Confused about OU financial support

dag_2

Hello everyone.

I'm currently studying with Open University, and am hoping to get an honours degree in computing (award code: B29).

So far, I haven't had to pay any course fees. Last time I had to fill in any forms for it, though, I was getting means tested state benefits. It took me a while to get my head round the fact that the rule for courses of 30 points or more is different to the rule for courses that are less than 30 points.

Anyway, I did M257 last year, which is a 20-point course, as well as a few 30-point courses, and didn't have to pay for any of them. I also got the course grant too.

This year, I plan to do M253, plus another couple of 30-point courses. However, I no longer qualify for means-tested state benefits, because I've had an inheritance. However, despite that, my income (including all my interest and dividends) is still less than £15,000 a year.

So it looks like I do still qualify for assistance for 30-point courses, but not for M253, because it's a 10-point course.

Thing is - M253 is one of the courses that you must take, in order to get the BSc Honours Computing B29 award.

Does this mean that it counts as an "associated residential school and compulsory courses" in section 3 of the application form?

I'm astonished that there's absolutely no guidance about this issue in the OU's literature on financial support:
http://www3.open.ac.uk/studyatou/apply/financial-support.shtml

Anyway - does this mean that I do actually qualify for support for M253 after all?

I'm having serious difficulty hacking the bureaucracy of the registration scheme on this one. They've already sent me three registration agreements for this course, and I've sent back two of them, although I was under the impression that I wouldn't qualify for financial assistance, and have therefore been trying to open an OUSBA account, but this hasn't gone through yet, partly because I've had difficulty trying to persuade them to send me the OUSBA agreement form that the SUP976536 leaflet says I am supposed to return to them, and which it says was supposed to have been sent to me with the registration agreement, but wasn't actually sent with any of the three agreements.

But that might turn out to be a blessing in disguise if it turns out I don't have to pay at all. Thanks.

uktyler

Phone them up, the financial support helpdesk are very good.

If you do have to pay for it don't forget you can now use Tesco vouchers.

dag_2

Thanks for that, but the way I feel about it is that if they were that good, then we would never have got into this bureaucratic tangle in the first place. I registered my interest in doing this particular course several months ago, so please understand my frustration about the fact that the course registration is still hanging up in the air.

One of the main disadvantages of Open University, when compared with other colleges and universities, is that you can't just register once for a single award, such as a degree or a diploma; rather, you have to register separately for every module that you do. This does mean that the bureaucratic machinery of the Open University registration process is a heck of a lot more complicated than your average university.

It's fine if you only want to do something simple, like choose a course and pay for it with credit card there and then. But if you want to do something complicated, like, apply for financial support, or open an OUSBA account, or change your address - oh dear! You have to jump through so many hoops. This is particularly true if your circumstances change with regard to whether or not you're entitled to financial support at some point between your initial enquiry and the actual start date of the course you're hoping to register for.

If you're a leisure student who's not particularly bothered about getting a particular qualification by a particular date, then you won't really care whether or not an individual course registration falls through. But if you're trying to study for career purposes, then the bureaucratic machinery will give you a lot of sleepless nights.

Once you've actually registered for a course, though, then the tutors are generally very helpful and good. But it's the registration process itself which is the big bug bear.

Bismarck

It sounds like you'd be eligible if its a required course, but as uktyler says, ring the helpdesk to check. The forms are the one area of OU stuff I've had porblems with - everything else is so clearly produced its a joy to use. If only they could have the same people write the forms for funding!

dag_2

In case anyone is wondering; I've found out now; it looks as though I probably will qualify for support.

It seems that the rule is that as long as you are studying for at least one 30-point or 60-point course in a given academic year (that is, starting between September one year and August the next), and, provided that you qualify for a full fee grant for that particular academic year, then you will also qualify for funding for any courses of less than 30 points which you do in the same academic year, as long as they are courses that you have to do to get the award you want.

So now I'm wondering, what happens if you change your mind about what award you want? Hmm. Don't know.

Anyway, I'm now chasing my M253 registration, the problem was that I haven't yet registered to do any other courses in the same year. Hence the query and the delay. So I anticipate I might have to pay for it by credit card anyway to secure my registration, but I reckon I should probably get a refund within a month or two.

I've read course reviews for M253, and it seems that people have really really slated it! Most of the comments are variations on the theme of "the rest of the team were complete slackers" or "the rest of the team were complete control freaks" or some such thing. Still - can't be any worse than what you see on Big Brother! Or can it?

After all, if it was really true that the "slackers" could pass just off the backs of what other people do, then you have to ask why people are getting so hot under the collar about it. People moan about the disproportionately large amount of time they have to put into it given that it's only a 10-point Level 2 course with no grading of the pass-marks, but then they moan because they think others have had an easier ride. Grass is always greener, as they say. Still, I might be proved wrong. Besides, apparently, it's essential for BCS accreditation of OU Computing bachelor degrees.

I notice that this particular thread now ranks pretty highly for Google searches for M253, which is why I thought I'd add a comment about the outcome.