A multidisciplinary adventure to the OU Archive!

Jay Rixon is a Senior Manager in Curriculum Innovation and responsible for the new MA or MSc Open qualification.

On a rather cold and wet day in December last year myself and a few Open Programme colleagues visited The Open University Archive. This was no dusty Library visit, or a trip to the damp basement but a fascinating exploration of books, papers, student magazines, prospectuses and equipment that used to be sent out to students, such as the McArthur microscope.

In the OU’s 50th Anniversary year, it was wonderful to be reminded of the amazing history of the OU, its founders, dedicated staff and amazing students. Not only did I enjoyed pouring over a couple of books and reading about how the University was created, but I was also reminded of the role and mission of the university to be ’Open to all’. I especially valued the words that were in the Inaugural Address by the Chancellor, Lord Crowther (which was delivered on the 23rd July 1969):

‘We are open, first, to people. Not for us the carefully regulated escalation from one educational level to the next by which the traditional universities establish their criteria for admission… ‘The first, and most, urgent task before us is to cater for the many thousands of people, fully capable of a higher education, who for one reason or another, do not get it, or do not get as much of it as they can turn to an advantage.’

I have worked for many years in the education sector, and often in environments that support students who have had to overcome previous poor experiences of education and those who have missed out on chances to pursue education due to personal challenges or unfair situations. So to be a part of an organisation, whose mission to be ‘open to all’ and inclusive is firmly rooted in its DNA, is extremely meaningful to me.
In the course of our visit to the OU Archive, I also learnt a new word – axiomatic – which means ‘self-evident or unquestionable’. The OU Planning Committee (at the same ceremony on the 23rd July 1969 referenced above) stated that:

‘We took it as axiomatic- that no formal academic qualification would be required for registration as a student.’

Again, the OU was unquestionably stating their commitment to provide education that was open to all. And for me, I might say, education that can be made bespoke, and personalised to the student. This is particularly relevant in the case of the BA/BSc (Hons) Open degree, the very first (and only) degree offered by The Open University in 1969.

I work on the newest qualification to be added to the Open Programme’s portfolio, the MA/MSc Open. This is a new masters qualification which allows postgraduate students to create a personalised course of study across a range of academic disciplines. Not only is the qualification unique in the sector, it adopts a innovative approach to teaching and learning which surely reflects the imagination and bold ideas of the founders of the university. This just goes to show that, 50 years later, aspects of that pioneering creativity remain.

Peter Taylor and Jay Rixon delving into the OU Archive…

The Archive team in the OU Library were so welcoming, showing us the original Charter’ Seal, amazing photos of early graduating ceremonies, and even some of the Shakespeare records in their collection that were used in the early days of OU teaching. There was also a very impressive OU mug collection (!) and I was intrigued by footage of TV programs recorded to be broadcast late at night to students studying after work, or to be recorded for playback later.

This visit to the OU Archive reminded me of the history of the OU and the passion, dedication of its founders, staff and students. It also excited me about the future of this institution. We have new educational challenges, an increasing need for learning to be lifelong and for that learning to have both breadth and depth, that can be used to question whether is it only specialist knowledge that needs to be acquired in the fast-paced, changing landscape of modern society. Instead, should we not also embrace study that is both inter- and/or multidisciplinary, enabling us all to develop the skills and knowledge in complementary and contrasting areas that will help propel us forward in our professional roles and in our learning passions and pursuits.

I’m looking forward to celebrating the OU in this 50th anniversary year and will value the ongoing discussions with colleagues and students alike in looking back at all that has been accomplished and, most important of all, looking forward to exploring what the next 50 years might be like…

Let the celebrations begin!

Did you know? Founded in 1969, at the outset of The Open University’s history, the OU’s BA/BSc (Hons) “Open” degree was the only degree qualification offered by The Open University for over 30 years, until named degrees were introduced in 2000.

