Open Uni grade boundaries

[emyandpotato]

Not particularly important but it's bugging me and thought someone might know.

Why on earth are OU grade boundaries so strange?! I mean, for every other course in the country a first is 70%, regardless of the calibre of the university. Why at OU is it 85%, which seems crazy high?! I would understand if the course was just easier and if all the grade boundaries were higher, but the mark for a base pass (40%) is the same at OU and standard universities. Does anyone have a clue?

 

[Ceejay123]

I think it depends on the course. I know my friend (accountant student) fails at 60% ! X

 

[stephx]

No idea! It's not the only thing that bugs me about the OU. What's up with your grade being the LOWEST score from either your exam or assignments makes no sense that they wouldn't average it like everywhere else!

 

[Ceejay123]

Owh that would've sucked for me! I've come out this year with a 2.1 , which I'm happy with. If they used my lowest score I wouldn't have got that! They're welcome to use my highest score.. Which was a first haha x

 

[Pandora11]

I presumed it was so people wouldn't think they are giving away high grades too easily and take them more seriously, it's taken the OU years to achieve their reputation. I could be wrong?

 

[emyandpotato]

No idea! It's not the only thing that bugs me about the OU. What's up with your grade being the LOWEST score from either your exam or assignments makes no sense that they wouldn't average it like everywhere else!

Wait what?! I did not know that! So basically if I get say, 60 in one module out of eight and 90 in the rest they'll just give me a 60?! How can that be right!?!

 

[wishuwerehere]

This may have been to make sure the number of people graduating with firsts was in line with national average.
To make it clear, that doesn't mean OU is easier! More people might've been getting firsts because with the high amount of motivation needed for distance learning then generally people actually completing degrees are generally of a high calibre?

 

[louandivy]

No idea! It's not the only thing that bugs me about the OU. What's up with your grade being the LOWEST score from either your exam or assignments makes no sense that they wouldn't average it like everywhere else!

Wait what?! I did not know that! So basically if I get say, 60 in one module out of eight and 90 in the rest they'll just give me a 60?! How can that be right!?!

Noooo basically you get your overall TMA result and your exam result and your overall mark is the lowest of the two...which fucking sucks as my TMA marks have been high but I predict I only just scraped through my exam!

 

[louandivy]

Oops I read your question wrong,ignore me

 

[emyandpotato]

No idea! It's not the only thing that bugs me about the OU. What's up with your grade being the LOWEST score from either your exam or assignments makes no sense that they wouldn't average it like everywhere else!

Wait what?! I did not know that! So basically if I get say, 60 in one module out of eight and 90 in the rest they'll just give me a 60?! How can that be right!?!

Noooo basically you get your overall TMA result and your exam result and your overall mark is the lowest of the two...which fucking sucks as my TMA marks have been high but I predict I only just scraped through my exam!

Okay that makes more sense. It's unfair though, should definitely be an average, so many people struggle with exams.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

Sometimes me and my sister score almost the same .... and mine is like a 2;2 and hers is a bloody first lmao... it does wind me up 85 % is high. I have read a justification for it before though and it was to do with how they mark something about using the full 0-100 :S i dno hahaha

 

[stephx]

Yes, that's what I meant Lou thanks for explaining

I suck at exams I only scraped grade 2 for the last module even though I scored 90's in some TMAs

 

[emyandpotato]

That really does seem unfair. Do you have any opportunity to redo exams? I've only just finished the first year so haven't really looked in to it too much.

 

[stephx]

You can only retake if you actually fail, so under 40%.

The exams are really hard aswell, I don't know how normal uni's work but it's a 3 hour exam with 3 essays to write. Dreading mine in October

 

[emyandpotato]

Yeah I know, had one a few months ago. What I hated was that they set a word limit for each question. I ignored it this time (they took marks off for this) but it means next time I'll be sitting counting my words instead of answering the question. Seems ridiculous. It's one thing when you're writing on a computer and can check your word count with a button and quite another when you've got only an hour to hand write an essay to their exact specifications.

 

[Ceejay123]

I'm in normal uni, I had two - two hour exams this year. But loads of coursework, this is for a computing course x

 

[Abz1982]

Ive not done Uni, dont have the capacity to handle it so well done all that do. As for the marking........I think that 85% and above for a first seems fair.
I have 1 friend who studied her ass off for 4 years and got a 2.1 - she never failed an exam.

I have another friend who fecked about for 3 years, destroyed her honours year and then got to repeat it and she got a first..........purely because of the level of her work once she knuckeld down for one year. IMHO she did not deserve that first if it also is meant to take into account your whole record.

There are so many folk out there with degrees now, that anything below a 1st is just normal.

 

[stephx]

It's not whether it's fair overall, think what OP is saying is why does it vary between uni's? Realistically ill be graduating with a 2.1 (70%) but at a brick uni that would equate to a 1st.

I don't think anything below a 1st is 'normal' now, postgraduate courses and graduate jobs mostly accept 2.1 or higher and I think the amount of people going to uni now will massively decrease with the fee increase.

 

[emyandpotato]

Thanks Steph. Yeah, I wasn't talking about whether or not 85% was a fair mark for a first, I just think it's unfair that it's much higher than every other university in the country, including Oxford and Cambridge, despite the fact that the base pass mark of 40% is the same for both OU and brick universities, proving that the courses are no easier at OU.

 

[xemmax]

But surely the grading system is just different.. like a 60 in OU is not equivalent to a 60 at a regular university. I don't think it makes it harder to get a first at OU, unless I'm misunderstanding?