ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what might be termed the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors involved in Open University (OU) study. It focuses on the reasons given by students for studying with the OU. The chapter then discusses the factors in the environment in which they live and work which may prevent students from achieving their original goals. Younger students could be said to have had higher goals than older students in that more of them were intending to complete an eight credit Honours degree. However, over a quarter of all younger students and one in three of the ‘unqualified’ group did not really know how far they wished to go with their OU studies. Students were also asked in an open-ended question to state the main disadvantages of taking a degree with the OU, apart from any problems with the studies themselves.
