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Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes

Open uni grading system

Hi! I’m now about to finish Year 1 at a brick uni, and am looking to transfer to to OU for years 2 and 3. I’ve been fine with the workload and content so far, I just want to switch due to issues making me need to stay home, and to get a part time job again. My question- I rang OU with some queries yesterday but ended up a little more confused than I began. I understand the grade boundaries are slightly higher, making it harder to achieve a first overall? Are the marking specifications different or is a 70 at a brick uni equivalent to a 85 at OU?
Also, the guy on the phone said that to work out your overall year score, they take your LOWEST coursework grade. Is this right? It kinda seems a bit counterproductive, like what if you just have an off day and a certain assignment is poor? Can anyone confirm this for me?:/
It's best to not try comparing the grading boundaries from other universities to the Open University. They're different programmes, with different starting points, and different expectations. Just take the grading boundaries at the OU at face value.

Grading is explained in detail in the Assessment Handbook. Generally speaking, the boundaries are:
85-100 / Pass 1 / Distinction
70-84 / Pass 2 / Merit
55-69 / Pass 3 / Pass
40-54 / Pass 4 / Pass

It's technically true that the module result is based on the lower of the two components of your result, those being the OCAS (Overall Continuous Assessment Score, based mainly on assignments) and the OES (Overall Examinable score, based mainly on an end-of-module assignment or a final exam). The intent, however, is to say that you must receive a Pass 1 in both the OCAS and OES to get a distinction on the module, you must achieve at least a Pass 2 in both the OCAS and OES to get a merit, etc.

The OCAS is a weighted average of all of the assignments you do during the module. So if you have one bad assignment, it will probably average out. Additionally, many modules allow substitution, where a missed or sub-par assignment can receive partial or higher credit based on your unmodified OCAS and that assignment's original score. (It's a bit complicated, and most of the details are linked in the assessment handbook above. Let me know if you're really interested in the exact formula, which is missing from their documentation.)

Finally, the module will have a results team (mostly made up of the module team) that reviews all module results before they're officially submitted, and they may manually adjust boundaries depending on circumstances.
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes

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