As part of the OU’s 50th anniversary celebrations, we have set up this blog to celebrate the evolution of the OU’s multidisciplinary qualifications over the last 50 years and the opportunities it can provide students (and the OU more widely) in the years to come. You can find out more about the Open Programme’s history in our About section.

We will be posting guest blogs from a wide range of contributors to demonstrate the impact that this unique approach to personalised teaching and learning has had – and continues to have – on our students and staff. Our first blog post has been written by Open Programme Manager, Helen Cooke, and offers an insight into her own multidisciplinary career path and the importance of life long learning… You can read more below.

If you would like to contribute to this blog, we would love to share your journey too. Just drop us an email at open-programme@open.ac.uk.

Multipotentiality and me

Helen Cooke is a Senior Manager in Curriculum Innovation and responsible for the day-to-day running of the Open Programme. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) based on her work supporting multidisciplinary students in an online environment.

Buzzwords are pretty common these days, especially in higher education. In fact, it’s rare for me to get through a working day without being introduced to a new one, and as such, they don’t often stick in my consciousness. But every now and then, all it takes is one single word to change your perspective and help you see things in a whole new light…

This happened to me last year when I stumbled across Emilie Wapnick’s fabulous book How to be everything.  Not only has the word in question been a revelation to me in a professional context but it has forced me to reflect on, and appreciate, how my own learning journey has resulted in me finding a job that I love, and ultimately a better understanding of my place in the world.

Now I realise these may sound like grand claims and you’re probably starting to ask yourself how one little word could possibly make such a difference to someone’s outlook on life? Well, for a start, it’s not such a little word – a whole 17 letters in fact…

…I’m a multipotentialite.

Not in the ‘gifted’ sense of the word, where the term has traditionally been used to describe children with incomprehensible intelligence in many subjects, but because I have a genuine curiosity and passion for many (many) things.

Even though I chose to study a straight Geography degree at university, I discovered that as much as I loved wading around in rivers and studying avalanches in the Swiss Alps, I was equally fascinated by modules on consumerism and international development (much to my surprise) and my dissertation topic was focused on gender and tourism.

So, does this make me a “jack of all trades”, unable to apply myself to one specialist area? Does my choice of degree mean that I will never know enough about other subjects to fully succeed in the workplace? Well, if career is measured by job satisfaction and ‘learning gain’ (another current buzzword in higher education), then finding a career that suits my multipotentialite skills and interests has made me as successful as any multimillionaire.

Of course, some might argue that I have become a “specialist” after all. Working in higher education on a truly unique undergraduate degree programme – and now fascinated by applying concepts like multipotentiality to my work – is actually turning me into a specialist in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education. But I’m not an academic, teacher or research scientist. Nor am I a straightforward project manager, administrator or student support adviser. At different times during my working day, I’m any one (or more) of these things. My job requires me to know as much about finance, marketing, and politics (internal and external) as it does about technology enhanced learning, social media and curriculum development. I once even taught myself to use a computer program written in French.

But I still haven’t even got to the best bit yet…

Whether or not they identify themselves with the term as much as I do, I’m surrounded by other multipotentialites!

With almost 25,000 students studying towards an Open qualification at The Open University, that’s almost 25,000 individual study journeys, 25,000 personalised qualifications and an unimaginable number of different module combinations. It’s simply mind-blowing (and very difficult data to analyse!). Not only am I constantly amazed at the commitment, tenacity and perseverance of these students to balance their studies with busy, challenging lives, but their wide-ranging interests and motivations continue to fuel my new-found multipotentialite interests by simply making their own choices and finding their own way in the world.

As individuals, we all have the opportunity to make our own choices and choose what is right for us at any given moment in time. As education providers, we need to ensure that there are learning opportunities that are focused enough for the specialists amongst us, and flexible enough to accommodate those whose strengths lie in studying across different disciplines.

At the end of the day the most important skill that any of us can learn is how to learn – and how to keep on learning.