Acceptability of Unisa degrees in the UK

My daughter in the United Kingdom is studying through Unisa.
She has been told by three reputable sources that a Unisa degree is not held in good regard in the UK. They have also apparently said that the UK Open University degrees are also not worth the paper they are written on.

She now wants to give up her Unisa studies as they seem to be useless pieces of paper in the UK.

Can anyone clarify this matter as I understand Unisa to be an internationally recognised university which was previously held in high regard.

 

As far as the acceptability of UNISA degrees in the UK is concerned, a couple of clarifying questions are in order. For what purpose does your daughter desire to have her degree accepted? Is she striving to gain a position within a certain profession, or to advance within her current profession?

Within the UK academic community, I am familiar with a couple of UK academics possessing degrees from UNISA. In fact, one highly regarded, internationally-celebrated professor at the Univ. of Birmingham possesses advanced degrees from UNISA.

As far as Open Univ. degrees are concerned, once again it boils down somewhat to a question of the circles within which one is seeking to have his or her credentials recognized. As a general rule, however, I think that it is a considerable overstatement to suggest that Open Univ. degrees "aren't worth the paper they're written on." In fact, I think that Open Univ. degrees are rather well regarded. How else could one account for Open Uviv.'s massive enrollment? Certainly, the institution couldn't attract so many British students, nor would so many students endure the rigorous work their degree courses entail, if the Open Univ. degrees truly were of no significant value.

Cory Seibel

 

Thank you for your reply.

My daughter is studying a BA in Offender Profiling and she wants to join the police. I agree that some of the law subjects may not be appropriate for the UK.

She wants to joint the police in the UK and apparently the police recruiting staff have made these assertions.

It is a concern to me as I would like her to continue her studies, even if she has to change one of her majors.

 

(Trying REALLY hard not to insult the entire law enforcement profession worldwide) I fail to see how a legit RA degree would not be accepted by any employer anywhere.

I don't have enough experience with UNISA, but there are many here who do, and hopefully they will be able to help you.

Good luck, and I hope your daughter continues her studies.

Christian

 

Some of the disdain may arise from the idea that the British police are amongst the most admired in the world (or at least the British consider them such), whereas the South African police are amongst the most unadmired (or at least were until recently--and perhaps still are). So why get a South African degree in a field related to police work? In any case, how relevant is a law enforcement degree from a developing country to a police career in the UK?

The feedback on the Open University is less easy to explain. Admittedly, Morse would probably be unimpressed.

 

my 2 cents, skills vs. class

Acceptability of degrees and programs is sometimes an emotional construct. But sometimes based on real skills and knowledge.
I think this forum at times starts to address the "pecking" order of degree granting institutions. There seems to "pecking" orders in most countries. I often hear that England looks down at almost all education offered in its "colonies". Is that perception based on reality of knowledge and skills? I am not sure.
I do know many researchers with great skills, who have left England because they would never get a chance in the class based work environment to advance. Many are doing well in the USA where there is a greater chance to be judged on the merits of your ideas and work. I do not know instances of the reverse. Are there individuals who could not get heard in the USA who went to England to get their big break?
Just my 2 cents. All the best!

 

Thank you for your input!

While I am clearly concerned about my daughter's studies, my query (concern) boils down to the acceptability and credibility of a Unisa degree outside South Africa.

I too, am studying - a B Compt - and after years of hard work would not be happy to find that my degree is, by and large, not worth much in the UK.

It therefore boils down to a question of the acceptability of a Unisa degree outside South Africa.

 

Regarding the acceptability of Open University degrees, try using the following in a google search:
"BA Open" site:ac.uk -sitepen.ac.uk faculty

(i.e. find faculty in other UK universities holding OU BA degrees (the most popular)).

Impressed? Note how many have the BA Open as their first degrees, and/or graduate degrees from other top-notch universities (who obviously recognise the degree for graduate studies). How about faculty members at e.g. Cambridge with BA Open degrees? Did you notice how many have PhD Open degrees?

Also, try this link:
www.psychology.nottingham.ac.uk/courses/postgrad/MPhil/PhD/

Do you want to tell Prof Jackson his BA is worthless, or Cambridge that they gave someone a PhD who didn't have a "real" first degree, or Nottingham U that they hired someone with a worthless piece of paper?

Anyway, kye, I'm not giving out to you - you're simply discussing what you heard. But, in short, whoever said that OU degrees aren't worth the paper their written on don't know what on earth they are on about - I think the above proves it beyond doubt (or are all the universities on the above search (which is just an example, BTW) wrong?). The sort of people who say such things are either completely ignorant, or those who look down on _any_ degree which doesn't come from Oxbridge, etc. (i.e. maybe 5 or 6 UK universities wouldn't be sneered at).

I just wanted to make sure that noone leaves this board with the WRONG impression.

Pete

PS Good luck with your UNISA degree (and ditto for your daughter) - I think anyone who counts (e.g. the academic community) will recognise its worth.

 

Good news

My daughter has decided to continue with her studies through UNISA. Her majors are criminology and psychology. She read this thread plus the following articles:


www.detc.org/content/degree.html#UNISA

These articles certainly helped with her decision. Karen also told me that she is enjoying her studies and would not like to stop at this time.

One of the reasons to continue with UNISA, is because I live in South Africa and I cannot afford to pay English university fees because of the exchange rates between the Rand and the Pound.

Thank you all
Maureen

 

The weblink I provided is incorrect. I'm new at this, so let me try again.

www.unisa.ac.za/about/gen_media_22_01_02.html[/URL]

[url]www.detc.org/content/degree.html#UNISA[/URL]

 

Unisa degree

Hi Kye

Id just like to know how its going for you and your daughter with your UNISA degrees in the U.K.

I'm think about working there after my studies if possible,so your feedback would be wonderful.

regards

 

Your question is an act of optimism because this thread is 10 years old and Kye hasn't posted for quite a while.