Open doors, Open University (Open University in general)

Member Name: sperato

Product:	Open University in general
Date:	20/06/09 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Flexability, variety, support, financial support

Disadvantages: None that I have encountered with the oveall service!

I chose the OU after I finished my A levels and found it hard to get a job with the limited work experience I had, I figured that I would progress further and faster if I were studying and working (I was right!).

I started with the OU a few years ago and am now half way through my chosen honours degree, and am starting a new course in October.

My experience of the OU in general has been fantastic, whilst I have some complaints about certain aspects of the courses I have taken the overall service cant be faulted.

The tutoring service is something that I only took advantage of during my first course, I did find this useful and the social element of it was also fun, I am planning on using this for my next course.

The forums provided for discussion of the course and the assignments therein provided a useful platform for queries and advise between students / tutors.

The discipline that is needed to sucessfully complete a course is high, but depending on how quickly/easily you learn and can take information from the course materials (books/DVDs/transcripts/audio) you may not need the recommended hours per week.

The flexability of the OU is something on which it should be commended. There are a wide variety of degrees and courses (the degrees are made up of a selection of courses, all worth points, an hournors degree needs 360 points and most courses are worth 60 or 30 points) and each are made up of a set of compulsory courses (relating to the degree) and a certain ammount of free points that you can use on courses of your choice.

The OU is also now tending to become more technologically aware in the submission of assignments online and online conferences.

One last thing to mention about the OU is the surpurb financial support avaliable, the courses can be a bit of a daunting price at first but there are full and part grants avaliable and they have an option to pay in installments.
Coupled with this is the fact that you qualify for a student card when studying with the OU and so can get some great savings!

I would recommend the OU to anyone, whether you are returning to study after a number of years or if you decide to go with the OU as an alternative to a traditional university. Go For It!

Summary: If your thinking about it, do it!