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The Open University is pretty well respected: http://www.open.ac.uk/ http://www.open.ac.uk/

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Would one recommend this for someone in the US who is already decades into a career and just needs the checkbox checked and their employer will pickup the tab?
- rayhendricks 7y ago
  Oregon state has an online BS in CS degree and also a postbac 2yr option. It’s $30k so not cheap at all though. https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate/computer-science-postbacc/ https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate... It’s legitimate, source: I know someone who did it and is working as a webdev in PDX.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- zerkten 7y ago
  Drexel is a pretty good school in Philadelphia and they have online bachelors degrees (https://online.drexel.edu/online-degrees/computing-informatics-degrees/index.aspx https://online.drexel.edu/online-degrees/computing-informati...). The Open University satisfies the requirements for US visas, so it can check some checkboxes. The cost may be higher for people outside the UK, but I haven't looked recently.
  - projektfu 7y ago
    Also look into Excelsior College
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  I hear OU is surprisingly hard work and surprisingly expensive. You think you'll do an online degree in your spare time and it turns out it's a decade of work and costs thousands of dollars.
  - JPLeRouzic 7y ago
    That's how I felt it, although it was 15 years ago. I started the study of CS at postgraduate because I was 50 and felt I had to catch up with the young colleagues. After two years and being only at mid course (and having already spent several thousands pounds), I drop out of it. After all I had already a good job and I could learn much more interesting stuff at work.
  - wiredfool 7y ago
    My wife is doing an OU degree, outside the UK, but in Ireland. (So, testing centers are available, but we’re paying the non uk/ni/Scotland rates). At current prices, an undergraduate degree from the OU is on the order of $20k. It’s nominally a 3 year degree, and at a full time class load, it’s supposed to be a full time experience, I.e. 40 hrs a week. Of that, there are probably 4x 30 credit classes in first year, 2x60 in each of second and third year. For a degree in a specific subject, these are all going to be “in major”. My read of it is that it’s a more focused, less all around degree than what I remember of an undergrad degree, where I had 4-5 classes 2x per year for 4 years. I can’t speak to the technical level, as she’s doing languages, which are all Greek to me.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - zahllos 7y ago
    Correct on both counts (current OU student). 120 credits = full time studies, 40 hours per week. So 30 is 10 hours, 60 credits is 20 hours. This is of course an estimate. Some weeks you have assignments due as well as course material to study. There's a two week break for Christmas and usually one week around Easter and that's it. If you work full time and you're doing 60 credits that'll take you 6 years working 60 hour weeks, maybe more, assuming your job is just 40. I did an FOIA request. After 11 years of study (11 picked because I wanted to confirm a comment on the guardian), of those students who have ever indicated formally they want to obtain a bachelors, around 15% have actually done so. If the student has self declared a mental health disability the figure drops to 9%. Last academic year 55% of students passed their modules across all modules. This excludes students who opted to defer or refund within the grace period at the start of the module. Cost wise these days on UK or EU fees it's about £3k for a 60 credit module. Personally if I knew what I knew now, I'd go back to full time education. Edit to say: the course is flexible in the sense study timed are not fixed and nobody cares if you turn up to tutorials, often done online, or not. It is not at all flexible on deadlines of any kind. On a 60 credit module you could easily have one assignment per month, plus an exam at the end. The assignments, depending on your level, aren't necessarily that challenging but they do take time. If something comes up at work or in life and knocks you back, you either accept the damage to your grade and complete the module or you defer. Definitely don't go via the OU if you have a demanding job with unpredictable requirements.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- topkai22 7y ago
  If you are just checking boxes, WGU is probably the way to go. My understanding is that things go very quickly for people with real world experience.
  - codewritinfool 7y ago
    Agreed. WGU has been a good fit for me.
dukoid 7y ago
In Germany, there is Fernuniversität Hagen. I guess it scales better than "regular" universities, so there isn't really a need for more of them to meet demand? https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/english/ https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/english/
- barry-cotter 7y ago
  The Fernuniversität has all the same hideous bureaucracy, form filling and hoop jumping of any other German university, with similar entrance requirements. It is cheaper so it has that advantage. The Open University has no entrance requirements whatsoever for its Bachelor’s and it’s not terribly difficult to get onto a Master’s with the v university of London without a Bachelor’s so if you’re not severely cash constrained at least look at those.
  - wyclif 7y ago
    I've never heard about this. Can you say more about the University of London MA and their programmes?
    - goatinaboat 7y ago
      OP is almost certainly referring to Birkbeck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkbeck,_University_of_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkbeck,_University_of_London It’s a well respected institution and it’s graduates are well regarded by employers.
      - Unknown_Unknown 7y ago
        Then why does it never make it to the top 120 university ranking of the guardian?, I never understood why.
        goatinaboat 7y ago
        They opted out http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/league-tables http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/league-tables
biofox 7y ago
For those interested in doing an online degree, I highly recommend the Open University. They accept international students, and their degrees are accredited in both the US and EU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University
- masteruvpuppetz 7y ago
  The price though..

