Advertisement Feature - University really is local

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Sept 23, 2003

The Open University truly is your local university, wherever you may be in the UK and even further afield.

Its regional centres provide a real hub for offering local support and advice to anyone considering or undertaking higher education.

For employers and individual students alike, whatever their learning and training needs, local staff at The Open University in the North will provide information and advice to guide you on to the right course.

Start studying with the OU and local staff will again be there to support you or your employees through to successful completion of the chosen course and achievement of the aimed-for qualification.

The Open University in the North has 70 staff and 550 part-time tutors supporting the 5,500 students in the region, which also supports a further 5,500 students and 150 tutors across continental western Europe.

It is involved in a number of local projects and partnerships.

Working with educational institutions, the OU is developing pathways for younger learners and since 1996 has been offering a range of courses to selected students in year 12 in schools around the region.

Thy range from mathematics, computing, engineering and science to languages and are accredited at Level 1 - equivalent to first year of study at a traditional university.

The Open University in the North is also a member of, and contributor to, several local, regional and national professional organisations.

It has been successful in working with Unison, Careconnect and the Workers' Educational Association to establish a learning centre, Bridges to Learning.

Along with the other campus-based universities in the region, The Open University is working to widen participation in higher education by encouraging people who wouldn't normally think about going to university. Projects include taster sessions in community centres, work-based learning schemes and family learning.

So, The Open University in the North truly does provide a local answer to those higher education needs.