1. The Open University 6.1 entries for distance and part-time learners by James Ashby

2. Student population of over 210,000 UK’s only university dedicated to distance learning Over 75% of OU students work full or part-time during their studies 88% of FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff on OU courses Most of our undergraduate courses have no formal entry requirements The average age of new undergraduate OU students is 29 with 33% of students being between the age of 25-34 and 7% of undergraduate students aged between 18-21 2 What differentiates the OU from other Universities The Open University

3. Challenges for The OU in developing entries in section 6.1 The Open University Size of student cohort: Scalability of verifying activities becomes a big factor Intermittent and part-time nature of study Students studying an OU degree have a maximum of 16 years to complete their degree The point at which we finalize the HEAR is not fixed to a set time frame Not a centralised location Due to the OU’s geographical reach (worldwide), the possibility to offer students the option to attend a local OU run society or club is restricted Part-time/full time jobs Study/Work gives students less time to focus on extra activities Family commitments 3

4. The Open University The options for section 6.1 (following options considered) OpenLearn – www.openlearn.edu/openlearn/ OpenLearnwww.openlearn.edu/openlearn/ Free learning resources website Over 11,000 hours of learning materials including 8,000 hours taken from OU undergraduate and postgraduate modules 33.7 million visits since its launch in 2006 Recently introduced Badged Open Courses (BOC’s) Digital ‘badges’ are used to record and display new skills and achievements online for anyone to view The learner can share their record via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and WordPress FutureLearn – www.futurelearn.com FutureLearnwww.futurelearn.com Another online resource for free learning materials Hundred’s of courses to choose from Potential for Universities to verify courses by using the certificate of participation that learners can purchase once they have completed the course 4

5. The Open University Grade recognition The best coursework grade, best timed assessment, best qualification grade and the highest module grade Sponsored prizes Examples at the OU include: British Psychological Society award – top 3 scoring students Undergraduate Microbiology Prize OU Union volunteering roles Examples include a degree ceremony volunteer, online forum moderator and writer for the OU student magazine Extra study Vocational qualifications and non-qualification related modules OpenLearn and FutureLearn Generic statement Generic OU graduateness What skills differentiate students leaving the OU from other Universities 5 The options for section 6.1

6. Part 1 Brain storming 5 minutes: Complete the first page of the hand- out 6 Workshop The Open University

7. Workshop The Open University Part 2 Speed Dating 16 minutes: 4 minute sessions Share: Ideas with your partner on 6.1 entries for distance and part-time learners 7

8. Thank You All hand-outs will be combined and distributed to your emails in the near future James Ashby Email: James.ashby@open.ac.uk 8