Open University

DapperGent

I am also doing modules with the OU one of Maths and one of Physics.

As Ecksor says they are well structured and the assignments roughly every month help keep you from letting yourself slip.

ZENER

Hi Ecksor !

Actually everything you describe in your post is available to me in DCU.

There are regular face to face tutorials, on-line access to the library along with membership so I can up whenever I need. I can order books on-line to be reserved for me. I have phone and email access to my tutors and the course tutorial notes are available via the internet so study while I'm at work is possible.

Not much difference really to the OU.

I thought about OU but he tutorials in the UK put me off as I wouldn't be able to get time off work.

Tinky

ecksor

I have tutorials in Dublin, about 15 minutes walk from where I live ... Do you mean the one week residential school? That's only a factor on modules which have such a requirement, but I thought it was a plus.

Your description of things sounds different to DubWireless' one.

sunbeam

Originally posted by tinky
The courses I enquired about at the OU involved travelling to England and thats what put me off initially. I work a shift roster so I dont have easy access to time off as day workers do. I might look again after I've completed the diploma stage and see if the OU offer better facilities for attempting the degree stages.

Tinky

If your employer refuses to grant you leave you may possibily be excused from an OU residential school-see here .

Are face to face tutorials obligatory for the Oscail undergrad degrees?

Blondie81

Just wondering....Open University courses....say you complete your degree on one of their courses - is it as good as a normal university degree qualification? Are you just as likely to get a job from it as you would if you went to third level?

Moonbeam

It is just as good as a degree that you would get through any other institution, Employers tend to look at them one of 2 ways though
1)its ou its not as good
2)Alot of disipline and dedication was involved in obtaining this degree which also reflects well on the person whom obtained it,

BuffyBot

Originally posted by Blondie81
Just wondering....Open University courses....say you complete your degree on one of their courses - is it as good as a normal university degree qualification? Are you just as likely to get a job from it as you would if you went to third level?

The degree is as equal to any similar university degree (some people have told me the work involved is harder..it certainly is harder than some of the work I did in my time in UCD). The OU was rated as one of the UK's Top 10 Universities for quite a few subjects not so long back, and is quite hightly regarded in some circles

Tom Dunne

Originally posted by BuffyBot
Well in the three years I've been with the OU, I've found the course material and support to be extremely good

I think there is a stark contrast between OU and Oscail. Around the time I was doing the Oscail IT course, a friend was doing an OU course. While the courses weren't really comparable (he was doing management), there was a stark contrast in the quality of the course materials.

OU materials tended to be so out of date (see my earlier post). I remember doing the Artificial Intelligence assignment. I didn't get the required disks with the course package (usual story) so I rang up and asked for the disk to be sent to me. I got a LISP interpreter for DOS, dated 1982 (I kid you not).

Out of sheer spite and determination, and not knowing any better, I got the program working but got deducted marks for using the wrong version of LISP. It's this incompetence that was endemic in the course.

ClareBear

So those of you doing OU courses....do you hope to get work from them? Or is it just for interest?

ecksor

I'm doing it for interest.

BuffyBot

I'm also doing it out of interest. Keeps the brain ticking over

eth0_

I'm doing a BSc Psychology with the OU, started it 2 years ago, hope to finish in about a year and a half hopefully.
Then I aim to study medicine in one of the many grad schools in the UK.

I found the OU brilliant so far, course materials are all very good, maybe one module of my course is a bit out of date but is being replaced in the next year or two. It's very tough going when you work in a full time job, though. I've had nothing but positive reaction in job interviews when it's come up, it definitely shows dedication and the ability to juggle work.

Tom Dunne

Originally posted by ecksor
Did you mean oscail there or else I'm completely misunderstanding your post.

OOps, sorry, yes I did mean Oscail (somebody was talking to me when I was typing).

I find it interesting the both ecksor and BuffyBot are doing courses for interest. I finished my MSc. in computing last year and am thinking of doing something completely unrelated to my job. Something like, dare I say it, the BA in Humanities that Oscail run (but in not with Oscail)

ecksor

Well, I'm studying maths and computing courses which definitely benefit me in terms of being able to do my job better, but I still took them out of interest, if that makes sense?

DapperGent

Thread split off from the options thread to decrease confusion and encourage discussion.