Open University

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I've had the first bit of good news in a while. After ages the Open University has finally processed the forms my friend sent in for me and I'm now registered for a 10 week course called Plants and People. It's a science course and if I complete it I can go on to study other scientific courses and put together they will count as a degree. The great thing about the Open University is I think I'm more likely to not drop out of it because it doesn't require meeting other people much.

Is there anyone else here in the Open University? I imagine it might suit a lot of us since it doesn't involve many classes with other people and most of the learning is done by reading, watching DVDs and contacting the teacher 1-to-1 by e-mail and phone.

Open University? Got a link?

I transferred from a traditional university to the OU, as I was having problems with depression/anxiety. I have to say I was impressed with the support they gave me - e.g the mentor I received was actually helpful. The learning material itself seemed as good, if not better, than the material from my previous university. I've done two courses with them so far - "Starting with Psychology", which is an introductory course, and "Biological Psychology", which is a level 2 course. I will be starting a level 3 course next month (Infectious Diseases), as I was able to transfer credits from my previous university.

The degree I'm studying towards is Life Science, which is the degree closest to the one I was doing at a traditional university.

I received DSA (Disabled Student's Allowance), which pays for a study support mentor, who helps me get organised and not stressed out, etc. You can also gt extra time on exams, special equipment, etc. I was able to get this type of support from the traditional university as well, but it seemed generally less supportive.

The other good thing is that the OU base financial support on your own income, and not your parents like traditional universities. This meant I was able to get my courses paid for me. A lot of people doing the OU work full-time and study part-time, but I am doing both part-time, as I think I'd get stressed out otherwise.

http://www.open.ac.uk/

I'm starting my first course with them in a couple of weeks and I'm really scared.

In Australia a number of universities offer degree/postgrad courses by distance education.

I studied a Bachelor of Science (Geology) by distance education. Some subjects were a bit hard and having correspondance with lecturers via email was a bit difficult at times but generally it was ok. I liked not having the social interaction and doing my study from home, so many miles away. I think this form of education can be useful for people with ASDs. I hope you are successful in your studies.