Open University degrees

Doglover88

Has any of you done one, or currently working on one? I'm considering doing one as I only work 14 days a month and would like to further my education with a possibility of working abroad some day

Any advice or comments greatly appreciated

glenbat

Voyager2002

Go for it!

fabwitch_2

I did my degree with the OU and although it was extreemly hard work I enjoyed every moment of it. You have to be able to organise your time effectively and be able to work to deadlines when completing TMA's and assignments. There is a real satisfaction when you complete each assignment and know you are one step nearer to your goal. The good thing about the OU is that besides gaining your degree ( I did BSc Hons Social Policy) you can also do Certificates and Diplomas on the way which all count towards your degree so you can gain extra qualiications on the way to add to your CV. I found all the course materials to be of the higest quality and the Tutor support is good and Tutorials are avaliable although not always compulsary to attend depending on what courses you choose. I enjoyed the study so much I signed up to do a french course with them which I completed and will no doubt do further study with the OU as I fancy doing a BA Hons now. The good thing with the OU is that you can work at your own speed as long as you meet your deadlines and work alone or meet up with other students doing the same course at tutorials. Many students form study groups and meet regulary. There is also a excellent online forum, much like this one. Where you can get support with your courses and also have general chat rooms too. In total I found the OU a great experienceand highly recommend them.

IWannabedebtfree

I took my degree with OU and I am sorry to say that I did the minimum work(about 3 hours per MONTH, completing the required monthly assignment) also only attended tutorials during my first foundation course, (so never met anyone- Oh, but I did go to three Summer Schools- absolutely fantastic!) and still got a very good classification.However, I can't recommend doing it that way- I'd have got far more out of it by studying properly, setting aside time every day/several days a week and going to study days/tutorials.

scorpio_princess

IWannabedebtfree wrote:

I took my degree with OU and I am sorry to say that I did the minimum work(about 3 hours per MONTH, completing the required monthly assignment) also only attended tutorials during my first foundation course, (so never met anyone- Oh, but I did go to three Summer Schools- absolutely fantastic!) and still got a very good classification.However, I can't recommend doing it that way- I'd have got far more out of it by studying properly, setting aside time every day/several days a week and going to study days/tutorials.

3 hours a month? :eek: !!!!

I can't believe you got anywhere with the OU putting that little effort in! I would drown with no hope of recovery - but then i'm studying literature, and there's a LOT of reading involved. I don't know what discipline you were studying, but if it was one of the humanities I want to know how you did it! My assignments usually take about 10-15 hours over 2 or 3 days to write. Considering you should be putting an absolute minimum of 10 hours a WEEK in (16 hours is recommended), 3 hours a month - seriously??

IWannabedebtfree

I'm sorry if I came over as smug- I'm afraid that I did only put in about 3 hours work for each assignment and didn't really do any other work.Just before starting my OU degree I'd taken A Levels and found that I covered a lot of the same work in the OU Foundation course, so it was refreshing my memory.I actually, I did some Lit courses and did spend time reading parts of the main texts, so that was some extra time I spent. But actual STUDY time was only for each assignment and then I used to have a particular(probably weird!) routine- I'd spent 5 minutes reading main parts of the relevant chapter for the assignment, then let the ideas sink in over a day(I'm mad, I know) and think them over. Then I'd sit down the next day and blitz the essay in one evening. I've always had to work like that, dunno why. I only concentated on the main lit texts and found that the exams were fine, I didn't have a problem in not having known a few texts, but did spend a few minutes skimming the main arguments for them in the course material. I know that there is a lot of emphasis on covering everything in OU, eg: all those little 'activities' in the coursework, but I always had the memory of one of my college tutors ringing in my ears, saying: "Is it really necessary to do that to pass an assignment/an exam?" and if it wasn't, than I didn't do it. Ok, so I took it to extremes, by doing just the bare bones but as I felt fairly confident about writing assignments to a well tried formula and had had enough exam practice to feel ok about my exam technique, I suppose I know that I would just have to knuckle down more if I ever had a bad pass. As it was, things were ok and I just muddled on.Once I'd had some good pass marks for level 3 courses, I felt justified in just getting by with the minimum work.Can't recommend my method, which probably worked more by luck than anything.

Sooler

scorpio_princess wrote:

3 hours a month - seriously??

Similar to people who drive themselves to a mental wreck by taking on an excessive work load by doing 3 units at once to try to achieve the degree in the least time possible - it depends if your doing it to learn or just to get a piece of paper.

Can't see the point if you don't learn much.

IWannabedebtfree

Yes, sure- I did say that I didn't recommend doing it my way, and there were other personal factors involved which at times meant I had to do it this way or give it up.

liney

I cant seem to find the answer to this question in the prospectus: How/where are exams sat with OU?

skylight

liney wrote:

I cant seem to find the answer to this question in the prospectus: How/where are exams sat with OU?

It depends!! Usually at the same place as the place you would attend a tutorial. Some "exams" are able to be taken at home provided you sign a declaration that you have done it under exam conditions, but this does depend on the course.

This info wont be in the prospectus as its too far ahead, but you wont have to go to the actual university itself in Milton Keynes, so don't worry!

painted_lady

I did my degree the traditional way, but am doing a masters with the OU. It takes a bit of getting used to how it works, but it is good as it fits in with my other commitments better than other courses. I do prefer traditional learning, but I went to all my tutorials last year and like how you can be flexible with when you study, but this does require more discipline than usual courses. Overall, I would say go for it if you are keen enough, it will work!