Open by degree

Yesterday, I got the news that I passed my Open University Level 3 Art History course - Renaissance Art Reconsidered - and that I had a Grade 2 pass. I was/am so happy - I got 80% in my final extended essay which brought my average of 69.3% on the assessed assignments up to a Grade 2 overall. I had found the reading for the assignments difficult to keep up with, but had always put an assignment in, hoping that the final essay would achieve well, as we could set our own question. Luckily it worked out. Apparently my arguments were weak in my final essay but the presentation and clarity of the essay was excellent... I'm thinking it's a bloody miracle as a week from the finishing the essay, I had such a major crisis in confidence - was my thinking, approach everything about the final essay right? - that I am doubly proud I got 80%.

Today I've had email confirmation that I'm now eligible to accept a BA (Open) degree - do I want to? Too bloody right. About 18 months ago I gave up the level 2 course I was doing through Open University, Reading Classical Latin, as I was falling so far behind and I very nearly gave up doing my studying completely, as I was disillusioned with the work I would have to do. However, I re-assessed my situation and found that if I did an Open degree rather than a named degree, I only had to pass one Level 3 course, rather at least two. I had to think. Was I doing a degree for job opportunities? Yes, initially, but not now as people see the mental health issues and sod what qualifications/experiences/soft fuzzy qualities I might bring to a job. So was it for the achievement of getting a degree and would any degree do? and to these, I thought yes. You only (?ONLY) need to achieve 300 points to be awarded it: I had 210 points transferred from previous professional studies as I'm a part-qualified accountant (previous life, I did not know what I was doing, and I'm sure you'll forgive me ;)). I had at that point already studied 130 points worth of OU courses, but I had to have 60 points at Level 3 course, which I didn't have, until now :) . So now I have a total of 400 points and all of those 190 points from OU study were hard-fought for, over a total of 5 years.

So I'm booking my degree ceremony for June, next summer. I can hire the gown (navy) and hood (light blue with gold) but OU don't do the mortar-board hats for their ceremonies, and I'm setting my sights on the ceremony to lose some weight for it so that I'll look better in my photos, as I'll only have that day, those hours, to wear the gown. I'm so excited and so proud of the achievement, I keep catching myself in smiles. So it's now a jewel shining through BA (Open), if you please ;) LOL, but you can still call me jewel or Julie :) xx