ABSTRACT
The course unit is the basic unit of measure both for student use and for course-production purposes in the United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) system. The UKOU has recognised the need to make maintenance and renewal attractive and creative tasks, but it is unfortunate that its lengthy production processes and glossy products make short-term renewal virtually impossible. Courses arise at the confluence of cultural forces and individual initiatives. The usual compromise is for individuals to couch the proposal in the language of the governmental report, and then get on and develop the course. At the institutional level of a distance-learning system, some sort of course approval mechanism is required, because the investment in a new course is bound to be greater than for a conventional institution. The main force in any course creation is the transformation of ideas about a potential course into materials which are pleasant to study, engaging, academically respectable and ready on time.
