Home Study

[Rhythm Junkie]

As a follow-on to a 'what's on your mind' comment, is home study a valid way to get a certificate/degree in your chosen vocation? Do employers view it in the same esteem as a University-held degree? Are there any prejudices I should know about that might affect my decision as to which route to take?

Also, for anyone who has home-studied, how did you find it?

[djtoast]

What's your motivation? If you wanna learn something cause you're interested, there wouldn't be any difference would there? If you wanna show a resulting qualification to someone as a means of demonstrating a skill, I'd guess that it matters more who issued it than the means by which it was obtained:

As an example, my sister teaches at Glasgow Uni, and part of her duties involve working with the Distance Learning program in her department - and I certainly get the impression that they don't see it as a lesser cousin, as it were - and I presume that to some extent reflects and is reflected by the external impression of the course. And I'm sure they wouldn't risk degrading their department's reputation by offering anything that could be accused of being sub-standard.

[Puppy]

I think theres an Open University Thread kicking about on here ( Cup o Tea rings a bell) that answered a lot of these questions.

I just finished my first OU block there and now have a certificate in Health and Social Care, was going to add more but back to Uni in the next few months and it meant I would have been sitting 2 exams at once, so decided to give it a body.

http://www.altnation.com/forums/stud...pen+university

http://www.altnation.com/forums/gene...pen+university

[GoddamnElectric]

It really depends on the subject. For some areas of study specific Universities excel (because of facilities and the quality of their staff) and so a graduate from there would likely be held in higher regard than someone who home studied. In other subjects where this isn't the case however an employer might be more impressed with the time management and personal responsibility involved in home study. Sorry to be so vague, but it's a pretty vague area.

[Rhythm Junkie]

an looking into Home Learning College - anyone used them?