banff and buchan college

Open University Partnership

A new partnership launched today Wednesday,  14th September 2011 between The Open University in Scotland and Banff & Buchan College of Further Education will give local people access to one of the country’s most flexible and comprehensive learning packages.

The partnership agreement links up Banff & Buchan College’s suite of higher education qualifications to The Open University’s extensive range of courses and qualifications to create progression routes between the two learning providers.  This means that local people will be able to benefit from multi-optional learning programmes that offer them a range of ways to develop their skills at the different stages in their lives.

Anyone studying HNC, HND or a range of other courses at the College, will be able to count credits from their studies towards an Open University degree.  This will help them to build on the knowledge and skills they’ve already gained, and in many cases to reduce the length of time it takes to get a degree.

Dr James Miller, Director of The Open University in Scotland, explains the rationale behind the partnership.  “In today’s economic climate lifelong learning is an essential tool in helping people to stay one step ahead in the labour market.  They need to have access to flexible, affordable ways of up-skilling and re-skilling in order to ensure their competencies stay current and relevant. 

“This partnership gives us the opportunity to bring together Scotland’s leading provider of part-time university education with the College at the heart of north-east Aberdeenshire,” he said.   “This gives us the reach and the expertise to contribute directly to the skills and learning needs of individuals and employers throughout the area.”

Many College/University progression partnerships link to a limited number of specific learning pathways.  The OU/Banff & Buchan College agreement gives current and former College students access to the OU’s entire range of nearly 600 modules.  From this they have the option of working towards a degree in a specific subject area, or they can tailor a qualification profile to suit their individual interests. 

The flexibility of OU study means that it is likely to offer particular benefits to people who have studied part-time at the College to fit round their other commitments, or who are looking to commence or remain in employment while they work towards a degree. The progression opportunities offered through the new partnership are open to former Banff & Buchan College students irrespective of how long it is since they studied at the college. 

The partnership also offers considerable benefits for local employers, by offering a one-stop-shop for many of their training needs and supporting their employees to develop their skills ‘on-the-job’.

Banff and Buchan College Principal, Paul Sherrington commented “I am delighted to promote our new partnership with The Open University to all learners, both past and present, as it provides a new progression route to achieving a degree.”
One former Banff & Buchan College student to have already benefited from linking his/her college studies to an Open University degree programme is George Oag.  George is currently studying for a maths degree with The Open University having previously completed an HNC in Accounting at the college.  George currently lives in Caithness and works full-time and says, ‘The OU was really the only option open to me. It’s hard work especially when you work full-time, but I would recommend it to anyone, the tutors are great and there is plenty of support available if you need it.’