BACHELOR OF ARTS OPEN and BACHELOR OF SCIENCE OPEN These are -based qualifications. These regulations should not be read in isolation. It is important that you read them in conjunction with the Academic Regulations (Taught Courses). BD 1 DEGREE NAME BD 1.1 The University offers the Bachelor of Arts Open, referred to as the BA Open, and the Bachelor of Science Open, referred to as the BSc Open. Holders of these qualifications are permitted to use the letters BA Open (Open) or BSc Open (Open), as appropriate, after their names. BD 1.2 Subject to the conditions set out in these regulations, the degrees BA and BSc may be conferred with honours: the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Open, referred to as the BA (Honours) Open; and the Bachelor of Science (Honours) Open, referred to as the BSc (Honours) Open. Holders of these qualifications are permitted to use the letters BA (Hons) Open (Open) or BSc (Hons) Open (Open), as appropriate, after their names. BD 1.3 Approval has been given for the qualification structures described in these regulations to be withdrawn. The final date on which the qualification will be awarded under the regulations described in BD 3.2.2, BD 3.3.2, BD 3.4.1 and BD 3.5.1 is 31 December 2015. The final date on which the qualification will be awarded under the regulations described in BD 3.2.3, BD 3.2.4, BD 3.3.3, BD3.3.4, BD 3.4.2, BD 3.4.3, BD 3.5.2 and BD 3.5.3 is 31 December 2019. The University offers a revised BA Open, BSc Open, BA (Honours) Open and BSc (Honours) Open under qualification code QD. BD 2 REGISTRATION BD 2.1 To register as a student, you must adhere to registration regulations in the Academic Regulations (Taught Courses). There is no academic entry requirement. BD 2.2 To be awarded the degree, you must declare it as an intended qualification and ensure that your is linked to it. BD 3 CREDIT REQUIREMENT BD 3.1 BA Open, BA (Honours) Open, BSc Open, BSc (Honours) Open BD 3.1.1 The requirement for the degree must include from Open University modules a minimum amount of that meets the University s unique study regulations. BD 3.1.2 Up to 30 December 2004, the University will have awarded you the degree if you had at least 120 s from Open University modules that had not been counted towards the requirement of another Open University qualification. BD 3.1.3 To be awarded the degree on or after 31 December 2004, you must have at least 100 s from Open University modules that have not been counted towards the requirement of another Open University qualification. BD 3.1.4 To be awarded the degree conferred with honours, you must offer at least 120 s from Open University modules that have not been counted towards the requirement of another Open University qualification, except that up to 60 of the 120 s may have been previously counted towards an OU bachelors degree awarded without honours. revised February 2016 BD Page 1 of 7
BD 3.2 BA Open BD 3.2.1 Up to 30 December 2004, the University will have awarded you a BA Open degree if you had a minimum of 360 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 240 s were from modules at OU second level (b) at least 180 s were from modules designated appropriate for a BA. BD 3.2.2 To be awarded a BA Open degree on or after 31 December 2004 and up to and including the end of 2015, you must have a minimum of 300 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 180 s are from modules at OU second level and at least 60 of these are at (b) at least 150 s are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BA and at least 60 of these are at OU second level. BD 3.2.3 To be awarded a BA Open degree after the end of 2015 and up until 31 December 2019, you must have a minimum of 300 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 180 s are from modules at OU second level and at least 60 of these are at (b) at least 150 s are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BA and at least 60 of these are at OU second level (c) no more than 30 s are from a list of specified 10- or 15- modules at OU first level. BD 3.3 BSc Open BD 3.3.1 Up to 30 December 2004, the University will have awarded you a BSc Open degree if you had a minimum of 360 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 240 s were from modules at OU second level (b) at least 180 s were from modules designated appropriate for a BSc. BD 3.3.2 To be awarded a BSc Open degree on or after 31 December 2004 and up to and including the end of 2015, you must have a minimum of 300 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 180 s are from modules at OU second level and at least 60 of these are at (b) at least 150 s are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BSc and at least 60 of these are at OU second level. BD 3.3.3 To be awarded a BSc Open degree after the end of 2015 and up until 31 December 2019, you must have a minimum of 300 s from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 180 s are from modules at OU second level and at least 60 of these are at (b) at least 150 s are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BSc and at least 60 of these are at OU second level (c) no more than 30 s are from a list of specified 10- or 15- modules at OU first level. BD 3.4 BA (Honours) Open BD 3.4.1 Up to and including the end of 2015, the University will award you the BA (Honours) Open if you have at least 360 s provided that: (a) at least 240 s are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at revised February 2016 BD Page 2 of 7
