OU Students Past, Present and Future

Gemmzie

I don't think many courses are that short, it's usually February to October. It might be worth doing any shorter course that could be counted towards the psychology degree

addyb_2

Gemmzie wrote: »

I don't think many courses are that short, it's usually February to October. It might be worth doing any shorter course that could be counted towards the psychology degree

Yeah will have to take a look and get my skates on.

Gemmzie

Just had a look through, it seems that you can no longer register as a new student and be on the old fee system - this is because you have to be signed up for a certificate/diploma/degree and they are closed for 2011.
Do you already have a degree?

addyb_2

Gemmzie wrote: »

Just had a look through, it seems that you can no longer register as a new student and be on the old fee system - this is because you have to be signed up for a certificate/diploma/degree and they are closed for 2011.
Do you already have a degree?

No I dont have a degree.

Oh well looks my OU course will have to say bye bye. I wont be able to afford any of the future fees after this year so not much point starting one this year. Really disappointed now

KiKi

juno wrote: »

It's actuaally a new qualification, so the OU haven't taken them off but haven't put them on yet.

That specific course might be new, but I've had a look at a number of quals pages, and all the ones I've looked at don't have the courses listed on them anymore.

The undergrad qual pages used to tell you which courses are compulsory and which are optional for each qual, or if it's flexible, the different options and combinations of courses at each level. I can't see this on any of the undergrad quals - new or established - that I've looked at.

Eg, the Masters in Classics: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/qualification/f27.htm

This has the list of compulsory courses which is helpful, seeing as I can't make a choice about doing a qual when I don't know what's involved.

However, the undergrad Dip in HE says nothing of the sort: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/e64.htm

It used to - and I know that because I nearly signed up to it but didn't, because Arts Past and Present was a compulsory course that I didn't want to do. It's that list which has gone.

Take another established undergrad qual: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/b66.htm

No indication at all of which modules you will have to do.

So I do stand by what I said - the OU have taken them off all the undergrad quals that I've looked at, and I do think that's very very unhelpful for students looking at quals. I can only assume it's to do with a fee changeover, as there is no good reason to take them off the quals pages. I've just emailed them to find out, actually; it's bugging me that much!

KiKi

Gemmzie

addyb wrote: »

No I dont have a degree.

Oh well looks my OU course will have to say bye bye. I wont be able to afford any of the future fees after this year so not much point starting one this year. Really disappointed now

Not at all! If you don't already have a degree then you're probably better off on the new system as you can get student grants/loans to cover the costs. Have a look at the 2012 funding and come back if you have any more questions.

Gemmzie

Kiki - it is quite annoying but I think it could be due to the number of modules changing within the degrees, many more are going to be online based. Guess it's a waiting game until March as you can't sign up to any before then anyway.
If there's a particular subject area that interests you, then you can look at all related courses - it should give you an idea of what ones might be compulsory.

addyb_2

Gemmzie wrote: »

Not at all! If you don't already have a degree then you're probably better off on the new system as you can get student grants/loans to cover the costs. Have a look at the 2012 funding and come back if you have any more questions.

Will do. Ill follow the links provided on the ou site and work out how much of a grant I may be entitled for etc.

addyb_2

Sorry meant to say look at repayment costs as grants are only for FT students. The way I have roughly worked it out judging as if I was at the top end of my current pay scale id have to pay around £32 a month back which doesnt seem too bad although wouldnt that take me a lifetime to payback? Especially if the total course fees are around 15k?

Also this new student loan system takes place after Sept 2012 right? Can I still use the OU's loan facility to pay for the first course I start this year?

And finally in regards to this new system im not sure how it works if I was paying for each module on a yearly basis? Would I just take out a loan to cover the overall cost of all the modules that my degree entails?

Gemmzie

addyb wrote: »

Sorry meant to say look at repayment costs as grants are only for FT students. The way I have roughly worked it out judging as if I was at the top end of my current pay scale id have to pay around £32 a month back which doesnt seem too bad although wouldnt that take me a lifetime to payback? Especially if the total course fees are around 15k?
You can work out repayments on several student loan calculators. I believe it's still written off after 25 years, so it's really just like paying a bit more tax and hopefully would lead to improving employment prospects anyway!

Also this new student loan system takes place after Sept 2012 right? Can I still use the OU's loan facility to pay for the first course I start this year?
Yes, for individual courses which you can later link into your degree etc.

And finally in regards to this new system im not sure how it works if I was paying for each module on a yearly basis? Would I just take out a loan to cover the overall cost of all the modules that my degree entails?
If you're aiming for a degree, then you'll probably want to do more than one module per year once you get into the swing of studying, as i think you have 10 years to complete the degree.
As it's a new system, I don't think anyone is sure how it'll operate for The OU but I'd imagine they'll award it on a module by module basis or yearly if you sign up for several modules that run one after another.

Hope that helps a bit