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The Open University (OU) is a British

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

and the largest university in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- campus; many of its courses (both

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

) can also be studied anywhere in the world. There are also a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the 48-

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

university campus in Milton Keynes, where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1,000 members of academic and research staff and over 2,500 administrative, operational and support staff. The OU was established in 1969 and was initially based at Alexandra Palace, north London, using the television studios and editing facilities which had been vacated by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. The first students enrolled in January 1971. The university administration is now based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, in Buckinghamshire, but has administration centres in other parts of the United Kingdom. It also has a presence in other European countries. The university awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as non-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates or continuing education units. It also offers unique Open Degrees, in which students may study any combination of modules across all subjects. With more than 205,420 students enrolled, including around 34% of new undergraduates aged under 25 and more than 8,802 overseas students, it is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom (and one of the largest in Europe) by student number, and qualifies as one of the

world's largest universities The following is a list of largest universities in the world by country listing only the largest university in each country. This is not a list of largest individual campuses with in-person (non-distance) enrollment. This list includes distance e ...

. Since it was founded, more than 2 million students have studied its courses. The Open University is one of only two United Kingdom higher education institutions to gain

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

in the United States of America by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an institutional accrediting agency, recognised by the

United States Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities re ...

and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The BSc (Honours) Computing and IT course is accredited by

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in infor ...

and quality assured by the European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education (EQANIE). The OU won the Teaching Excellence and Digital Innovation categories in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' University Awards 2018. In 2018–19 the OU had a £2.77 billion impact on the UK economy. It also produces more CEOs than any other UK university, including universities such as

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. Former UK Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

, astrophysicist

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (; Bell; born 15 July 1943) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967. The discovery eventually earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in ...

, broadcaster

Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...

and actress

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

are among a host of well-known names who have tutored for the OU.

History

20201204205645!Royal charter of the Open University

The Open University was founded by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson was a strong advocate, using the vision of Michael Young. Planning commenced in 1965 under Minister of State for Education Jennie Lee, who established a model for the OU as one of widening access to the highest standards of scholarship in higher education, and set up a planning committee consisting of university vice-chancellors, educationalists and television broadcasters, chaired by Sir Peter Venables. The British Broadcasting Corporation (

...
) Assistant Director of Engineering at the time James Redmond, had obtained most of his qualifications at

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

, and his natural enthusiasm for the project did much to overcome the technical difficulties of using television to broadcast teaching programmes. Wilson envisaged The Open University as a major marker in the Labour Party's commitment to modernising British society. He believed that it would help build a more competitive economy while also promoting greater equality of opportunity and social mobility. The planned utilisation of television and radio to broadcast its courses was also supposed to link The Open University to the technological revolution underway, which Wilson saw as a major ally of his modernisation schemes. However, from the start, Lee encountered widespread scepticism and even opposition from within and without the Labour Party, including senior officials in the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(DES), her departmental head

Anthony Crosland Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 191819 February 1977) was a British Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual. His influential book '' The ...

, the Treasury, ministerial colleagues, such as

Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974) was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the ...

and commercial broadcasters. The Open University was realised due to Lee's unflagging determination and tenacity in 1965–67, the steadfast support from Wilson, and the fact that the anticipated costs, as reported to Lee and Wilson by Arnold Goodman, seemed very modest. By the time the actual, much higher costs became apparent, it was too late to scrap the fledgling university. The university was granted a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

by the Privy Council on 23 April 1969.

Organisation and administration

Staff

The majority of staff are part-time associate lecturers and, as of the 2009–10 academic year, almost 8,000 work for the OU. There are also 1,286 (mostly full-time) salaried academic employees (central academics based at Walton Hall and staff tutors based in a variety of regional locations) who are research active and responsible for the production and presentation of teaching materials, 1,931 who are academic-related and 1,902 support staff (including secretaries and technicians). Salaries are the OU's main cost—over £275 million for the 2009–2010 academic year. In 2010 the OU became one of the ''Sunday Times'' Best Places to Work in the Public Sector.

