Open University Milton Keynes

...to the review of the Open University but I thought it would be interesting to compare (and contrast) the two, based on my experiences (having studied three 60 point OU courses and enrolled for a further 90 points worth due to start) and impressions of the OU and 'proper' i.e. conventional university. This is as much for myself as for anyone who happens to stumble across this review however, as I need to decide between the two (Cov Uni v Open Uni, ...
...I first learned of the Open University back in 1994 as a 13-year-old stroppy teenager. My mum decided to get herself a degree to prove to everyone she wasn't thick (her words, nobody has ever thought her "thick") and so she sent off for the thick newspaper-style prospectus and hummed and hahed for a few weeks over which course to do. Of course she knew all the long which course she was going to sign up for: A103 An Introduction to the Humanities, ... more

Well, recently, i.e. last week I started a degree course at a "proper" University. Coventry University to be precise. This is not really all that valid to the review of the Open University but I thought it would be interesting to compare (and contrast) the two, based on my experiences (having studied three 60 point OU courses and enrolled for a further 90 points worth due to start) and impressions of the OU and 'proper' i.e. conventional university. This is as much for myself as for anyone who happens to stumble across this review however, as I need to decide between the two (Cov Uni v Open Uni, in case you're a bit confused), and I need to do it fast!

* * * My Background with the OU * * *

I first learned of the Open University back in 1994 as a 13-year-old stroppy teenager. My mum decided to get herself a degree to prove to everyone she wasn't thick (her words, nobody has ever thought her "thick") and so she sent off for the thick newspaper-style prospectus and hummed and hahed for a few weeks over which course to do. Of course she knew all the long which course she was going to sign up for: A103 An Introduction to the Humanities, because she wanted to study for an English degree, and they recommended you start with one of the few level 1 courses - I'll go into a bit more detail on level one courses later.

My mum started her course which is, as the title suggests, an introduction to humanities, broadly comprising little snapshots of art history, english language and literature, music and philosophy etc. I don't remember much other than she failed her music assignment (TMA in OU speak), she spent hours every night studying in the dining room cum office and she loved it. So much in fact that she changed her mind and continued with her studies in the field of Art History and English Language rather than English Lit.

Later courses proved more stressful, and I was summoned into the dining room cum office to assist with reading these assignments, show her 'flash-card style' cards with key terms on etc etc, and our entire house became a shrine to her revision mind-maps and all the rest....

But did all this put me off embarking on an OU course myself? Haha, no way. Finding myself one day moving out from my parents home, in love and abandoning plans of going to a cool university down in London somewhere where I could party the night away, and enjoy copious amounts of studying of course, I decided to get an OU degree myself. I was 19, and wanted to study for a law degree so I chose DD100 An Introduction to the Social Sciences...

* * * My OU Courses * * *

DD100 An Introduction to the Social Sciences

This is a level one course, equivalent to the first year of a degree in a conventional university. It is 60 points and you need 360 for a full degree with honours, so it's one sixth of a degree. The course covers many topics from social sciences, such as psychology, law, criminology, sociology, geography, economics etc and by just completing the course (obviously you must also pass) you gain a Certifcate of Higher Education in Social Sciences. I passes, so I have this certificate of thingymajig and I have letters after my name. Yay! But I digress...

I found this course very interesting. Having initially started it intending to do a law degree I found myself becoming more and more interested in a variety of other subjects, such as philosophy, psychology and criminology. Some of it, e.g. economics bored me stiff however, but there's not too much of any one subject to be too much of a heartache. Honestly! I did quite well on this course, completed my assignments and passed the course (and gained the qualification giving me letters after my name - did I already mention that?)

K202 Care, Welfare and Community

This course is focussed on social care in the UK. You learn about what it's like to have a disability or an illness, and what care systems are in force, as well as stigmas attached to having a disability, especially a mental disability. It's a specified course on the Social Work or Social Policy or Health and Social Care degrees.

In a nutshell, I hated this course. I found it tedious and it focussed too much on how to be politically correct when dealing with people who have disabilities. I got quite high marks (in the 70%s) but just couldn't keep motivated and interested, so dropped out. A shame. I'll just add here that it was my personal viewpoint of this course and many people who were studying it with me, I know, thoroughly enjoyed it. (So if you've done this course and think I'm being unfair, don't be offended).

U205 Health and Disease

A course all about health and disease, different types of illness. Not all that much biology, more focussing on what it's like to be ill. First assignment is on hysteria, quite fascinating.

