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Friday, 13 April 2012
Over 450 students, ranging in age from 20 to 87, will be awarded Open University degrees and professional qualifications tomorrow (Saturday 14 April) at the University’s graduation ceremony in Glasgow.
The challenge of completing a degree course while working, as over 70% of OU students do, requires great focus and commitment, but the benefits are considerable. For many of this year’s graduates, The Open University offered a further opportunity to gain a university degree, which in turn has led to increased personal confidence, an appetite for further study and improved career prospects.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
The popular Open University app, Devolve Me, has today hit one million downloads.
Devolve Me is a face morph game launched as part of the Darwin celebrations. The app allows people to see how they may have looked as an ancient ancestor from Australopithecus afarensis (3.7million years ago) to a Homo heidelbergensis (500,000 years ago).
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Business Superbrands lists the UK’s strongest brands that have established an exceptional reputation in their field. The results of the 2012 survey show The Open University moving up to fourth place from fifth the previous year in the Executive Education, Training and Development category, placing it above Imperial College Business School, City and Guilds, Warwick Business School, Cass Business School, Henley Business School, The University of Oxford SAID Business School, Manchester Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School, Ashridge Business School and Durham Business School in the rankings.
Monday, 30 January 2012
A new partnership launched today between The Open University in Scotland and City of Glasgow College will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The partnership agreement links up City of Glasgow College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of courses and qualifications to create progression routes between the two learning providers. This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Leading figures from Scotland’s education and skills sectors will take part in a major event later this week to explore how higher education can work more closely with businesses to aid workforce development.
The 2012 Part-Time Forum, led by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and The Open University in Scotland, will be held at the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh on Friday 20 January 2012 from 9.20am-3.15pm.
On the theme ‘Flexible study: meeting the needs of employers and employees’, the event will be chaired by journalist Ruth Wishart and participants will include Brendan Dick, Managing Director of BT Scotland; Professor Jim McGoldrick, Chairman of NHS Fife; Martin Bean, Vice Chancellor of The Open University; Gill Troup, Depute Principal of UWS; and Mike Duncan, Managing Director of OPITO.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
A new partnership, launched today between The Open University in Scotland and Langside College, will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The partnership agreement links up Langside College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of courses and qualifications, to create progression routes between the two learning providers. This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
The Open University has today announced that its undergraduate fees for students in Scotland will remain at current levels plus inflation for the academic year 2012/13. This means students will continue to pay an average of £1,610 for 120 credits of study (the equivalent of a year of full-time study). Many students study on a module basis, 60 credit modules are priced from £735.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
The Open University on iTunes U has hit 40 million downloads, nearly doubling the numbers in just over a year. The rate of iTunes U downloads straight to iOS devices also soared. In September 2010, 30 per cent of visitors to OU on iTunes U were downloading onto iOS devices and by July 2011 this had risen to 70 per cent of users. Learning may be a part of the drive to 'post personal computing' platforms such as iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. In July 2011, iPad users alone constituted 18.3 per cent of visits to OU on iTunes U.
The OU is one of the biggest and most popular contributors to iTunes U, averaging 275,000 downloads a week and has one of the widest ranging libraries, including both audio visual collections, and over 400 eBooks derived from our award winning OpenLearn site. The Open University recently added ‘Gaelic in Modern Scotland’ as an e-book, available in both Gaelic and in English, to its library. ‘Gaelic in Modern Scotland’ was welcomed by the Scottish Government, as one of a number of OpenLearn resources developed about Scottish culture which now have a global reach through new technologies.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
A new partnership launched today between The Open University in Scotland and Banff & Buchan College of Further Education will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The partnership agreement links up Banff & Buchan College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of courses and qualifications to create progression routes between the two learning providers. This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
A new online learning resource to increase general knowledge of Gaelic is launched today.
Welcomed by Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for Learning & Skills, The Open University’s Gaelic in modern Scotland resource will meet the growing demand from people interested in Gaelic’s place in the culture and heritage of Scotland and aims to encourage the learning of Gaelic.
Gaelic in modern Scotland is available in both English and Gaelic on the University's OpenLearn website www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/gaelic which provides free access for learners anywhere in the world.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
A new partnership launched today between The Open University in Scotland and John Wheatley College will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The partnership agreement links up John Wheatley College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of courses and qualifications to create progression routes between the two learning providers. This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
The Open University remains top for student satisfaction in Scotland according to the latest National Student Survey (NSS) results. 93% of OU students surveyed in Scotland declared themselves to be satisfied with the quality of their course.
The OU has had the highest overall satisfaction ratings in Scotland since the National Student Survey began in 2005 and shares the top spot in Scotland this year with St Andrew’s University.
Dr James Miller, Director of The Open University in Scotland said:
“I am delighted that we have again received such positive feedback from our students. The Open University is unique in many ways but student support is at the heart of what we do. It is reassuring to know that the particular emphasis we place on supporting our students is reflected in this survey which is based on students’ actual experience. I hope this will encourage others to consider studying with the OU.”
Thursday, 23 June 2011
A new partnership was launched on 20 June 2011 between The Open University in Scotland and Kilmarnock College which will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The partnership agreement links up Kilmarnock College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of modules and qualifications to create progression routes between the two learning providers. This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
To further the partnership agreement made between The Open University in Scotland and Motherwell College back in 2009 Motherwell College has become an official Open University ‘Learning Space’.