Would one recommend this for someone in the US who is already decades into a career and just needs the checkbox checked and their employer will pickup the tab?

rayhendricks 7y ago
Oregon state has an online BS in CS degree and also a postbac 2yr option. It’s $30k so not cheap at all though. https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate/computer-science-postbacc/ https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate... It’s legitimate, source: I know someone who did it and is working as a webdev in PDX.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
zerkten 7y ago
Drexel is a pretty good school in Philadelphia and they have online bachelors degrees (https://online.drexel.edu/online-degrees/computing-informatics-degrees/index.aspx https://online.drexel.edu/online-degrees/computing-informati...). The Open University satisfies the requirements for US visas, so it can check some checkboxes. The cost may be higher for people outside the UK, but I haven't looked recently.
- projektfu 7y ago
  Also look into Excelsior College
chrisseaton 7y ago
I hear OU is surprisingly hard work and surprisingly expensive. You think you'll do an online degree in your spare time and it turns out it's a decade of work and costs thousands of dollars.
- JPLeRouzic 7y ago
  That's how I felt it, although it was 15 years ago. I started the study of CS at postgraduate because I was 50 and felt I had to catch up with the young colleagues. After two years and being only at mid course (and having already spent several thousands pounds), I drop out of it. After all I had already a good job and I could learn much more interesting stuff at work.
- wiredfool 7y ago
  My wife is doing an OU degree, outside the UK, but in Ireland. (So, testing centers are available, but we’re paying the non uk/ni/Scotland rates). At current prices, an undergraduate degree from the OU is on the order of $20k. It’s nominally a 3 year degree, and at a full time class load, it’s supposed to be a full time experience, I.e. 40 hrs a week. Of that, there are probably 4x 30 credit classes in first year, 2x60 in each of second and third year. For a degree in a specific subject, these are all going to be “in major”. My read of it is that it’s a more focused, less all around degree than what I remember of an undergrad degree, where I had 4-5 classes 2x per year for 4 years. I can’t speak to the technical level, as she’s doing languages, which are all Greek to me.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- zahllos 7y ago
  Correct on both counts (current OU student). 120 credits = full time studies, 40 hours per week. So 30 is 10 hours, 60 credits is 20 hours. This is of course an estimate. Some weeks you have assignments due as well as course material to study. There's a two week break for Christmas and usually one week around Easter and that's it. If you work full time and you're doing 60 credits that'll take you 6 years working 60 hour weeks, maybe more, assuming your job is just 40. I did an FOIA request. After 11 years of study (11 picked because I wanted to confirm a comment on the guardian), of those students who have ever indicated formally they want to obtain a bachelors, around 15% have actually done so. If the student has self declared a mental health disability the figure drops to 9%. Last academic year 55% of students passed their modules across all modules. This excludes students who opted to defer or refund within the grace period at the start of the module. Cost wise these days on UK or EU fees it's about £3k for a 60 credit module. Personally if I knew what I knew now, I'd go back to full time education. Edit to say: the course is flexible in the sense study timed are not fixed and nobody cares if you turn up to tutorials, often done online, or not. It is not at all flexible on deadlines of any kind. On a 60 credit module you could easily have one assignment per month, plus an exam at the end. The assignments, depending on your level, aren't necessarily that challenging but they do take time. If something comes up at work or in life and knocks you back, you either accept the damage to your grade and complete the module or you defer. Definitely don't go via the OU if you have a demanding job with unpredictable requirements.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
topkai22 7y ago
If you are just checking boxes, WGU is probably the way to go. My understanding is that things go very quickly for people with real world experience.
- codewritinfool 7y ago
  Agreed. WGU has been a good fit for me.

dukoid 7y ago

In Germany, there is Fernuniversität Hagen. I guess it scales better than "regular" universities, so there isn't really a need for more of them to meet demand? https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/english/ https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/english/

barry-cotter 7y ago
The Fernuniversität has all the same hideous bureaucracy, form filling and hoop jumping of any other German university, with similar entrance requirements. It is cheaper so it has that advantage. The Open University has no entrance requirements whatsoever for its Bachelor’s and it’s not terribly difficult to get onto a Master’s with the v university of London without a Bachelor’s so if you’re not severely cash constrained at least look at those.
- wyclif 7y ago
  I've never heard about this. Can you say more about the University of London MA and their programmes?
  - goatinaboat 7y ago
    OP is almost certainly referring to Birkbeck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkbeck,_University_of_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkbeck,_University_of_London It’s a well respected institution and it’s graduates are well regarded by employers.
    - Unknown_Unknown 7y ago
      Then why does it never make it to the top 120 university ranking of the guardian?, I never understood why.
      - goatinaboat 7y ago
        They opted out http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/league-tables http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/league-tables

biofox 7y ago

For those interested in doing an online degree, I highly recommend the Open University. They accept international students, and their degrees are accredited in both the US and EU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University

masteruvpuppetz 7y ago
The price though..