£7.8 million grant --- at long last

£7.8 million grant for shared solutions to common problems in the higher education sector

Why it's taken this long to get more funding for the OU god only knows. This is excellent news for the next phase of HE and widening participation, combating credit crunch, blended learning design, engaging learning, etc, etc.. The future looks brighter for us to benefit form the OU's expertise in moving (e)learning into the 21st century.

"HEFCE today welcomed the statement by the Prime Minister on the important role played by The Open University (OU). This coincides with an announcement by HEFCE of £7.8 million of funding to enhance the OU’s national role, and is part of the celebrations of the OU’s 40th anniversary.

HEFCE is awarding the OU funding from its Strategic Development Fund (SDF). The grant will enable universities to act collaboratively to improve student retention and deliver more flexible provision in the higher education (HE) sector.

The funding will be focused on three projects, all of which will be led by the OU with its national reach: Shared Returns, a regionally based student retention initiative; SCORE, a Support Centre for Open Resources in Education; and an Academic Partnership Hub which will move the sector towards more flexible education offerings."

READ more on the HEFCE website