(b) at least 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at (c) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU second or s (d) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU first, OU second or s. BD 3.4.2 If you qualify for the degree after the end of 2015 and up until 31 December 2019, the University will award you the BA (Honours) Open if you have at least 360 s provided that: (a) at least 240 s are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at (b) at least 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at (c) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU second or s (d) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU first, OU second or s (e) no more than 30 s are from a list of specified 10- or 15- modules at OU first level. BD 3.5 BSc (Honours) Open BD 3.5.1 Up to and including the end of 2015, the University will award you the BSc (Honours) Open if you have at least 360 s provided that: (a) at least 240 s are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at (b) at least 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at (c) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU second or s (d) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU first, OU second or s. BD 3.5.2 If you qualify for the degree after the end of 2015 and up until 31 December 2019, the University will award you the BSc (Honours) Open if you have at least 360 s provided that: (a) at least 240 s are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at (b) at least 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at (c) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU second or s (d) at least a further 60 s are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU first, OU second or s (e) no more than 30 s are from a list of specified 10- or 15- modules at OU first level. revised February 2016 BD Page 3 of 7
BD 3.6 Students with transferred awarded without levels or designations (This regulation applies if you submitted a transfer claim before the end of 1999, and have an award of transferred without levels or BA/BSc designations. If you claimed on or after 1 January 2000, or have had an earlier award reassessed since that date, regulation BD 3.7 applies to you.) BD 3.6.1 To be awarded a bachelors degree on or before 30 December 2004 with an award of transferred, you must obtain the minimum number of s from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred and from collaborative scheme study is 240 s. Trans. awarded at Level 2 at Level 1 or higher total required 30 210 120 360 60 180 120 360 90 210 60 360 120 180 60 360 150 150 60 360 180 120 60 360 210 150 0 360 240 120 0 360 BD 3.6.2 To be awarded a bachelors degree on or after 31 December 2004 with an award of transferred, you must obtain the minimum number of s from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as detailed in the table in regulation BD 3.6.1 or the table in regulation BD 3.6.3. BD 3.6.3 To be awarded a bachelors degree on or after 1 January 2005 with an award of transferred, you must obtain the minimum number of s from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred and from collaborative scheme study is 180 points. Trans. awarded at Level 3 at Level 2 at Level 1 total required 30 60 120 90 300 60 60 120 60 300 90 60 120 30 300 120 60 120 0 300 150 60 90 0 300 180 60 60 0 300 revised February 2016 BD Page 4 of 7
BD 3.6.4 To qualify for a bachelors degree conferred with honours with an award of transferred, you must obtain the minimum number of s from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred and from collaborative scheme study is 240 s. Trans. awarded at Level 3 at Level 2 at Level 1 total required 30 120 120 90 360 60 120 120 60 360 90 120 120 30 360 120 120 120 0 360 150 120 90 0 360 180 120 60 0 360 210 120 30 0 360 240 120 0 0 360 BD 3.6.5 If you are awarded transferred of more than 180 s and satisfy the requirement for a 360- bachelors degree awarded with or without honours as set out in regulations BD 3.6.1, BD 3.6.2 or BD 3.6.4, you will be eligible for a degree if: (a) or (b) you have an award of 210 s of transferred and either at least 150 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least 150 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree you have an award of 240 s of transferred and either at least 120 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least 120 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree. BD 3.6.6 If you are awarded transferred of 180 s and satisfy the requirement for a 300- bachelors degree awarded without honours as set out in regulations BD 3.6.2 or BD 3.6.3, you will be eligible for a degree if you have either at least 120 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least 120 s from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree. BD 3.7 Students with transferred awarded with levels and designations (This regulation applies if you submitted a transfer claim on or after 1 January 2000, and have an award of transferred with levels and BA/BSc designations. If you claimed before January 2000, and your award has not been reassessed since, regulation BD 3.6 applies to you.) BD 3.7.1 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.1 and BD 3.3.1, you may count an award of transferred as if it were Open University module with the same levels and designations, subject to the following restrictions: (a) the maximum permitted amount of transferred including any collaborative scheme is 240 s (b) you must include in your degree at least 120 s from modules at OU second or third levels. revised February 2016 BD Page 5 of 7
