Sorry my essay’s a bit late, I was being shot at!
Continuing the Mail’s vital campaign, we highlight the life-changing opportunities the Open University offers the heroes of our Armed Forces
As a Royal Naval officer, I studied for a degree and then a masters with the Open University [OU]. Now I’m a tutor, and many of those in my study groups are serving in the Forces.
so I’ve seen from both sides what great work the OU does with our soldiers, sailors and airforce personnel.
It’s of terrific benefit to Britain’s military — while serving and later in civilian life — and it is just one good reason, among many, to ensure this outstanding institution gets all the support it needs at this difficult time in its history.
Like our Forces, the OU is the best in the world at what it does: distance learning.
From its founding in 1969, it pioneered educational techniques, it kept up with the latest technology, and its teaching materials are second to none.
It’s no surprise that so many traditional universities often chose to use OU publications for their courses. The OU has certainly changed since the early Nineties when, as a diving and bomb disposal officer specialising in mines, I decided to boost my career options by studying for a degree in psychology.
I became fascinated by the way in which my study and the knowledge I acquired could be applied to the human networks and teams that the Navy relied on. Yes, I set out to be better educated, but it also made me a better officer.
My courses included OU TV programmes in the small hours. While video recorders — an innovation back then — helped, it could be tricky to see everything on my syllabus when I was at sea.
It helped that the OU is set up to be flexible. Tutors really understood the pressures of service life, especially when essay deadlines coincided with deployment at short notice and I had to join my ship.
It’s hard to imagine now but, long before the advent of emails, everything was done by post and telephone calls. However, the OU was quick to see the huge advantages of internet technology, and now students who are in the military can download tutorials and stay connected wherever in the world they can get a signal. some people — civilians — expressed surprise that I had the time to study for a degree.
But the aim of the Forces is to tap into the full potential of every trainee who walks into the recruiting office, and that includes providing options for extra study.
There are two financial schemes to support Forces’ students: the standard learning credit, which contributes hundreds of pounds towards the cost of a course, and the enhanced learning credit, which amounts to thousands of pounds over several years of study.
With so much at stake, it deeply concerns me that changes in central funding for the OU, the introduction of tuition fees, and cuts to the OU budget may mean courses are less accessible.
as fees rise, fewer people will be able to afford them even with assistance, and it’s the ones from disadvantaged backgrounds who will be worst affected. I’ve always admired how the OU provides a level learning playing field, one that doesn’t favour any social group. That ethos is being undermined.
The OU has recently introduced scholarships for disabled veterans, and I would hate to see this initiative jeopardised. We owe so much to our injured servicemen and women for their sacrifice, and education is one of the most effective and economical ways to help them.
For all personnel — myself included — leaving the Forces can be difficult. We move from a highly structured environment where we know what we’re doing, and what is expected of us, to one that is somewhat chaotic by comparison.
My OU degrees were of immeasurable help with that transition. They gave me skills that could be transferred and adapted, and qualifications that were recognised.
Through the OU, on residential weekends or in tutorial groups, I met people of all ages and walks of life. I found myself learning from men and women eager to share their rich life and work experiences.
The OU attracts people who are genuinely eager to learn, and they bring an eclectic mix of personalities. It made for some of the most fascinating discussions of my life.
The Open University is a beacon of an institution, and it’s one that the Government should be doing everything it can to protect.
Commander John Herriman is a part-time open University associate lecturer and Ceo of Greenhouse Sports, a charity helping underprivileged young people through sport. He is now a reservist with the royal navy.