Here's a quick reply to the two questions posed by Mike:

1.  The OU has moved away from programme-specific registration to
course-based registration for two reasons - first, because not all adult
learners wish to study full degree programmes and second because learning
objectives often change during the course of study and indeed through life.
We are therefore attempting to provide a more flexible modular-based
registration system that allows for a variety of learning objectives to be
pursued and for real lifelong learning to take place.  (I should add that
students may, if they wish, indicate that they wish to study towards a
particular qualification, and may receive help and advice based on this, but
it is not obligatory that they do so).

Mike is quite right to point out that this has implications for the
measurement of undergraduate level students along traditional lines but then
the move towards more flexible and responsive systems is challenging a whole
host of traditional distinctions and definitions throughout HE. It is not
just the OU that is breaking the mould!

2. The award of £500 loans for part-time students on low incomes from autumn
2000 is official!  See DfEE News Release of 29 January 1999 (for England)
and Scottish Office News Release of 23 March 1999 (for Scotland).  However,
what constitutes 'low income' has not been announced as yet, so far as I
know.  Our understanding is that the loans will be available to HE students
studying at half the full-time rate ( 60 CAT points pa), ie using the same
threshold that currently applies to access payments and fee waivers  for pt
students.

Martin.

Martin Watkinson
Head of Planning
The Open University
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK17 8NQ
Tel: (UK) 01908.653211; Fax (UK) 01908.858581


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	M Milne-Picken [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:	15 November 1999 16:34
> To:	Admin Planning; Admin Student
> Subject:	PT Degree/Sub-Degree classification
> 
> Apologies for cross posting.
> 
> 
> There is an interesting note in the HE Management Statistics 1997/98
> Sector Level booklet recently published by HESA that says:
> 
> "It should be noted that the Open University has introduced a system of
> course-based registration for 1997/98, by which all students register
> for modules rather than specific named awards, thus removing the
> distinction between students registering for an institutional credit and
> those registering for a degree or diploma.  A result of this is a shift
> of approximately 95,000 OU students from the 'first degree' category to
> 'other undergraduate' for this academic year" (p34)
> 
> I wonder if anyone knew why the OU has done this (given a large number
> of their students presumably graduate with a first degree)?  Is anyone
> else doing this, or considering it, for part time students?  If so, why?
> 
> It has implications for the sub-degree target in the HEFCE funding
> agreement and also for progression performance indicators.  Longer term
> it may also have implications on whether part time students go through
> UCAS.
> 
> On a related issue, a colleague reported that at a CVCP conference on 2
> November, Baroness Blackstone made a statement that loans would be
> forthcoming of up to #500 per annum for part time students taking 0.5
> FTE (or greater).  I've asked the DfEE whether this has been agreed but
> can't get anything out of them.  Has anyone else heard about this?  If
> in order to qualify for a loan, the part time student had to registered
> for an award that qualifies for full time loans (ie degree or DipHE/HND
> under the current regulations), then that would mean OU students and
> others registered only for institutional credit/modules would not
> qualify for the loan, which would appear to be problematic.
> 
> Anyone got any thoughts?
> 
> Mike Milne-Picken
> Head of Planning and Performance Review
> University of Central Lancashire
> 
> www.uclan.ac.uk/planning
> 
> [log in to unmask]
> 
>  


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