Use your previous HE study to help you gain an OU qualification.
Successful completion of higher education courses may count towards an OU qualification. If we can make you an award of transferred credit for your previous study this will reduce the number of courses you need to study with the OU to gain an OU qualification.
In order to be awarded Credit Transfer, you will need an OU Personal Identifier (PI). If you do not already have a PI, please contact the Student Registration and Enquiry Service (telephone: 0845 300 60 90) and they will allocate you one. You will need to provide some personal details (your name, address, and date of birth) to enable them to create a PI for you.
To learn more about The Open University, visit the New to the OU website. If you have general questions about the University, please send an email or contact 0845 300 60 90.
If you have a query about getting onto an OU programme, please contact the Student Registration and Enquiry Service (SRS) on 0845 300 60 90. They, not the Credit Transfer Centre, deal with entry requirements.
Study leading to programmes validated by the Open University (through OUVS) may be eligible for credit transfer. For more details, please see the OUVS website
Includes undergraduate and postgraduate study from the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Includes qualifications offered by professional bodies and the armed services and vocational study such as S/NVQ's.
This section is for all qualifications from outside the UK or Republic of Ireland.
You will probably have seen in the news that members of the Communication Workers Union have voted for a national strike. Indications are that industrial action will start in the week commencing 19th October, but the extent of the action is not known. It seems that regional walkouts are still taking place which may lead to delays in post arriving.
In order to be assessed for credit transfer you must provide original evidence in support of your application as outlined in the guidance notes below. It is our standard practice to return all original documentation by recorded "signed for" mail. During this time you may wish to consider sending your original documents to us via special delivery which, Royal Mail advise, receives a priority service. You may also wish to consider using Parcelforce to send your application to us, as a separate company their service will not be affected by the current dispute.
If you are concerned about sending your original documents in the post during this time then you may take them, along with your completed application form, to your regional/ national centre where staff will assist you. The regional/ national centre will take certified copies of your original documents and forward your application on to us in Milton Keynes using our internal postal service. Please note that staff in the regional/ national centres will be unable to advise you as to whether the correct evidence has been included with your application or as to what the outcome of your application may be.
We will endeavour to retain your original documents within the credit transfer centre during a postal strike, however due to the unpredictable nature of the strike action this may not always be possible. If you would like us to keep your original documents within the centre until further notice then please let us know and we will not send your original documents in the post until you advise us to do so. If you require your original documents to be returned to you urgently then please contact an adviser within the credit transfer team who will discuss with you whether any alternative arrangements can be made.
As always if you wish to courier your documents to or from the OU then you may arrange to do so at your own cost. Before making arrangements however please contact an adviser in the credit transfer team to ensure that your documents are made available for collection by the courier.
For claims received on or after 16th February 2009, we will email you when you can view the outcome of your application on your "StudentHome" page. Please ensure you provide your email address when making a claim for Credit Transfer.
You can now check online to see if we have received your credit transfer claim. Simply go to your Student Home page: the date that we received your claim will be shown in "your qualifications" section.
Nursing update: We can now award 120 points of credit at Level 1 for pre-registration nursing qualifications started in 1971 or later, plus NMC registration. Please check the relevant section of our website for more information.
Certain OU qualifications have time-based rules. For credit transfer claims received from 1st January 2007, these rules will apply to any credit transfer awarded. Further information is contained in the Essential information about each OU qualification: these documents can be found in the How to apply section of this website.
Please note:
Although we recognise certain qualifications as containing credit at level 3, any award of transferred credit will be made at level 1 and/or 2 only, as the level 3 study requirements for OU awards must be met by OU study or collaborative course credit.
Credit cannot be awarded for study undertaken before January 1971. Towards some OU qualifications, there are further time restrictions - please check the How to apply section.
