The Open University

OU Vice-Chancellor announces he is to stand down

13 April 2018

Announcement from the Vice-Chancellor I am announcing that I am standing down as Vice-Chancellor of The Open University with immediate effect. The statement from the Pro-Chancellor acknowledges generously my role in persuading the University of the case for significant change, to help improve outcomes for students, to future-proof our radical University and to ensure financial […]

photograph of UK military personnel marching

Fund opens for Disabled Veterans offering free study

1 April 2018

A new fund has been launched at The Open University especially for former services personnel who have been disabled in or as a result of military service. The fund is the first of its kind in the UK dedicated to furthering the education of the men and women who have become disabled due to their […]

6 reasons to look forward to graduation

21 March 2018

Spring is always a good time of year – new growth, warmer weather, more colour. More importantly, it’s when our degree ceremony season starts and when students blossom into graduates and continue to grow into new lives, new careers, new opportunities or maybe even a new qualification. Last year we saw 8,000 graduates cross the […]

Open University calls for Apprenticeship shake up

14 March 2018

Vice-Chancellor calls for ‘modular apprenticeships’ to develop bespoke programmes, custom-made for business needs One in three (32%) business leaders want apprenticeships with greater flexibility New approach would put employers in control, as well as addressing existing concerns about content and adaptability Today Peter Horrocks, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, will call for a relaxation of […]

Message to OU students from the Vice-Chancellor: Pension Strikes

6 March 2018

“The Open University, along with more than 60 others around the UK, is caught up in industrial action called by with the University and College Union (UCU) over future pension arrangements. “I very much hope that this long-running and complex dispute can be resolved in national negotiations, and I welcome the agreement by both sides […]

Open University welcomes tech pioneer Jacqueline de Rojas to Institute of Coding

6 March 2018

Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, President of techUK, has been appointed co-chair of the Institute of Coding (IoC) which brings together industry and academia in a co-ordinated effort to address the UK’s digital skills gap. The Open University is one of the key partners in the Institute of Coding, leading on graduate employability and the […]

The Open University's Berrill Building in Milton Keynes

“A University of Radicals”: Vice-Chancellor says it’s time for the OU to stop looking over its shoulders

21 February 2018

The Open University is in the perfect position to pick up its founding mission – as education radicals. Speaking to an academic audience at the OU’s Milton Keynes campus on Tuesday 20 February, Vice-Chancellor Peter Horrocks outlined the university’s academic excellence vision. He said there is a golden opportunity to reinvent connections between academics, students and […]

Part-time and distance learning central to UK Government review on post-18 education

19 February 2018

Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that improving support for part-time and distance learning will be at the heart of the UK Government’s review of university and FE funding in England. The review, which will be supported by an independent panel, will report early in 2019 and will cover all aspects of the funding for […]

OU calls for “urgent action” to address fall in part-time students in England

12 January 2018

The OU is renewing its call for urgent action by the UK Government after new figures showed a further year-on-year fall in the number of part-time students in England. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) revealed a 14 per cent drop in the number of people starting undergraduate courses in England between 2015/16 […]

2017 degree ceremonies: it’s been memorable

4 December 2017

Our 2017 degree ceremony schedule drew to a close a couple of weeks ago at Gateshead, and what better note to end on than this photo of Matthew who was so happy he could fly! Matthew, a steelworker and now proud owner of a BA (Honours) in English Language and Literature, said: “When I left […]

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