UV_facilitator

There is also a lesser used system which credits you for experienced gained whilst at work - Accredited Prior Experiential learning (APEL). This is a trickier route to use since in effect you have to provide strong documentary evidence that you have got the experience you are claiming for, which most people liken to doing a module anyway. However, it is a possibility and deserves a mention. Hope the house move goes OK - look forward to hearing from you.

Hi Simon, there are three things that can be looked at here - first off, that BTEC may well carry some credits which are valid for the UV degree as well. Without knowing the BTEC content it's hard to say, but generally the guidance is that if there is some content in the BTEC modules that is similar enough to the BALTR modules then you can APL them (that is, be given the credits towards the degree APL = Accredited Prior Learning). With the OU running such a wide range of degrees there is almost certainly going to be more flexibility in their APL procedures, but overall it takes a lot longer to get through the required credits when on an OU course. If we could APL that number of credits then you would only *need* to do the final year for the degree (although it would be important to do a lot of background work to understand what is required in y3 anyway). To avoid you falling short in Y3, I would recommend that you did at least two of the Y2 modules anyway, if not more. We could be more certain once we have seen your BTEC work. The second thing is that many of the first cohort are deciding to go into teaching and we have spoken at length with the Teacher Development Agency about the possibilities. The UV degree is not teacher training, but you can certainly go from it to either a PGCE or into a Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP). If you were heading in to Primary teaching the path is a little easier, in that you only need to gain curriculum knowledge alongside class management technique, etc, and a GTP is ideal for that. For secondary there is a requirement to have a specific subject, but I would think ICT would fit the bill here. Finally, the degree allows you to stay in full-time employment - the idea is that you earn whilst you learn (to coin a phrase). If you are in receipt of benefits then fee waivers can operate, but otherwise you are looking at a student loan if you need one. Since the degree is a third of the price of other degrees (currently it is £1200 per year) then you would be looking at a far lower loan to begin with. Student loans operate in an odd way in that you repay them when your earnings allow, and at a vastly reduced interest rate. It's a bit of a black hole for me, that one, so do ring up and ask someone who knows more about it (ring the UV number and ask for Lindsey or Rex). Does this help?

Hi all - many thanks to Robbersdog for holding the fort and fielding the questions. The answers given are pretty much spot on, as far as I can see. I am an Ultraversity Learning Facilitator and have been for the last three years, working with the pilot cohort to go through the system. This group (about 150 people) are graduating later this year. I don't want to use this space to advertise or do shameless plugs, and I appreciate the invite to come in and discuss the course with you all. The members of Edugeek are one of the main groups of people we think benefit most from the work we are doing. Ultraversity started off as a research project, as so many Ultralab ideas do. We set out to change the face of higher education and look at how we could engage people in learning who wouldn't normally have a chance, or who missed their 'traditional' chance when they left school. We wanted to create a degree path which was tailor made to each individual and not be stuffed full of content. To this end we designed the course to be one that involves reflective practice and action inquiry, focussing entirely on your work place. What this means is that you look at what you do in the work place, what your work place does in its community and try to understand better how it fits together. You learn about the processes and theories that underpin action research and then apply this to what you do. You also get the opportunity to undertake some action research, which sounds very grand, but is in fact something you probably do every day. Whenever you do something to 'fix' a problem you usually think through what the problem is and what the likely solutions are. You would normally select a solution and check to see what impact that has on the initial problem. If it works, great, if not, you have to think again. This is exactly the process behind action enquiry, except in an academic sense you do it more formally. The degree is accredited by Anglia Ruskin University and is a full credit British Honours degree. On completion of the first year you are entitled to a Certificate of Higher Education award. At the end of year 2 this would be a Diploma level award, but completion of year 3 brings about graduate-ness: BA (hons) Learning, Technology, Research. The degree thus involves you using technology, doing research and, erm... learning! Throughout the degree you are engaged in thinking and reflecting on what happens at work and looking at ways to better understand how you can be more effective. It is a degree designed to help people be better at what they already love doing, and hopefully then open up other 'doors' for career progression. It isn't any good for people who don't really have an opportunity to reflect on their work during the course of their day (I would think most trades folk would not get much from this kind of approach), but we have people from education, health, IT, Parents (carers) and it fits very well with these kinds of backgrounds. There is loads more I could tell you about the research findings we have arrived at, but it gets a tad boring to read and I've already banged on a lot anyway. Sorry for the monster post... I seem to be worse than Robbersdog! Please do ask whatever questions you would like to and I'll do my level best to answer them for you. Thanks again for agreeing to let me come in here, and thanks also to Robbersdog (who is in Cohort 3 of the degree, halfway through the three year course).