Learners will have access to online forums where they can meet and study with others, choose from a selection of study units and try out our quizzes to test their learning. And that’s not all; if learners complete either course they can earn a digital badge to show their participation and achievement.

Learning to Learn will appeal to those who are thinking about studying but not sure whether they are ready to take the next step or while Succeed with Math will appeal to those who simply want to gain more confidence with Maths.

Each course will run for eight weeks and will be available from Wednesday 22^nd May to Wednesday 10^th July 2013.

OpenLearn gives you free access to learning materials from The Open University.  It launched in October 2006 thanks to a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Our shared vision was free online education, open to anyone, anywhere in the world. OpenLearn is the result and we have since reached over 23 million people.  OpenLearn includes over 8000 study hours of learning materials from Open University courses, and gives you access to topical and interactive content, from expert blogs, to videos and games.

The post Free online courses with The Open University appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

To order your free progression game cards please email Yusuf Dadabhoy. The progression cards are limited to a maximum of 10 packs per order.

The post Match Up! New Free Progression Card Game appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Doctoral graduates from 2003-04 to 2005-06 are invited to take part in an online survey. The survey will remain open until 31st May 2013.

Alongside the survey, a number of graduates take part in in-depth interviews. The findings of the study will be published by the end of 2013.

Further information can be found here or contact Rachel Moreton, 0116 229 3300, rachel.moreton@cfe.org.uk

The post RCUK launches survey to examine the impact of PhD graduates appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

To celebrate Adult Learners’ Week, Birkbeck is hosting a series of free, high quality talks, workshops, and information and advice sessions at Stratford Old Town Hall.

• All are welcome. Booking advised – please book here.
• Stay for one session or the whole day, or dip in and out throughout the three days.
• We offer an inspiring range of talks, tasters and 1-1 sessions about studying at university

We’ll also be providing an information stand at Stratford Shopping Centre from 20 May to 24 May. Come along and find out more about studying at Birkbeck.

The post Adult Learner’s Week at Birkbeck appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

As a higher education partner to the Southern and Eastern Region TUC, we are proud to offer members a 10% discount on the following courses, excluding short courses (fees mentioned below are the full rate).

You can apply for a Student Loan for most of these courses.

Click here to read more about the courses

The post 10% union discount on Anglia Ruskin University courses appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Over the last few years, and as the union learning movement has matured, so have the learners and whilst there is still a huge appetite for informal learning and skills for life, there has become a noticeable increase in demand for a complete learning journey– which means increased access to higher skills. So, in true learner demand-led union learning style, this has been something unionlearn and other organisations have responded proactively to and are delivering on for learners and employers in workplaces.

The RPA in Workington, Cumbria, is one such workplace.  Lisa Harrison, PCS ULR and Assistant Coordinator on site has been a Union Learning Rep for seven years so has facilitated lots of learning on site, mainly focussed around informal adult learning, skills for life, Level 1 and Level 2s and GCSEs, in the past.  But having recently completed her own Masters Degree, coupled with increasing requests from colleagues and members asking about progression routes she began to explore additional avenues of learning at higher levels.

So, when Graeme Rushton, their regional Union Support Officer, contacted Lisa with regards to running a smoking cessation session she seized the opportunity to ask if he could help run some courses around higher skills.  Fortuitously, there was some funding available through the region’s flagship Higher Level Skills project and Graeme was already actively working with the Open University in the North to bring higher skills to Cumbria.  With their collective knowledge and the funding, it was decided the best way forward was to pilot the OU’s Openings courses in the RPA.

Katrina Coleman, OU in the North Community Partnerships Manager said: “Openings courses are 20 week introductory courses to Higher Education and are designed to introduce people to a subject that they’re interested in and also allow them to brush-up/hone their study skills which may not have been used for a while.  They are an excellent first step and most importantly, serve as confidence-builders for the learners. I am so proud of the work we’ve done here because bringing HE to Cumbria is pivotal to ensuring equality of access and opportunity – and I’m thrilled it’s been grasped with both hands.”

