Outstanding support

Personal tutorial support

You will be allocated a dedicated tutor to advice and support your studies, as well as a range of online tutorial sessions.

For every module you study, you’ll have a tutor who will give you guidance, offer advice and provide comprehensive feedback on your coursework. They will also be your first point of contact for help with any module-related or study issues.

And with a student:tutor ratio of approximately 18:1 you're assured of a quality of support and guidance thoughout your studies.

Online support like no other university

The OU is unrivalled in the online support it provides for its students. When you study with The OU you can take advantage of a whole world of inspiring online learning resources; at no extra cost to your course fees.

 

Some of the highlights:

OU Library Service – When you start with The OU you receive 24/7 access to our world class Open University Library Service including thousands of online e-journals, ebooks, research papers, databases and multimedia/elearning resources

Extensive online resources – including Routes (access to selected quality-assessed Internet resources for Open University modules), Safari (an interactive online tutorial designed to help you develop your ability to search for, evaluate and manage information), iKnow (a variety of free resources aimed at helping you to find and manage information effectively at work)

OpenLearn – The OU's OpenLearn website contains 11,000 hours of learning materials. Since its launch in 2006 it has had 23 million visits

iTunes U – high quality audio visual assets on iTunes U with 280 albums and content from 136 courses. 56 million and counting – The OU holds the world record for the highest number of downloads from any university on iTunes U.

eBooks – The OU was one of the first universities worldwide to make eBooks available free on iTunes U with hundreds of titles now available

The list goes on – The OU has taken distance learning to a whole new level by using technology such as podcasts, online forums and interactive media to make learning more engaging and inspiring than ever before.

Free content on tablets and smartphones

OUAnywhere allows students to access and download main texts and audio visual materials for all its undergraduate degrees through device specific apps on smartphones and tablets.

Want more?

Open Research Online – The Open University's repository of research publications and other research outputs

Careers advice – The OU's award-winning careers advice service to help you plan your next move

Student network – A 250,000-strong student body to share issues. Sites include social network groups on Facebook (94,000 Likes) and Twitter, as well as Platform, our own thriving online social community

The OU on YouTube – The OU is YouTube EDU’s largest UK university channel with 800 videos that have received 14.3 million views by 7.5 million visitors.

Where a great education means great value

The OU makes sure great learning is also great value, so our tuition fees don’t just cover high quality education; they also include our course materials, support from study advisers and award-winning careers advisory service as well as access to online resources, community forums and tools. Materials include:

  • specially written textbooks or workbooks
  • online teaching materials
  • CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs and computer software
  • audio and video or DVD recordings.

We make vast amounts of learning materials available to students, from extracts of modules to full research papers. And if you can’t find the answer you need, there’s a vibrant student community just a few clicks away.