Open Uni advice?

happyandcontented

BorisThomson wrote: »

This is wrong, or at least misleading.

The OU uses a different marking scheme to traditional universities. The percentage mark boundaries are higher, but the standard of work to reach said boundaries is lower than that at a traditional university. Hence the standards required to reach a certain classification are on a par with other universities.

I see, how is that quantified and by whom?

BorisThomson

happyandcontented wrote: »

I see, how is that quantified and by whom?

See my edit, all the information is on their website. The external body is the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

WibblyGirly

I completed one module at the OU and really enjoyed it and it helped me get into a brick uni. I was minimum wage though, so going to brick uni and getting the loans meant I'd get the degree done faster. If I'd stayed at OU I'd still be doing now and working minimum wage retail.
Some brick uni's offer Masters courses that accept students based on experience and these can be done part time, have you looked into wether that might be suitable for you?

StevenB12

WibblyGirly wrote: »

I completed one module at the OU and really enjoyed it and it helped me get into a brick uni. I was minimum wage though, so going to brick uni and getting the loans meant I'd get the degree done faster. If I'd stayed at OU I'd still be doing now and working minimum wage retail.
Some brick uni's offer Masters courses that accept students based on experience and these can be done part time, have you looked into wether that might be suitable for you?

Sadly the nearest Uni to me would mean travel which would disrupt work, the OU was more of a convenience factor than anything. The uni here is about 25 minutes away from me by car which is fine in it's self but would mean I would have to change a lot around at work and in truth would probably have to find another job. At least with the OU I can work around what I am doing now.

bagpuss38

Hi,
I'm currently in my 4 year of a 6 year degree in psychology. I could have doubled up my modules to complete it faster but working full time and having young children I decided to pace myself.
I have taken out student loans in order to finance my degree but felt I needed to invest in myself.
I'm not going to lie it is hard work, most of it is self taught. There are tutorials both online and at brick uni that you can attend but it's not compulsory.
I would say the expected standard of work is higher than say a brick uni, at my sons uni 70 is a first however for the ou you need 85+
It's the best thing I've ever done and despite the tears and tantrums, the essays written into the wee small hours I'm very happy so far
Best of luck with whatever you decide.

GwylimT

bagpuss38 wrote: »

I would say the expected standard of work is higher than say a brick uni, at my sons uni 70 is a first however for the ou you need 85+.

It's the other way around, due to the work standard the OU requires a higher percentage to gain a first. An assignment from the OU gaining 85% would gain 70% at a traditional uni. It is fully explained by the OU if you have a quick look.

I studied at the OU (almost 20 years ago, and at a red brick. Achieveing a first at the red brick was far harder and it had negaitve marking unlike the OU. Negative marking is evil!

theoretica

Are there any ways of combining your current skills with your interests? Engineering for animals or wildlife in some way.

zagubov

GwylimT wrote: »

It's the other way around, due to the work standard the OU requires a higher percentage to gain a first. An assignment from the OU gaining 85% would gain 70% at a traditional uni. It is fully explained by the OU if you have a quick look.

I studied at the OU (almost 20 years ago, and at a red brick. Achieveing a first at the red brick was far harder and it had negaitve marking unlike the OU. Negative marking is evil!

You're both saying the same thing. I've been an OU tutor, and have the utmost respect for it.

It worries me about the UK that we didn't expand it when we needed more students to have degrees, although that was probably the point when our governments decided to never make a right or smart decision about education again.

StevenB12

theoretica wrote: »

Are there any ways of combining your current skills with your interests? Engineering for animals or wildlife in some way.

Sadly I don't think so.

While there are jobs where Engineering/Construction can come into play as part of Animal Conservation etc, it's not really a direct job in working with Animals. As far as the conservation side goes in being able to mix both roles, that's about all I can think of.

jobbingmusician

Well, it immediately springs to mind that Supervet might be open to an additional engineer working on his orthopedic implants.....