A total of 643 Irish people will graduate from the Open University at Belfast and Dublin ceremonies this year. The graduates range in age from 22 to 85. They will receive their awards at 28 graduate ceremonies being held between March and October. The Open University is Britain's largest university, with more than 200,000 people studying its courses.
The number of Irish graduates is made up of 296 people from the Republic of Ireland; 219 from Northern Ireland and 128 graduates who are not living in Ireland or Northern Ireland but who have opted to get their degrees at the Belfast or Dublin graduation ceremonies, which usually means, says an OU spokesman, that they have roots here and are returning to celebrate their achievements with family and friends.
The total number of people from around the world who are due to graduate with a degree or a post-graduate degree through the Open University this year is 10,000.
Most of this year's graduates combined study with work. The most dramatic development in the university's latest graduate statistics is the leap in the number of people gaining postgraduate qualifications with the OU. Nearly 1,200 people have successfully completed MBAs compared with 850 last year, while the total of those gaining other types of master's degrees has jumped by over 60 per cent from 612 to 1,001.
According to OU vice-chancellor Sir John Daniel, "the success of the OU and our graduates demonstrates that quality higher learning can be a rewarding feature of everyday life". He says the increase in numbers "illustrates the great demand for flexible delivery of higher education."
`WE live in an era when more people want a university education, and more people need to return to university throughout their lives to fulfil their career and personal ambitions."
The OU's undergraduate courses are open to all regardless of educational qualifications. The OU takes special responsibility for making higher education accessible to people with disabilities, with some 6,200 of its current students belonging to this category.
Apart from studying for degrees, many OU students follow courses related to professional development. These often lead to certificate or diploma qualifications. Others study individual courses to update their qualifications or fulfil personal ambitions.
Details about OU study are available from the OU's web site at http://www.open.ac.uk or by contacting one of the university's 13 regional centres lists.
The first OU graduation ceremonies this year will be held for those who are receiving a master of arts in open and distance education. This degree is taught online, enabling people almost anywhere in the world to enrol, and so this graduation ceremony will receive their awards via a live webcast.
The OU offers 300 undergraduate and postgraduate courses in art, modern languages, social sciences, health and social welfare, science, mathematics and computing, technology, business and management, education and law.