Credit union

Open University Employees Credit Union is a savings and loans co-operative established by the university for staff in 1994. A member of the

Association of British Credit Unions The Association of British Credit Unions Limited, commonly known as ABCUL, is the leading trade association for credit unions in Great Britain. ABCUL represents around 70% of credit unions who in turn provide services to 85% of the British credit ...

, it is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA. Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members’ savings are protected against business failure by the

Financial Services Compensation Scheme The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or li ...

Academic divisions

Faculties

In 2016, the university reorganised its departments and now operates with the Faculties of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS); the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL); the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); and the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education, Languages and Sport (WELS). It also runs Open and Access programmes via PVC-Students, and programmes from the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) via WELS.

Business school

In 1982, Open University offered a course titled, "The Effective Manager", developed by a team that was led by Charles Handy. After the reported success of the course,

Derek S. Pugh Derek Salman Pugh (31 August 1930 – 29 January 2015) was a British psychologist, business theorist and Emeritus Professor of International Management at the Open University, known for his work in the field of organisational development (OD), a ...

proposed the establishment of a business school. In 1988, the Open University Business School (OUBS) was founded by the Faculty of Management department, for which professor Andrew Thomson was appointed to head. Thomson's main goal was the offering of an MBA programme, which was eventually funded through a grant from the DES. In 1989, the first class of MBA students were enrolled. The Open University Business School is accredited by the international accrediting bodies

AACSB The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...

, AMBA, and

EQUIS The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is an international school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFM ...

. It was placed in the top 1% of UK business schools after having received

Triple Crown accreditation Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

. Some selected rankings: * The OU Business School's MBA programme was ranked 13th in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''’ global rankings of online and distance learning MBA providers which featured five

European schools The European Schools ( la, Schola Europaea) is an intergovernmental organisation, which has established, finances, and administers a small group of multilingual international schools, bearing the title "European School", which exist primarily ...

, four of which were in the UK. * Ranked fifth in the Global Online MBA Rankings by CEO Magazine and 1st for UK institutions (2019) * Ranked sixth in the world for the QS Distance Online MBA Rankings (2016)

Singapore Institute of Management Open University Centre

From 1992 to 2005, the

Singapore Institute of Management The Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) is a provider of private tertiary education and professional training in Singapore. It was established by the Economic Development Board on 28 November 1964. SIM is registered under the Committee for Pr ...

(SIM) ran the Open University Degree Programme (OUDP), in collaboration with The Open University, United Kingdom (OUUK), which was renamed the Singapore Institute of Management's Open University Centre (SIM-OUC) as one of SIM's autonomous entity. In 2005, after SIM formed SIM University (UniSIM), it took over SIM-OUC students and granted those who graduated in 2006 a choice between a UniSIM or OUUK degree.

Academic profile

Teaching methods

The OU uses a variety of methods for teaching, including written and audio materials, the Internet, disc-based software and television programmes on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. Course-based television broadcasts by the

...
, which started on 3 January 1971, ceased on 15 December 2006. Materials comprise originally authored work by in-house and external academic contributors, and from third-party materials licensed for use by OU students. For most modules, students are supported by tutors ("associate lecturers") who provide feedback on their work and are generally available to them at face-to-face tutorials, by telephone, and/or on the Internet. A number of short courses worth ten credits are now available that do not have an assigned tutor but offer an online conferencing service (

Internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

) where help and advice are offered through conferencing "moderators". Some modules have mandatory day schools. Nevertheless, it is possible to be excused on the basis of ill health (or other extenuating circumstances) and many courses have no mandatory face-to-face component. Similarly, some modules have traditionally offered week-long summer schools offering an opportunity for students to remove themselves from the general distractions of their life and focus on their studies for a short time. Over the past ten years the university has adopted a policy of separating residential modules from distance-full-time taught modules. Exemption from attendance at residential schools, always as an Alternative Learning Experience (ALE), is sometimes available for disabled students and others who find it impossible to attend in person (See "Qualifications-Undergraduate" section.) For many years the OU produced television and radio programmes aimed at bringing learning to a wider audience. In its early years, most of these were in the form of documentaries or filmed lectures. Latterly, most OU-associated programming was mainstream and broadcast in peak hours, including series such as ''

