#33: The Open University

Wandering around the Open University campus in Milton Keynes recently, I was reminded of that old academic ‘joke’ that universities would be wonderful if only there weren’t any students. Here, there were very few to be seen. The library, ‘Hub’ restaurant, nearby church, flowerbeds, sculptures, signs – all bespoke a peaceful well-equipped institution dedicated to civilised learning – except that the students would all be beavering away off-site, presumably. 

In fact, it seemed rather like an organisation run for the benefit of its staff, who walked hither and thither, identity passes flapping gently.

I particularly enjoyed dropping into the library – no pass required! – where an intriguing mix of displays made a wonderfully stimulating environment: a huge 3D map showed the drastic fall in world poverty over the last 200 years (from 85% in 1800 to 15% of the world’s population today); shelves held a mix of the OU’s learning materials – creative writing, sociology, classics, law – which on a quick flick through still seemed to be of the highest quality; a display case had photos of women who had contributed to making the OU what it is, including former Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd, OU Chancellor from 1995-2006. 
In his memoir Time of My Life Denis Healey names the OU, set up in 1969, as Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s standout domestic achievement, and many people would agree.

It opened university doors to many who would not otherwise have been able to get in, helped improve the skills of the UK population and gave a big push to the use of technology in teaching (remember those late night TV broadcasts?). It is still the biggest university in the UK for undergraduate education.

So how is the OU doing these days, in the age of the MOOC (Massive Online Open Course), free Harvard lectures online and student loans? 
 

Not well, apparently. Since 2010/11 OU student numbers have fallen by 30% (overall there has been a 56% fall in numbers of part-time students, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency). When the cap on part-time fees was raised in 2012, so universities could charge more, many prospective students were priced out. In addition, funding was withdrawn for students who already had a qualification at the level they wanted to study at – so if you already have a degree, you can’t get a loan for another one. On top of that, you need to be studying at least 25% ‘course intensity’ – in other words, in order to get a loan, your course cannot take more than four times as long as a full-time one. 

All these things hit prospective OU students hard, since they are often older students who may already have qualifications, want modules spread over a long time and may be more risk-averse than younger applicants, so less likely to take out loans.

In a THES article in April this year, three OU academics (Mark Brandon, Joe Smith and Martin Weller) bravely suggested the OU change its role to produce ‘core online methodology modules’ which could be used by a range of universities and that its partnership with the BBC be changed to include the production of an ‘interactive learning resources lab’. Both these take advantage of the OU’s expertise in design of learning resources. 

However, my own experience of producing HE learning resources (mainly with museums) suggest that university tutors want to use their own materials. Unlike schoolteachers, who need to follow the National Curriculum, and who often welcome targeted learning resources, HE staff are often fiercely protective of their own interests and approaches and want any learning materials to mesh with these. Universities also want to champion their own ‘brand’ and may be reluctant to use materials from their competitors.

Access to brick and mortar universities is much wider now than when the OU started, and many of these run their own distance learning courses. The HE learning landscape has changed considerably since the late ’60s, and of course there is no reason to keep a venerable institution going for the sake of it. But I hope the OU can reinvent itself and keep going, and that that student-free campus will not close any time soon.