Open Study College - Birmingham

Ivy V. A.

I studied AAT level 1 with Open Study College and I’ve had issues with every step.

First my course was missing from their online portal, then my tutor support time was wrong/short

* their reply says this was dealt with via one phone call, I never called about this. It was dealt with by two people via email who couldn't give me the same answer twice... it took several emails to get this corrected so no, it wasn't a simple call and update*

I disclosed a disability I needed assistance with when I signed up, they only took notice months later when I was booking my exam. The tutor support was practically useless, he informed me he didn’t have any additional materials to provide me with when requested so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and put this down to Open College Study letting me down again.

The big one is the materials I was sent had several issues and errors which made it unusable in places.

I’ve been in touch with them since October and they have treated me like I’m the only one that sees a problem and there is nothing wrong their end.

*see their reply about it being 'promptly dealt with... two months is prompt?*

The added picture is just one example of how the formatting has squashed the question table so things don’t line up and it makes no sense, then the answer table that is actually readable. How do you test yourself with things you can’t understand due to the formatting?

They are avoiding doing anything to actually put this right for me. Looking at the previous replies to reviews I’m expecting ‘but you passed’ and ‘we’ve now looked into it’ I passed because of my own hard work, not the shoddy materials you provided me with and yes you've begrudgingly looked into it after two months of emails going back and forth but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to do anything and get to brush this off.

I regret giving money to them and wish I’d gone elsewhere. Don’t make the same mistake.

*in their reply they mention enquiring about level 3, it was to see which textbooks they use so I can just buy them direct from Osbourne. I stand by regretting giving them money and I most certainly will not be doing level 3 with them*

Dt

I recently applied for the Computer Science GCSE course at Open Study College. However, after realising that I needed an Access course to meet university entry requirements as a mature student, I transferred to the Access course. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet the entry requirements for the Access course, which is fair enough. But this is where my issues began.

When I called to revert to the GCSE Computer Science course, I was informed about a £50 transfer fee to go back to the course I had originally paid for. This fee was not disclosed to me earlier, and I was taken by surprise. Additionally, when I enquired about getting a refund for the Access course (since I hadn’t even started it), I was told there was also a £40 fee to cancel the direct debit. Again, this was not communicated beforehand.

While the staff at Open Study College are incredibly helpful and lovely, I feel the system itself lacks transparency. Students are not adequately informed about fees and policies, leaving them feeling frustrated and misled. This experience has been unnecessarily stressful, and I think Open Study College needs to improve its communication and ensure students are fully aware of their options and associated costs from the outset.

shannon B.

I had a few problems accessing my leaner account and a few questions that needed answering, When I called I spoke to liz and Emily who went above and beyond to help and were so patient and understanding. Both answered all my questions clearly and even offered help I didn’t know was available.

Wish I could rate higher than 5 stars.

Sophia D.

My daughter is doing her GCSEs with open study college the ‘tutor support’ is basically non existent. History for example has one assessment per question that will appear on the exam. This is hardly suffient to confirm that the course material is known to an adequate level to pass the exam. When asking how she could improve the grade we were told to buy another book despite the course details saying everything is included in the course. She is studying 7 GCSEs with them and this is the level of support she has been given when these course cost around £400. She could have accessed the material for free in other places if we had know there would not be support.

Samantha R.

Open Study College didn't meet my expectations, they exceeded them. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC SERVICE! I do shift work so calling with my enquiry was tricky. Instead I used their messaging and email service and got a very prompt reply on every occassion. Furthermore, it was a human! Not a robot! The course tutor is really on top of communication too, and the study material is very thorough. I can highly recommend Open Study College.

Shane B.

Been on a course and waiting 6 weeks for my first piece of work to be marked still. After chasing several times it finally got acknowledged when I asked for a refund.
To be told its too late as I was out of my 14 day period. Even admitted it was due to their errors and then their system.
They will tell you 10 days to mark work until signed up.

Liberty S.

I have just enrolled for my A Levels and had a little hiccup in the beginning with the order not being confirmed by the finance company. On the phone Liz was really really helpful and I spoke to her through the whole process of getting it resolved. It was resolved really quickly and I'm really impressed with how it was handled. Learning Support and just everyone on the phone have been really helpful and thorough when speaking with me. I will update when I'm further into the course.

Joanna S.

Amazing customer service. Explained my situation and went above and beyond to help. It's nice to know there are still good people and companies in the world.