Rough Science Parameters ''Rough Science'' is a British documentary reality television series made by the BBC in collaboration with the Open University. Six series were made between 2000 and 2005. It was broadcast in prime time on BBC Two and is considered so ...

'' and "Battle of the Geeks", while older-style programming was carried in the

BBC Learning Zone The BBC Learning Zone (previously The Learning Zone) was an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners. Viewers ...

. In 2004 the OU announced it was to stop its late-night programmes on BBC Two, and the last programme was broadcast at 5.30 am on 16 December 2006. The OU now plans to focus on semi-academic television programmes, such as many now broadcast on BBC Four. The

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

review published in December 2015 found five areas of good practice and made three recommendations for improvement. The English national survey of student satisfaction has twice put the Open University in first place. In October 2006, the OU joined the

open educational resources Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify. The term "OER" describes publicly accessible materials and ...

movement with the launch of

OpenLearn OpenLearn is an educational website. It is the UK's Open University's contribution to the open educational resources (OER) project and the home of free, open learning from The Open University. The original project was part-funded by the Wi ...

. A growing selection of current and past distance learning course materials will be released for free access, including downloadable versions for educators to modify (under the Creative Commons

BY-NC-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyrics ...

licence), plus free collaborative learning-support tools. In the early 2000s, the OU researched the use of virtual worlds in teaching and learning, and had two main islands in

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...

. In May 2009 these regions formed the basis of a case study by Linden Lab, the company which owns Second Life. In mid-2010, the university led the list of contributing universities in the number of downloads of its material from the educational resources site iTunes U, with downloads of over 20 million. Open University continues to adopt

Moodle Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning projects in s ...

as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) with their own team deploying custom plugins. In 2013, the OU began a

massive open online course A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, man ...

(MOOC) platform called

FutureLearn FutureLearn is a British digital education platform founded in December 2012. The company is jointly owned by The Open University and SEEK Ltd. It is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)ExpertTrack microcredential and Degree learning platform ...

, which is the UK's largest provider of free online courses.

Assessment methods

Open University modules are often assessed using an equal weighting of examinations and coursework. The coursework component normally takes the form of between two and seven tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and, occasionally, may also include up to six multiple-choice or "missing word" 10-question interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs). The examinable component is usually an invigilated three-hour paper regardless of the size of the module (although on some modules it can be up to three three-hour papers), but an increasing number of modules instead have an EMA (End of Module Assessment) which is similar to a TMA, in that it is completed at home, but is regarded as an exam for grading purposes. Modules results are sometimes issued on a graded basis, consisting of pass grades 1 (threshold 85%, a distinction), 2 (70–84%), 3 (55–69%) & 4 (40–54%), and fail (below 40%). This grade is calculated as the lower of the overall continuous assessment score (OCAS) and overall examination score (OES). These grades can be weighted according to their level, and combined to calculate the classification of a degree. An undergraduate degree will weigh level 3 modules twice as much as level 2, and in postgraduate programmes, all M-level modules are equally weighted.

Qualifications

Undergraduate

Open University modules have associated with them a number of

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) is used by many universities in the United Kingdom to monitor, record and reward passage through a modular degree course and to facilitate movement between courses and institutions. One UK credit is eq ...

