Best university for online course

5

Hi, any recommendations for best online universities? OU is not an option as they don't run the top-up course I need. I have had offers from Essex, Arden, Portsmouth, Northumbria, Leicester, Teeside and Derby. I've read up what I can and looked at data for each university but that doesn't give a picture of whether their online teaching is any good and would rather have first hand opinions

Reply 1

PQ

PS Reviewer

21

which subject are you topping up in?

Are the courses delivered by the university or by a partnership?

Reply 2

Koo84

OP

5

Original post by PQ

which subject are you topping up in?
Are the courses delivered by the university or by a partnership?

I've been offered top-up in Business management and also top-up in Computing as my foundation degree was in both. I know that NCC education run the Lancaster one, Kaplan run Essex courses, Arden is it's own company and the rest are university run (I believe).

Reply 3

PQ

PS Reviewer

21

Original post by Koo84

I've been offered top-up in Business management and also top-up in Computing as my foundation degree was in both. I know that NCC education run the Lancaster one, Kaplan run Essex courses, Arden is it's own company and the rest are university run (I believe).

OU offers business and computing degrees - have they refused your credit transfer? https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/apply/credit-transfer

Reply 4

Koo84

OP

5

Original post by PQ

OU offers business and computing degrees - have they refused your credit transfer? https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/apply/credit-transfer

They don't do a business top up, I didn't favour the computer modules, their next intake isn't until Oct and they want the learning outcomes from my course which I no longer have (I have my transcript and certification etc but not the learning outcomes) so I just decided against.

Reply 5

Walbrook London

11

Hi @Koo84,

It sounds like you have many good options already.

If you are looking for a distance learning institution with a high degree of flexibility to fit your studies around your busy schedule, you might want to consider LIBF. Although we don't provide top-up degrees at this current moment, we do have flexible entry criteria, which includes acknowledging prior learning achievements for possible enrollment at a later stage of the programme.

For more information on our entry requirements and how to apply, please visit the following link: https://bit.ly/49W9pA7

I hope this information is helpful.

Best,

Sam

Reply 6

Arden University

Official Rep

19

Original post by Koo84

Hi, any recommendations for best online universities? OU is not an option as they don't run the top-up course I need. I have had offers from Essex, Arden, Portsmouth, Northumbria, Leicester, Teeside and Derby. I've read up what I can and looked at data for each university but that doesn't give a picture of whether their online teaching is any good and would rather have first hand opinions

@Koo84
For which ever option you are considering, I would check out the Universities report against the Teaching Excellence Framework initiative - here is an example of Arden's https://arden.ac.uk/knowledge-base/latest-news/tef-the-teaching-excellence-framework it is usually referred to as TEF report.

I didn't do business at Arden, I did Psychology, but they have the best virtual learning environment I have come across

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

Reply 7

jrose1

Original post by Arden University

@Koo84
For which ever option you are considering, I would check out the Universities report against the Teaching Excellence Framework initiative - here is an example of Arden's https://arden.ac.uk/knowledge-base/latest-news/tef-the-teaching-excellence-framework it is usually referred to as TEF report.
I didn't do business at Arden, I did Psychology, but they have the best virtual learning environment I have come across
Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

Is there a video of the iLearn interface?

Reply 8

Arden University

Official Rep

19

Original post by jrose1

Is there a video of the iLearn interface?

@jrose1

There might be a demonstration at one of the virtual opening days, I've found you a video of the VLE used by the Forensic Science students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXwK91x9h1s which might give you an idea

A big bonus for me was the easy access to academic journals

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

Reply 9

EssexOfficialRep

Official Rep

11

Original post by Koo84

Hi, any recommendations for best online universities? OU is not an option as they don't run the top-up course I need. I have had offers from Essex, Arden, Portsmouth, Northumbria, Leicester, Teeside and Derby. I've read up what I can and looked at data for each university but that doesn't give a picture of whether their online teaching is any good and would rather have first hand opinions

Hiya @Koo84 !
Congratulations on your offers. 🤩
Essex is one of the longest running online higher education providers we have a track record of success and improvement, over half our students are from overseas; you develop worldwide connections to build a successful global career and our assessment processes are designed for online and mature students to reflect real-life situations and issues.

