Fascinating and a reminder of how much I loved doing my OU English Literature degree for six years from 1997. I d decided on nurse training rather than uni in 1972 and always yearned for that degree.
OU fitted in around a demanding full-time job as a frontline health visitor plus three teenagers and a home to run. Looking back I know it was the superb course materials that helped enormously. I’d listen to Shakespeare plays in my car as I drove around my home visits, and be writing essays at 2am...but I loved every minute of it and am eternally grateful to Jennie Lee for her vision and tenacity in setting it up.
That is so good to hear. My sister had missed out on uni but managed to Humanities degree while working and with two small children. I always remember how beautifully produced the course books were.
Very timely, thank you. I read that the University of York is closing its Centre for Lifelong Learning, part of the escalating crisis of UK higher education as the neoliberal model of university-as-business falls apart. Degree level education is likely to become much less available in the coming years, especially for applicants who lack the financial security and freedom from family responsibility to study away from home. The past is fast becoming the future again and in that future we need the Open University more than ever.
I don't work in HE and have no axe to grind. I had an unhappy experience of conventional university as a mentally unwell teenager and the OU gave me a precious second chance.
Not a huge fan of Statues, but Jennie Lee deserves a monument of her own somewhere. There was a training centre named after her in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, which was part of her Cannock constituency, but I read that it has closed. She shares a London Blue Plaque with Nye Bevan.
Lovely story! I started my OU maths degree in 1993 but had to bail when I moved to Silicon Valley. I started again five years ago and I will get my Philosophy and Classical Studies degree next summer. The Open University was a great idea and provides a great service!
Fabulous piece. I'm so far from being a socialist you can't measure the distance, but the OU was simply a brilliant (and simple) idea, based on the idea that people want to learn and learning is inherent good, as well as the other benefits.
Fascinating, and brilliantly researched
An inspiring story, wonderfully told. Thank you!
Thanks for the history which I didn't know. So glad it exists. I've had many friends get degrees and teach there
Fascinating and a reminder of how much I loved doing my OU English Literature degree for six years from 1997. I d decided on nurse training rather than uni in 1972 and always yearned for that degree.
OU fitted in around a demanding full-time job as a frontline health visitor plus three teenagers and a home to run. Looking back I know it was the superb course materials that helped enormously. I’d listen to Shakespeare plays in my car as I drove around my home visits, and be writing essays at 2am...but I loved every minute of it and am eternally grateful to Jennie Lee for her vision and tenacity in setting it up.
That is so good to hear. My sister had missed out on uni but managed to Humanities degree while working and with two small children. I always remember how beautifully produced the course books were.
Very timely, thank you. I read that the University of York is closing its Centre for Lifelong Learning, part of the escalating crisis of UK higher education as the neoliberal model of university-as-business falls apart. Degree level education is likely to become much less available in the coming years, especially for applicants who lack the financial security and freedom from family responsibility to study away from home. The past is fast becoming the future again and in that future we need the Open University more than ever.
I don't work in HE and have no axe to grind. I had an unhappy experience of conventional university as a mentally unwell teenager and the OU gave me a precious second chance.
Not a huge fan of Statues, but Jennie Lee deserves a monument of her own somewhere. There was a training centre named after her in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, which was part of her Cannock constituency, but I read that it has closed. She shares a London Blue Plaque with Nye Bevan.
There is a very smart building in Milton Keynes named after her. But I agree about a statue
Lovely story! I started my OU maths degree in 1993 but had to bail when I moved to Silicon Valley. I started again five years ago and I will get my Philosophy and Classical Studies degree next summer. The Open University was a great idea and provides a great service!
Thank you. A great bit of history, showing how with a bit of bravery radical visions for the common good can come to fruition.
Wonderful story, well told! Top marks. 🌟
"The tidal wave of past neglect" is such a brilliant phrase. Thank you for such a well-written and evocative account of an inspiring institution.
Fascinating to read this, especially having been to the OU recently for a friend’s inaugural lecture.
Fantastic piece, Sarah!
Fabulous piece. I'm so far from being a socialist you can't measure the distance, but the OU was simply a brilliant (and simple) idea, based on the idea that people want to learn and learning is inherent good, as well as the other benefits.
A wonderfully told history! Always been a huge fan of Jennie Lee and the OU!
I greatly enjoyed reading this and knew little about the OU's origins.