Distance learning degree courses - OU, University of London, any other suggestions?

DominicH

I'm thinking of doing an undergraduate degree by distance learning. Naturally I am considering the Open University. I also hear that the University of London is well-established in distance learning, and what's more it seems a bit cheaper, now that the OU has raised its fees. The fact that the UoL promotes these courses through its "international" section does leave me unsure as to whether UK residents are eligible, though. I am eligible under its general and course-specific academic criteria.

Any other universities I should be considering?

Voyager2002

There are loads and loads: decide what subject you want to study and look for reviews.

Remember that the OU fees include some face-to-face support from tutors and opportunities to meet other people doing the same course in your part of the country, as well as on-line conferencing. Remember also that OU degrees have traditionally combined a number of different subjects, while other universities have tended to offer courses that are more specialised in a single discipline.

DominicH

Voyager2002 wrote: »

There are loads and loads: decide what subject you want to study and look for reviews.

Great! Could you name some of them, because I'm not coming up with much in my searches. It's all OU and UoL.

jacques_chirac

DominicH wrote: »

Great! Could you name some of them, because I'm not coming up with much in my searches. It's all OU and UoL.

What subject are you wishing to study? A Google search brings up far more than those two.

DominicH

I'm thinking of some kind of combination of economics, computing, and/or maths. For example, Mathematics and Economics at UoL, or the OU's Computing and IT.

theoretica

There are a lot of courses out there, especially it seems in IT related fields. Many are free and while they will not give you a degree might be useful for showing enthusiasm and getting accepted onto courses.
http://www.openculture.com/free_certificate_courses

Seanymph

Have you checked OU grants - if you do it over six years you can get it for nothing if you earn under their allowance, and it's a gradual decline for funding.

You can't use their funding if it's your second degree though, only if you haven't already got one.

debrag

Seanymph wrote: »

Have you checked OU grants - if you do it over six years you can get it for nothing if you earn under their allowance, and it's a gradual decline for funding.

You can't use their funding if it's your second degree though, only if you haven't already got one.

OU grants don't exist for new students anymore, its through the SLC now like all other unis.

Portsmouth maybe - http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/#flexible

DominicH

debrag wrote: »

Portsmouth maybe - http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/#flexible

Thanks, they do have a couple of "top up" BSc Computing courses, for people who have first-year equivalent education such as HND. I also found a couple of online BSc courses at Staffordshire University.
Most places, if they offer external degrees at all, seem to lean heavily towards postgrad degrees, MBAs and so on.

Gentoo365

If you are considering UoL then make sure you find out what the tuition consists of. University of London is actually a collection of separate universities and therefore whichever degree you so will be administered by a specific institution.

Some of the undergraduate courses are not fully supported by tuition, and people in other countries purchase separately a tuition package with a local education partner.

The Open University is 'supported distance learning' and therefore (as well as excellent learning materials) there is tutor support. This used to be mostly tutorials at a local college, but more and more it is online using forums.

So whichever course you choose make sure you are happy with the tuition options you have. As even if you don't need support with the actual course material, you may need support with the various assignments exams (e.g. knowing what is expected).

There are more and more universities that offer online postgrad courses, but the choice for undergraduate courses is rather limited. Probably because the vast majority of people considering distance learning undergraduate degrees find what they want with the Open University. Also no doubt because postgraduate courses generate more profit.