Open Uni - pysch degree classifications.

ash2008

Hi,
I want to do the psych degree in the Open Uni, and i know its best to get a 2:1 to have a better chance of getting into a post-grad course. But ive heard that a 2:1 in the Open Uni is over 75, whereas other unis are only over 65.

Can anyone confirm if this is true?...it just seems that if it is, it would be a bit unfair if someone who got 65 in another uni would have a 2:1, but an Open uni student who gets the exact same would only have a 2:2?

amz5

I think 70% is a 2.1 for OU, and as far as I'm aware 70% is a 2.1 in Universities in general...it is in NUI Galway anyway as far as I know...

p.pete

I'm in Caridiff uni now and its' 70% 1st, 60% 2.1, 50% 22. Previously in DCU afair it was 70% 1st, 63% 2.1, 55% 22.
So there's some variation between institutions, but the percentage is not necessarily a reflection on the level expexted to achieve the grades.

seventhwave

Hi Ash2008,
From the OU website all I could find was this breakdown
85-100- pass1
70- 84 - pass2
55- 69 - pass3
If I find the exact grade for 2.1, I will post it up later.

eth0_

seventhwave wrote: »

Hi Ash2008,
From the OU website all I could find was this breakdown
85-100- pass1
70- 84 - pass2
55- 69 - pass3
If I find the exact grade for 2.1, I will post it up later.

pass1 isn't a 1:1 though...that's the grades you get per course.
The actually degree classification is calculated in a different way..it looks complicated :-)

I do think the OU mark much harder than regular universities, and it's a pain in the ass that this isn't taken into account when applying for postgrads.

I am pretty sure its harder to get a first with the OU than with a 'normal' uni.

kitkat.3b4t

Hi
in OU, Pass 1 = 1:1 (85-100%); Pass 2 = 2:1 (70-85%), 3 = 2:2 and Pass 4 = 3:3
Pass 1 (1:1) is only given for excellent work. Pass 2 (2:1) is given for very good work. It is always difficult to work consistently at a high enough level to graduate with a 1:1. Anyway the point I want to make is that different Universities use different grading systems, but I recon no matter where you study, if the college is good, you will get the classificaion you deserve regardless of the grade (eg 1:1 for execellent work, 2:1 very good work etc).

I studied at OU and found the grading and classification structure good. However grades from continual assessment and one final year exam are used to decide the final module grade each year, but it is the lowest grade of the two which is awarded. So if you get 90% (1:1) in your continual assessment but only ger 50% (3:3) in your exam, your end of term mark is 50%. That system is quite unfair.

Surion

kitkat.3b4t wrote: »

Hi
in OU, Pass 1 = 1:1 (85-100%); Pass 2 = 2:1 (70-85%), 3 = 2:2 and Pass 4 = 3:3
Pass 1 (1:1) is only given for excellent work. Pass 2 (2:1) is given for very good work. It is always difficult to work consistently at a high enough level to graduate with a 1:1. Anyway the point I want to make is that different Universities use different grading systems, but I recon no matter where you study, if the college is good, you will get the classificaion you deserve regardless of the grade (eg 1:1 for execellent work, 2:1 very good work etc).

I studied at OU and found the grading and classification structure good. However grades from continual assessment and one final year exam are used to decide the final module grade each year, but it is the lowest grade of the two which is awarded. So if you get 90% (1:1) in your continual assessment but only ger 50% (3:3) in your exam, your end of term mark is 50%. That system is quite unfair.

Have to agree with last message there - just finished 5 years of psych at OU. I'm of reasonable intelligence, and found the marking quite hard - also depending on the Tutor you are given each year. Had a tutor who came in 'fresh' from a red brick uni and marked us ALL very very hard. Barely passed that year (I say with some drama), with the result it took me down a grade. He admitted it on the final TMA. Final exam that year went much better (converse to what the OU expects) but unfortunately the lower score is the winning score between the two!!!

Incidentally, you can't appeal OU results or go for remarking. Despite them repeatedly 'assuring' all students that the quality of marking is near flawless. Despite this, the head of psych for OU had to write to all students because of a problem discovered with the marking....but they found all the wrongly marked papers...and NO-ONE else was effected. Sounds curious eh?

Now, despite the rant...the OU is the BEST teaching/tutoring/learning experience I've ever been through (red-brick or distance) and would fully recommend them, just with a slight warning re the above!

spinandscribble

amz5 wrote: »

I think 70% is a 2.1 for OU, and as far as I'm aware 70% is a 2.1 in Universities in general...it is in NUI Galway anyway as far as I know...

actually in psych galway thats a 1st

eth0_

spinandscribble wrote: »

actually in psych galway thats a 1st

Bloody hell. That is really really unfair for OU students - we are being put at a serious disadvantage when applying for postgrad courses now!

So someone from the OU with a 2:2 but 70% will lose out on a postgrad place to someone from NUIG with a 1:1 and 70%....that's just ridiculous.

Am going to write to the OU for an explanation.

p.pete

70% is a first where I am too - but there's criterea that has to be met before someone gets given a particular mark, getting marks in the 80s isn't quite impossible but is very difficult.

