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Open University closes doors with higher fees

Posted on Friday, 22 July by

The Open University, an educational institution instilled by the belief and motivation that higher education should be available to more than just your standard set of applicants, has caused uproar this week by announcing mind-boggling fee increases – just like all the others.

There’s been a surge in the number of young people taking OU courses, with the Milton-Keynes based company reporting a 30% increase in applications from people under the age of 25 last year. With the university specialising in long-distance learning courses, the institution has always been seen as a cost-effective alternative to stay-away university life.

That won’t be the case anymore though. While the current cost of an OU degree course per-year pitches at a respectable £1800, under new plans, this will rise to a whopping £5k.

Bare in mind that OU students don’t actually stay on campus, they don’t attend regular, daily lectures and they don’t share the same uni “experience” – they’re essentially paying £5k for some books and admin costs. Ridiculous.

Vice chancellor Martin Bean promises that the new fees will ensure “high-quality, flexible and great value-for-money education for all”. Time will tell.

  • JR

    Whilst there is no daily lectures, there are, for most courses regular tutorials and access to a personal tutor by phone/email who also marks and gives feedback on assignments.

    I agree that the fees have increased exponentially but this is not the ou’s fault but that of the government for withdrawing so much funding.

    After studying at 2 brick unis and the Ou, I still feel that it offers the best learning experience and highest value out of both options, even at the new fee levels which, incedentally are still only just over half of what most brick unis will charge

  • 中国学生

    I have been completed 5 OU courses so far, and am currently on my 6th, Beginners Chinese. I have been quite vocal on the OU course specific forum stating that I feel my current course hasnt delivered value for money and isnt a whole lot more than an expensive set of books and CD’s. That was at £445 and under these new proposals the cost will rise to £1250.

    I wont be doing another course under these new rates, and I would predict the uptake on my current course will dip dramatically.

  • Anonymous

    Interesting spelling

  • OU Mature Student

    There are bigger issues at play than spelling! The saddest thing here is that the Open University provided a sensibly priced option for study, not just to gain qualifications, but to open up another world(through education) for many people who normally wouldnt enter H.E.

    This is quite visible during tutorials with people drawn together from different ages, and I feel these new course fees are likely to reduce the student intake. Its not going to be a feasible cost option for many older students.

  • Saddened

    I’ve been an OU student on and off for the past 19 years, finally finishing my BA Hons this year (assuming I pass my EMA). I’ve flitted from one subject to another across specialties because I wanted to — from sciences to history, psychology and english. I’ve loved every course, met fantastically interesting people and am happier, wiser and widely educated as a result. I didn’t do these courses just to get a qualification as I am self-employed and don;t need a degree, but I nevertheless wanted the experience the OU brings. With these fees increase, there is no way I would even think about doing a course just for fun/experience/interest. There are lots of retired people who take up OU courses and add a lot to the dynamic of the tutorial groups — I can’t imagine many of them would want to pay these fees either. This is a sad time for the OU and I very much fear will change it for ever from being an inclusive organisation to yet another one only for the rich or those poor souls starting off who are able to pile up debt.

  • http://Gobsmacked Karen

    I have studied with the OU for a few years, as it is both unaffordable and impractical for me to study in any other way, as I have a family with 2 children and work full time. The OU is great for people like myself as is makes higher education affordable and accessible.
    Sadly, that will all change as I believe the OU’s target market will no longer be able to afford to continue.
    I’ve had a quick look on a few websites of similar institutions in other countries, for example, South Africa and Australia, to see how their OU-equivalents compare. Surprise, surprise, they are on a par with the current OU fees, and they have exam centres in the UK. Perhaps something that warrants further investigation.
    I am one of the lucky ones, as the new OU fee structure will remain comparable to current levels for the duration of my course. It will certainly deter new starters.
    I’m also angry that the money that I have saved up for my childrens’ higher education (I have a 15 and 17 year old, so both eligible for the 9k) is no longer sufficient. Why the goalposts had to be moved so far, so fast, I don’t know. I was hoping to give the children a debt-free start.
    The whole situation just makes me angry to think about it!

  • stew

    I think they might have over-priced themselves at £1250 for 30pts. The OU are excellent but a lot of courses have little tutor contact so they’ll be quite expensive books. I hope they don’t become just about selling degrees rather than world class learning.

  • Ian

    @ Saddened/ Mature Student

    Don’t forget that these ‘fees’ are not paid upfront but only start to be repaid, over thirty years, by people earning over £21,000. So, for example, older people coming up to retirement are most likely to not pay very much back at all (unless they have a pension of over £21,000) as their income will not be over that level after they retire.

  • It’s not the OU’s fault

    The OU hasn’t decided to increase their fees because they feel like it – they have been forced into it by the government. The cost to the OU of revising their fees, publications, computer systems as well as the cost to staffing, training and ultimately, staff redundancies has been huge.

    I understand people’s frustrations but it is annoying when some people think the OU has just decided this to “make more money” when it is because the funding has been cut, that is causing the increases.

    If the OU didn’t increase the fees, then it would be a closed door and no more OU. They HAVE to do this to keep students and to maintain it’s responsibility of being one of the top Universities.