My Open University experience
A couple of years ago I decided I needed a fresh challenge (on top of impending fatherhood!) and commenced studying for a science degree through Open Universities Australia (OUA). Studying through Open University has been a great experience and even though I have moved onto a different area of study, I wanted to share my OUA experience with others.
I have completed 5 subjects with OUA in the Bachelor of Applied Science (RMIT). Before starting on my degree course, I did one of OUA’s Prep courses. It had been nearly 20 years since my last tertiary study, and I had never studied at degree level before so I wanted to do a Preparatory course to see if I was able to study effectively at this level, taking into account time constraints, distance education issues etc. The Prep course was great, it gave me all the skills and tools I needed to get myself ready for Higher Education, such as essay writing skills, time management, resourcing and research skills, and above all the confidence I would be able to do well in my studies.
My advice to anyone considering taking up distance education, whether through OUA or another Institution is to undertake one of the Prep courses first. You will learn invaluable skills and I believe that doing this course has helped me in achieving good marks in all the subjects I have undertaken so far.
After completing the Prep course I moved straight into a University subject. I chose an introductory subject, which in many cases went over some of the same things covered in my Prep course, but it was much more science based and in line with my degree than the necessarily broad Prep course. Again I think this was a smart choice, it allowed me to ease into the degree. Since then I have completed another 4 subjects through OUA.
One of the things I have really enjoyed with my OUA course has been the camaraderie between the students. While in many cases you don’t actually get to meet, the forums offer a great chance to get to know people virtually, and many people setup online study groups, while questions were often promptly answered by fellow students if you got stuck. In my case, as I was undertaking a science degree, there actually is a one week intensive set of lab sessions for some of the subjects. These sessions are held on-campus at the uni that is offering the subject, and many people flew in from overseas or interstate, or drove down from the country to attend. The lab sessions are a lot of fun, but they are quite full-on as you have a lot to get through each day. They are also a great way to get to actually meet your fellow students, and by the end of the week friendships often form, emails are swapped and Friday night drinks arranged; much like regular uni!
Many of the OUA subjects have invigilated (supervised) exams. No doubt these are the scary part of uni study for many! However I have found them to be OK, just do all your readings and course work, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to revise in the week leading up to your exam and you should be able to get yourself a good mark. I have had exams at both Caulfield Racecourse and the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne; however OUA has agreements with institutions and venues worldwide so you generally do not have to attend an exam too far away from your home. Other subjects have online exams and tests; these are generally fairly easy, just make sure that you are well prepared, with all the resources you need right at hand and you should be able to get excellent marks in these.
I have found OUA to be a great way of learning. You need to be self-disciplined, and well organised, but if you are then you will find you will most likely have no problems getting all the work done, and getting yourself a good mark at the end of the subject. However there are some issues you need to be aware of. First off the IT can sometimes be unreliable which is not ideal for what is effectively, online learning much of the time. As the OUA Study Periods often fall outside the regular university semester times, the IT Support departments are often operating on a skeleton staff, and can be very slow to respond to outages. In one case I was unable to login to my course blackboard for 4 days, which really put me behind the 8-ball. To get around this it is advisable to download as much information as possible in advance, so that if there is a network outage, you still have access to the required resources. This is also great for when you finish your course, as you can lose access to these resources once you are no longer an active student at the provider university. By downloading them you get access for posterity, which can be helpful in later subjects. As already mentioned the lab sessions are very intensive, probably a little bit “full-on” I think, as you often struggle to get all your experiments completed. Finally I think the prices are quite high, and I have found that Commonwealth Support is not offered for many OUA courses, even if you are an Australian resident. Often it is offered if you take the course directly through the provider university so I’m not sure why OUA is unable to offer it. However overall these quibbles are quite minor, and only detract very slightly from the overall experience.
So with all the benefits and little downside you’re probably wondering why I moved on from OUA to another course of study. Well I wanted a science degree, but the fields of study offered through OUA were not the areas I wanted to focus on. I am fortunate enough to live in Melbourne, close to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). I was able to leverage the successful completion of subjects through OUA and gain acceptance to the Bachelor of Environmental Science at the RMIT City Campus. Moving to on-campus study has been easy, the experience I gained through OUA has helped me immensely as it makes you very resourceful and self-motivated. Another benefit of completing the subjects through OUA has been that I was able to gain academic credits, or direct transfer of my OUA subjects to my new degree. If you are considering doing something similar to this (starting at OUA before moving to on-campus, or direct through the providers distance options) I suggest looking at the OUA course and the course you wish to eventually get into and see where there are synergies between subjects. In my case some of the subjects were RMIT subjects, and were a part of both degrees so I was able to directly transfer them, while my other subjects have given me exemptions and direct credits towards RMIT subjects. I actually plan on completing some more subjects through OUA, as they are also part of my Environmental Science degree and I will be able to complete them in OUA Study Period 4 which falls outside my regular semester times. As I am studying part-time, this option allows me to get my degree finished more quickly.