The Openings courses were advertised at £195.00 with the added incentive of a 50% refund upon completion, and despite the first round being run close to Christmas this didn’t seem to deter people and the take-up was still very good with 11 staff signing up to start their respective courses in November.  In order to both assist the learners and show their commitment to working in partnership the OU gave additional resources in the shape of three tailored Study Skills sessions on topics like Essay Writing, Referencing and Making the most of Course Materials which ran in tandem with the Openings courses.  As well as practical skills, these sessions proved invaluable for everyone involved as it brought the individual learners together as a group, giving the pilot a more cohesive feel and forming a very effective support network for the learners.

As of the end of March, 100% of the learners who embarked on the Openings courses in RPA (Psychology, Law, Management and Health) have completed, which is a major achievement and testament to their dedication and the need for  more programmes/partnerships like this one.  They are now in the process of advertising the next cohort of Openings learners(to begin in June) and even without any funding, they have been inundated with expressions of interest with two months still to go!  Lisa’s role as a ULR is now solely dedicated to Higher Level Skills and she leads on this area for PCS in the workplace, co-ordinating and facilitating all aspects of activity in this area.

Lisa said, “Having been involved with union learning for a long time we have seen more and more people develop and they are now looking for the next step.  The partnership work with unionlearn and the OU has been a fantastic way to introduce higher education into our portfolio of union learning and give members and colleagues what they want and need for personal and professional development into the future.  And judging by the interest and the achievements it looks like it will become a permanent fixture!”

Brigitta’s Story

Brigitta, a PCS member, has worked at RPA for six years and is currently a Call Centre Operative and has just completed her Openings course, Starting with Psychology.  Prior to commencing this course in November 2011 she had accessed some learning before and had done ECDL, and NVQs and over the years but hadn’t done any focussed higher level learning. She wanted to do this course as she has a personal interest and wanted to gain a better understanding.

At 44 and a mum of three, time and and accessibility are of paramount importance to Brigitta and the OU courses being run in the workplace made them convenient and allowed her to fit the learning into the spare time she has, especially as the closest university and HE institutions are in Carlisle, which is over an hour commute away.  Just a couple of weeks after submitting her final assignments she has already registered for the OU An Introduction to the Social Sciences (Level 1)course and her ultimate goal is a full degree in Psychology – which she also aims to complete through the OU.

Brigitta said, “Doing the Openings course through work has been absolutely brilliant.  It’s meant I can fit it in around my job and childcare commitments, and I’ve had the added support of the ULRs, Katrina and Betty, my tutor, who were all a massive help.  I’d love to take my learning all the way up to degree level; to keep learning, improving and achieving for myself and to prove I can. I can’t wait to start my next course!”

Workplace: RPA Workington

The post Higher Level Skills in Cumbria appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Financial support at Birkbeck includes reduced course fees – resulting in a smaller loan for eligible students – and non-repayable cash bursaries paid directly to students to support the other costs of study such as books, childcare or travel.

If you are a trade union member, studying for your first degree you will also be entitled to 10% discount on tuition fees. This support complements the Government student loan scheme, which from the start of the 2012 academic year, is available to part-time students for the first time.

To help prospective students make decisions about their higher education choices, Birkbeck runs free interactive workshops throughout the year, explaining everything you need to know about undergraduate tuition fees, student loans, the applications process and the financial support given by Birkbeck. Throughout the summer prospective students can also talk to us at information stands in libraries across London. It isn’t too late to apply for courses starting in October 2012.

If you would like to find out more about flexible, evening higher education which allows you to earn will you learn come along to the Birkbeck Open Evening on Thursday 6h September at the Royal National Hotel or on Thursday 20th September at Stratford Old Town Hall from 4pm until 7.15pm.

For more information contact Annette McCone at a.mccone@bbk.ac.uk.

