The University has announced fees for new students in England. The University, and Faculty of Arts, remain dedicated to our core mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.
For undergraduate students in England studying with us for the first time from 1 September 2012 there will be a standard fee of £5,000 based on 120 credits of study. This is equivalent to a year’s full-time study at traditional universities. This is far less than the cost of equivalent modules at traditional universities, a third of which are charging £9000 per full academic year.
This means that 120 points of study will cost £5000 (equivalent to a full academic year); a 60 point module will cost £2,500; and a 30 point module will cost £1250.
Fees for most current OU undergraduates, the fees will not change (other than accounting for inflation). Transitional arrangements are being put in place to enable most of those who are currently studying with us for an undergraduate qualification to continue at a price and pace consistent with their expectations when they joined.
The reason we have to increase our fees is that the UK government is changing the way higher education in England is funded. Instead of paying grants directly to universities as it has previously done, the government is increasing its financial support for students through the changes it has made to its student loans scheme. Importantly for anyone thinking of starting OU study, these student loans are being extended to most part-time students for the first time.
If you are a current student, so long as you are studying towards an undergraduate OU qualification, for example
- A Certificate
- Diploma
- or a Degree
there are transitional arrangements being established. If you meet the criteria, then your fees will follow the existing pricing structure and you’ll have access to the same financial support options, so long as you continue to study each year until you achieve your qualification.
To be eligible and remain eligible for these transitional arrangements you must also meet the following important date criteria:
you will start a module that counts towards your qualification between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013
AND
you have completed a module which began between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011
OR
you’re studying a module that starts between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012
You will need to complete your qualification by 31 August 2017, when transitional arrangements will end.
Further details for current students can be found here.
Further details for new students, and on the fee arrangements overall for OU students in England, can be found here.
Fee arrangements from September 2012 for students outside of England, and for taught postgraduates, will be forthcoming in the Autumn.
For details of qualifications Arts and Humanities at the Open University, along with taster materials of our modules, click here. Suggestive ‘pathways’ through qualifications are available for each qualification at Study at the OU