Thinking of Open Uni for a second degree

Hi all. Has anyone here done a degree at a solid university and then gone on to do another one at the OU? I'm thinking of doing this but looking through all of the information about it is raising a few questions for me.

My main concern is firstly the question of whether it is worth doing it or not. I graduated from Cambridge over a year ago. I did Natural Sciences, didn't particularly have a good time, got a third class honours and don't really feel like I learnt much. Fortunately I have found a decent full-time job after graduation which is helping to pay off the debts and I am enjoying it, but the idea of giving education another shot really appeals to me. The OU is well respected these days isn't it? If my CV shows a third from Cambridge, and then (hopefully!) a 2:i or 1st from the OU 5 years later in a completely different subject, will people respect me for having another try? Or would I be better off seeing if I can get on any kind of Masters course if I want to further my study?

Also, what about the financial side of things? As I have already done one degree how does this affect funding for me? Will I need to pay more than the module prices on the website? What's changing in 2012? Should I make sure I start a module in Feb 2012 to avoid higher fees?

Finally I am a bit confused about credit transfer. The OU website seems to imply they will credit you for previous study, even for completed degrees - surely this is doing the work once, but getting a qualification for it twice? Have I got the wrong end of the stick here? I am currently thinking about doing Economics and Mathematical Sciences. My first degree included a fair bit of Maths in the first year so will I get credit transfer for this?

A lot of questions here but I really appreciate any advice anyone might have.

Reply 1

Unluckeh

I can hopefully try and answer a couple of your questions...

Original post by oumaybe

Also, what about the financial side of things? As I have already done one degree how does this affect funding for me? Will I need to pay more than the module prices on the website? What's changing in 2012? Should I make sure I start a module in Feb 2012 to avoid higher fees?

Doing a second degree means that there is no financial support available whatsoever, be that grants or loans. Regarding fees, you should be able to continue on the current fee structure provided you start a module and link it to a qualification between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012 so you'll need to be quick. To qualify, you must also study every year, and the transitional arrangement ends in 2017 so plan to be finished by then. The Fees 2012 for current students explains this: http://www8.open.ac.uk/study/explained/fees-2012/currently-studying

Original post by oumaybe

Finally I am a bit confused about credit transfer. The OU website seems to imply they will credit you for previous study, even for completed degrees - surely this is doing the work once, but getting a qualification for it twice? Have I got the wrong end of the stick here? I am currently thinking about doing Economics and Mathematical Sciences. My first degree included a fair bit of Maths in the first year so will I get credit transfer for this?

You may well be able to transfer credit towards a second degree, however it can only be used towards any free choice element - so if you want a named degree, the amount you can transfer will depend on the degree. If you wanted to go for an Open degree (which is all free-choice) you could potentially transfer up to 240 points, as you must have a minimum of 120 points of "new" credit for a qualification.

Hope this helps! :smile:

Open University

Milton Keynes

Reply 2

Nitebot

Worth remembering that future employers, who will ask for your module breakdown, will see where you've used credit transfer, so if you did use 240 credits from your Cambridge degree to go towards an OU Open degree, they may not rate your new degree highly. It would be different for a named degree though as the free choice credits are a low proportion of the degree and so you have to do a lot of new study.

Reply 3

Amabel

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

PennineAcute

Could not agree more. I was going to wait until October 12 before I started, but when I realised that I could get the cheaper courses if I took some courses in Feb, that is the way that I went. The best thing, as I get Housing Benefit, is that for the next 4 years or so I get it basically FOC. Who said education was not free :wink: