Without this institution I wouldn’t have been able to study. Everything this university offers is flexible for the students that otherwise didn’t achieve the relevant grades in school and they believe anybody can achieve their dreams if given the opportunity to study. The resources, support, community, facilities and everything else this university provide is fantastic. I couldn’t put it any other way.

Facilities provided by the open university - being the physical module materials we receive or the online module websites and libraries accessible by them - is a great resource for our learning. The facilities are extraordinary for the topics, subjects, essays, articles, and many more materials available to all students; not just OU students themselves, but also external students at other universities. OpenLearn courses are also free to the public if people want to explore other topics and subjects of interest.

Tutor support is wonderful. They are approachable from any direction and are always willing to help their students in any circumstances that feel their current mindset is preventing themselves from studying. A phone call or an email communication is the best resource for support, however, the university also provides support services for their students if they need to reach out to speak to someone other than their allocated tutors. The university social media controllers are also wonderful with students that make their difficulties noticeable on social media feed such as Instagram; they associate with their students on a daily basis on social media and that can sometimes make circumstances easier when they’re telling students to reach out to them if necessary.

The Open University provides both online and optional face-to-face lectures for our studies, and, like every other university, a lot of thought, preparation and effort is included in their presentation of tutorials, whether online or in a physical educational environment such as in a college. Tutors are incredibly resourceful, helpful and their support throughout the academic year is fantastic. I’m a strong believer for thanking tutors at the end of tutorials and the academic years for all the help and support they provide when they also have personal lives and alternative jobs to being a tutor. Many people think the OU is not a ‘real’ degree because it is online-based, but they deserve every bit of credit for figuring out new software updates and platforms in order to satisfy the needs for paying students when hosting tutorials every few days of the week. The information given in course materials is absolutely ecstatic from the university. Physical books can be a challenge to read due to the bulk of reading there is with the more to read every year, but the books and audio/visual materials are great resources to have to hand, and the best part about my module materials is the fact that I can go back to these books and read and study the chapters not necessarily relevant to the essay questions and learn more than I could have done during the academic year. I find myself going back over three years worth of study materials during the summer because the topics and arguments are intriguing to read about. Without the Open University, I could never have had an education. I never believed I could study at degree level and I’m now half way through my studies (year 3 of 6; part time). I would recommend this institution to anybody that thought they could never achieve their dreams at ‘traditional’ university age. The flexibility of this institution is what builds them as a whole, and their inside and outside of university support community is a strength on its own. We’re a community that support each other regardless of circumstances and challenges that may be there.

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Career services provided by the university are accessible to students and external people that feel they need advice about careers. Graduates often attend these meetings during or after their studies since these can provide more information, guidance and advice about moving forwards with job prospects.

The university has supported me from day 1 of the application process. Access to all the materials, including tutorials, are easily accessible and the submissions system for assignments is top rate.

Being able to study in my free time is a big reason why I chose this course. The tutorials and day schools are great, and the course materials are fantastic

No