The open university

The Open University (OU) is a pioneer university in distance learning. It is notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students live in Great Britain and principally study off-campus, but many of its courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) can be studied off-campus anywhere in the world. There are a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the university campus where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1000 members of academic and research staff and over 2500 administrative, operational and support staff.

The OU was established in 1969 and the first students enrolled in January 1971. The University administration is based in Milton Keynes, England, but has regional centres in each of its thirteen regions around the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It also has offices and regional examination centres in most other European countries. The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as non-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates, or continuing education units.

With more than 180,000 students enrolled, including more than 25,000 students studying overseas, it is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom and Europe by student number, and qualifies as one of the world's largest universities. Since it was founded, more than 3 million students have studied its courses. It was rated top university in England and Wales for student satisfaction in the 2005 and 2006.

The OU provides university education to those wishing to continue higher educationon a part-time and/ordistance learningbasis, including people with healthdisabilities, who are officially a priority group for the university, about 10,000 OU students have health disabilities.

Faculties

The University has Faculties of Arts; Education & Language Studies; Health and Social Care; Law; Mathematics, Computing and Technology; Science; Social Science; and a Business School. The new Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology was formed on 1 October 2007.

Business school

The OU Business School is the largest provider of MBAs(Master of Business Adminisration) in the UK, producing more graduates than all the rest of the business schools in the UK put together. Although the majority of students at the Business School are in the UK, many of the courses are also available throughout most of the world. Students study via distance learning for a Certificate or Diploma in Management and MBA programmes. A number of courses have compulsory residential school which students must attend.

Exercise 1. Choose the most suitable word or phrase underlined in each sentence.

1. Jack decided to take a course/lesson in hotel management.

2. Sheila always got good marks/points in algebra.

3. After leaving school, Ann studied/ learnt to be a teacher.

4. Peter decided not to go in/enter a university.

5. My sister learned/taught me how to draw.

6. I can't come to the cinema. I have to read/study for a test.

7. In history we had to learn a lot of dates by hand/heart.

8. I hope your work will improve by the end of course/term.

9. Martin failed/missed his maths exam and had to sit it again.

10. James was a very gifted student so he didn't have any problems passing/making his exams.

Exercise 2. Match each person from the list with a suitable description. Use each name once only.

classmate examiner learner principal pupil coach graduate lecturer professor tutor

1. Someone who teaches at a university.

2. Someone who has a college degree.

3. The head of a school.

4. Someone who studies at primary or secondary school.

5. The most important teacher in a university department.

6. Someone who teaches one student or a very small class.

7. Someone in the same class as yourself.

8. Someone who trains a sports team.

9. Someone who writes the question papers of an examination.

10. Someone who drives but has not yet passed a driving test.

Text 7b.