Open College of the Arts - Barnsley

Karen H.

I found this course very engaging and a great way to spark creative ideas. So if you are looking for something fun to get you using place as a way to refresh your creative thinking, this is it. I made work that surprised me and have a multitude of plans for other creative directions after the course. The on-line materials are excellent and short-course length was just right. I got valuable feedback from Helen, my tutor, and enjoyable sessions led by her online.

GEORGE M.

Where do I start? First of all, the behavior and communication by the tutors I had dealt with, was very good. Nice people indeed.
But this is not the issue... The structure behind the Fine Arts degree I started (and which I was hoping to complete sometime in the future) is lacking.
It happens I own their instructional book for the first course, which they printed 20+ years ago : a beautiful book, full of all the basics that a new student to the Arts needs to learn.
This is not the case nowadays. I was shocked with all the nonsense that I had to go through within their updated course (and what it prepares you for what's coming ahead). Modernism, Abstraction and all things related... I realized that, if I would ever complete the degree, I would be still lacking the core stuff that is needed to create serious, representational art. I think, the college has lost its early vision.
Anyway, another thing to consider is the cost. Anyone who joins OCA is for the, supposedly, lower fees. Imagine my surprise and disappointment, when after a few weeks following my registration I got an email announcing significant fee increases for courses ahead.
Last disappointment came when I applied for an extension. As a family we were going through a difficult time with a family member having a terminal illness. I was going in and out of the hospital and my projects were delayed. I was still willing to go ahead with my studies, hoping that along the way I would discover improved content. I explained my position but OCA asked me to bring proof with official doctor's documentation. Also those documents had to be officially translated (I was studying from outside UK).
At that specific moment in time I found what I was asked (like a little school boy) was difficult and time consuming to obtain.
As a side note, I also sent an email complaining about the increase in fees, after they were announced. I never got an answer back.

Sarahandwilliam H.

Completely agree with the low ratings on communication times etc. Decided to use my gut after seeing all the bad reviews and having them confirmed for myself so have cancelled my enrollment.

My advice to all is as follows. You're paying for your tuition. Be it up front or by paying student loans back. Therefore it's a service you're paying for and if in the early days they aren't very good at their customer service it's a sign to take your money and study elsewhere. If you wanted to buy a car but the salesroom was atrocious. You would go to another. Same here.

I'm actually somewhat disheartened that this course wasn't ran directly by O.U and hope the other course I am going to apply for is directly with them and not somewhere under their guidance like here.

William.

Julius S.

I was a student on the ten week course 'Investigating Place: Journeys with Psychogeography,' which ran from October to December 2022. The course explored concepts and methods of psychogeography and how these could be applied to each student's investigation of a particular place of their own choosing. As students, we were encouraged to use any artistic method in our projects and as the course progressed, it became clear that a lot of exciting work was being produced. There were four Zoom conference sessions with the excellent tutor, who also at each stage of the course gave constructive and helpful comments as the projects progressed.

I have been involved in aspects of psychogeography for about eight years and I signed up for this course in order to broaden and further develop my interest and work in this activity. I was not disappointed. There were sixteen students on the course and there were opportunities for discussion and comment on each of our projects. The ten weeks slipped by too quickly and I would have loved to have spent longer with the subject! However, I came away from the course with many ideas and prompts for future work which is exciting.

If anyone is interested in exploring psychogeography; what it is, what it could be, and how it can be applied, I have no hesitation in recommending this course. It can certainly change your ideas about how a place is viewed and experienced, whether it's physical, virtual or imaginary! I came away from the course having produced a physical and online photography/poetry zine called BORDERLINE, as per the image. More work is now in the pipeline!

Mari M.

It was the worst experience I ever had, and I had reasonable expectations at first.
The workload was very confusing, and the information looked to be dated.
The educators never emailed back when I needed help, and I did everything alone without any explanation. After that and 0 support, the tutor emailed me saying the work was terrible and graded me a 0. I was furious because I called and emailed several times for help and nothing.
It was the worst experience ever, and I’m glad I left this university.
They have no help for disabled students. They sent my withdrawal with the wrong information to the student finance and charged me a fee. They never have any staff to answer the phone, and when you book an appointment, they have no idea how to help with any issues. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, unfortunately.

Kathryn H.

I have just completed the Investigating Place short course. I was not sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed the course. I made a project taking images locally. I am now so much more observant about what is around me. I mainly used my phone for taking the images. There is no need for high photography skills. Some of the group were developing projects using a variety of mediums. Found it at the right level, to push me, but never felt overwhelmed. Enjoyed being in a supportive group and the regular online meetings. Always something new to learn.

rice

The Open College of the Arts is best known for providing very flexible art degrees. However, if you would like to complete your degree within 4 years, I do not recommend this school. Their services are extremely slow, and I found that I would have to rely on other students for support instead. Their curriculum for some courses are being updated too, but they're releasing the units one at a time which pushes students back even further.

Only a month within my course, the school announced that they were changing their accredited university to the Open University instead of University for the Creative Arts. I submitted a complaint hoping for consideration of a refund (I was only a month into my studies) only to be declined. I can't help but feel they did not properly consider my situation and see that it was obvious that it was because of them that I was forced to withdraw.

Apart from that, I enjoyed the curriculum, though their strength is more on fine arts than graphic design (less industry focused, more independent practice). Tutor support is mainly good, but this depends on your tutor which can significantly vary. Like I mentioned, student support / services are very slow, so do not expect an immediate response. I recommend for people with other responsibilities or for those who do not consider school as their main responsibility.

Ian D.

Really enjoyed the Photography as a Language course, encourages you to look at both your images and other peoples images from different perspectives, definitely recommend