I loved this course. Sadly missed the exam and didn't complete it but it was fantastic.

* * * So what does an OU course entail? * * *

I'll write this section using my experience of the level one course, DD100.

You can now enrol on this course starting in either October or February, but back in 2001 when I studied it, you could only start in February. A few weeks before the course started I received a welcome pack in the post, giving me a little 'taster' of what was to come. There was some reading about white collar crime and some questions, asking if I'd ever stolen a pen from work etc. So far so good, it was interesting.

Very early, I think it was even before Christmas of 2000, I got my first despatch of materials. Now I was worried as it contained four thick textbooks, lots of printed materials, three or so videos and cassette tapes (they now do CDs) , some assignment forms, and paperwork detailing my personal tutor, tutorials to be held in Durham University (oooh), a CD to access their IT facilities, FirstClass and tons more. I looked on my course timetable to find that these materials were for the first three months of the course, before I would get more! Oh no.

It turned out to be not so bad though, after all that worrying. You receive a course timetable which lists the weeks from the start of the course to the finish. It looks a bit like this:

Week 1 Read Bk 1 Ch.1 Watch Video 1
Week 2 Read Bk 1 Ch.2 Watch TV 1
Week 3 Read Bk 1 Ch.3 Listen to CD 1
Week 4 Assignment 1 (due such-and-such-a-date)

So you quickly work out exactly what you have to do each week, in what order, when the assignment is due, etc. You look through all the bits of paper you've received, load the CDROM onto the computer and install the FirstClass software (more about this later) and chat to all the other new people studying the same course as you, or anyone interested in chess or muppetania or whatever you're into, and leave the books for another day.

The next day, you open the first textbook and start reading, highlighting your nice new books and writing all over them, stopping to answer any questions etc and just keep reading until you a.) fall asleep, b.) decide the children really do need some food now or c.) the book tells you to do something else, e.g. watch part of a video programme or look in your workbook.

Once you've got familiar with this you can introduce the assignment (TMA - Tutor Marked Assignment), and begin trying to look for hints on answering the assignment questions as you work through the material.

As hinted at before (and talked about later on - is there a word limit for these reviews?), you get a tutor who arranges regular tutorials and is also on hand via email or telephone for assingment extentions... ahem, I mean to answer any queries about the course.

* * * Tutors and Tutorials * * *

You get a personal tutor (now called AL for associate lecturer for some reason) who will write to you welcoming you to the course and giving you her details - address for posting assignments to, telephone number and email, along with preferred times for you to contact them.

Lose your tutor's address info at your peril, because more than once you might find yourself driving to his/her house at 1 minute to midnight to deliver your assignment.

Your tutor will also arrange frequent tutorials. These could be once a fortnight, to once every two months depending on how many other students and what the tutor wants to do. They are normally in a classroom at your local university and you will have a chat amongst the group about a certain part of the course, though I've heard some tutors do have real lectures, where they talk and you sit there manically writing it all down.

* * * FirstClass * * *

Ah, the best bit. When you join you'll be given a user id to access the firstclass software. When you first sign into the site you enter in your details and have access to your course(s), tutor(s) etc, along with electronic versions of the timetable, assignment deadlines etc. You have an email address and access to a forum-style application where you can chat to people on your course (or indeed, any other course you like, they are all there), or as mentioned before, click on a topic that interests you, e.g. babycare, chess, knitting, insomnia or whatever and start typing.

There's also some academic-type links, e.g. law, psychology, 120-pointers (for people doing 120 points, usually 2 60 point courses together, aiming to complete the degree in three years), 10-pointers (short introductory courses which are fantastic).

* * * What courses and qualifications are available * * *

Right, where do I start... Well firstly, there are 10-point courses. These can normally be completed in either 2 or 5 months and cost around £85-£100 each. There's topics ranging from Introduction to Children, to Leonardo and Shakespeare. They're ideal if you need to make up a few points for your degree or you just want to study for studing sake.

Most people start with a 60 point level one course. These are quite limited and basically are A103 (Humanities), DD100 (Social Sciences), S103 (Sciences). K100 (Health) and a new one W100 (Law).

You then move on to levels two and three and there are hundreds of courses to choose, from 15 point summer school courses, to 30 and 60 points in almost every subject imaginable. As an example, for my Psychology degree I would do:
DD100 (already completed)
SK277 Human Biology (30P)
DSE212 Exploring Psychology
SD226 Exploring the Brain (30P)
ED209 Child Development
DD303 Cognitive Psychology
D317 Social Psychology

With the last five courses being the compulsory ones.