(CATS) credits – usually 30 or 60 – depending on the quantity of the material in the module and a level (1, 2, 3, or 4) corresponding to the complexity, with 120 credits roughly equating to the year of study for a full-time student. Walton Hall, Milton Keynes - view from S

Walton Hall, Milton Keynes - view from S

The OU offers a large number of undergraduate qualifications, including certificates, diplomas, and bachelor's degrees, based on both level and quantity of study. An OU

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

requires 300 (or 360 for honours) CATS credits. Students are generally advised not to undertake more than 60 credits per year, meaning that an undergraduate degree will take typically six years to complete. With the exception of some degrees in fast-moving areas (such as computing), there is generally no limit on the time that a student may take. Students need special permission to take more than 120 credits (equivalent to full-time study) at any time; such permission is not usually granted. Originally the BA was the only undergraduate degree, and it was unnamed. The modern OU grants degrees of Bachelor of Arts (BA), Science (BSc), Laws (LLB) and Engineering (BEng); the BA and BSc may be named (following a specified syllabus) or unnamed (constructed of courses chosen by the student) degrees. Many OU faculties have now introduced short modules worth ten credits. Most of these modules are taught online and start at regular intervals throughout the year. They typically provide an introduction to a broader subject over a period of ten weeks, these are generally timed during vacations at conventional universities in order to take advantage of their facilities. Some science modules, which require only home study, are complemented by residential courses, in order to allow the student to gain practical laboratory experience in that field; typically, an award of a degree or diploma will require completion of both. Different modules are run at different times of the year, but, typically, a 30 or 60-credit module will run either from October to June or from February to October. Assessment is by both continual assessment (with, normally, between four and eight assignments during the year) and, for most, a final examination or, on some modules, a major assignment.

= Open degree

St Michaels Church of the Open University, Walton (geograph 2335167)

As well as degrees in named subjects, the Open University also grants multidisciplinary "Open" degrees. Open degrees provide students with access to a wide variety of subjects to develop a personalised curriculum to meet their vocational needs and personal interests. The Open degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts Open, a Bachelor of Science Open (either with or without honours), a Master of Arts Open or a Master of Science Open. The Open degree is the most popular qualification at the university. Around 20,000 students are enrolled in this programme, which makes the Open University the UK's largest multidisciplinary education provider. As of 2018, over 236,000 alumni have graduated with an Open degree.

= Other qualifications

= The Open University grants undergraduate ''Certificates'' (abbreviated Cert) typically awarded after 60 completed credits at Level 1 or Level 3 (where each credit corresponds to roughly 10 hours of study, therefore 60 credits represent about 600 hours of effort), ''Diplomas'' (abbreviated Dip) after 120 credits – typically 60 credits at Level 2 and 60 credits at Level 3. Open University also awards '' Foundation degrees'' (abbreviated FD). OU also offers a limited number of CertHE (120 CATS) and

DipHE A Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. It is awarded after two years of full-time study at a university or other higher education institution. Rated as a Level 5 qualification on both the ...

(240 CATS).

Postgraduate

The Open University provides the opportunity to study for a PhD on a part-time distance, or a full-time basis (on-site for science subjects and most social sciences, off-site with some supervisions on-site for arts) in a wide range of disciplines as well as an

EdD Edd, or EDD may refer to: Fictional characters * Dolorous Edd, a character from ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and its adaptation, ''Game of Thrones'' * Edd (''Ed, Edd n Eddy''), a character of the ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' cartoon * Edd the Duck, a puppet ...

for professionals in education. Since 2019 the Open University has also offered a professional doctorate for healthcare workers. The university offers a range of

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

levels modules such as the

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

and

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mou ...

, MSc, MA and MEd, and MRes, and a number of postgraduate diplomas and certificates including innovative practice-based modules and postgraduate computing qualifications for professionals. Postgraduate certificates are awarded for 60 credits of study on specified modules; postgraduate diplomas are awarded for 120 credits of study on specified modules. The university offers "Advanced Diplomas" that involve 60 credits at the undergraduate level and 60 credits at the postgraduate level – these are designed as "bridges" between undergraduate and postgraduate study. Its master's degrees in the field of engineering are accredited to support registration as a

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...

