Posted in: Experienced, Qualifications & High Education 29 August 2008 6 answers
Anonymous

Question: How reputable are Open University Degrees?

Hi, I was wondering if it was better to work and gain experience whilst completing a Batchelor’s degree with the Open University of it was better going full-time to anohter university?

Will the OU degree be snubbed because it’s not a ‘proper’ uni?

Answers (6)

  1. Its a very proper uni. You will find over the next ten years that distrance educaton like the Open Uni or University of Phoenix in the US will be getting bigger and bigger.

  2. Also london university offer distance learning degrees – so you can study degrees from the likes of LSE, Kings, UCL while working. the link is http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk. The courses they offer aren’t as extensive as their full time range, or maybe as comprehensive as Open University – but over the past few years the subjects on offer have increased

    Hope that helps.

  3. The OU is a high-quality uni. Its Business School has triple accreditation and it’s up there with the best. However, employers and recruiters typically work on perception, not reality. And the OU is still (wrongly) perceived as being for old duffers who never made it to a proper uni. I would pick a distance-learning or part-time degree from one of the London unis, such as Birkbeck. That means you can piggyback on the famous London brand.

  4. Having watched my wife take her degree part-time over six years, I would be strongly inclined to hire other people who have studied in that way. It’s a much bigger and more difficult commitment than 3 years of drinking and partying when you’re 18.

  5. Strongly agree with John H, but unfortunately also MBA/CFA Grad. I would have immense respect for anyone completing a part-time degree, however it is not ‘traditional’ and does not fit as well into the standard progression schemes as a degree from a full-time university.

  6. Jonh H – from my experience those who treated uni as a three year party ended up with a Desmond or worse and thus cannot get on the grad schemes they want to.