We offer tutors that are always there to help in every step of the way.
Because its an online degree you can tailor your study hours accordingly to what adapts to you best.

I hope this information helps and if you have any questions you can always message.

Cat-Essex Official Rep

Reply 10

Teesside University

Official Rep

17

Original post by Koo84

Hi, any recommendations for best online universities? OU is not an option as they don't run the top-up course I need. I have had offers from Essex, Arden, Portsmouth, Northumbria, Leicester, Teeside and Derby. I've read up what I can and looked at data for each university but that doesn't give a picture of whether their online teaching is any good and would rather have first hand opinions

Hi @Koo84,

I hope you've got on well with this since you received your offers and that everything is going well!

I just wanted to hop on this thread just to highlight a couple of things that might be useful for anyone else looking at studying online and considering Teesside.

Our online options are a really flexible way to fit your study around your lifestyle whilst still earning a qualification. We offer courses in a broad range of areas from accounting, art and design, business, computing, criminology, engineering, English and so many more, you can take a look at the full list here.

Learning online doesn't mean you learn alone, you have regular contact with our global student base and academic staff here at Teesside.

Happy to answer any questions people might have about our online courses.

James 😄

Reply 11

Tabushah

3

Original post by Koo84

Hi, any recommendations for best online universities? OU is not an option as they don't run the top-up course I need. I have had offers from Essex, Arden, Portsmouth, Northumbria, Leicester, Teeside and Derby. I've read up what I can and looked at data for each university but that doesn't give a picture of whether their online teaching is any good and would rather have first hand opinions

From what I’ve heard from other and online:

•

University of Essex (Online) – Strong in student support and flexibility. The platform is easy to navigate, and tutors are responsive. Good reputation for business and health-related degrees.

•

Arden University – Designed specifically for online learners, so the structure is solid. That said, experiences can vary depending on the course and tutor.

•

University of Portsmouth – Known for good academic support and regular interaction. Their online learning environment is quite polished.

•

Northumbria & Leicester – Both reputable unis with decent online offerings, but feedback seems a bit more mixed when it comes to tutor engagement.

•

Teesside & Derby – Growing online presence, with Teesside offering good value and Derby getting solid reviews for psychology and education courses.

If tutor access, feedback speed, and engagement are important to you, I'd lean toward Essex or Portsmouth. Also worth checking Facebook groups or Reddit threads specific to your course to hear directly from current students.
Hope that helps!

Reply 12

Arden University

Official Rep

19

Original post by Tabushah

From what I’ve heard from other and online:

•

University of Essex (Online) – Strong in student support and flexibility. The platform is easy to navigate, and tutors are responsive. Good reputation for business and health-related degrees.

•

Arden University – Designed specifically for online learners, so the structure is solid. That said, experiences can vary depending on the course and tutor.

•

University of Portsmouth – Known for good academic support and regular interaction. Their online learning environment is quite polished.

•

Northumbria & Leicester – Both reputable unis with decent online offerings, but feedback seems a bit more mixed when it comes to tutor engagement.

•

Teesside & Derby – Growing online presence, with Teesside offering good value and Derby getting solid reviews for psychology and education courses.

If tutor access, feedback speed, and engagement are important to you, I'd lean toward Essex or Portsmouth. Also worth checking Facebook groups or Reddit threads specific to your course to hear directly from current students.
Hope that helps!

@Tabushah
Hello! I studied at Arden University and successfully did my MSc Psychology degree there, I think the first part of your summary is correct, the virtual learning environment is the best I have come across (and I have studied at 3 universities, and worked in higher education for over 10 years). The part on different tutors is transferable to all Universities, the first place I studied at was a traditional red brick university, and the quality of lecturers ranged from the subline to not very good.

With any provider, make sure that you check out the open days / virtual open days, and also the Office for Students can give a nice holistic view of any provider

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

Best university for online course

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