, the highest level of engineering professional registration in the United Kingdom.

Degree ceremonies

Unlike most United Kingdom universities, degree ceremonies at the Open University are not graduation ceremonies as such (the occasion on which degrees are ''formally'' conferred on those who have achieved substantive degrees)—although honours degrees are also normally conferred on these occasions. The Open University degree ceremony is officially known as a "Presentation of Graduates" at which those who have already had a degree bestowed on them are presented to the

University Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

or his/her representative. Open University graduates normally graduate ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

'' at a joint meeting of the university's council and senate ("congregation") which takes place at a meeting entirely separate from the degree ceremony. The university's degree ceremonies occur throughout the year at various prestigious auditorium venues located throughout the United Kingdom, plus one each in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and Continental Western Europe. In the year 2010 the OU held 26 degree ceremonies including

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Ely and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

. These ceremonies are presided over by a senior academic at the Pro-Vice-Chancellor level or higher, and have the normal formal rituals associated with a graduation ceremony, including academic dress,

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

and university mace.

Academic dress

Academic dress for the Open University is based on the colours blue and gold (yellow). No headwear is worn at degree ceremonies. In the year 2000, the Open University was the first to host an online "virtual" graduation ceremony in the United Kingdom together with an audience at the OU's campus in Milton Keynes. Twenty-six students in eight countries, from the United States of America to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, were presented for their master's degrees in online graduation, including, from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT) – Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...

, who was conferred an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Rankings

The university is included in major world university rankings such as

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

, U.S. News & World Report and Academic Ranking of World Universities. The OU ranked in the top third of UK universities in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 using the Times Higher Education Power Score. The Open University ranked third in

National Student Survey The National Student Survey is an annual survey, launched in 2005, of all final year undergraduate degree students at institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The survey is designed to assess undergrad ...

2021 achieving 88.24% for overall student satisfaction.

Research

Like other UK universities, the OU actively engages in research. The OU's Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute has become particularly well known to the public through its involvement in space missions. In October 2006, the Cassini-Huygens mission including 15 people from the OU received the 2006 "Laurels for Team Achievement Award" from the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Cassini-Huygens' successful completion of its seven-year, two billion-mile journey in January 2005 to Saturn ended with Huygens landing farther away from Earth than any previous probe or craft in the history of space exploration. The first instrument to touch Saturn's moon Titan was the ''Surface Science Package'' containing nine sensors to investigate the physical properties of Titan's surface. It was built by a team at the OU led by

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

John Zarnecki. The OU employs over 500 people engaged in research in over 25 areas, and there are over 1,200 research students. It spends approximately £20 million each year on research, around £6 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and the remainder from external funders. The Open University also runs the Open Research Online (ORO) website. ORO is a collection of over 40,000 open-access research outputs across a broad range of research areas.Open Research Online
accessed 21 September 2008, 2h03Z. The Open University produced in collaboration with Springer Nature the Computer Science Ontology, which is a large-scale automatically generated

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of research topics in the field of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

OpenScience Observatories

The OU operates a collection of telescopes and other instruments at the Teide Observatory, Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife. Its facilities compromise the COmpletely Autonomous Service Telescope (COAST), the Physics Innovations Robotic Telescope Explorer (PIRATE) and an associated weather station. At the Open University campus in Milton Keynes researches operate a radio telescope – ARROW (A Robotic Radio telescope Over the Web).

Students

In the 2019–20 academic year, there were 175,719 enrolled students.

