Open University

The Open University (OU) is a public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. Most of its undergraduate students live in the United Kingdom and study from home, but many of its courses can be taken by people all over the world. The university also has a campus at Walton Hall in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, where some students do research full-time.

The OU was established in 1969 and began with students enrolling in January 1971. It was first located at Alexandra Palace in north London, using old television studios from the BBC. Today, the main administration is at Walton Hall, with offices in other parts of the United Kingdom and some presence in European countries. The university offers many types of qualifications, including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diplomas, certificates, and special Open Degrees where students can choose from many different subjects.

With around 200,000 students, the Open University is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Since it began, over 2.3 million people have studied there. The OU is known for producing many leaders and has been where famous people like former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown and astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell have worked as teachers.

History

The Open University was started by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson strongly supported the idea, inspired by Michael Young.

Planning began in 1965, led by Jennie Lee, the Minister of State for Education. She created a plan to make high-quality education available to everyone. She formed a group of university leaders, educators, and TV experts to help.

The BBC played an important role. James Redmond, an engineering expert at the BBC, had studied at night school and was very excited to help use TV for teaching.

Wilson wanted the Open University to show the Labour Party's effort to modernize Britain. He believed it would help the economy grow and give more people chances to improve their lives. He also thought using TV and radio for courses was a smart way to use new technology.

Even though many people were unsure or against the idea, Jennie Lee kept working hard, and with Harold Wilson's support, the Open University was officially created on 23 April 1969.

Organisation and administration

Staff

Most of the staff at the Open University work part-time to help teach courses. As of 2021–22, almost 5,000 people worked for the university. There are also around 1,427 full-time teachers and researchers who help create and present the course materials. There are also many other staff who support the work of the university. Paying these staff is the biggest expense for the university.

Credit union

The Open University has a credit union for its staff. This is a place where staff can save money and borrow small loans. It is protected by rules to keep members’ savings safe.

Regional Offices

The Open University has offices in Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh to help students in different parts of the UK.

Academic divisions

Faculties

In 2016, the university changed how it organised its work. It now has four main areas: Arts & Social Sciences, Business and Law, Science and Engineering, and Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. It also offers special programmes for students and learning technology.

Open University Business School

In 1982, the Open University began a course for managers. This led to the creation of the Open University Business School in 1988. The school offers an MBA programme, which is a top-rated course for learning business online. It has earned special recognition from three international groups.

Some selected rankings:

• The OU Business School's MBA programme was ranked 13th in the Financial Times’ global rankings of online and distance learning MBA providers which featured five European schools, four of which were in the UK.
• Ranked fifth in the Global Online MBA Rankings by CEO Magazine and 1st for UK institutions (2019).
• Ranked sixth in the world for the QS Distance Online MBA Rankings (2016).

Singapore Institute of Management Open University Centre

From 1992 to 2005, the Singapore Institute of Management worked with the Open University to offer degree programmes. In 2005, SIM created its own university, and students could choose to receive a degree from either SIM or the Open University when they graduated in 2006.

Academic profile

Teaching methods

The Open University uses many ways to teach students, including books, audio materials, the Internet, software on discs, and TV programs on DVD. In the past, the university also broadcast TV programs on the BBC, but these stopped in 2006. Students usually get help from tutors who give feedback on their work and are available for face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or online chats. Some short courses don’t have tutors but offer online help from moderators.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, some courses needed students to attend day schools. Now, all teaching is done online. The Open University has created many TV and radio programs to help people learn. In the early days, these were documentaries or lectures, but later they became popular shows like Rough Science and "Battle of the Geeks". The university stopped late-night TV programs in 2004, focusing instead on shows like those on BBC Four.

The university joined the open educational resources movement in 2006 with OpenLearn, offering free course materials for everyone. It also uses virtual worlds like Second Life for learning and has been a big contributor to iTunes U. The Open University uses Moodle for online learning and started a free online course platform called FutureLearn in 2013.

Assessment methods

Students in Open University courses are usually assessed with a mix of exams and coursework. Coursework often includes several assignments marked by tutors and sometimes computer-marked questions. Exams are usually three hours long, but some courses have end-of-module assessments done at home.

Grades are given on a scale, and these grades are used to decide the final degree classification.

Qualifications

Undergraduate

The Open University offers many undergraduate qualifications, including certificates, diplomas, and bachelor’s degrees. To get a bachelor’s degree, students usually need 300 to 360 credits, which take about six years to complete. The university offers degrees in Arts, Science, Laws, and Engineering.

Students can also take short online modules worth ten credits, which start at different times of the year. Some science modules include lab work.

Open degree

The Open University also offers multidisciplinary “Open” degrees, allowing students to study various subjects to fit their interests and career needs. The Open degree is very popular and is the most common qualification at the university.

Postgraduate

The Open University offers postgraduate studies, including PhDs, professional doctorates, and master’s degrees in many subjects. It also provides postgraduate certificates and diplomas, and some master’s degrees in engineering are accredited for professional registration.

