Let us help you meet the individual
needs of your students.
The Open Learning Academy can help you:
* offer a wider
choice of course options
* offer a greater variety of course combinations
* run
courses for small numbers of students
* deal with staffing shortages
* solve
timetabling problems
* allow students to change subjects mid-course
* allow students
to re-take subjects
* fast-track students
* offer
an alternative to disaffected students
* provide
an 'out of school' education for students unable to attend school
regularly
* offer in-school 'out of
class' courses to students at risk of exclusion
In short, we can help you
provide a flexible education, tailor-made for individual students.
TOP
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COURSES
We want our
courses to be a success for you and your students and have put together these tips,
which are based on past experience.
Make sure that students
understand what our courses entail
All
students thinking about taking one of our courses should read the Info
for Students and How it all
works sections of the website. They should be aware that the courses are
e-tutored and based on printed course materials, and that they will be
expected to accept more responsibility for their own learning than is
generally the case with traditional classroom-taught courses.
Designate a member
of staff as a contact
We will give your students as much online help as we
possibly can, but all students need to be under the pastoral care of a
member of your staff who will monitor their progress and, where necessary,
act as a link between the student and ourselves. We will contact you if a
tutor raises concerns about one of your students and would hope that you
would contact us should any problems or queries arise. We regard our
relationship with you as a partnership and welcome feedback from you.
Utilise the
Student Records facility
All correspondence that takes place between students
and their tutors can be viewed via the Student Records section on your
School/Learning Centre Home Page. In addition you will also be able to see
how many assignments have been completed, when they were completed, and
the grades gained. In order to help you monitor your students progress
and keep the students on track with their studies we also supply both you
and the students with Assignment Submission Timetables.
Supply students with the
required textbooks
All of our courses are designed to be used in
conjunction with a textbook. Reading references are given throughout the
course materials and students must be supplied with the appropriate book.
Full details of titles and prices can be found under Order Textbooks.
We hope you
find these
suggestions helpful. If you would like any further information or have any
queries please contact admin@openlearningacademy.co.uk.
Your
Questions Answered
Before reading this
section, visit the How it all works
and Info for Students areas of the website.
How
do your courses compare to other distance learning courses?
We believe that some of
our strengths are:
our tutors all of whom are experienced at
teaching secondary school aged students and can communicate with them at
an appropriate level
our course materials
which are tried-and-tested and regularly updated and amended
our communication system
which is simple and
straightforward to use
our detailed
record-keeping system which allows you to access all correspondence that
has taken place between students and tutors and monitor student progress
the personal focus of our courses our tutors
aim to build a rapport with each individual student
the flexibility of our courses
you can enrol just
one student or a complete class of students; you can enrol students at the
beginning of the school year or at any time during the year
our minimal IT
requirements all that students
require is access to an internet-linked computer to send and retrieve
messages and assignments
our cost-effectiveness
our courses represent excellent value for money
How
do I register students on courses?
Before you
can register students on our courses you will first need to register your
school or learning centre with the Open Learning Academy. We will validate
your application and confirm registration within two working days.
Registration is free and places you under no obligation to purchase any of
our courses.
What form do the course materials take?
The course
materials are supplied as printed pages in
a ring binder. They are arranged as lessons, which are grouped into
modules. Depending on the subject and the level, there are between 20 and
40 lessons in each course. Each lesson covers one particular topic.
Students will generally complete a lesson over a series of several study
periods. You will find more information about the structure of each course
by going to Courses and clicking on the title of
a course.
How
do I know the course materials are sound?
We
use course materials produced by Oxford Open Learning, one of the UK's
leading distance learning providers. Its courses have been completed
successfully by many thousands of students. Oxford Open Learning
continually updates its courses to maintain a topical content and to
reflect current syllabuses.
You will have 21 days
in which to review the course materials. If you decide they do not meet
your students' needs, you may return them for a full refund.
Which
examinations do the course materials
support?
All the courses lead to exams that
are certified by the AQA exam board. The specific exam each course has
been designed to support can be found under Courses.
Who enters the students for
their exams?
Entering students for
exams and paying any exam fees is the responsibility of the school
or learning centre through which the student has been enrolled.
What
will the students' examination status be?
Students sitting exams are classed either
as private
candidates or as internal candidates. Schools and other learning centres
would usually enter their students as internal candidates.
Can students take their examinations at our school
even though we haven't taught them?
Provided
the school is an AQA-registered centre, schools may administer written
exam papers or externally-examined components to their students,
regardless of whether or not the students have been taught the course at
that school or whether or not the school runs that course.
What
about coursework?
Schools and other learning
centres may assess and authenticate the coursework of internal candidates
following our courses, provided they are prepared to accept all
responsibility and are satisfied they can meet the requirements of the
board and the specification. Completing coursework via distance learning does pose challenges and if any difficulties are anticipated, please
contact us prior to enrolling students on courses. Where coursework is
optional, centres should note that the course materials cover the written paper alternative only. Due to the nature of the courses, the Open Learning Academy cannot be held responsible if students fail to complete coursework.
You can find out which
subjects require coursework by going to Courses.
Who are the tutors?
Our tutors are dedicated practitioners, who have been
selected for their professional knowledge and experience, and for their
understanding of the challenges that this form of learning can pose. They
include examiners, heads of department and senior teachers and lecturers.
All are enthusiastic about the exciting learning possibilities that the
Open Learning Academy offers and are committed to helping students enjoy
their courses and achieve exam success.
Can I monitor my students'
progress?
Yes. We have incorporated a progress
monitoring area into our website. You will be able to access your
students' records and see how many assignments have been completed, when
they were completed, and the grades gained. You will also be able to view
all correspondence relating to questions asked by the student, and contact
messages sent by the tutor. You will be able to print out your students'
records. The records are password-protected. Each school will be able to
view the records of its own students. Schools will not be able to view
other schools' records.
What if we don't want to
register students through the school but are happy to suggest your courses
to parents as a privately-funded option?
Students can, of course, be registered with
us
privately. If they are going to take their exams at your school, the same
examination status and coursework considerations will apply as apply to
school-enrolled students. Please note that schools cannot access the
progress records of any privately-funded student.
How
can the school support its open learning students?
We will give your students as
much online help as we
possibly can, but all students must have access to a member of your staff
who will act as a link between the student and ourselves. This might,
perhaps, be their Form Tutor or Head of Year, or you could consider an
'Open Learning Co-ordinator' post of responsibility.
We will contact you if a tutor
raises concerns about
one of your students. However, we also expect schools to monitor their own
students by regularly checking their Student Records and by offering them
the opportunity for face-to-face contact with the link member of staff at
the school. We regard our relationship with your school as a partnership
and an effective line of communication between the school and the Open Learning Academy is essential to the success of your students.
Should we tell you why we are
enrolling a student?
Students are enrolled on
courses for many different reasons. If you feel that an understanding of
the circumstances would help the student's Open Learning Academy tutor to
meet that student's particular needs, please contact us. All information
is treated in the strictest confidence.
Can students use a home
e-mail address?
The e-mail address is a
contact address that is used to notify a student that a new message has
been posted to his or her In-tray. It can be a home e-mail address or a
school e-mail address but it should be personal to that student.
Can
a school-enrolled student use a home-based computer?
All communication between a
student and a tutor takes
place via the website. Students can send and receive correspondence by
logging on to the site through any computer with internet access, be it at
home or at school.
If you
would like to register your school or learning centre, please go to
Registration.