"Ultimately graduates have a degree, just as if they had attended a full-time undergraduate course"
The Open University (OU) is often the first and only choice for business owners looking for higher education offering distance learning and that can be conducted at your own pace.
The OU has been operating for more than 30 years, and is aimed primarily at mature students looking to further themselves but who don't have the time or the money to go to a conventional university.
Although that shouldn't give you the impression that the OU isn't a normal university. Ultimately graduates have a degree, just as if they had attended a full-time undergraduate course.
The OU is also one of the UK's largest university, with more than 200,000 students and customers and is ranked amongst the top UK universities for the quality of its teaching. Of the 23 subjects assessed by the Quality Assurance Agency, 17 have been placed in the top 'Excellent' category.
Where it differs from other universities is that the OU's undergraduate level courses do not require any entry qualifications. More than a third of people starting these courses have qualifications below conventional university entry requirements. Despite this, around 70% of OU students successfully complete their courses each year. Nearly all OU students are part-time and about 70% of undergraduate students remain in full-time employment throughout their studies.
More than 150,000 OU students are on-line. There is a high level of acceptability about an OU course - in the academic world its courses have been widely acclaimed while most employers readily recognise the achievement.
