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I must say, Open University has greatly let me down considering how much I have tried to pursue my goal regardless of my long-term health condition. I have decided to withdraw my relationship from Open University and enroll myself in a local university. Open University "will remain the worst institute I have ever attended in my life". It is liberal, non-conservative and inconsiderate of people struggling with hidden health conditions. I am sorry to tell you this, Open University but my review is based upon true circumstances that have for a long time affected my study pursuits. But does Open University care? I don't think so at all.My handshake with Open University bids thee farewell. Thy discrimination and inconsideration has corrupted my trust in ye all.Conclusion:In-fact, The Open University does not really offer any interesting alternative modules. I found out about this after a rigid research.It is a shame I have wasted my time with the institute amidst periods of a health disability. This is NOT AN INSTITUTE THAT CONSIDERS THE DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY INDIVIDUALS UNDERGOING LONG-TERM HIDDEN HEALTH CONDITIONS. Do NOT waste your time here.

Lack of support throughout a whole year has lead me here. I asked for help in December, didn't receive it, got marked down, put in a complaint which is still on going even in August, this has affected the rest of my studies and has meant I've lost out on the final results I need no matter how hard I try from here on out.Go to a real university if you can, but if you have to go here, don't expect any meaningful help, prepare to be alone.

I wasted nearly five years of my life on this, though I should say my first four were fine, passing each "with distinction". The fifth year undid it all – twice.We were allocated "associate" teachers as tutors. The most I learned from them was that one was frequently on twitter, swearing at political opponents. The other had health issues, which may have explained his erratic, eccentric, ignorant and inappropriate marking. Twice, I gave up.It wasn't just four years-plus down the drain. It was the souring of a lifelong interest – five decades from my teens – in the subject. To this day, I cannot even glance at my large library of books about it without feeling upset.I should say that it's perhaps different with science or tech subjects which, being more objective, may be subject to less flaky tutoring. But, for other subjects at least, I advise you most earnestly to think carefully. Chances are you'll be assigned under-qualified, capricious tutors. Lastly, I agree with other reviewers who point out that the OU's primary focus is on money.n.b. I've thought long and hard about this review. Reviewing is something I never normally do. But I feel strongly about this matter, and hope I am doing a service.

At 43 years old, having spent my life dedicated to education, I have never encountered a tutor as shockingly rude and utterly unprofessional as Lynn Dellar. She is responsible for delivering math modules, and in my opinion, she has single-handedly tarnished the reputation of the entire university. It’s glaringly obvious why she’s stuck here - no respectable mainstream university would ever tolerate someone like her. Among the academic groups I’m involved with, her name is synonymous with arrogance and an atrocious attitude. Lynn, if you happen to see this, know that your condescending behaviour doesn't make you superior, it highlights your own failures. You’ve not only failed your students but also yourself as an educator.

I completed a Mathematics degree with the Open University. It was hard work - sometimes I failed and had to reset exams - but I adapted and completed. Since then it's changed my life - the job opportunities that I have enjoyed would not have been possible without the doors that this degree has afforded me. It's given me the skills and competencies to take on any challenge. In short it's changed my life for the better.

I have just completed the 1st year of the Business Management degree. The material supplied was good and had everything included to help you succeed. My tutor was helpful. My only small complaint would be that I found the tutorials were not beneficial and I found it more productive to miss these and just to study myself.

I'm surprised this university hasn't lost its accreditation yet. The online exams are a joke, and cheating is extremely easy. In fact, they don't even know who is taking the exam, nor do they care. If your goal is just to get a degree, this is your place. Granted, you are unlikely to get a first, and the certificate may end up being a worthless piece of paper.

I loved it at first, but after my first year I found the tutors unhelpful. TMA feedback was vague and not constructive. The marking was inconsistent and my experience with the open university damaged my mental health

I'm four years into a six year part time degree, things have got so bad with support that I'm considering not continuing with my studies. I have a disability and have really basic support around having telephone tutorials with my tutor. Arranging this support has been problematic every single year no matter how much I try or how early I request it. It's made the whole experience so much more stressful than it needs to be. It took about six hours of my time (no joke) to arrange a phone call with my tutor and speaking to about 7 different people in the OU.I put in a formal complaint about it all, they were supposed to respond by June 5th and I've just been updated that I won't get a reply until the end of July at the earliest.

It's basically ran by PHD students barely more qualified than those they are teaching. They use a strict marking structure because that's how they were taught and thus the same repetitive and inane teaching methods persist. Yet somehow they all give completely different marks. I had a tutor mark me so low, only for a substitute to come in and mark me higher and then my original tutor came back and it was low marks again. I work on the feedback but they always focus on what is wrong. And if you try and use initiative and so something original it gets marked down because they don't have eh ability to actually understand your work and thus make it respectively. I had no idea we had to stick solely to course materials on all occasions, j thought this was an independent thinking establishment.In the end it is just a factory that churns out meaningless degrees. The learning experience is non existent. Tutors are lazy and entitled and absolutely nobody at the Uni knows how to handle issues regarding disability, be it physical or mental.A money making scheme under the guise of a learning institute. They couldn't care less about us. They only value money.

It beggars belief that this university hasn’t lost its accreditation yet. Since transitioning to online assessments—a unilateral decision made solely by the university to cut costs—it has lost all its credibility. In some modules, exams are conducted online without cameras, meaning the university has no way of knowing who is actually taking the exam or if there are multiple people collaborating. Even in modules that require cameras, they have no means to verify that the person behind the screen is indeed the enrolled student. The university is receiving scathing reports from external examiners, who recommend a return to in-person exams. You’d think they would reconsider their position, but no, they continue to experiment with students without their consent. Next year, they are attempting online invigilation. So we are paying high fees only to be subjects of a study. If you want to carry out tests, go and pay students to be your guinea pigs. Do yourself a favour and find a different university. Once you’re in, if you want to leave, you won’t be able to transfer your Level 1 modules to any other university.

Im currently wrapping up my fourth of supposedly 6 years of OU. Please steer clear. Its a massive waste of an egregious amount of time and money. You'll be spending over 3k per year, for 6 years, for a couple of books and access to a terrible website.If you like the idea of teaching yourself advanced material then you can do so for free.As it stands this is an awful racket of an institution that paywalls a over priced and under valued degree that isnt worth the paper it isnt printed on in 2024 anyway.Avoid at all costs. Awful place.

I urge anyone who is interested in studying with The Open University to stay well away from them. I started my course in October 2022, and the lack of support is terrible. I was promised daily support from the university, which never happened. whenever I needed any support I was the one who had to reach out to them and wouldn't hear back for around two weeks. The learning materials are also not very clear. Stear well clear from this institution.

Well, I'm a few years into my course now with the OU and I am deciding to write this review and give them a generous two stars. I don't think it's all bad, but there are lots of things wrong with the OU that need sorting out!I enjoyed my first few modules on this course as I had good tutors / lecturers and got good marks (even passed a few assignments and a module with distinction) and you can gain some good knowledge if you put the work in. This is the reason for the two-star review! However, the course gets harder as it goes along, and this is where the OU seems to let itself down! My course has unfortunately gotten worse the further in I have progressed and I'm now starting to find it very, very frustrating!You would think that the quality of the teaching would improve as the course progresses and gets more complex but in fact, it has gone the other way! The further into the course you get, the more the lecturers don't seem to care about you and the worse the online lectures get! Most of the lecturer’s I’ve personally experienced with the Open University don't care about their students and it is potluck as to whether you get a good one (like I said I did have good ones on my first few modules!). During the last few modules, help has been virtually non-existent. If you e-mail your tutor and ask for help, they simply just e-mail you a link to an online activity or a page in the provided book that most of the time has nothing to do with what you are asking them. Appalling really! Given the amount of money you pay to study with the OU…this should not be the case! You seem to be completely on your own and if you are clueless, stuck, don’t know and desperately need help…tough! As for the online lectures. Well, they are shockingly bad! I have now stopped attending them altogether. In my last module I did not attend a single one and still managed to pass! Another thing that I also find frustrating is the OU expect us to answer and complete questions in TMA’s that are not even included in the curriculum! I have experienced questions included in TMA’s that I have not even studied or looked at in that particular module! Why? Following the recommended weekly activity schedule that is provided by them is a total waste of time when this is the case! I am now planning on doing a few more modules in order to gain the credits needed to complete my Diploma and then…I am calling it quits! I am not staying on to complete the degree which is what I initially planned to do. So, I think 2 stars is more than generous and fair as I don’t think it is ‘all’ bad but the things that let the OU down need sorting out and the problem is...they 'don't' seem to be doing anything 'to' sort it out! If the OU want to stop getting bad reviews then they need to do something about it and improve their helpfulness towards students!

DO NOT sign up for the Open University I'd you have any disability that affects your concentration or memory or anything. There is nobody interested in supporting you. I am a current W111& 112 Law student and I have been hitting nothing but brick walls since before the course began. GREG MARTIN D140...6

I'm doing a degree in criminology - very few complaints. I have a year to go. My tutors have been good and I'm getting my degree funded by the part time fee grant. It is hard work and you need to be motivated.

Am given 5 stars from 2017 & 2018 great time & amazing I had & passed two courses.Ever since the pandemic things don't seem the same anywhere & The Open University in Scotland, down Hill its went.I think students should receive weekly or preferred bursaries. As they don't support enough finances & some tutors are off there rocker since the pandemic I came out twice due to nasty pieces eh work of tutors, use can do much much better for students & help & push us to our potential.Not sure if I want to return to finish. It's quiet sad.

Fantastic!I've been with OU for 4 years now and they have been brilliant. I got the support from them and advises for my next steps. Even when you have to defer the modules it's not a problem and you'll not lose money if you take those modules back next year. I've dropped out of school when I was teenager and now combining studies with full time job and family life would be hectic if it wouldn't be for Open University. planning to finish it in 2025 and will potentially looking to do more with them.

Cannot recommend for ND students. Levels of support are poor. Little to any contact with your tutor. They are more interested in the revenue that comes from students enrolling on their courses. The course material is boring and prescribed, and it you are studying English related subjects they expect you to focus on referencing the weird textbooks they send you. Wider reading is discouraged which is bizarre and contrary to rigorous research within standard red brick universities.Oh and if you're looking to get a First with the OU, you'll need to achieve 85% and above for your assignments/exams compared to 70% for a conventional university.

I studied for my 1st degree at a brick uni in the 90s. You went to lectures and sat final exams there was little feedback. Doing my 2nd degree with ou. I am v happy with the experience in comparison. Good materials. V good tutors (apart from one I quickly complained about). Excellent feedback from tutors. Doing a language studies BA.

“The Open University”

The Open University High Quality Distance Learning Degrees Set up by the British Government in 1969 the OU ( http://www.open.ac.uk/) Offers top quality, flexible, distance learning degree programmes. Some programmes are available worldwide, some just in Europe – most courses require a short time each year at a summer school or other seminar session. The qualifications are highly respected and probably harder than going to a full time university campus course – most of the OU students are also trying to hold down a job / raise a family etc. Not cheap, but most OU degrees are judged as very good value. For free of charge introductory course and forums check out openlearn.open.ac.uk.