very helpful and informative of how the course would work and what I would need to do.

The course material arrived about a month before the course was due to start to I was able to become familiar with the material and make a start on some light reading.

The course material is made up from course books, audio cds, DVD, some extra books, which need to be referred to and read, and an offprint book. It took me a good month to become familiar with all the books the course was referring to and you need to make a fairly big space to use, as you need a lot of stuff out at once.

I found working thought the books and units fairly easy but there are TMA's teacher marked assignments for each block that I found quite difficult to write but after reading the recommended study aids I started to get the hang of it. Writing is once of my weaknesses along with spelling so I had to overcome some problems while doing the course.

Course tutorials are also available on some courses I found these great for finding some study buddies to help and support each other it was also very interesting meeting people and having interesting discussions as a group. The tutor allocated to me for my course was very helpful he was available at the tutorials, on the phone and via e-mail. It was useful to receive feedback along with the grade on all my assignments.

The course finally ended in June with an exam very scary stuff but if you allow enough time to revise, it should not be too bad. I passed my exam in June and as I had good grades on my assignments, I passed the course.

The open uni is not an easy option and I was shocked by how much time I had to devote to my studied there were no shortcuts or easy options! In addition, you have to motivate yourself and make sure you stay on schedule as if you fall behind it is very hard to catch up.

I would recommend courses with the Open University as a great path to a degree or qualification for those who have many commitments but you really have to make time and be committed to the courses.

Summary: I wouldn't have a qualification without them