* * * Which is Better Then? * * *

Course Materials:-
For this, the OU wins hands down. Its materials are very organised, you basically pick up the first textbook of a series and start reading until the textbook informs you to do otherwise. One book lasts a certain period, e.g. a month, and is split up into 'weekly' chapters. You generally don't need any other materials, as the entire workload is packed into the OU's own course materials. This is good in the sense that everyone has access to the same materials, thus it is very fair. But a little bad in my view, as it means you're not encouraged to become an independant learner as much as with a conventional Uni where you have to find the materials you need for yourself.

Overall though, I think the OU wins this one.

Tutoring:-
I think conventional Uni has to win this one. Whilst OU tutorials are fun, and you do have a tutor on hand by telephone or email to answer any queries you might have about your subject, nothing beats face-to-face tuition where you can be actively involved in a discussion.

One to conventional Uni.

Discussions with your peers:
Gotta be another one for the OU. The FirstClass software is excellent and there are several in-depth discussions on there every day. Tutorials are very interactive too, due to not having a high frequency of them. It's not that conventional university students don't talk about course issues, I'm sure they do, but there is less of a need to if you're able to see each other every day.

One to the OU.

Coursework and Exam Marking:
This is definitely one to conventional universities. For the OU, to get a first class pass, i.e. Pass One, or First, you need to achieve 85% average for assignments and also 85% in the exam. The lowest band of either coursework or the exam will be the grade you get, so if you were to average 95% in assignments but screwed the exam and got 72%, you'd end up with a Pass Two, or Upper Second. In conventional Uni (well, Coventry anyway) you only need to achieve 70% for a First, and they average the coursework and the exam together.

One for conventional Uni.

Cost:
University tuition fees are £1175 this year, and 60 point OU courses average around £460 each, so £920 equivalent. There's not an awful lot in it really though, and some of the OU courses are more expensive, e.g. law courses are £1500+ each, and you need four of them to get your degree. Obviously the OU is cheaper in real terms. The courses are a little cheaper and no need for extras such as textbooks, childcare, beer money etc

One to the OU.

Time:
Conventional Uni is three years, full time. Full time usually means you have a few hours spare each day though, so I'd guess around 20 hours total study time. 120 points a year with the OU would require more than this, probably around 30 hours. But then it depends on the course, how quickly you want to achieve your degree, how much time you can devote and a range of other factors. It's also flexible to study with the OU.

I'll give them a point each ;-)

Module Options:
I find the OU quite interesting in that you can go for a degree in a subject such as Law, or Psychology, and have a certain amount of compulsory courses, as with conventional universities. My Psychology degree for example, I have 60 points of compulsory modules this year, 30 points of psychology module options and 30 points of 'free' module options, though they have to fit in my timetable so aren't truly 'free' and they kinda expect you to take a language. 2nd and 3rd years I have 15 points each of 'free' module choices, so that's 60 'free' module points in the whole degree. With the OU, I have 255 complusory modules, the rest are 'free', that's 105. There is a huge range of module options and I can take any amount, any level and whenever I want to. I also don't have the 'pain' of having to choose 30 points of 60 points worth of Psychology 'options' with the OU, so once again, everyone is equal.

One point to the OU.

Facilities:
Hmm, well the OU has no facilities as such but there is a library at their Milton Keynes campus, and they have links with other universities so students can use their facilities. Plus, the online library with the OU is excellent.

I guess the conventional uni gets this one, though not by much

Social Life:
Conventional uni wins again, though FirstClass is fun and many 'meet-ups' are arranged, as well as the tutorials.

One to the 'proper' Uni.

* * * SUMMARY * * *

I think that worked out 5 all, in the scores ^^^.

I've never ever heard of a single OU student who was not happy with their course. I don't know if motivation is much higher in someone who is prepared to work hard at home with limited support, so they appreciate it more, but it's true. And actually, I've just received in my hotmail inbox an OU newsletter which includes the results of a survey saying OU students are much more happy with their university than other students.

The OU is good. Excellent in fact. But I just still don't know what to do! :(

http://www.open.ac.uk
Full article of OU students more satisfied http://www.open.ac.uk/news
For details of how to get involved with activities the OU does
http://www.openlink.org
An example online group
http://groups.msn.co.uk/dse212exploringpsychology 

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