BD 3.7.2 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.2, BD 3.3.2, BD 3.4 and BD 3.5, you may count an award of transferred as if it were from Open University modules with the same levels and designations, subject to the following restrictions: (a) (b) (c) the maximum permitted amount of transferred including any collaborative scheme towards the BA Open or BSc Open is 200 s the maximum permitted amount of transferred including any collaborative scheme towards the BA (Honours) Open or BSc (Honours) Open is 240 s you must include in your degree a minimum number of s at specified levels from approved Open University modules or collaborative scheme as follows: (i) for the BA Open or BSc Open, at least 100 s from modules at OU second or third levels, of which at least 60 s are from modules at (ii) for the BA (Honours) Open or BSc (Honours) Open degree, at least 120 s from modules at. BD 3.7.3 If you qualify for the degree after the end of 2015 and you have an award of transferred of at least 60 s at OU first level, the requirement for you to include at least 60 s from a list of specified modules at OU first level as specified in regulations BD 3.2.3 (a), BD 3.3.3 (a), BD 3.4.2 (a) and BD 3.5.2 (a) does not apply to you. BD 3.8 Students with transferred : collaborative scheme BD 3.8.1 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.1, BD 3.3.1, BD 3.4.1, BD 3.4.2, BD 3.5.1 and BD 3.5.2, you may count collaborative scheme as if it were Open University module with the same levels and designations, subject to the restriction that the maximum permitted amount of transferred including collaborative scheme is 240 s. BD 3.8.2 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.2, BD 3.2.3, BD 3.3.2 and BD 3.3.3, you may count collaborative scheme as if it were Open University module with the same levels and designations, subject to the restriction that the maximum permitted amount of transferred including collaborative scheme is 200 s. BD 4 CREDIT TRANSFER BD 4.1 The transfer scheme for the BA and BSc is governed by the Academic Regulations (Taught Courses). BD 4.2 Any award of transferred must take the form of general exemption or collaborative scheme. BD 4.3 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.1, BD 3.3.1, BD 3.4 and BD 3.5, the maximum award of transferred is 240 s, of which no more than 120 s can be at OU first level. BD 4.4 For the purpose of regulations BD 3.2.2 and BD 3.3.2, the maximum award of transferred is 200 s, of which no more than 120 s can be at OU first level. BD 5 CHOICE OF DEGREE BD 5.1 If you satisfy all the requirements for the BA Open and the BSc Open, you will be given the choice of which degree to accept. Whichever you accept, you may then go on to have only the degree you accepted conferred with honours. BD 5.2 If you satisfy all the requirements for the BA Open conferred with honours and the BSc Open conferred with honours and have not accepted either a BA Open or a BSc Open, you will be given the choice of which degree with honours to accept. However, if you have already accepted a BA Open you may only go on to the qualification BA (Honours) Open, and if you have already accepted a BSc Open you may go on only to the qualification BSc (Honours) Open. revised February 2016 BD Page 6 of 7
BD 6 HONOURS DEGREE CLASSIFICATION BD 6.1 A BA Open or BSc Open conferred with honours is classified as follows: first class upper second class lower second class third class. BD 6.2 For the purpose of classifying your degree, the University will use a minimum of 120 and a maximum of 240 s from your best grades on Open University modules or collaborative scheme at OU second level. At least 120 of these s must be from modules at OU third level. At least half of the s used in classification must be from modules that are designated appropriate to the degree, and of these at least 60 s must be from a module or modules at OU third level. The class of the qualification must be in accordance with the scheme of classification prescribed by the Senate. BD 6.3 If you have qualified for a degree conferred with honours and have been offered a classification and have declined, any subsequent changes to the scheme of honours degree classification cannot result in your being offered an honours degree classification lower than that which you were previously offered. BD 7 DURATION OF STUDY BD 7.1 The required for the degree, or a degree conferred with honours, may be acquired over any number of academic years of study, not necessarily consecutive. revised February 2016 BD Page 7 of 7