Degree ceremonies

The Open University holds degree ceremonies throughout the year in various locations across the UK and Ireland. These events are called “Presentations of Graduates” and are for students who have already graduated. The ceremonies include traditional academic rituals.

Rankings

The Open University is included in major world university rankings and has been recognized for its research and student satisfaction.

Research

The Open University is active in research, with over 500 staff and 1,200 research students. It spends around £20 million each year on research, with funding from various sources. The university’s Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute is well known for its work on space missions, such as the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn.

The university also runs the Open Research Online website, which shares research from many areas.

OpenScience Observatories

The university operates telescopes and other instruments at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife, including the COmpletely Autonomous Service Telescope (COAST) and the Physics Innovations Robotic Telescope Explorer (PIRATE).

Students

In the 2022/23 academic year, there were 199,391 students studying at the Open University.

Most students live in the United Kingdom, with many studying from home. In 2022/23, over 99,000 students were from England, almost 20,000 from Scotland, and thousands more from Wales, Northern Ireland, and the European Union. Many students are older, but more young people are joining too. By 2022/23, most new students were between 25 and 34 years old.

Students at the Open University choose individual courses instead of whole programs. The most popular subjects were biological and physical sciences, social studies, and mathematical sciences. The university helps students with money, and many get support for their studies.

The Open University has grown quickly. It started with fewer than 50,000 students in 1970 and now has educated over 1.5 million people. The student group, called Open SU, helps students with support and activities.

Notable current and former academics

See also: Category: Academics of the Open University

The Open University has had many well-known teachers and experts over the years. Some of these include:

• Jocelyn Bell Burnell – astronomer
• Robin Wilson – mathematician
• Colin Pillinger – planetary scientist
• Brian Goodwin – biologist
• Stuart Hall – social scientist

Other notable academics who have worked at the OU include experts in fields such as art history, geography, music, philosophy, and space science.

Notable alumni and honorees

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Open University people.

Alumni

Lord Reid, former Home Secretary and Minister, studied at the Open University.

Actress Talulah Riley earned a degree in Natural Sciences from the OU.

Meles Zenawi – former President and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, completed an MBA in 1995.

Natalya Kaspersky, Russian entrepreneur and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, earned a bachelor's degree.

Sir Lenny Henry – comedian and actor, graduated with a BA Hons in English Literature.

Marat Khusnullin – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, earned a degree in management.

Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, completed a GrDip in economics.

Lord McFall, Scottish politician and Lord Speaker, studied BA Education and Philosophy.

British actress and film director Romola Garai earned a BA in English literature.

Welsh Footballer Ben Davies completed a 2:1 degree in Economics and Business.

Honorary graduates

Former UK Prime Minister and OU tutor Gordon Brown received an honorary doctorate.

Tim Berners-Lee – inventor of the World Wide Web, received an honorary doctorate.

King Charles III (then Prince Charles) received an Honorary Degree from the OU in 1982.

Physicist and presenter Brian Cox was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Author Terry Pratchett received an honorary doctorate in 2013.

Richard Dawkins holds an honorary doctorate from the Open University.

Honours and awards

As of 2023, the Open University has won the BBC's University Challenge quiz two times, in the years 1984 and 1999.

In fiction

The Open University has appeared in many films and TV shows. In the movie Educating Rita, a character wants to learn more by studying English literature with a tutor.

TV characters have also taken Open University courses. Examples include Anne Bryce in Ever Decreasing Circles, Yvonne Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and George Bulman in Bulman, an ITV show from Strangers. In Brookside, Sheila Grant was in a story about her tutor. Onslow from Keeping up Appearances sometimes watches Open University programs on TV.

In 2006, actor Lenny Henry starred in a BBC drama called Slings and Arrows, which he also wrote. It was about someone falling in love while taking an Open University English Literature course. Henry himself has completed a degree through the OU.

In the TV series Life on Mars, the main character received messages late at night through Open University programs. In Birds of a Feather, a character named Dorian Green started studying psychology at the Open University.

In the novel The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, the main character studies psychology at the Open University. In Zadie Smith’s novel Swing Time, the narrator’s mother is also a student there.

In an episode of Bottom called Accident, characters watch an Open University lecture about medieval population patterns in Lower Saxony while falling asleep.

Partnerships

The Open University works with many groups to help people study. Members of the British armed forces can take courses and get materials sent to them, even while they are serving. There are study centers in places like Cyprus and Germany.

The Open University also has partners all over the world. These partners offer degrees that the Open University has approved. Some of these partners include Union School of Theology, Regent's University London, York College, Belfast Metropolitan College, American College of Greece, Leeds City College, and Ruskin College Oxford.

The university also works with other top schools to help train doctors and researchers. One group, called The Grand Union, includes the Open University, the University of Oxford, and Brunel University London. Another group works with the Open University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge to support students studying arts and humanities. There is also a team with the Open University, Imperial College London, and the University of Cambridge that focuses on learning about nuclear energy.

Coat of Arms

The Open University has a special symbol called a coat of arms. This symbol represents the university and its commitment to providing education to people all over the world. It shows the university's dedication to learning for everyone, no matter where they live.