Demographics

In 2019/20, 99,834 students were from England, 14,903 were from Scotland, 6,668 from Wales, 3,667 from Northern Ireland and 4,900 from the European Union, with others elsewhere. 60% of undergraduates were female, with 53% of those taking postgraduate modules being male. 22,664 of students in 2015–16 had declared disabilities. According to ''The Guardian'', a cross-sector fall in the number of part-time students was accelerated in 2012 when tuition fees rose and there was limited financial support for part-time students. The Open University saw a 30% drop in part-time students between 2010–11 and 2015–16. Enrollment numbers show a tremendous difference from 2009–2010 to 2016–2017. While most of those studying are mature students, an increasingly large proportion of new undergraduates are aged between 17 and 25, to the extent that in 2010/11 the OU had more students in this age range than any other UK university.Meet the students , 18 to 24
Open University, accessed 2011-05-06 In the 2003–2004 academic year around 20% of new undergraduates were under 25, up from 12.5% in 1996–1997 (the year before top-up fees were announced). In 2010 approximately 55% of those under 25 were also in full-time employment. In 2010, 29,000 undergraduates were in this age range.New generation of part-time learners focus on career progression: 1 in 4 of new OU students is under 25 – 55% work full-time
Open University, published 2011-08-11, accessed 2011-05-06 By 2011, 32,000 undergraduates were under 25 years old, representing around 25% of new students. The majority of students in the 2015–16 academic year were aged between 25 and 34 years old, with the median age of new undergraduates being 28. As of 2014, the OU's youngest graduate was a fifteen-year-old boy from Wales who gained a BSc with First Class Honours in 2014. The OU works with some schools to introduce Advanced Level (UK), A-Level students to OU study and in 2009–10 3% of undergraduates were under 18 years old.

Courses

Unlike other universities, where students register for a programme, OU students register separately for individual modules (which may be 30 or 60 Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, CATS credits (and formerly available in 10, 15, or 20 credits), equivalent to 15 or 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS credits). These modules may then be linked to degree programmes. During the 2009–10 academic year social studies was the most popular study area (with 16,381 full-time equivalent students), followed by biological and physical sciences (12,357) and history, historical and philosophy, philosophical studies (8,686); student numbers even on smaller undergraduate programmes, such as creative arts and design are still significant (2,528) as are postgraduate registrations on programmes such as mass communications and documentation (123 full-time equivalent students). The most popular module during 2009–10 was ''DD101 An introduction to the social sciences'' (7,512 students), followed by ''AA100 The Arts Past and Present'', ''B120 An Introduction to Business Studies'', ''K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care'' and ''Y163 Starting with Psychology''. Cintra House, Hills Road, Cambridge

Fees and financial assistance

17,634 students received financial assistance for their studies in 2015–16. The typical cost for United Kingdom-based students of a Bachelor's honours degree at the OU was between £3,780 and £5,130 in 2009–10. Timeline of tuition fees in the United Kingdom, From September 2012 the Government reduced its funding for all students residing in England and fees went up to compensate. English students pay higher fees than those living in the rest of the United Kingdom. The average cost of one full-time year or 120 credits rose to £6,336 in 2021, bringing the cost of an average Bachelor's honours degree for an English student to £19,008. (European Union and international students pay more as the university does not receive government funding for them). The most important revenue stream to the Open University is now academic fees paid by the students, which totalled about £157 million in 2009–10 and £248 million in 2015–16.

Qualifications awarded

The university enrolled fewer than 50,000 students in the 1970–71 academic year, but it quickly exceeded that number by 1974–75. By 1987–88 yearly enrolment had doubled to 100,000 students, passing 200,000 by 2001–02 and 250,000 in 2009–10. Numbers fell when the fee regime changed. Cumulatively, by the end of 2009–10, the OU had educated more than 1.5 million students and awarded 819,564 qualifications after successful assessment. In addition, the Open University provides certification for qualifications at Ruskin College in Oxford and Richmond, The American International University in London, Richmond, the American International University in London, a private liberal arts institution. (Until 2008, it provided the same service for the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland).

Open University Students Association

The Open University Students Association is the equivalent of a students' union for the Open University and is a registered charity wholly funded by the Open University (OU). The association is governed by a Board of Trustees and a Central Executive Committee. Each student registered with the OU automatically becomes part of the Students Association unless they elect to formally opt out. It offers opportunities to meet up, volunteer, find information and access services to support learning along with a range of student clubs and societies typical of those found in other UK Universities.

