If your reading this blog entry hopefully you will have noticed that the website has changed. I have added a new design layout and although there have been a few teething issues I am fairly happy with the results. I hope everyone likes it, its a lot simpler and easier on the eye than the previous design but still engaging enough to keep you coming back.

I was asked by a colleague recently what type of financial support the OU offer students and as I advised them I thought that it would be useful information to add to this blog.

This is the Second year that the Open University have assisted me financially with my studies and they have been of great benefit! The OU provide a wide range of grants and financial support to a huge amount of students and if you are considering studying anything from as much as a whole degree to as little as one course but you are not sure if you can afford it they provide ready reckoner's online which will give you an idea as to what support is available.

It is also worth noting that as well as financial support, the Open University have the Open University Student Budget Account or OUSBA which provide ways of spreading the cost of your studies by paying course fees over the year at a low rate of interest.

For more info please see the OUSBA website

If you earn under £30K and live in the England and Northern Ireland you should be entitled to financial support. The OU rate this out so if you earn under say £15k you should be eligible for a full course grant, between £16K - £26k you should be eligible for a partial course grant, these figures are approximate and change yearly. The amount of grant you will receive depends on how many credits you study and other contributing factors. Please see the OU Financial Support Site for full details.

The general Financial Support Site for the OU can be found below:

Financial Support Site for Open University UK

As can be seen on the financial support site, depending on where you live (England & Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland etc) there are different support structures in place. The amount of Support you may be eligible for depends on your country of residence. Ready Reckoner's for each country can be found below:

England and Northern Ireland Financial Support Calculator
Wales Financial Support Calculator
Scotland Financial Support Calculator

As well as support for fees, the OU provide other support such as Computer Grants to use towards the purchase of a PC or Laptop for Study, Grants for Internet Fees when used for Study etc. However, it is worth nothing that these grants tend to be offered on a first come first served basis. Judging by the leaflets and letters I get each year a lot of the funds available for these grants are not used up.

I thought I would drop by as I haven't wrote an entry since my courses finished for the summer.

The good news is I received my end of course assessment back for M150 and scored 89% which I'm very pleased with. This hopefully will secure a pass for the course however I still have to await the return of the final CMA.

I have also received my registration agreements through for M263 (£355), MU120(£315) and M255(£355). After applying for financial support I managed to secure a partial grant which will cover all of MU120's costs and some of M263's. I approached my employer today regarding the remaining balance for my courses and they were more than happy to pay, which leaves me in a very fortunate position of not having to pay any fees this year.

I'm off around Europe in a few days time and will be spending 5 weeks on the continent which I am really looking forward too. It will be good to recharge the batteries before returning in August ready for a September start and another year with the OU.

I have been keeping up to date with other OU students blogs and I have been pleased to receive comments on both the ISIC card and and my blog in general so thank you to all those who have stopped by!

I hope you all have a great summer and a well deserved rest (and that the weather takes a turn for the better too!)

Bye for now.