The partnership extension, launched yesterday (Tuesday 31st May 2011) will give Open University students across Lanarkshire and beyond access to a range of support and study facilities within the main College campus. This will include library services, IT facilities and support together with social spaces where OU students can meet and gather information about OU study opportunities.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Over 400 people, who range in age from 22 to 85, will be awarded Open University degrees and professional qualifications tomorrow (Saturday 28 May 2011) at the University’s graduation ceremony in Glasgow. They include hundreds of students from across Scotland as well as a handful from abroad.
Key facts about students graduating from the OU in Scotland in 2011:
The Open University in Scotland is also awarding honorary degrees to four people who have made outstanding contributions to the field of education or in their own particular field. They are: Professor Norman Gillies; Professor Anne Glover; Maggie Lennon; and Professor Norman Sharp.
Monday, 16 May 2011
One in four people in Scotland are put off studying part-time by the tuition fees, according to a MORI poll published today.
Of the 1,002 people surveyed, 24% said that the cost of studying part-time education would stop them from taking this route. The proportion was highest among the unemployed, with over 52% saying they’d like to study and three quarters (73%) of unemployed people saying that associated fees prevented them from doing so.
Some 74,000 students in Scotland - four in every ten - who study at university part-time still pay their fees upfront and largely out of their own pockets.
The Open University is calling on the new Scottish Government to continue to explore ways of extending the financial support that is available to some part-time students to ensure that cost is not a barrier to anyone considering higher education.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
A new partnership launched on 30 March 2011 between The Open University in Scotland and South Lanarkshire College will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
Dr James Miller, Director of The Open University in Scotland, explains the rationale behind the partnership. “We are delighted to be working in partnership with South Lanarkshire College to offer local students the opportunity to continue their studies with The Open University. It is particularly important in the current economic environment that students from the college are able to upskill and reskill to stay one step ahead in the labour market.
“This partnership brings Scotland’s leading provider of part-time university education to the heart of the South Lanarkshire community. We look forward to contributing directly to the skills and learning needs of individuals and employers throughout the area.”
Friday, 25 February 2011
A new partnership was launched on 25 February 2011 between The Open University in Scotland and Angus College which will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.
The flexibility of OU study means that it is likely to offer particular benefits to people who have studied part-time at the college to fit round their other commitments, or who are looking to commence or remain in employment while they work towards a degree. The progression opportunities offered through the new partnership are open to former Angus College students irrespective of how long it is since they studied at the college.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
New Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning to deliver keynote speech
Leading figures from Scotland’s education and skills sectors will take part in a major event next week to explore how part-time learning can help Scotland achieve its ambition to become a high skill economy.
The 2011 Part-Time Forum, led by The Open University in Scotland and University of the West of Scotland (UWS), will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 13 January from 10am-4.15pm. On the theme ‘Making Part-Time Learning Work for Scotland’, the event will be chaired by journalist Ruth Wishart and speakers will include Angela Constance, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning.
James Watt College and Open University partnership (Thursday, 2 December 2010)
Open University awarded funding to train teachers in Malawi (Monday, 1 November 2010)
Reid Kerr College and Open University partnership (Tuesday, 19 October 2010)
Carnegie College and Open University partnership (Friday, 3 September 2010)
Open University comes to Elgin (Monday, 30 August 2010)
The OU in Scotland gets top marks for student satisfaction (Thursday, 19 August 2010)
£2 million boost for student internships in third sector (Wednesday, 18 August 2010)
Click here for a pilot project case study that shows the real life impact of the programme
Younger students turn to the OU to get ahead (Wednesday, 4 August 2010)
Two novelists to receive Open University honorary degrees (Thursday, 20 May 2010)
Edinburgh’s Telford College and Open University partnership (Monday, 26 April 2010)
New Open University Director in Scotland, Dr James Miller (Monday, 19 April 2010)
OU social work students rewarded for their dedication and commitment (Tuesday, 30 March 2010)
Open University to be lead sponsor of 2010 Hr NETWORK National Awards (Tuesday, 16 February 2010)
University event leading the debate on workforce skills (Wednesday, 6 January 2010)
Making Scotland’s history (Tuesday, 3 November 2009)
Prime Minister launches Jennie Lee Partnership (Saturday, 24 October 2009)
Open University celebrates 40 years in Shetland (Tuesday, 1 September 2009)
Open University in Scotland Director awarded OBE (Monday, 15 June 2009)
Latest graduates mark Open University’s 40 years working for Scotland (Tuesday, 2 June 2009)
How moneywise are you? (Tuesday, 7 April 2009)
Scotland’s foster carers blaze a trail to a new professional qualification (Monday, 23 March 2009)
Open University in Scotland commits to tackling climate change(Friday, 27 February 2009)
OU aims to fill the skills gap for Scotland’s leading care workers (Monday, 19 January 2009)
University event leading the debate on workforce skills (Monday, 12 January 2009)
Open University invites the world to discover Scotland for free (Tuesday, 11 November 2008)
Click here to visit the OpenLearn Scotland website
Open University scheme helps Scottish pupils stand out from the crowd (Monday, 20 October 2008)
Click here for the latest Open University news releases from around the UK
Last updated: January 2012