Notable current and former academics

File:Launch of IYA 2009, Paris - Grygar, Bell Burnell cropped.jpg,

led the physics department at the OU for 10 years. File:Robin Wilson outside Gresham College - 23jun11.JPG, Robin Wilson (mathematician), Robin Wilson is an emeritus professor in the Department of Mathematics. File:Colin Pillinger.jpg, Colin Pillinger was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at OU. File:BrianSmall.png, Brian Goodwin worked as a professor of biology at the OU until his retirement in 1992. File:Hall Stuart.jpg, Stuart Hall (cultural theorist), Stuart Hall was a professor of sociology at the OU for 18 years until his retirement in 1997. *

– astronomer * Tim Benton – art historian * Andrew Blowers (academic), Andrew Blowers – geographer * Neil Chalmers – zoologist * Catherine Cooke – architectural historian * Nigel Cross – design researcher * Katharine Ellis – music historian * Dimitra Fimi – Tolkien scholar * Monica Grady – meteoricist * Brian Goodwin – biologist * David Gow (composer), David Gow – composer * Norman Gowar – mathematician * Oswald Hanfling – philosopher * Stuart Hall (cultural theorist), Stuart Hall – social scientist * Christopher Hill (historian), Christopher Hill – historian * Arthur Marwick – historian * Doreen Massey (geographer), Doreen Massey – geographer * Bob Moon (scholar), Bob Moon – educationist * John Naughton – technologist * Oliver Penrose – mathematician * Mike Pentz – physicist * Colin Pillinger – planetary scientist * Steven Rose – biologist * Russell Stannard – physicist * Hilary Wainwright – sociologist * Nigel Warburton – philosopher * Clare Warren – geologist * Margaret Wetherell – social psychologist * Glenn White – astronomer * Robin Wilson (mathematician), Robin Wilson – mathematician * John Zarnecki – space scientist

Notable alumni, graduates and honorees

File:Gordon Brown Davos 2008 crop (1).jpg, Former UK Prime Minister and OU tutor

received an honorary doctorate from the Open University. File:Official portrait of Lord Reid of Cardowan, 2020.jpg, Former Home Secretary and Minister John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, Lord Reid is an Open University alumnus. File:TalulahRileyAug09 (cropped).jpg, While acting in London, Talulah Riley received a degree in Natural Sciences from the OU. File:Sir David Frederick Attenborough at Weston Library Opening 20.3.15 (cropped).jpg, Honorary graduate and OU supporter Sir David Attenborough File:Meles Zenawi - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012.jpg, Meles Zenawi – former President of Ethiopia, President and Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Meles acquired an MBA from the OU in 1995. File:Professor Brian Cox OBE FRS.jpg, Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox was awarded an honorary doctorate by the OU. File:Natalya Kaspersky crop.jpg, Natalya Kaspersky earned a bachelor's degree from OU. File:Tim Berners-Lee 2012.jpg, Tim Berners-Lee – inventor of the

and recipient of OU honorary doctorate File:Lenny Henry in The Comedy of Errors 2011 (crop).jpg, Sir Lenny Henry graduated with a BA Hons in English Literature, from the OU. File:Marat Khusnullin (2020-02-05).jpg, Marat Khusnullin – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia graduated from the OU with a degree in Management. File:S960 - Chris Whitty - Chief Scientific Adviser (cropped).png, Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officers (United Kingdom), Chief Medical Officer for England, completed a graduate diploma in economics at the Open University. File:10.12.12TerryPratchettByLuigiNovi1.jpg, In 2013 the Open University honoured Terry Pratchett with an honorary doctorate. File:Official portrait of Lord McFall of Alcluith crop 2, 2019.jpg, John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith, Lord McFall obtained a BA from the Open University in Education and Philosophy. File:Richard Dawkins Cooper Union Shankbone.jpg, Richard Dawkins holds an honorary doctorate from the Open University. File:Romola Garai at the King Lear Press Conference, July 17, 2007, Singapore.jpg, Romola Garai obtained a degree in English literature from the Open University.