This matches with Surion's anecdote of a tutor fresh from a red brick institute - there was a different expectation.

kitkat.3b4t

eth0_ wrote: »

Bloody hell. That is really really unfair for OU students - we are being put at a serious disadvantage when applying for postgrad courses now!

So someone from the OU with a 2:2 but 70% will lose out on a postgrad place to someone from NUIG with a 1:1 and 70%....that's just ridiculous.

Am going to write to the OU for an explanation.

Infact an OU 2:1 is 70%. Nearly all postgrad courses stipulate at least a 2:1 for entrance. My advice to any OU students is, be very careful in the exam. It is only a 3 hour exam, once a year, but it decides your over all grade for each module. They say, that they make allowances for nerves etc, but I havent seen much mercy there. For some reason it reminds me of the driving test.

ash2008

hey guys,

thanks for the replies...it does seem very unfair, but ive applied anyway now. But maybe ill write them too, and see why they have it like this

amz5

spinandscribble wrote: »

actually in psych galway thats a 1st

Oops sorry, I got mixed up, 60% in Galway is a 2.1, not 70%. But I don't think that means that it's easier to get a 2.1 there than with OU. A 2.1 is similar standard-wise across the board regardless of percentage. At least, that's what I've been lead to believe. And I'm studying psychology with the OU...doing the conversion course, and I'd say that the standard to get 2.1 results is the same as when I was doing my undergraduate degree. But then again, my original college had a 2.1 at 70% too...

eth0_

A friend told me it could be because in most uni's a pass grade is 50% whereas in the OU a pass grade is 40%

Is 50% the passing grade in all Irish uni's?

p.pete

eth0_ wrote: »

Is 50% the passing grade in all Irish uni's?

no.

Surion

eth0_ wrote: »

So someone from the OU with a 2:2 but 70% will lose out on a postgrad place to someone from NUIG with a 1:1 and 70%....that's just ridiculous.

Am going to write to the OU for an explanation.

Hi Eth0_.....

Did you write yet? Or hav a response yet? (they normally are very efficient....normally get response within 48 hours!)

eth0_

No, sorry, been busy studying for my exam!
Will try to remember to email them tomorrow. I might also write a letter to Sesame (the OU student newsletter)

bobbygirl

Hey ,

Just wondering what exam you are doing? Im doing ED209 next Wednesday ahhhh!!!

Princess Fiona

This was actually one of my only gripes with the O.U.! Finished the Conversion Course in Psych. for Postgraduates with them this time last year so I've had first-hand experience of ther marking system.

Because I came straight from N.U.I.G. to the O.U., I was very aware of the differences in their marking systems, (especially the fact that a 1.1 in N.U.I.G. is 70, while with the O.U. it's 85). This was something I queried before even starting the course - they assured me that the standard was the same, despite the different thresholds (i.e. that it would be equally as easy/hard to get a 1st with the O.U. as it would be in N.U.I.G). Well I can say with certainty that this is NOT the case.

I got a 1.1 in Psych. Studies in N.U.I.G. - put in a fair bit of effort but it was very achievable. The O.U. on the other hand....! My continuous assessment marks ranged from the 60s to the 80s for the 1st 2 modules and I could NOT get them any higher. Third module was easier to get high marks in as subject matter was more black and white - more scientific and less airy-fairy. Tutor was also much fairer. They reckon that their marking scheme is universal - again, not true - tutor for module 1 was impossible to please, you could have stood on your head and she still wouldn't have been happy -students in other tutor groups reported waaaay higher marks than any of our group managed. Could have been coincidental but I doubt it. Seems that a lot does depend on which tutor you get.

As other people have said, your exam score determines your overall module result, so if you get 40 in your exam, you get a pass mark for the module, even if you had an A in your continuous assessment - don't think this gives a fair chance to the many people who just don't rise to the occasion come exam time (due to nerves, sickness, personal circumstances, etc.). Think a 50-50 system might be somewhat fairer.

Again, no comeback on the marking - got 83 in one paper and they refused to even look at it, let alone discuss it with me. They also have different systems for calculating overall qualification classifications - depending on whether you're doing a degree of diploma - quite complicated if you're not currently studying with them but a lot depends on whether a subject is level 2 or 3 (level 3s have a bigger effect on your overall classificaton).

Having said all this, I did find the O.U. great to study with - course materials are brill and the exams are easier to do well in than the continuous assessments (even though they generally report the opposite).

amz5

Hi,
I see they´ve changed the accredation process for the Psych Conversion. It was pass/fail before and now you have to get a 2.2.

Is a Grade 3 the equivalent of a 2.2 with the OU. I dont want to get into the weighting system as I´ve just looked at the OU site and they have lots of multiplying going on there. If you get Grade 3 results in every module, will you get a 2.2? It was a bit nicer when it was pass-fail I think...

I´ve mailed them about it, but I mailed them a month ago about something very important and they didn´t get back to me. I followed it up last week, and just got acknowlegement of my query with no reply. I´ve been with the OU for 2 years studying towards this conversion course, and they seem a lot less organised this year. Their website has really had a hit too, the forums are all over the place...that´s why I´m asking here instead. Please help!!

Odysseus

Just to confirm what others are saying any course I have ever done was 55-62=2.2, 63-69=2.1 ans a first was 70+. The old joke was that you where marked out of 70% not 100%.