The post You can afford to go to University appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Download the pdfs here:
Expanding and Improving Part time Education

Understanding Higher Education in Further Education Colleges

The post New BIS reports on higher learning appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Ian Yeats, ULR reports:
Following on from the ULR forum on The 26th June, I arranged for Katrina Coleman (OU) to visit the site so that members here could find out more about the Open University. The main reason was so that members had the opportunity to possibly study for free, or at least at the old fees.
After speaking with Katrina I had to arrange a meeting quickly, as the applications had to be completed no later than the 14th May. I originally arranged the meeting for 15-20 people, expecting that to be the approximate number attending. However after passing the information to the area I work in, I decided to contact Tina Hedley (fellow ULR). This was because I knew that the members in the Evening Work Centre would be very interested. After contacting the EWC, the numbers for those attending the meeting quickly rose to 60. Thankfully Katrina was able to stay later, and split the meeting into two sessions, which had to be re-arranged for the Canteen to accommodate the numbers. The meetings were a great success and led to much interest.

Due to problems with communication, and the speed with which things needed to be organised, many members in the EWC did not receive the E-mail till after the meetings were held, so I visited every floor plate on the site which accommodates EWC staff, outside of my normal hours. The interest in the courses was phenomenal, but as the access to the funding depended heavily on individual circumstances, was very time consuming. This was because I had to assess if the members would be able to apply for funding and at what level this funding was likely to be.

Next came the fun part of ensuring everyone who wanted to apply had the application forms needed, and that they submitted them to me on time. Again this took a lot of time as linking to the degree, (to ensure the funding for 5 years), proved difficult to understand for many, and I had to help each person complete the form. Last night was particularly manic as nearly everyone had left the application to the last day to submit. (Something I have been guilty of in the past, but will avoid in future as I can see the stress it causes).

All in all, I managed to speak directly with over 100 people and have managed to sign up 55 people onto the courses at the old rates. (This is made up of 53 members from HMRC, one from the CSA and my nephew, Nathan). There are others who are interested in applying under the new system as well. Katrina was very excited with the result and states that this is a new record for her at any workplace she has been to. I think that had I had more time, we could have done even better. I have found it extremely rewarding personally, as there are many people who would have missed out at studying, and may never have applied in the future due to the rising costs associated with the new system. Amongst the areas where people have enrolled there was a real buzz, and people seem very excited to be starting courses that they feel will be of real benefit to them. I managed to sign up 7 new members to the Union and even managed to recruit a new ULR, Sarah Cree (who has since, embarked on her ULR training!)

I met Katrina today (on her day off, which she has kindly cancelled) so that all those who submitted applications can be enrolled in the system on time. Throughout the process Katrina has been a great help. We will now be looking at arranging study skill sessions on site, to help those who are new to this level of study.

Overall this has been a great success for Union Learning at Benton Park View, and I feel for the union in general. We have reached out to an area which is often neglected and under represented. It has been a great way to reach out to people and is a great advertisement for PCS in general.

Ian Yeats, HMRC Benton Park View ULR

The post OU comes to the ‘Ministry’ appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.

Changes to the way higher education is funded in England have reduced the OU’s income by more than £90 million. The OU is therefore reviewing all of its costs in order to protect services to all our students and keep fees as low as possible, while sustaining high quality and remaining true to its mission of being open to all.
The OU remains committed to the union partnerships which have been successful under the previous funding system, however the new funding arrangements mean the OU needs to explore new ways to maintain and develop opportunities for union members in England to study with the OU.

Government changes mean that the vast majority of part-time students in England considering starting their studies after 1 September 2012 can now access student loans for the very first time. Students accessing the government’s Part-time Tuition Fee Loan can defer payment of their fees until four years after commencing their studies and will only begin repayments if they are earning more than £21,000.

The arrangements for the funding of higher education are different across the four Nations of the UK and internationally. To find out more about the financial support options that may be available to you, please click here.

For more information, including FAQs, please click here.

The post OU announces changes to discount scheme for union members appeared first on Higher Learning at Work.