and
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE OPEN
These are credit-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BD 1.3 Approval has been given for the qualification structures described in these regulations to be withdrawn.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 credit 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 credit requirement for the degree must include from Open University modules a minimum amount of credit 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 credits from Open University modules that had not been counted towards the credit 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 credits from Open University modules that have not been counted towards the credit requirement of another Open University qualification.
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 credits from approved modules, of which:
(a) at least 240 credits were from modules at OU second level or higher (b) at least 180 credits 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 credits from approved modules, of which: (a) at least 180 credits are from modules at OU second level or higher and at least 60 of these are at
OU third level
(b) at least 150 credits are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BA and at least 60 of these are at OU second level or higher.
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 credits from approved modules, of which:
(a) at least 180 credits are from modules at OU second level or higher and at least 60 of these are at OU third level
(b) at least 150 credits are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BA and at least 60 of these are at OU second level or higher
(c) no more than 30 credits are from a list of specified 10- or 15-credit 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 credits from approved modules, of which:
(a) at least 240 credits were from modules at OU second level or higher (b) at least 180 credits 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 credits from approved modules, of which:
(a) at least 180 credits are from modules at OU second level or higher and at least 60 of these are at OU third level
(b) at least 150 credits are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BSc and at least 60 of these are at OU second level or higher.
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 credits from approved modules, of which:
(a) at least 180 credits are from modules at OU second level or higher and at least 60 of these are at OU third level
(b) at least 150 credits are from modules that have been designated appropriate for a BSc and at least 60 of these are at OU second level or higher
(b) at least 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU third level (c) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU
second or OU third levels
(d) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU first, OU second or OU third levels.
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 credits provided that: (a) at least 240 credits are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at
OU third level
(b) at least 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU third level (c) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU
second or OU third levels
(d) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BA at OU first, OU second or OU third levels
(e) no more than 30 credits are from a list of specified 10- or 15-credit 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 credits provided that:
(a) at least 240 credits are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at OU third level
(b) at least 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU third level (c) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU
second or OU third levels
(d) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU first, OU second or OU third levels.
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 credits provided that: (a) at least 240 credits are from modules at OU second level or above and at least 120 of these are at
OU third level
(b) at least 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU third level (c) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU
second or OU third levels
(d) at least a further 60 credits are from a module or modules designated appropriate to a BSc at OU first, OU second or OU third levels
BD 3.6 Students with transferred credit awarded without levels or designations
(This regulation applies if you submitted a credit transfer claim before the end of 1999, and have an award of transferred credit 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 credit, you must obtain the minimum number of credits from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred credit and credit from collaborative scheme study is 240 credits.
Trans. credit awarded Min. credit at Level 2 or higher Min. credit at Level 1 or higher Min. total credit 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 credit, you must obtain the minimum number of credits 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 credit, you must obtain the minimum number of credits from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred credit and credit from collaborative scheme study is 180 credit points.
BD 3.6.4 To qualify for a bachelors degree conferred with honours with an award of transferred credit, you must obtain the minimum number of credits from OU modules (or collaborative scheme study) as shown in the table below. The maximum permitted combined amount of transferred credit and credit from collaborative scheme study is 240 credits.
Trans. credit awarded Min. credit at Level 3 Min. credit at Level 2 or higher Min. credit at Level 1 or higher Min. total credit 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 credit of more than 180 credits and satisfy the requirement for a 360-credit 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) you have an award of 210 credits of transferred credit and either at least 150 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least 150 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree
or
(b) you have an award of 240 credits of transferred credit and either at least 120 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least 120 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree.
BD 3.6.6 If you are awarded transferred credit of 180 credits and satisfy the credit requirement for a 300-credit 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 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BA degree or at least
120 credits from modules that are deemed appropriate to the BSc degree.
BD 3.7 Students with transferred credit awarded with levels and designations
(This regulation applies if you submitted a credit transfer claim on or after 1 January 2000, and have an award of transferred credit 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 credit as if it were Open University module credit with the same levels and designations, subject to the following restrictions:
(a) the maximum permitted amount of transferred credit including any collaborative scheme credit is 240 credits
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 credit as if it were credit from Open University modules with the same levels and designations, subject to the following restrictions:
(a) the maximum permitted amount of transferred credit including any collaborative scheme credit towards the BA Open or BSc Open is 200 credits
(b) the maximum permitted amount of transferred credit including any collaborative scheme credit towards the BA (Honours) Open or BSc (Honours) Open is 240 credits
(c) you must include in your degree a minimum number of credits at specified levels from approved Open University modules or collaborative scheme credit as follows:
(i) for the BA Open or BSc Open, at least 100 credits from modules at OU second or third levels, of which at least 60 credits are from modules at OU third level
(ii) for the BA (Honours) Open or BSc (Honours) Open degree, at least 120 credits from modules at OU third level.
BD 3.7.3 If you qualify for the degree after the end of 2015 and you have an award of transferred credit of at least 60 credits at OU first level, the requirement for you to include at least 60 credits 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 credit: collaborative scheme credit
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 credit as if it were Open University module credit with the same levels and designations, subject to the restriction that the maximum permitted amount of
transferred credit including collaborative scheme credit is 240 credits.
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 credit as if it were Open University module credit with the same levels and designations, subject to the restriction that the maximum permitted amount of transferred credit including collaborative scheme credit is 200 credits.
BD 4 CREDIT TRANSFER
BD 4.1 The credit transfer scheme for the BA and BSc is governed by the Academic Regulations (Taught Courses).
BD 4.2 Any award of transferred credit must take the form of general credit exemption or collaborative scheme credit.
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 credit is 240 credits, of which no more than 120 credits 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 credit is 200 credits, of which no more than 120 credits 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 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 credits from your best grades on Open University modules or collaborative scheme credit at OU second level or higher. At least 120 of these credits must be from modules at OU third level. At least half of the credits used in classification must be from modules that are designated appropriate to the degree, and of these at least 60 credits 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
