Open university

[Dr Mindbender]

Ive just researched getting back into education, and to my pleasant surprise the OU offers me a full funded course, a £250 non-repayable grant (if i qualify) and at the end i get a bona fide BSc Hons degree. Ive just registered today for the 1 year foundation to BSc course and its left me thinking whats the catch and why do people bother spending 10k and get into shitloads of debt to go to a regular university?

Anyone else have any experience or knowledge of this organisation and am i wasting my time entering this?

[Sir Aunty Christ]

I've had no problems and it's great stuff.

[black magick hustla]

Originally posted by Ulster [email protected] 23, 2007 01:28 pm
Ive just researched getting back into education, and to my pleasant surprise the OU offers me a full funded course, a £250 non-repayable grant (if i qualify) and at the end i get a bona fide BSc Hons degree. Ive just registered today for the 1 year foundation to BSc course and its left me thinking whats the catch and why do people bother spending 10k and get into shitloads of debt to go to a regular university?

Anyone else have any experience or knowledge of this organisation and am i wasting my time entering this?
Obviously if you study something as COMPARATIVE LITERATURE you are going to have a hard time paying off that debt.

However if you pursue a natural science degree its pretty easy to get state help. Or if you study engineering, you are probably going to pay off the debt easily.

I got a full scholarship and I am studying in a regular college engineering--its great.

[Dr Mindbender]

well, im feeling sick. Just found out today the so called 'support' is actually a 'loan' handled by the SLC, the same fuckers im in debt to now, so since i already owe a course entitlement from the one i failed, it looks like i'll precluded from assistance and effectively precluded from HE.

Fuck i hate this system. :angry:

[Invader Zim]

You can actually apply to do distance learning from a regular university and apply for a university scholarship or bursary. I know a few people who do this at my uni.

As for the reason to attend a normal university, it means one has access to direct teaching and university facilities such as the academic libraries; and it takes less time.

For example, I am planning on appling to do a PhD next academic year, and if I did it at home, distance/part time it would, in all likelyhood take at least six years. Paying the bit extra a year and obviously maintainance is a lot more.

But I don;t intend to pay for any of it, for postgraduate study one has access to the research institutions who offer full maintainance grants which pay for just about everything, as they are £12,000 for three years. One can also apply to be a halls warden, which means that you don't pay rent or rates; only living costs and tution fees. The 12,000 a year will easily be enough if one is a warden.

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by Ulster [email protected] 27, 2007 01:07 pm
well, im feeling sick. Just found out today the so called 'support' is actually a 'loan' handled by the SLC, the same fuckers im in debt to now, so since i already owe a course entitlement from the one i failed, it looks like i'll precluded from assistance and effectively precluded from HE.

Fuck i hate this system. :angry:
well things arent so bad after all. Checked with the SLC today and the 13 grand i owe them is'nt 'debt' per se, it is 'deferred debt' because i havent yet exceeded the 15 K pa rate of income threshold, go figure, typical cappie logic.

:rolleyes: :lol:

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by Invader [email protected] 29, 2007 01:49 pm


As for the reason to attend a normal university, it means one has access to direct teaching and university facilities such as the academic libraries; and it takes less time.


who needs libraries when we have the worlds biggest library at our fingertips- the internet. A thing ive been wrestling with now, its just typical of capitalism to squander these human acheivements. Arguably the most significant breakthrough in communication technology since the telephone, it is taken up by profiteers and porn merchants.
I say after the revolution, the internet should be turned into the world's biggest university.

The only downside i can envisage is students doing technical courses, they would need access to laboratory and engineering apparatus, but since these courses are already feasible under capitalist distance learning i dont see why this should be a problem either.

[Invader Zim]

who needs libraries when we have the worlds biggest library at our fingertips- the internet.

The internet is great for finding journal articles, etc; but rarely can you find entire books uploaded onto it. When you have to write a several thousand word essay which contains over 20 referenced books; the advantages of the library become apparent very quickly.

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by Invader [email protected] 30, 2007 05:29 pm


who needs libraries when we have the worlds biggest library at our fingertips- the internet.

The internet is great for finding journal articles, etc; but rarely can you find entire books uploaded onto it. When you have to write a several thousand word essay which contains over 20 referenced books; the advantages of the library become apparent very quickly.
Fair enough, the net is bad in that respect however collectively there is probably every fact and idea concievable available through it. Thats more of an inditement against those with most control over it than the invention itself.

My point is that a 'communist internet' would not only encompass the ideas available through it now (less porn, race hate etc) but it would also include the uploaded books you speak of.

[Sir Aunty Christ]

Originally posted by Ulster [email protected] 27, 2007 02:07 pm
well, im feeling sick. Just found out today the so called 'support' is actually a 'loan' handled by the SLC, the same fuckers im in debt to now, so since i already owe a course entitlement from the one i failed, it looks like i'll precluded from assistance and effectively precluded from HE.

Fuck i hate this system. :angry:
It's non-repayable though isn't it. That was my understanding.

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by Sir Aunty Christ+October 30, 2007 06:43 pm--> (Sir Aunty Christ @ October 30, 2007 06:43 pm)
Ulster [email protected] 27, 2007 02:07 pm
well, im feeling sick. Just found out today the so called 'support' is actually a 'loan' handled by the SLC, the same fuckers im in debt to now, so since i already owe a course entitlement from the one i failed, it looks like i'll precluded from assistance and effectively precluded from HE.

Fuck i hate this system. :angry:
It's non-repayable though isn't it. That was my understanding. [/b]
yeah it is, as long as i dont earn >15k a year. Which basically means i'm relegated to shitty paid jobs for the rest of my life unless i want this debt.
:(

[Invader Zim]

but it would also include the uploaded books you speak of.

That would be really cool, but in all honesty I don't think that would be possible. Resources such as the National Library of Wales (my local library), British Library (and a fair few others) contain literally millions of printed works. To transcribe or scan in all of these works would be a truly massive task; and then consider the number of uncatalogued material in archives, untranscribed audio; etc. I honestly don't think it would be possible; let alone practical to try and upload all of these books. Even simply scanning in every last page, as opposed to typing it (which has some serious issues) would be a vast project (life time kind of scale) even for thousands of people.

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by Invader [email protected] 31, 2007 02:44 am

but it would also include the uploaded books you speak of.

That would be really cool, but in all honesty I don't think that would be possible. Resources such as the National Library of Wales (my local library), British Library (and a fair few others) contain literally millions of printed works. To transcribe or scan in all of these works would be a truly massive task; and then consider the number of uncatalogued material in archives, untranscribed audio; etc. I honestly don't think it would be possible; let alone practical to try and upload all of these books. Even simply scanning in every last page, as opposed to typing it (which has some serious issues) would be a vast project (life time kind of scale) even for thousands of people.
we better get started then.

[RedArmyFaction]

OU is a very respectable university. It beats Oxford and Cambridge universities in alot of things.............student satisfaction being one. Even though OU has a good reputation, employers don't really regard it as a "proper university" as it's distance learning.

It's sad but employers tend to choose students from top universities.

[RedAnarchist]

The OU sounds like a good idea if you want to learn but don't want to be in a school/college environment.