degree paid for my work

Wyndham

You're asking someone for money. It's like going to the bank to ask for a business loan - you need to be clear on your 'business plan' and why you should get the money. From what you've said on here, I'm with your manager, as it's not clear why you think the money is justified.

You need to work out two things - first of all why you want a degree yourself (again, I'm not clear) and second of all, how it will benefit your employer.

Also, why did you give up your other degree - are you sure the same thing won't happen again?

Errata

It seems very odd that two years doing a psychology degree could allow someone to complete a Business Studies degree by only doing its final year.
This is something that needs to be thoroughly checked out before approaching an employer for funding.

Lovelyjoolz

Errata wrote: »

It seems very odd that two years doing a psychology degree could allow someone to complete a Business Studies degree by only doing its final year.
This is something that needs to be thoroughly checked out before approaching an employer for funding.

It won't. The OP will need to complete the whole degree course. The Business Studies degree I took (BA honours degree) was pretty much full time in lectures. Where the psycology students at my uni did between 6 and 20 hours a week in lecture halls and seminars, we were in for between 24 and 32 hours a week. For three years.

Granted, I know very little on how OU works, but I can't see how you can condense that so I assume a part-time degree course will take 4 years plus?

t0rt0ise

Why don't you finish your psychology degree. If you actually passed the second year then you will only need to do one year full time or two years part time. if you didn't actually pass the year but dropped out before the end of the year then you will need to do two years full time or four years part time.

ironlady2022

Agree you need to outline what the learning outcomes are and link it to benefits in your job. It will be hard to justify from a job that's 'transactional' if I may say. If its financial then maybe you can argue and say you want to be a financial advisor...again it may be better to look into if you actually want to proceed in the banking industry. I worked in a bank as a sakes consultant for 2.5 years. I explored the opportunities to move up but it wasn't for me and I pursued another career.

dizzyrascal

You can do a credit transfer of any previous degree level study but it must be a close match to the qualification you want to end up with. Therefore, if you aim to take your credits to the OU for a psychology degree, they may give you some credit for the modules that you have already passed. (There is no guarantee that you will be awarded the 2 years you have already studied, you may only get 1 year.)
If you want a relevant business degree then you will have to start over but you may get funding for some of it.
You can do an Open degree at the OU which will give you an honours degree but not in a named subject. This means that you could take your current credits, accept whatever transfer credits they offer, and then complete your degree with Business/Finance modules. You will need to aim for a 2:1 in these current economic times if you aim to use it to get on a graduate scheme and you will need to be prepared to explain what you think you have gained from your different aspects of your study.
Psychology is a very useful degree though and often any degree will help your career.
Your line manager should see this application as ambition, and an attempt by you to develop your career. Most employers should embrace the fact that you want to improve your education but obviously there is a risk that you may leave.
If I were you I would draft a personal statement that covers why you want to complete a degree and where you see yourself once you have completed it.
From what you have said on here it just looks like you have drifted into this job and are a bit stuck as to what to do next. I think the bank will want to see some real passion for their organisation and the work you do before they will want to fund a degree. But first, I think you need to think about where you really want to be and then make some plans.

Annisele

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

Hmm you might be right there. He said he doesnt want to spend an hour on something (all he has to do is click submit but ok) that will be rejected. Reckon hes worried about himself and how he looks.

I don't think you're being entirely fair to your manager there.

If he's doing his job properly, he'll want to review your application before he clicks the submit button. Reviewing takes time - and means he'll have to go back to you with feedback if he thinks your application isn't as strong as it could be.

And yes, of course he's worried about himself and how he looks! If he agrees to spend the bank's time/money on something that doesn't actually benefit the bank, he doesn't look like a very good manager.

His main argument though is that he personally doesnt see the point in degrees because he doesnt have one. And that you dont need one to move up in the bank. I understand that but I still would like to do one, and I dont know what the future holds so I may not even end up in the bank.

Again, I think you're being a bit unfair to the guy. It seems clear that you could move up several levels from where you are without having a degree. Plus, there comes a point in most careers where experience trumps degree anyway.

If you want to do a degree for yourself, that's great. If you want the bank to pay for it - either in time or money - you've got to say why it benefits the bank. If you don't need it to move up in the bank, and you can do your current job, your boss's job, and your boss's boss's job without it - where's the benefit for the bank?

If your line manager can't see how the study would benefit the bank, then IMO he has a duty to say no - so you don't waste head office's time.

I also wouldnt want to do a finance only degree as that would limit me in the future. Also I know I may have to do the full 3 years, but again thats not his problem.Its not coming out of his pocket. All he's agreeing to is that he supports the application i.e. time off, which I dont even need as its in the evenings.

If you're asking for funding for something, it's usually best to pin down exactly how much funding you want before you apply for it. An open ended "might be one year, might be three" is far less likely to be approved than "I want £4837 to do course X at Y university, I've been accepted for the course, and it starts on [date[".

Finance degrees don't limit you to only working in finance. People with history degrees don't all become historians!