Innovative OU Choices project launches at Dundee and Angus College

The Open University in Scotland, in partnership with Dundee and Angus College, has enrolled its first cohort of students under an innovative new collaboration called OU Choices.  

Eleven students, all aiming for degree level study, are doing an OU Access Module alongside a selection of units taught in the college. The extra units will complement their OU studies and help them develop a broader set of academic and personal skills. 

On completion, students will have the option of progressing to an OU degree programme or will be guaranteed an interview for entry into further HE-level study at the college.

Steven McGeever, Partnerships Manager at The OU in Scotland, said: “There is a great curriculum fit between our Access Modules and the curriculum the college offers at HE level.

“Students who complete the OU and college elements of the programme will be well prepared for future study - having experienced a range of learning styles, online and face-to-face, across a range of subject disciplines of interest to them.

“They will then be able to choose an appropriate progression pathway that works for them, given their own personal circumstances.” 

Sue Liddon, programme leader at Dundee and Angus College, said:

“OU Choices at Dundee and Angus College is using a blended learning delivery model to enable access to HE through a further education environment, in a novel and collaborative way. 
 
“We are excited to be involved in such an innovative opportunity and already looking forward to exploring how this can grow in the future.”

The People, Work and Society module has been the most popular among the first cohort, followed by Arts and Languages.

Steven added: “The students are really enthusiastic about starting their OU studies, and towards the end of the course, which runs for a year, we’ll be working with them and the college to help them plot a course through higher education that works for them.”

The OU in Scotland is keen to extend partnership working with the college sector, and explore other opportunities to integrate OU Access Provision into College Access programmes.

• Pictured above left: Students on the OU Choices programme with Steven McGeever (second from left), OU in Scotland Partnerships Manager, and David Smout (far right), lecturer at Dundee and Angus College.