OU anybody?

[Thomzo]

Hi
Has anybody ever done a course at the Open University. I'm kinda thinking about going back to Uni when my contract ends. I can't find a course I fancy locally and don't particularly want to move at the moment so I was thinking about trying an OU one. But I wonder just how much support and motivation you get from the tutors. I need a lot of nagging sometimes.

Any comments would be gratefully received.

Cheers
Zoe

[red]

i did an OU course once in IT and web design stuff. it was a new course.. and frankly they were not sorted out yet. there was very little teaching.. more like instructions to go find out. eg there was reams of info on 'team building' and nothing on web design..
I quit the course when I got 97% awarded for my web page layout. one mark deducted for not having a 'last edited' thing - ok fair enough. and one marks for splitting an infinative.

Now I do realise that grammar and in particular spelling are not my strong points. but to lose more marks for a point of grammar ona course based on IT because it was something that annoyed the tutor annoyed the hell out of me.. it became clear that I could learn what i wanted to learn by myself (the course was set up that way anyway), and so I left.

Having said all that - I know lots of people that got on fine with OU, so perhap it wa just that course being new and the tutor frankly being out of his depth.

[Bluemoon]

Have you considered going to a 'proper' university? I was a mature student and it's not nearly as bad as you imagine it's going to be.

[mrsflibble]

azjh77: do you mean this one?

[Thomzo]

Thanks Guys.
How did I miss that other thread???? I have done a year at our local college doing an art course and got on really well. The main problem is that the local college doesn't run the sort of course I want to do. They tried doing an A level in Environmental science and only about 3 of us turned up so they cancelled it.

The OU allow you to put together a degree course that suits you. I'd like to do some environmental science but I'd also like to study English and maybe some design modules as well. I don't know what it would lead to but they are areas that I am interested in.

Thanks for the tip about new courses. I will certainly check out how long the courses have been running. No point being a guinea pig.

The other advantage about the OU is that I can study between contracts. That way I won't have the money worries.

Cheers
Zoe

[rockchick]

Whatever you do, make sure you ban yourself from forums when you have a deadline. I have an assignment tomorrow - d'oh! Its that old problem that as soon as you have a deadline, absolutely everything else in the world is a squillion times more interesting, you have to turn the computer on anyway, so what's the harm in checking? Who am I kidding, I am off to do some work.

[Thomzo]

Get back to work Rockchick

And I give you my full permission to nag me when my time comes.

[rockchick]

Thanks for the nag! Got it in, not my best work but now all I need to worry about is an exam - eek! Haven't done one for 10 years, apart from driving theory multiple guess, but that doesn't count. Am sure tutor will give me some tips.

[Thomzo]

Ooooh - good luck.

The last "exam" I did was the Microsoft Excel Expert one and that was more like a computer game so I'm not sure it counts.

I didn't have to do any exams for the art course so that might be a big downside of going back to uni.

Zoe