The Open University

The Open University

The Open University is known as the university of the air. It’s a system of correspondence courses where a number of students are able to take a degree without having had any other previous qualifications. For many people that is the only chance they’ve ever had of going to university. It’s open to literally anybody of the age of 25, and what it is – it’s a series of booklets, or written work, that is done by the student at home. And the student listens at his home to a series of radio programmes, which accompanies series of booklets. These booklets are arranged on a weekly basis, they are mailed to the students. The student has to do a number of written work for a tutor whom he or she meets several times in the year. And this tutor is usually somebody at the university or local polytechnic, who’s doing this as an extra adding to his own teaching during the day. And the student sends his work to the tutor and it’s marked and sent back to them and they have to go away each summer to what’s called “summer school”, held in the university somewhere in the country for a week of a very intensive mixture of socializing and academic work. It is supplement to their own studies throughout the year, and they sit another exam, a written exam paper.

The Open University year unlike the normal academic year runs from January to October or November time. It’s very demanding. The sort of people who are going for it are many of the teachers, who become teachers before qualifications were necessary, didn’t take a degree and subsequently are going back to take a degree. They are people, who may just be very ordinary manual workers but who have a native intelligence; who are for one reason or another, not to stay at school and want to go back to do it. Prisoners are doing it.

But, generally speaking, Open University students are housewives, teachers, quite often a large portion of women. This is because many women weren’t able to have the chance of university education earlier. But also because the OU does require a large amount of time for study and therefore, one has to be able to afford this time.

It takes between six or seven years to take a degree. It’s somewhat shorter, if you have other qualifications. But it’s a very important part of university life in Britain, providing quite a useful alternative for those who haven’t had a chance to get an education.

Find the English equivalents of the following word combinations and phrases:

Заочные курсы; быть доступным в буквальном смысле для всех; серия брошюр; отправлять задания студентам по почте; проверить задание; общественные мероприятия и учеба; в дополнение к чему-л.; сдавать экзамен; требующий усилий; природные интеллектуальные способности; по той или иной причине; требуется много времени; представлять альтернативный путь.

B. Make up an interview with an Open University graduate. Ask to what categories of people the university is open, how the studies are arranged, how the “summer school” is held, how long it takes to get a degree. Prove that the OU is a useful alternative to get an education.