OU degree - recognised by employers or not really?

starchild1972

I looked at an OU course and found some of the courses a bit biased and there was no real scope for research. Eventually I decidd that I would save money up and do a distance degree through either John Moores in Liverpool or the LSE. Check out bricks and mortar unis because many of them do distance BA/BSc hons degrees.

Rowan9

heretolearn wrote: »

My experience has been that prospective employers have been very impressed by my OU studies. I haven't finished my degree yet but it's on my CV and gets commented on by interviewers. So far they've all been positive and given me the thumbs up for having the energy/commitment to do well at this while working. OU scores very highly against other unis. 25% of all MBA students in the UK are doing it through the OU for example. You'll find a few ignorant people who think it's just watching a few tv programmes or reading a few books (I think the philosophy degree holder was winding up the person who posted above), but you can encounter ignorance about anything.

One thing though 'May combine into "Open" degree and have fun along the way'. This isn't a good idea if you want to use the degree for your career/advancement. The Open degrees are not available at honours level, and frankly I don't think an open degree is that well respected. Better to have a History BA, or a Maths BSc, than an 'open' degree with a mishmash of different subjects you have to then list out on your CV. You can do a named degree and do one 'free choice' course that isn't necessarily related to the rest. I'm doing creative writing at the moment as part of an English degree there, but we've got a lot of refugees from Law, Science and Maths degrees who just fancy having a breather for a year. It can still count towards their degree.

I disagree although the rules may have changed. I have a 1st class honours in an open degree. I transferred credits for my HND (studied years before) and then proceeded with literature courses. After that I went straight to MA in Lit. I was accepted for a PhD in Literature at a 'brick' uni but have left it for my own reasons.
Also, during my OU studies, I taught fulltime as a college lecturer and during the last 2 years of MA I studied for my PGCE as well. It can be done! Needs lots of planning though. Not much social life during these years but that was my choice!
Good luck with your studies.
W

ETA- sorry, originally quoted heretolearn without user name!

grumpyoldwoman41

One thing though 'May combine into "Open" degree and have fun along the way'. This isn't a good idea if you want to use the degree for your career/advancement.

O no.. as I said - just thinking of doing it for myself, not for work related purpose

Need to keep the brain working... and did not see anything there that I would like to take on as a "proper" degre to be honest.. so may combine few modules that I am interested in, on personal level...

heretolearn_2

In that case, watch out, it's addictive. I know people doing their 20th course!

grumpyoldwoman41

LOL- I can imagine.....

Looking at the languages, Spanish and French....but they seem to involve a summer language school, away from home... do not like that, not sure I could get away

I know some Spanish so would love to do that, French would be new.. Wish they were doing Japanese (know a bit too).

I find going to classes really boring, the peace is never quite right for me, often way too slow - I do better on my own.

And, going to classes I find myself constantly assesing the tutor LOL

cgk1

OU degrees are fine and you've been a sellable subject, so I can't see any problem.

penguin83

Another vote for the OU here! I am halfway through completing my law degree (LLB) and will have completed it in 4years whilst working full time and bringing up my 2 young children. I would like to think that any future employer would be able to appreciate the effort and dedication I have put in! xx

Dawning

grumpyoldwoman41 wrote: »

LOL- I can imagine.....

Looking at the languages, Spanish and French....but they seem to involve a summer language school, away from home... do not like that, not sure I could get away

I know some Spanish so would love to do that, French would be new.. Wish they were doing Japanese (know a bit too).

I find going to classes really boring, the peace is never quite right for me, often way too slow - I do better on my own.

And, going to classes I find myself constantly assesing the tutor LOL

I've been studying languages with the OU, on and off, for several years.
The summer school is not compulsory. You can do an alternative at home, in September. You should bear in mind that September is a heavy workload month for most OU courses, so you'll be revising and studying the ALE at the same time. Whereas the summer schools are usually in July which is a relatively quiet period for OU study.
The summer school, especially for languages, is a wonderful experience, a week in Caen immersed in the language is more worthwhile, IMO, than 6 months work at home.
However, they do understand that not everyone can attend and so they offer the ALE.
I'm assuming you're going in at upper intermediate level where the summer school fee is included in the course fee. The Level 1 courses have an optional extra for a summer school which is in addition to the course fee.

EDITED TO ADD - please feel free to PM me if you'd like any more information.

redlady_1

Grumpy - Mathematics is fab through the OU and yes, employers do generally love it. It proves motivation and desire not to mention dedication.

KrazyKeeper

im currently studying at the OU for a degree in computing & design, im enjoying the course but its not helped me in my job search