Real Time Advice and Guidance Resources Section
In
this section you will find:
- Links
to other OU course choice related websites
- Links
to Career Guidance websites
- Glossary
of terms
- A
qualification planner( to download)
- Information
on common diploma/degree choices
for T171 students
If
you are looking at this page during the live presentation sessions,
just click on the webcast screen to bring
it back to the front.
If
you go to any of the linked sites on this page during live sessions,
remember to keep the webcast screen open at all times and use the back
button to return to the correct URL.
Links
to other OU websites
Below
you will find a list of sites to select from depending on what you need.
Want
more advice?
If
you want to review the advice given during the presentation, please
visit the Learners
Guide This website contains the advice given during the presentations
along with hints and tips about preparing for your next course. It also
has email links to the Regional Centres for further student support
and advice.
Want
to see the course material?
Your
nearest Regional Centre may be running events where you can see the
course material and talk with tutors and guidance experts.
Course
materials are also held at libraries and the Regional Centres. To find
out about where the course materials are held in your area, contact
your Regional Centre direct. If you dont have the contact information,
go to the OU
near you. You will be presented with
a map from which you can choose your nearest OU Region. An address,
e-mail and website link will appear.
Want
to check out the requirements of a named degree?
If
you want to check out the requirements for named degrees go to the named
degree website. This site contains all the information you
need and will base it on the courses you have taken.
Want
to review your course options?
If
you want to search and review your course and qualification options
online visit the Courses
and Qualifications website
where you can view courses by subject area or search for a specific
course.
Want
to reserve a place on a course now?
If
you know the course you want to take, you can reserve
a place online. You wont be asked to pay the course
fee online, but it will enable you to hold a place. You will receive
through the post a registration form, which you have to complete and
return by a specified time.
Want
to know more about Credit Transfer?
For
information about how your previous study at university or higher education
level might count towards a qualification, go to the Credit
Transfer website.
Want
a quick look at common diploma/degree choices for T171 students?
Go
to diploma/degree choices to see
some of the more popular choices.
Links
to Career Guidance websites
Want
access to careers advice?
The
OU is currently developing its own careers advice website which should
be live in August 2000. In the meantime here are some useful sites we
can recommend:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kis/college/careers/links
Careers
Web Sites
These
sites have useful information about different types of career e.g. teaching,
computer programming, forestry, personnel.
General
http://www.prospects.csu.ac.uk (a
good place to start)
http://www.insidecareers.co.uk
University
Sites
Most
Universities have career information which is of general relevance to
all in higher education. A small selection of sites is:
http://www.cas.bris.ac.uk
http://www.livjm.ac.uk/careers
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk
Teaching
http://www.teach-tta.gov.uk
Law
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk
Volunteer
Organisations
http://www.vois.org.uk
Opportunities
for those with Disabilities
http://cando.lancs.ac.uk
Job
Search and Recruitment Web Sites
Once
you have identified a particular career option, or narrowed down your
choice to perhaps two or three possible career paths, you can use the
Internet to check out on actual jobs currently available. Examples of
such web sites are:
http://www.ukdirectory.com/employ/serv.htm
http://www.lycos.com/careers
http://www.jobsite.co.uk
http://www.topjobs.net
http://www.doctorjob.co.uk
http://www.monster.co.uk
Want
to know about professional recognition
Recognition
leaflets tell you about the academic, vocational and professional areas
in which Open University courses and awards can help you to gain entry
or membership or exempt you from academic requirements. You can download
individual leaflets from the recognition
leaflets section.
Glossary of terms
Assessment
OU
courses that can be used to gain a qualification have assessment. Assessment
usually involves completing course assignments throughout the course
and an examinable component at the end. If you want to know more visit
the Learners
Guide website.
Award
Sometime
you will see the word award rather than qualification. It means the
same thing.
Excluded
combinations
You
will see this term in the course descriptions. It means that there are
other OU courses that cover similar material and so can not be linked
to gain a qualification. To check a course you are interested in go
to the Courses
and Qualification website.
Levels
Levels
are used to help describe the difficulty or complexity of
undergraduate courses. Level 1 provides a foundation by giving you a
broad base understanding of a subject area and helping you to develop
study skills. Level 1 courses are comparable to the first year of study
in a full-time degree. Level 2 courses are comparable to the second
and third year of full-time degree course. Level 3 is comparable to
the final year of a full-time honours degree course.
If
you want to work towards a degree qualification, you have to take a
number of courses at these different levels. You should check out the
requirements for each qualification, before making your degree choice.
Linking/delinking
Linking
means informing the OU that you want a course to be put towards a qualification
(e.g. linking courses for a qualification). You can, however, change
your mind about the qualification you want up to the point that you
accept an award. Therefore, you can delink courses from
a qualification. To find out more contact
your nearest Regional
Centre.
Points
Points
are allocated to courses to:
- the
indicate how much time, on average, it takes to study the course and
- allow
you collect points towards a qualification.
When
you successfully finish a course, you gain the number of points allocated
to the course. The points can then be used towards a qualification.
For each qualification there is an explanation of the number of points
and types of courses you have to study.
Courses
are usually allocated 10, 30 or 60 points. A 30 point course takes approximately
8 hours of study a week (over 32 weeks) and a 60 point course takes
approximately 16 hours of study a week (over 32 weeks). 10 point courses
are shorter courses, often with a residential school as a main component.
Prerequisites
This
term is used to explain the skills and knowledge you need before you
study a course. These are described in the course description under
the sub-heading Entry.
Reservation
When
you reserve a place on a course, it means that a place is provisionally
held for you. You then have certain period to formally register. If
you dont register your place on the course will be lost. You can
reserve
a place on a course online.
Registration
You
have to formally register to get a place on a course. To register you
need to fill in a form and decide how you are going to pay the fees.
If you have any questions about this contact your nearest Regional
Centre.
Transferred
Credit
If
you have studied at higher education or university level before, even
if you didnt finish the qualification, you may be able to use
your work to get credit towards a qualification hence the term
credit transfer.
The
qualification planner to download
The
qualification planner can be used to sketch out your thoughts about
your future course choice. Below is a copy of the planner that you can
print out and fill in later.
Download
the qualification planner