What's your opinion on The Open University UK?

[Chankosumo]

I wrote too big of a post and I ultimately gave up posting it as it could somewhat change the topic; I'll write it some other day when it's the right place. What I mostly wanted to say is that @MrPanda, yes, such experiences do exist, but more often I see ones that hint of discouragement, borne out of nothing but speculations, such as the "employer" example. Or, another example is that if one does not have prior knowledge of a topic, then taking a course (or enrolling for a degree) may/could/can, or even will be difficult to complete. While by using these "may/could/can" words one "plays it safe", it is enough to discourage someone about embarking on a journey (such as educational one) purely based on speculations and opinions. @davewill, yes, absolutely. We have to be more encouraging. And even more when we talk about schools or classes that we do not have reported experiences about, like the very one that this thread is about. Instead of "unheard of = bad" or "1 class was hard, therefore all classes are hard" comments, we should encourage people to try, for this may benefit not only the person interested in the school, but possibly all of us here (count the many who read the forum without being registered). We need to remind people more often that just because someone (or even many) said something that does not mean it is true. Like I mentioned earlier, there are people who purposefully, out of enjoyment, do all they can to discourage people by speculating or even lying.