Before registering onto a YASS module, all 6th form students and parents will be asked to read and sign the safety guidelines prepared by the university. The majority of OU students are adults and the university is keen to ensure that its younger students participate in forums and chat rooms safely.
In addition, OU courses are written with adults in mind and the content may encourage other students to post material to members of their tutorial group which is academically relevant but may contain adult themes. This may happen for example in A174 Start Writing Ficiton or the new course TU100. Forums ar monitored by the university but parents should be aware or these small risks.
No school will be asked to refund monies if a YASS student fails the course. My understanding is that the YPLA is informed of school achievement rates by the FFT (Fischer Family Trust) via the Awarding Bodies and YASS does not fall into this category as the OU is not a level 3 awarding body. So, provided the YASS course start and finish dates are entered onto the census along with the QAN code, it will be assumed that the student completed the course and achieved some learning outcomes.
Posted in Funding
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Tagged Finance
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Under the new funding arrangements,will funding for post 16 students be limited to 4 AS levels?
There is a section in the 16-19 Funding Statement that highlights the impact on learners. It explains that funding will continue to support a full time programme of study and offers the example of this being equivalent to 4 A/S levels including tutorials and other activities that provide breadth and stretch. It does not state that learners will only be funded for 4 A/AS qualifications. It will still be the responsibility of schools to deliver what they wish. However, they will possibly experience a reduction to their current funding and therefore may wish to review what they currently deliver.
Two very conscientious students are studying ‘Discovering Psychology’ DSE141. The course began in November. There are 2 final assignments, an iCMA at the end of April and an ECA at the beginning of May. Both students have gained over 70% in their continuous assessments. But… they must meet the deadlines for the final assignments AND gain over 40%.
The iCMA caused a problem for one student.The deadline fell over the school Easter break. When she logged on to the course site, and error message appeared and she could not access the assignment. An incomplete iCMA will mean that she will fail the course. There is a slim chance that she can send a ‘Special Circumstances’ form to Milton Keynes in the hope that her case will be reviewed, but she has no evidence to show the ‘error’ message. It’s a pity she hadn’t thought to do a screen shot of the relevant page. I’m not hopeful.
The second student decided to submit her ECA at the last minute….literally…only to find that the school internet was down. Horror and panic followed. Midday MEANS Midday in OU speak.Her work was finally sent with only 2 minutes to spare….a very, very close shave and not something I would recommend.
Emma is in Year 12. She is studying 3 AS levels and the 30 point Open University course DSE141 ‘Discovering Psychology’. The school does offer AS psychology but Emma couldn’t choose this because her Language course was in the same option block.
She is quite a shy, quiet student and was delighted when her first OU assignment score was 70%…..a real boost to her confidence. I wondered if her reading and note taking skills were improving as she progressed through the course. Oh yes, she replied. In fact, she has noticed an improvement in her performance in other AS subjects. In addition, the content of the psychology course is especially useful in Emma’s Media Studies lessons, when behaviour in TV dramas is analysed.
So, studying an Open University module will certainly support your other AS studies!
A year 13 student has made an application, through UCAS, to study Computing Science at a Russell Group university. The student is delighted to receive a conditional offer of 2 A levels, each at grade C, and a pass in their YASS module T151, Digital Worlds. At the interview the lecturer said he was very impressed with the OU course.
So, whilst studying with The Open University will not give you UCAS points, it can still open doors into higher education.
Posted in Courses
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Tagged UCAS
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At the end of Year12, many students begin to think seriously about subject choices for higher education.
One student was interested in accounting but wasn’t sure what was involved. Her A levels are History, French and Maths. She hoped B190 would give an insight into accounting. After checking out the ‘course taster’ on the module website, she registered for the August start.
The course offers two completion dates, after 12 or 24 weeks. She opted for the latter, though she knew this would clash with mid-January exams! So, after starting her studies enthusiastically, effort tailed off a little in November and December. She got back on track in January, but said that the course became difficult and her brain was ‘scrambled’ by the end of the assignment.
The experience has confirmed her interest in accounting. She enjoyed the course and is waiting eagerly for the result in March. She would advise other students to go for the earlier completion date!
One of my students began studying his first YASS course in 2004 as a year 12 student aged 16. He studied two Open University level 1 courses in IT alongside two A levels. He was also employed by the school as a part time IT technician, working alongside the network manager. Using his work based learning, Andrew first completed a Foundation Degree and in 2010 at the age of 22, he successfully graduated from The Open University with an Honours Degree in Computing. This academic success and workplace training have led to Andrew’s promotion and he is now the school’s full time Network Manager!
He said; ‘’I did my GCSEs here at Monkseaton High and was about to start A levels when the project started. It’s been great. I still live at home with my parents but I’m debt-free and I’ve been able to buy my own car. There’s no way that would be the case if I had gone to traditional university’’.
More students might like to think about the YASS route to a Degree with The Open University.
Schools and Colleges submit an electronic census detailing each student’s LAD or Learning Aims. Every course has a QAN or Qualification Accreditation Number. The post 16 census is submitted in October and May. This data informs the funding allocation to the school for the following year, allowing reimbursement for YASS to maintained school
The QAN code for YASS modules is #2370 followed by the course points and pupil weighting. So a 10 point short science course would have the code #237010B.
When the code is entered onto SIMS a 4 digit discount number 0000 is automatically generated. If the digits are ZZZZ then either the data must be altered manually or the school should download the newest version of the QAN_current file from QWS.
Posted in Admin, Funding
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Please be aware that Arts and Technology short courses which begin in May will have two assignments to complete, one after 5 weeks and a final assignment in July. In addition, students should be contributing to the online forums to develop their ideas with others. There is no flexibility around A level time and some students will find it difficult to manage their AS exams and their OU course.
It is only the short Science courses which allow an assignment deferral which fits around A level exams and allows study over the school summer vacation.
I would recommend that Arts or Technology students register for an October or a February start.
Posted in Admin, Courses
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