Higher Education for old folks

lindsay

lindsay

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Lindsay
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I am getting a yearning to study again, for something new - but I'm afraid I do like getting meaningful certificates at the end. I took an OU degree in Social Sciences in the 1990's, and I've done other odd courses with them over the years not towards a qualification, and did a degree in Counselling in the early 2000's in London. I fancy something new now like science (without too much maths) or history/archaeology. However tuition fees are ridiculous these days. Even the OU has got in on the act and charges 10 times what they used to 20 years ago. I can't afford that, and it seems I can't get a tuition fee loan due to already having a degree.
Has anyone got any suggestions for more economical ways of doing HE study?

Ta
 
Thanks Jim, unfortunately Level 3 = A levels, of which I have a few, so it's a great idea for those who don't already have any, but not for me/those in my situation.
 
I have done a number of modules by Future Learn (Open University). The modules are typically 3 to 10 weeks long and most are free. The topics are varied. You might want to google Future Learn and see if it attracts you.

Dave
 
Thanks Dave, I've done a few of the Future Learn courses, that's what whetted my appetite for more! They are really good and I echo your recommendation.

I'm looking at a Photography degree as a possibility, but again tuition fee are very high. Investigating that still, but I might start off with an A level on that if I decide to do that subject.

My inclination at present is either history or archaeology, purely out of interest, or something in science because it's a gap in my education, or something in the social science/psychology line where I might e able to take it to Masters level. All of those though seem prohibitively expensive (in England); if I lived in Wales, N. Ireland or Scotland the fees are either lower or zero, so it's a peculiarly English problem.
 
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I have done lots of MOOCS with Future Learn and also with Coursera.
On Coursera I can recommend From the Big Bang to Dark Energy, if you are newish to Physics then How things Work: An Introduction to Physics is quite good.
I am 73 now and have studied something every year since I was at school, including an OU Hons degree and an OU MBA but I still found the Coursera course Learning how to Learn interesting.
​
 
With the internet you can teach yourself anything from how to make an omelette to nuclear physics. I've always found that I teach myself better than others can teach me. YMMV of course.
 
I like a structured learning programme, it's how I used to teach IT and programming a long time ago. I don't want to devise my own and search for content.
I could read some books etc and learn, but I want more support with a new field of knowledge. I know there are many options, but in my OP I did say I was looking for an outcome that was not just enhanced knowledge but also some sort of meaningful certification to look at and feel I'd achieved something.
Tbh it's fees that are the biggest issue holding me back at present. If I can't resolve that then it looks like I will be falling back on FutureLearn and MOOCS
 
To me, the biggest problem with teaching oneself from the internet is the sheer quantity of incorrect information - how do you know the data is right if you don't know the area? I see this with published papers, with answers on the 'science help' sites, in online explanations and all-sorts. While there's no doubt the right information IS available, actually choosing it over the faeces can be a challenge for the self-educator.
 
ancient_mariner said:
While there's no doubt the right information IS available, actually choosing it over the faeces can be a challenge for the self-educator.
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That's half the fun for me. Once I've worked out what cannot be right, what remains is more likely to be right.

Then again, there have been many technical books I've used over the years where proof reading was clearly something that happened to other publications. One howler in a book on network systems gave the speed of light as 299,792 miles per second!
 
The difficulty for me would be if the incorrect info got embedded, it then becomes hard to displace.
 
I don’t know if it’s an option. But the OU do allow you to pay tuition fees on finance
 
Can you get a student loan, it would seem there is no upper age limit and depending on your income you may pay little or nothing back.

Have a look here

www.gov.uk

Student finance for undergraduates

Student finance - student loans or student grants for tuition fees and living costs, extra help, student loan repayments.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
lindsay56 said:
Thanks Dave, I've done a few of the Future Learn courses, that's what whetted my appetite for more! They are really good and I echo your recommendation.

I'm looking at a Photography degree as a possibility, but again tuition fee are very high. Investigating that still, but I might start off with an A level on that if I decide to do that subject.

My inclination at present is either history or archaeology, purely out of interest, or something in science because it's a gap in my education, or something in the social science/psychology line where I might e able to take it to Masters level. All of those though seem prohibitively expensive (in England); if I lived in Wales, N. Ireland or Scotland the fees are either lower or zero, so it's a peculiarly English problem.
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You can get a student loan for most degree level studies. If you are retired you would probably never get to pay it off.
Degrees a FE colleges are usually less costly than the same degree at a university.
 
Thanks Hugh, they do offer finance, but charging £19k for a degree course, it's equivalent to buying a car on tick and not really affordable.
Tuition loans aren't available if you already have a degree, unfortunately, although I'm waiting to hear back if I can join one of the small number that they have where there is an exception to this rule. I tried applying for one in relation to Uni Leicester for an archaeology degree, and was turned down flat because I'm already a degree holder. Maybe I should lie, I just don't want it to come back and bite me.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
That's half the fun for me. Once I've worked out what cannot be right, what remains is more likely to be right.
Click to expand...

