Anyone here done an OU degree?

robfosters

robfosters

robfosters

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I have got a lot of spare time at the moment, possibly for a long time, so am considering starting one.

I would like to do Earth Sciences. I can do this in stages starting off with a Certificate of Higher Education, then a Diploma, then the degree.

The only worry I have is that possibly OU degrees are not held in the same prestige as a degree from a bricks and mortar institution.

Anyone done one and what were your experiences like?
 
robfosters said:
I have got a lot of spare time at the moment, possibly for a long time, so am considering starting one.

I would like to do Earth Sciences. I can do this in stages starting off with a Certificate of Higher Education, then a Diploma, then the degree.

The only worry I have is that possibly OU degrees are not held in the same prestige as a degree from a bricks and mortar institution.

Anyone done one and what were your experiences like?
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I know of one person who did a OU degree, he then went to a brick & mortar university afterwords for a law degree. Don't know very many people with OU degrees.

Universities seem to respect it though.
 
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robfosters said:
The only worry I have is that possibly OU degrees are not held in the same prestige as a degree from a bricks and mortar institution.
Click to expand...

Seems to be a common fear among prospective candidates, but from what everyone tells me OU degrees are generally highly regarded by employers because they show commitment and drive from students. In the only interview I've had since starting my OU course, the guy who interviewed me said my OU course was what made him sit up and take notice of my CV.

Obviously some may prefer 'proper' graduates but that certainly isn't a widely held view.

A stat the OU likes to roll out on their website, over 75% of FTSE100 companies have sponsored staff on OU courses which presumably implies that they are not a complete waste of time.
 
HangTime said:
Seems to be a common fear among prospective candidates, but from what everyone tells me OU degrees are generally highly regarded by employers because they show commitment and drive from students. In the only interview I've had since starting my OU course, the guy who interviewed me said my OU course was what made him sit up and take notice of my CV.

Obviously some may prefer 'proper' graduates but that certainly isn't a widely held view.

A stat the OU likes to roll out on their website, over 75% of FTSE100 companies have sponsored staff on OU courses which presumably implies that they are not a complete waste of time.
Click to expand...

Thanks. this has certainly allayed my fears slightly.

However, I'm not doing it just for career anyway. It's a personal development thing. I realise a lot of people have degrees, but still, imo, getting one is a huge personal achievement.
 
I'm redoing/finishing a degree at OU after dropping out of Uni having hated it, the course I was doing was painfully boring, awful lectures, dull incredibly narrow information.

So far finding the OU "version" to be far more interesting, far far better info/materials and already had to do some very basic assignments, something my uni lacked badly which is one of the reasons I never got motivated to do anything.

Personally I like that you can do an open degree rather than a predefined course, theres nothing wrong with a set course as can help you take a good well matched path of modules through a degree but, in the same way you can end up getting stuck doing modules you hate or have zero interest in.

AFAIK most work places and big companies all value OU degree's highly, a lot more than some normal uni's, less so than very good uni's. Generally people always mention that OU uni's prove you can work on your own, stick to scheduals, work hard, motivate yourself and have a lot of drive and ambition, and various other crap :p

AFAIK, if you sign up to any course before next summer, then you get to stick with "current" pricing for a degree, IE roughly £400-500 per 30 credit module, so £2k for a normal uni year of 120credits. Next year , I think if you start after August then the pricing will be the new pricing, so more like 5k a year.

Means its well worth picking up a Feb start module even if its not the best starting module or no modules start for the degree you want to do. Just do something that interests you then move to modules that you need/want next year but at a much cheaper price ;)
 
That's what I will do I think.

I will probably start on a short course just to ensure that I am happy studying in this way, rather than going out and dropping £700 on a 60 credit module.

The only thing that confuses me is that fact that you can go through the modules to pick your preferred path, but so many of the courses will end before you get a chance to do them that really you must end up choosing your path as you go along.
 
Varies a lot depending on what course/modules/level you study.

I'm doing postgraduate study and the prices have typically been roughly

15pt unit: £945-1025
30pt unit: £1200
60pt unit: £1930

My wife has done a couple of short courses at lower level which were around £170 each or something like that.
 
I think doing an OU degree of a subject relevant to your chosen career is a brilliant idea, and better than the pure uni experience (in some repsects) for the simple reason the stuff you will be learning will be directly applicable to what you are doing (if you are in work). Spending 3+ years at uni with little exposure to industry certainly has it's disadvantages in the short term.
 
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