Open University

[tgrigg]

Im hopefully going to do this course Bachelor of Science (Honours) Computing with Business at the open university, i was just wondering has anybody done a course at the open university and could tell me what it is like. Also could recommend how many course's I should take at the same time?

[stytagm]

I didn't do one myself, but when I did my MSc, the best guy on my course had done his BSc (in computing) at the OU.

They're definately good courses, and well respected. As for how much to do at once, I can't help, it depends on how much time you have and howgood you are at motivating yourself I suppose.

Good luck anyway.

[Elmo]

My bf started an OU course in computing in january, as far as i know it's quite good, but he's doing the easy bit at the moment, so it's not really affecting him.

[Swafe]

Are OU courses still 3 years like normal degrees?

Are they as hard?

[Twigman]

My mums doing one now...2 years in.
They are all credits. Normal university is 120 credits a year. This is full time.
Quite a lot of units are 60 points so half time.
I think my mum is doing 1 a year so its part time work and she finishs in 2 years or something.
You could do it all full time.
You do need a lot of motivation tbh.
They are well respected and are hard. You need 85+ to get a first and things...its hard.
The module my mum is doing at the mo, they take all your essays through the year for you coursework mark, and you do a normal exam. They take the lower of those two marks for your final mark, which does sound a little harsh to me, but it makes people know.
They are resonably expensive...I think the one my mum is doing this year is £495? But they do vary quite a lot.

[Kezzer]

Are OU courses still 3 years like normal degrees?

Are they as hard?

This is the thing with OU courses. It's all down to you on how much you want to take on board. Most commonly OU degrees take 6 years because obviously it's part-time. On the other hand i do know a few people who did them in 3 years full time. I also know people who did it in 5 years whilst working full time and doing the degree part time. It all depends on how much you can take on board

I did a module with the OU in 2003 whilst studying for my AVCE full time. It was a level 1 module so not too difficult. I quite liked it. Since i live in the CI my tutor wasn't available to me as it would be to many english folk so we had phone conferences etc.

EDIT: Both my parents have started OU degrees this year as well

EDIT EDIT: If you haven't studied with the OU before then you should start off on a level 1 module (just the one). After that you should know how much you can take on board

[tiggerai]

My Dad did OU BSc Computing... WAAAAAY back when computers filled rooms

He seems to have got a lot out of it too...

(for all you geeky people out there, he worked with a LEO when he was at BP)

[TeePee]

I'm doing an OU degree in Psychology.

It's all modular, with most courses being 60 points, and 360 points required for a BSc. from some compulsory and a selection of optional courses. I'm currently doing two courses and 120 points which is supposed to be the equivalent of full time study. Each of my courses requires one assignment a month, mainly essays but also Quantitative and qualitative studies which take a lot of time. Theres also a huge amount of reading to do. I'm putting in the mimimum required hours (because I'm lazy) and do about 15 hours a week. They say the average full time university student does 18 hours work (including lectures) per week.

[Kezzer]

Yup, that's one thing with the OU, because of lack of lectures obviously you have to do a LOT of reading. The good thing is the material they provide is super high quality and highly organised