The Open University

OU welcomes report seeking better deal for part-time learners

15 June 2020

The Open University welcomes a report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) which calls for better UK government support and improved access to adult learning to reboot the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Long Game – How to reboot skills training for disadvantaged adults, published today (15 June 2020), highlights […]

Extra OU free courses will boost Government’s skills initiative

2 June 2020

The Open University is adding to its suite of free courses on the UK Government’s website to help build skills in the wake of the pandemic and aid vital recovery efforts among employees and employers. From today (Tuesday June 2) two extra courses will go live on The Skills Toolkit platform and cover entry level […]

Open University joins Government’s scheme to share free learning

28 April 2020

Free courses from The Open University (OU) will feature on a new online learning platform the UK Government is launching today (Tuesday April 28) to help boost the nation’s skills while people are staying at home. The Skills Toolkit has been launched today by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to give people access to free, top […]

Why I’m celebrating women and equality

8 March 2020

The Open University’s Deputy Vice-chancellor Josie Fraser reflects on why International Women’s Day is so important to her. “The world is celebrating International Women’s Day. An apt time to recognise women’s achievement and promoting an equal and enabled world, all of which is important to me. “A lot of my work choices are based around […]

Pay attention to part-time, report demands

6 February 2020

The needs of part-time students have never been more pressing, a report by the OU and the Higher Education Policy Institute finds. The wide-ranging report from the HE thinktank and the OU considers the sharp decline in the numbers of part-time learners, hearing the views of the people themselves. Author Dr John Butcher presents Unheard: […]

Open University Position Statement on USS Pensions and 2019/20 Pay Award

25 November 2019

The Open University (OU) is one of more than 340 higher education and related institutions across the United Kingdom that participate in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). With effect from Monday 25 November 2019, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced it is taking eight days of strike action. This is around two separate […]

‘The need for education throughout life is more critical now than it has ever been’

18 November 2019

Today marks 100 years since the Ministry of Reconstruction’s adult education committee published its Report on Adult Education. The Centenary Commission on Adult Education 2019 has produced a new report, A Permanent National Necessity, that argues adult education and lifelong learning must be a permanent national necessity, an inseparable aspect of citizenship. This is vital […]

Support for CBI report urging kickstart to lifelong learning

29 October 2019

The Open University (OU) has given its backing to a new hard-hitting report issued on Tuesday 29th October by the CBI on the need to revitalise lifelong learning. The report An upskill battle: the importance of lifelong learning in a modern economy” highlights the importance and challenges firms face in order to upskill and retrain […]

Rule change could support more prisoner learning

25 October 2019

Relaxing the regulations on student loans allowing more prisoners to learn could pay broad dividends, according to a policy paper from The Open University (OU) and Higher Education thinktank Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). In a joint policy note published on Thursday October 24, the two organisations propose a change to the six-year rule, which […]

Action needed to widen pool of apprentices

26 September 2019

The OU has today (Thursday) published a new report Access to Apprenticeships. It calls for the UK Government to help businesses further attract and recruit more disabled apprentices, through its apprenticeship programme. It comes as fresh data from the Department for Education shows the number of people starting apprenticeships in England with learning difficulties and/or […]

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Category: The OU speaks out