Open University? Need help and advise!

I'm thinking of doing an Open University course next year, specifically in Forensic Psychology or just Psychology.

But I'm finding it difficult to gain the required information and wanted to ask people who have actually studied with them so I can get an understanding on the work load!

Here are my questions...

How full time is a full time degree? (Is it something you have to work at all day, or could you just do it when you get home from work?)

Is it actually... worth doing? Do you actually get engaged in the online lectures? I quite like lectures, but I don't fancy going to university as a full time or part time student as I want to be able to work moderately part-time/full-time.

Has anyone found that OU, whilst it's given you the knowledge, hasn't been able to put that knowledge into practice?

The courses I am looking at are 4 or 6 years long, and I would like to start as soon as possible.
If anyone has any other helpful information regarding studying with them I'd be really grateful!

Hi there,

I'm an OU student (about to start my fourth module). I'm studying part-time, 60 credits a year, and whilst on an average week it's not too intense, around the time that assignments are due it can take up quite a few hours. Plus, if it's a module with an exam, you'll need plenty of revision time.

I'd say that it would be possible to study 120 credits a year on top of your job, but it would be tough. Perhaps you could take on one 60 credit module first and see how you find it?

Is it worth doing? Definitely. The quality of the materials is excellent. It's challenging, especially from level 2 upwards, and I have learned so much!

My modules haven't had a lot in the way of video lectures. Mostly it's just a whole lot of reading and some audio (and this year independent research), but you can interact with other students through the forums, and go to tutorials if you like, and all the tutors I've had were quite interactive and very helpful.

I'm already putting what I have learned into practice, and I haven't even graduated yet!

If you study with the OU, you'll need to motivate yourself. Although the books and the website will guide you through the module and help you build up your skills, there's nobody there to hold your hand unless you ask for help from your tutor. That won't suit every person, but if you like relatively independent learning, it's quite fulfilling. I like setting my own pace.

I've always received helpful feedback on my assignments and it's a wonderful feeling receiving a good score and, after a while, realising how much you've learned and how you've progressed. On the whole, I'm a happy OU student!

Hope this helps a bit!

Thank you for all the information! It's definitely helped me a lot as I had quite a few concerns about starting a course with them as I've heard it's very challenging but a lot of employers appreciate an OU degree.

By going to tutorials, do you mean you physically get to meet university lectures? As I would like the opportunities to discuss points if I am stuck with physical people as I do find it easier discussing some issues with lecturers, but that may be because I am used to "physical" education. I am quite an independent learner.

I've done a few of their "free" lectures to get you used to the whole scheme of OU and it did go quite well, the only thing I am worried about is the work load if I am learning full time or part time.
How many hours per day/week do you spend studying part time?