In fiction

The Open University has been featured in many films and television programmes. The plot of ''Educating Rita'' surrounds the working-class titular character aiming to "improve" herself by studying English literature. She attends private tutorials run by alcoholic lecturer Frank. Television characters have also followed OU courses. These include Anne Bryce in the

...
sit-com ''Ever Decreasing Circles'', Yvonne Sparrow in ''Goodnight Sweetheart (TV series), Goodnight Sweetheart'' and George Bulman (fictional character), George Bulman in ''Bulman'', in the ITV (TV network), ITV spin-off from the series ''Strangers (1978 TV series), Strangers''. Sheila Grant (Sue Johnston) was accused of having an affair with her tutor in ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Onslow (Keeping Up Appearances), Onslow, a character from ''Keeping up Appearances'', watches Open University programming on television from time to time. In autumn 2006, Lenny Henry was a star in ''Slings and Arrows'', a one-off

...
television drama which he also wrote, about someone who falls in love while on an OU English Literature course. (Henry has himself completed an OU degree in English.) In the 2006–07 TV series ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars'', Sam Tyler received messages from the real world via Open University programmes late at night. Dorian Green from ''Birds of a Feather (TV series), Birds of a Feather'' announced she had been accepted by the Open University to do a degree in psychology and began studying with the university in series 3. In the 2016 novel ''Swing Time (novel), Swing Time'' by Zadie Smith, the narrator's mother is a student at the Open University. In the TV series ''Bottom (TV series), Bottom'', Adrian Edmondson, Eddie, Steven O'Donnell (British actor), Spudgun, and Christopher Ryan, Dave Hedgehog watch TV while playing hide-and-seek with Rik Mayall, Ritchie. They fall asleep, leaving Ritchie in a cupboard until they finally awaken to an OU lecture on 'Medieval population distribution patterns in Lower Saxony'.

Partnerships

Armed Forces

Through an agreement between the Ministry of Defence and the OU going back to the early 1970s, a wide range of courses is available to members of the British armed forces, with course materials supplied via the student's BFPO address. OU study centres have been established in Cyprus and Germany. Many have studied while on active service, even in conflict situations.

Partner institutions

The Open University has a diverse network of partners across the globe. Once approved, partner institutions offer Open University validated awards, granted under the university's royal charter. As of October 2021, the Open University has over 40 international partners, including for example Union School of Theology, Regent's University London, York College (York), York College, Belfast Metropolitan College, American College of Greece, Leeds City College and Ruskin College, Ruskin College Oxford.

Doctoral training partnerships

The Grand Union

The Grand Union is an ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership uniting The Open University, the University of Oxford and Brunel University London. The partnership is committed to a student-centred approach to training researchers, increasing access to postgraduate study, and advancing disciplinary and interdisciplinary research.

Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training

Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership is a consortium of the Open University, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge providing funding and training for doctoral students in the arts and humanities.

Imperial-Cambridge-Open Centre for Doctoral Training

From 2014 to 2022, the Open University is working with Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge to establish a new Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) to develop skills in civil nuclear energy for global markets.

Notes

References

External links

*
Parliament & the Sixties – Jennie Lee & The University of the Air – UK Parliament Living Heritage
*
OpenLearn
online learning from the Open University
Video clip of BBC Open University programme circa 1982
{{Authority control Open University, Distance education institutions based in the United Kingdom Alternative education Charities based in Scotland Exempt charities Educational institutions established in 1969 Charities based in Buckinghamshire 1969 establishments in the United Kingdom Credit unions of the United Kingdom Open universities Organisations based in Milton Keynes Universities established in the 1960s Universities UK