University is Open to broad spectrum
Schools, businesses and students benefit from institution’s unique approach, says Ken Mann
WIDENING access to Scotland ’s higher education institutions in the drive for a more inclusive society is now an accelerated government priority.
But it presents to our traditional institutions its own unique learning curve centred on the acute challenge of balancing perceptions of excellence and rigour with a relaxation of some less fundamental entry criteria for undergraduate applicants.
Welcoming prospective students domiciled in areas found within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is an attack on barriers to economic opportunity, in part dismantling elements of the poverty trap.
Away from heated media and political attention on this topic, The Open University (OU) has for years made its own visible contribution in making available part-time advanced study to the broadest range of the population.
The Open University in Scotland, one of its UK national centres, is now seeking a leadership-calibre candidate to take on the mantle of Director, furthering an impressive record of success within a different academic framework, yet one that is tested as both robust and respected.
“The Open University reaches across the whole of Scotland, with around 15,000 students. Four in every 10 of all part-time undergraduate students in Scotland study with the OU,” says a spokesman.
One important aspect of the OU proposition is a track record in Scotland in increasing progression from further education (college) to advanced university higher education – and of offering courses to those for whom school is either a distant, or less auspicious, event.
“The OU has an open admission policy: no qualifications are required to study and 20 per cent of our students join us without standard university entrance qualifications,” its spokesman adds. “Additionally, 37 per cent of OU new undergraduate students were resident in areas in the lowest two quintiles of SIMD and 58 per cent had an individual income below £25,000 in 2013/14. About 70 per cent of OU students in Scotland are in full or part-time employment.
“Our model of supported open learning is particularly suitable for those for whom attending a campus would present significant challenges. Of the total OU population in Scotland, 16 per cent have a declared disability.
“The Young Applicants in Schools Scheme (YASS) allows S6 students to experience HE level study in schools alongside other subjects, which is valued by schools in covering curriculum gaps – particularly in rural areas – and encouraging ‘non-traditional’ students to consider higher education. To date, more than 3,000 pupils from over 180 schools across Scotland have participated in the scheme.”
It is clearly a distortion of the truth to suggest that OU Scotland is a route favoured by those of 35 years and over. Students come from all age ranges with the aim of improving career and life prospects.
Nearly half of its students are under 35; the average age of a student at the OU is now just 30. It is a bald, bold question – but, even in light of excellent results in the latest assessment of all UK university research activity – what status does an Open University degree hold in the eyes of an employer in comparison with a more traditional provider?
“Time and again we hear from employers that OU graduates have just the sort of characteristics to make them successful in the workplace,” the spokesman contends.
“Part-time study is not an easy option, and succeeding with the OU demonstrates self-motivation, commitment, time-management and a real passion for the subject.
“It’s no surprise, therefore, that 80 per cent of FTSE 100 companies have funded staff to study at the OU, with almost a tenth of our students receiving sponsorship from their employers.
“Nor has part-time study ever been the poor relative of full-time higher education. Part-time study offers the chance to fit education around lives, balancing it with work or family commitments; this is one of the reasons why The OU in Scotland has just topped the table among Scottish universities for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey.”
The OU in Scotland has close to 130 academic, academic-related and support staff based at offices in Edinburgh.