does anyone know if these courses are as good as going to uni? or has anyone done one or knows someone who has - what did they/you think of it?
:worthy:
I'd chose the courses very carefully - a lot of them are scams that have no educational or CV merit. I think you'd be better off going to evening classes.
I did OU in maths and my elder sister did OU in Biology.
I only did the foundation and then went on to do some shitty accountancy qualification (wished I had carried on with the OU). The course was excellent as was the support and the summer school, well I'll let you experience that for yourself should you decide to do an open university degree.
As an Learning & Development manager in a central gov. dept. I oversee the funding of several staff members going through OU courses (we pay up to £500 a year - which sometimes covers all their costs).
As far as the OU goes, it really depends on your course. We've got one guy who's just finished a Computing degree (he did the HNC as a kid), which is perfect - 'cause he could do everything he needed at home on his PC. Another guy is doing a BA in Arts - which is mostly a lot of reading and project reports etc. A couple of peeps are doing Social Sciences - again a lot of reading, perhaps some work-based projects (outwith our workplace that is).
But I think if your getting into the Science & Engineering fields you'll need to scope out the practical aspect offered (I haven't had any staff doing these so I don't know). I do know that Science & Engineering usually requires a healthy dose of lab work (expensive equipment etc)...
The only thing to remember is that studying through the OU, whilst working, is an uphill struggle....your free time suddenly gets sucked away...
Why don't you check out their webpage, or phone and ask?
I'm currently doing a technology based one and as Paradroid says it does put a big drain on your free time. It's not so bad for me as I work month on month off but getting the enthusiasm for studying in the month off is very very hard.
If you are in full time employment your employer may well support you if your course is somehow work related but if you are not it would be quicker to go to uni to get your degree. You'll also have more fun doing it
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