The trouble with that is if you choose to educate yourself in a new subject area then its hard to do with multiple, seemingly legitimate sources.
 
lindsay56 said:
Thanks Hugh, they do offer finance, but charging £19k for a degree course, it's equivalent to buying a car on tick and not really affordable.
Tuition loans aren't available if you already have a degree, unfortunately, although I'm waiting to hear back if I can join one of the small number that they have where there is an exception to this rule. I tried applying for one in relation to Uni Leicester for an archaeology degree, and was turned down flat because I'm already a degree holder. Maybe I should lie, I just don't want it to come back and bite me.
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My Grand daughter recently did an LLM after completing her law degree. it qualified for a further student loan She did the LPC course at the same time and it was also covered.
However the LPC is not covered for a loan if done separately.
There are some strange anomalies in the system.
 
There are separate Tuition Loan options for Postgraduate degrees, hence your daughter's funding Terry. There is something separate also for FE courses I believe (providing you don't have a higher level qualification)
Unfortunately I don't feel able to go for a Masters at this stage as it's about 15 years since I studied at undergraduate level, and the obvious subject areas don't interest me sufficiently. I want to broaden my knowledge rather than deepen it.
 
lindsay56 said:
There are separate Tuition Loan options for Postgraduate degrees, hence your daughter's funding Terry. There is something separate also for FE courses I believe (providing you don't have a higher level qualification)
Unfortunately I don't feel able to go for a Masters at this stage as it's about 15 years since I studied at undergraduate level, and the obvious subject areas don't interest me sufficiently. I want to broaden my knowledge rather than deepen it.
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I have a different way of looking at things than yourself.
I am not the least interested in gaining certification in any thing. However I love learning new things. And more often how to do things, at least to a professional standard.
However I have found by experience that you have to acquire a great deal of background knowledge to gain any sort of expertise in anything at all. Mostly the academic side is just the start.
 
boyfalldown said:
The trouble with that is if you choose to educate yourself in a new subject area then its hard to do with multiple, seemingly legitimate sources.
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I've done it for fifty years and it's worked out well.
 
That's fine for you chaps, but not for me. I still harbour a desire for a better degree, maybe a higher degree, despite everything else I've gained along the way. eg I have no formal qualifications in IT subjects but am a Fellow of the British Computer Society as a result of what I've done in my career, learning informally. That means a lot to me.
 
lindsay56 said:
That's fine for you chaps, but not for me. I still harbour a desire for a better degree, maybe a higher degree, despite everything else I've gained along the way. eg I have no formal qualifications in IT subjects but am a Fellow of the British Computer Society as a result of what I've done in my career, learning informally. That means a lot to me.
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Just heard the result of my Grand daughters LPC she achieved a Distinction. Not bad when only 56% of final candidates even passed last year. It is always a very challenging qualification.
Most candidates do it near the end of their training contract, not before they event start it. Like her.

The last paper was a day long open book exam. Which she did at home. I was visiting when she came down and said she had finished it two hours early. I suggest she read the question again. But she said she had read through every thing, but would check again after something to eat, and before she sent it through on line. The previous papers must have gone equally well.
 
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Excellent news Terry, a heck of an achievement. Is she going to take a pupillage or articles after the LLM?
 
There’s the Khan Academy which is free but I’ve no idea of the levels or if qualifications are gained :(. https://www.khanacademy.org/
 
Just thinking aloud but … language(s) would seem a possibility. One can learn them variously from literature and online and practice them for nothing and maybe there are exams you can take without being enrolled in an institution.
 
I did a photography / art history degree through the Open College of Arts a few years back, they were a lot cheaper than than the OU. Not sure these days. You paid per module instead of one year at a time so it worked out ok for me as i wasn't in any great rush.
 
Languages are certainly a thing for me; my German is pretty good (used to be fluent 20 years ago), French needs improvement though. I have a bunch of language courses installed on the computer and they are an ongoing exercise when I find time - Japanese is next to have a go at. But I don't see them as an academic exercise as such.
I have looked at the OCA Photography courses - they are slightly less expensive than the OU, yes, I'm just not sure I want to do a photography degree; I'm looking to do something more academic than vocational, although the art/art history aspect does appeal.
 
I've just come across a course that has piqued my interest: A Bachelor of Divinity degree with University of London, taught online, total cost about £13k over 6 years (could be less if you try). Covering various religions, ancient hebrew and Greek, sounds challenging but interesting. That's on the possibles list.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
That's half the fun for me. Once I've worked out what cannot be right, what remains is more likely to be right.

Then again, there have been many technical books I've used over the years where proof reading was clearly something that happened to other publications. One howler in a book on network systems gave the speed of light as 299,792 miles per second!
Click to expand...

That's the correct figure for kilometers/second. It sounds as if the writer got his units mixed up! :)
 
When you two have finished comparing your love-in, any further thoughts on studying?
On the photography side, I do wish the C&G still existed with their photography evening courses, I did a couple many years ago and accidentally ended up helping to teach darkroom skills on one, but I'd have liked to go back to those rather than A-leve/HND/Degree photography courses. Did they just get subsumed into BTEc or something?
 
lindsay56 said:
When you two have finished comparing your love-in, any further thoughts on studying?
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Sorry about that. I'm bored with him now so I've put him on ignore. Seriously, though, if you are sure that your best approach is a structured course or programme, have you considered the RPS? They're not my cup of tea but thousands of people have gone through their system and there seems to be a good level of satisfaction. They used to do a lot of specialist courses and may have something that suits you.
 
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