[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]The Open University - or 'the OU' to those in the know - was set [PARA]up to provide the opportunity for anyone, regardless of other [PARA]qualifications, to take a degree through 'distance learning'. [PARA]Distance learning is not holding books at arm's length, nor is it just[PARA]a correspondence course. Distance learning, as the OU runs it, [PARA]is a system of study aids, such as TV and radio programmes as[PARA]well as books, providing students with the chance to study for a [PARA]degree in their own time and in their own homes. There's no [PARA]campus as such, although there are tutorial rooms and very [PARA]limited facilities in 269 study centres around the UK. Most [PARA]students are in their 20s, 30s or 40s, and although they only [PARA]study part time, OU degrees are as valuable as any others.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]If you mention the Open University, many people have images of [PARA]middle-aged housewives watching men with greasy beards, [PARA]wearing corduroy tank-tops on BBC2 at 3 in the morning. Shame[PARA]on them, housewives only account for 19% of the students on [PARA]OU courses and many of the irredeemably untrendy have been [PARA]replaced with flashy video techniques and BBC voices with a [PARA]more friendly muffins-for-tea tone. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] Still, the OU is not, and doesn't attempt to be, like conventional [PARA]colleges. Most students are studying while they continue to work [PARA]or raise a family or serve jail sentences or whatever it is they [PARA]normally do. OU students are usually very committed to their [PARA]studies and talk about the increased confidence and opportunities[PARA]they give them. Everything runs at the student's own pace and [PARA]even doing a whole degree is optional. Shorter courses are [PARA]available as refreshers (for teachers, doctors, business people [PARA]and so on) or just for fun. All this, inevitably, is at the expense of [PARA]a more conventional student life. The contact between students [PARA]is confined to seminars at the study centres and week-long [PARA]summer schools. Those who become active in the students' [PARA]association (the exception rather than the rule) see each other a [PARA]bit, but basically, as the car stickers say, OU students do it on [PARA]their own.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] The OU's unique approach lends itself especially to students [PARA]that bit older than your standard spotty teenager; maybe they've [PARA]got other commitments, like jobs or children, or just don't fancy [PARA]spending 3 years in an institution. [EITAL]Many OU students left school [PARA]at 16 and have very few qualifications, so wouldn't be able to [PARA]study elsewhere even if they wanted to. [ITAL]The OU has nibbled a [PARA]special nöche for itself with disabled students who may have [PARA]access difficulties elsewhere.[EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Working at home is a distinct advantage when it comes to travel, [EITAL][PARA]but the cost of travel to the local study centre for seminars and [PARA]often long distances to summer schools comes out of the [PARA]student's pocket. National Express decided that OU students are[PARA]real students and so deserve discounts. ISIC and British Rail [PARA]haven't been so generous.[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]OU students may find this a particular problem, because, without[PARA]a campus, [EITAL]the OU is without a library except for a small [PARA]non-borrowing collection at the OU headquarters in Milton Keynes[PARA][ITAL](incidentally, Milton Keynes is strictly for those who think that life [PARA]as a Fisher Price toy would be paradise).[EITAL] OUSA has [PARA]agreements with students' unions at other colleges so that OU [PARA]students can use their libraries and other services. Many [PARA]students make their own arrangements with local colleges (for [PARA]which they often have to pay) or rely on public libraries and [ITAL][PARA]excellent[EITAL] course aids.[PARA][ITAL]Computers are similarly difficult to get one's typing fingers on, [PARA]which is a particular downer for computing students, although [PARA]20,000 students are on computer courses of some kind. [EITAL]The [PARA]University has arranged discounts on a range of computers for [PARA]home-use and these can be networked down a telephone line to [PARA]the University.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The OU solves the problem of how to take a degree and pursue [PARA]a career at the same time. [EITAL]Over 75% of students are also in full [PARA]time employment and their employers are often extremely [PARA]encouraging, particularly for students in the OU's Business [PARA]School.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Connie Booth (actress); Micky Dolenz (ex-Monkee); Lord [PARA]Gardiner (former Lord Chancellor); Lord Graham (Labour Chief [PARA]Whip in Lords); Sheila Hancock (actress); Frank Hampson (Dan [PARA]Dare cartoonist); Dave Sexton (football manager); Susan Tully [PARA]('EastEnders' actress); Kathleen Worth (actress).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Various free course guides available from the Central Enquiry Service.[PARA][PARA]
