Is a degree from the Open University considered equal to a 'proper' degree?

I've started a degree course in biological scienece at a pretty good, redbrick, university but im considering a OU degree instead.

I dont think 'real' uni is worth the money as all my lectures consist of a lecture reading out a power point presentation and shining a 'laser' at the board! The lecture slides can all be obtained online so there is no real need to go to the lectures. We also have one 3hour workshop on maths, which again

This has got me seriously thinking about an OU course as I can get a degree without the finacial burden. But im worried that the degree may not be considered to be equal to a degree from a brick university especially as I want to do medicine as a graduate.

Anyone done this before? Is it possible to do medicine after a degree from the OU?

bear in mind you wont get money from SFE, have to get it thru open uni & it is much less.

The cost is about the same/if not more than standard uni - modules range from £150 - £600 from what i've seen, and to get the 300/360 points required for the degree it usually requires about £3000-4000.

Wont be doing it full time so will have to get a job probably to help pay for it, and it will take longer to actually finish it, and you're restricted to actually doing the modules when they are running, and they have a nice habit of changing modules quite regularly, so the modules you could want to do in yr 2/3 could actually be stopped before you can get to them replaced by other modules.

Not first hand experience, helped girlfriend research it.

*edit* saw your medicine question - some biological science/medical type degrees require employer sponsorship, and some aren't fully accreddited, so other tests (more money) needed from the governing body of that particular profession.

I did some OU modules before I went back to uni (went straight from school onto a course my parents forced me to do, gave that up and reapplied to do what I wanted to do), it was fun and gave me something to do in my spare time, I didn't find it very challenging and although the materials were good, it often felt like I was just working my way through a course book and wasn't really having to apply myself in any way. Essays didn't need anywhere near as many references as a proper uni essay, I managed to get scores in the high 70s low 80s for all of my OU essays without having to put much effort in at all, just read the materials and watched the videos. I did a lot more time, work and research into essays at uni to achieve the same results. When I used to tell people that I was studying an OU degree (as this was my original plan before I decided to go back full time, mostly due to the responses I used to get and the time it would have taken me to complete it) noone took me very seriously and gave the impression that they thought I was getting a worthless degree. To be fair the people with these opinions were Oxbridge/Newcastle/Durham/York students.

Loan wise I got around £500 for the year and didn't have to pay any fees because at the time I signed up to the course I was unemployed, I got a job soon after starting and I'm not sure whether I was meant to tell them I had started work, although back then fees might have been free like they were at full time unis. The £500 didn't go very far, although i had most fo the things I needed to complete the course (computer, video recorder, blank videos, etc) I think i bought some new stationary, ink for my printer (although one could submit hand written essays), a tape recorder (for player the cassette tapes I was sent, although by now they've probably upgraded to CDs) and travel expenses to the weekly lecture which wasn't particularly far in my case but I did know someone who had to do a 70 mile bus journey.

OU degrees tend to be taken by people who don't have time for regular university. Getting a degree while working full time is an accomplishment, so OU degrees can be seen as equal.
The OU degrees though have nothing like the lab work or group interaction in person that a regular university has. So won't build up the same skillset.
If needing a degree for the degree, the OU can be as good as any university. If needing the skills too, thats where things can fall a little short.

Oh, and an OU degree can be gotten for free if income low enough.

I did as much lab work with the OU as is planned with the uni I'm currently at. Only difference is with normal uni you will do day 3 hrs a time for X weeks per module where as with the OU you will do 12hrs a day for 1 week

I agree you dont get the social interaction side of things though, but the neworking can be made up going to conferences / outside talks etc.

Perhaps, but you won't be able to have the ultimate 'university experience'.

Beer, snogging, beer, throw up and more beer?
Never quite figured out this ultimate 'university experience' bit.

Living away from home? Done that.
Independance? Done that.
Meet new people? Done that many times.

bear in mind you wont get money from SFE, have to get it thru open uni & it is much less.

The cost is about the same/if not more than standard uni - modules range from £150 - £600 from what i've seen, and to get the 300/360 points required for the degree it usually requires about £3000-4000.

Wont be doing it full time so will have to get a job probably to help pay for it, and it will take longer to actually finish it, and you're restricted to actually doing the modules when they are running, and they have a nice habit of changing modules quite regularly, so the modules you could want to do in yr 2/3 could actually be stopped before you can get to them replaced by other modules.

Not first hand experience, helped girlfriend research it.

*edit* saw your medicine question - some biological science/medical type degrees require employer sponsorship, and some aren't fully accreddited, so other tests (more money) needed from the governing body of that particular profession.

I ordered a prospectus through the post and picked the modules I wanted to study from those on the list. I think the maximum you can opt for is 90 points per year (a full time degree is made up of 120 per year), but I think they suggest no more than 60 for someone with a full time job. You would then pay whatever fee is applicable for the modules you choose, apply for the part time loan if you are eligible and then they send you the course materials through the post, for the modules I picked they also had set texts which i had to buy from a bookshop.

The materials for the courses I did consisted of module workbooks, source books containing exerts, pictures etc, cassette tapes, CDs, videos and a schedule of the programmes you need to record from BBC2. Each module has a number of essays that need to be completed for the module and other bits of coursework, not all of which contribute to your overall mark. For one module I had a weekly (although it might have been fortnightly, not 100% sure) seminar where about a dozen of us would meet up with the lecturer and discuss the readings etc.

The lecturer also arranged a time (say 6pm Thurs) when he would call every week to answer questions and discuss progress, we also exchanged emails. The work books were split into chapters, some people divide them between the number of weeks of the course and do so many chapters a week but I just sort of battled through them so i was quite far ahead, this was a bit crap some weeks because the seminars would be on stuff I'd done weeks before and sometimes I was waiting for a BBC2 programme just to finish one chapter and move on. Essays have to be in at different deadlines throughout the duration of the course, when i did it it was all by post but i'm guessing nowadays the majority of it can be done online by email, those who lived nearby just dropped it off through the lecturers door.

Essay would be either handed back during seminars or by post with notes attached and a score, I think this was just provisional as they were all sent to Milton Keynes to be second marked. As I mentioned above it was quite possible to work through the material and write essays without having to use another book other than the set texts, this was a long way different from proper uni where sometimes there was a minimum number of texts required in a bibliography. At the end of the module I was set a certificate with details what i had achieved.

Some of the communication problems I had like post etc will be a lot easier today with the internet, obviously it was a round when i did my course but not everyone had internet then. Essays didn't have to be typed either and could be submitted hand written so it was quite possible to study a course without a computer never mind the internet. It all just depends on where your local seminars are and how easy it'll be for you to get to them. I managed to make a couple of friends through the seminars. i didn't drive at the time but it was only a 30 min bus ride and a ten min walk to where the seminars were (although i could have driven there in 15 mins). But like i said some people had a lot further to travel and with work commitments it often meant that they couldn't make the seminars.

I know it's a long post but hopefully it's all a bit clearer now.