About OU Study

Once you have been accepted on the OpenPlus scheme you will receive information on your Study Pathway which will detail the Open University modules that you need to successfully complete before progressing to your chosen partner university.

Course materials

Course materials will be available online to you before the start of the module. You may also receive additional learning materials in the post. You will have a study guide and a study calendar which will let you know how your module is structured and when your assignments are due. To access this information you will just need to log in to your Student Home Page using a username and password you will be given.

You can then start working actively with your course materials. By this we mean much more than just reading the materials. You will be asked to give your thoughts on what you have read, try out examples, make notes and so on. Your course materials are working documents and should end up annotated with your own notes!

Open University assignments

Details of any assignments due will be available in the study calendar. Assignments come in three forms: tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), computer-marked assignments (CMAs), and end of module assessments (EMAs).

For each module you will receive information on how the final mark is determined from assignments and/or an exam or other type of assessment like a project. You will need to check the exact details for your module on the study calendar. 

Support throughout your studies

You are allocated a personal tutor at the start of the module and will have access to an OpenPlus study adviser.  Their support will last until the module is completed. Throughout the module, you will be able to communicate with your tutor or adviser by phone, email and possibly by online conferencing (where messages can be read by the tutor group). The tutor marks the assignments and provides feedback

Working with other students 

You will be studying your module alongside other Open University students with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences and may have the opportunity to meet them face-to-face in tutorials. Alongside tutorials, there are also increasing opportunities to chat to other students in online forums or discussion groups.