MSE News: Open University pulls plug on Tesco-funded degrees

Oldernotwiser

Stryder wrote: »

I think that with unemployment so high, and every sector (especially professional jobs [i.e. people with degrees]) being so badly effected, that more people are probably retraining - more than you would think.

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Having been for years a Careers Adviser working with adults, I'm not unaware of their retraining needs!

Although there may be a few people using the OU in this way, most graduates ought to know that there are better ways of retraining than to do a second undergraduate degree from scratch - it's certainly something I would explain to any of my clients.

Dinah93

My OH is a trained solicitor, he has been told to get professional membership in his new field (after being unable to find employment as a solicitor) he needs a degree in a relevant subject. He earns little over minimum wage at present, and doing the second degree with the OU seemed, and still seems, like a much better alternative to sitting on the dole waiting for solicitor jobs to open up.

We are certainly dissapointed that the OU have withdrawn the vouchers, but we never counted on them, so we will get by. I wouldn't imagine everyone is in this position.

olly300

Stryder wrote: »

Thankfully I am not after the sympathy of the sort of self righteous people that you include yourself in. I have not really asked for sympathy. I have just been trying to encourage OU/Tesco to make more sympathetic arrangements. I am sure you will complain and huff and puff like a baby dragon, but I lose interest in this pettiness. I am not really sure why you are even bothering commenting in this thread as it does not seem to affect you!

Actually it does affect me, if you bother to read the education threads you will see that I'm also an OU student, and unfortunately it now affects a member of my family.

In addition I belong to more than one sports club, and you would be amazed at the number of people doing qualifications at anyone time - recession or no recession -, and they are not all graduates.

The media have only picked up on funding cuts as what else are you going to tell the unemployed to do to keep their skills up apart from train and volunteer.

nikdebtfree2010

There is an additional problem with the Open University funding which is the withdrawal of the governmental funding for those undertaking second degrees - which is a large proportion of their students. This is also causing a severe funding crisis within the OU which has forced them into reduced the number of degrees offered, a lot of the residential courses and a push towards e-learning rather than face to face tutorials. The aim of the OU in the reduction of service is to try to keep the costs down for all of their students, regardless of their previous degree count.

I suspect the action of moving away from Tesco's has been down to the reduction of this funding as part of a whole review of the funding and service provision.

I have happily used my Tesco's points since the inception of the vouchers, and since I started my degree 6 years ago, the degree I was aiming for will not be available after 2012 and this very helpful funding source will have disappeared. Although personally it is helped me enormously - a 60 point 3rd year course and a 15pt residential course is well over a 1000 a year, I suspect that if there hadn't been such an up and coming funding crisis, the scheme would have continued.

I would prefer it, if it would be possible to redeem the May vouchers for Open University vouchers as that would definitely be a help. The February 2011 cut off date is very specific as the majority of the major 30pt and 60pt courses start in January and therefore the scheme is still covering in essence students for the 2010 courses and also for their 2011 courses. This would then leave a gap for most students by 2012 - just at the time the OU funding is also slashed and the courses are rejigged.

nikdebtfree2010

Details of the ELQ system that comes into effect for the OU in 2012 is available if you search for ELQ on BBB - I can't post links as am too new!

rich_jtg

This voucher decision seems odd after they were plugging it with a full page feature in the latest Sesame magazine.

At least they can be used towards 2011 courses... if you book and paid for by the June 1.

satori

I earn below £15K and so get full funding for up to 3 30-pointers a year. However, I have on 1 occasion done 130 points in a year and used Tesco vouchers to pay part of my fees.
I am really worried that funding could be suppressed altogether: I self-funded my first two courses (I was living abroad) and they cost me one month and one month and a half of salary, respectively.
I could no longer afford this now as my rent costs me half my net salary (I had a stable job for more than 5 years, then lost it, and have had 4 different lower-paid jobs since, with periods of unemployment in between, and my current company culled 25% of their staff last year, so can't get a mortgage!).

I'm unhappy about the OU suppressing residential schools for Science degrees (I had planned to do a Life Sciences or Molecular Sciences degree, but that will no longer be possible). When I was living abroad, I couldn't afford a residential school (1 month of salary if you count the trip from abroad...); then when I moved to the UK, I didn't have time, I was too busy looking for job/flat, and then working/temping.

I'm also unhappy that, at the same time they are withdrawing residential schools, they are introducing loads of level 1 Science short courses: it looks as if they are no longer targetting people who want to get a degree while working, but people who do undemanding courses for fun.

Their fees have also risen a lot:
in 2005/2006, a 30-point Science/Maths course would have cost you £260 (£695 abroad); a 60-pointer £495 (£1,185 abroad) and a residential school £335 (£570 abroad).
In 2009/2010, the fees have risen, respectively, to £360; £630; £555.
In the same courses, short courses have gone from £99 to £150.
Before I started studying, I emailed the OU about the fees increase, and they told me they usually increased them by 3% each year, in line with inflation. My salary hasn't increased by 3% each year, let alone at the same rate as the fees.

I tried to get a degree when I was younger. I would have got a distinction if I had been able to finish my 3rd year, but unfortunately, I had to give up because I wasn't earning enough to pay the rent (supporting myself; no financial help from family; not eligible to financial support in my country; no bank loans in my country).

Oldernotwiser

If you already have two years of successful HE study under your belt, didn't you ask for credit exemption for these?

Fiver29

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If you already have two years of successful HE study under your belt, didn't you ask for credit exemption for these?

Yes, you should be able to put your previous studies toward your degree, I believe each completed module is valid for 10 years after it is passed. So if you've done 2 yrs @ 130points a year, you only need another 100 points which you could do over the next 4 years and still have time to spare

olly300

satori wrote: »

I'm also unhappy that, at the same time they are withdrawing residential schools, they are introducing loads of level 1 Science short courses: it looks as if they are no longer targetting people who want to get a degree while working, but people who do undemanding courses for fun.
.

That's unfair.

If you know anything about the Science and Maths education of most people in this country then the OU courses will be demanding for them at that level.

In addition one of the reasons why they got rid of the science residential schools and courses was due to the number of students doing them. If they had as many students doing them as social science students they would not have got rid of them as they would have realised the extra costs where worth it.