Rather than retreat, the OU should become a residential, campus based university. Instead of making huge numbers of tutors redundant they should be kept on to work directly with students in blended platforms, directly and at a distance. The OU has the library, has lecture halls and seminar rooms, and the real estate and land.
Most importantly it has the courage to reinvent itself.
What else can it do when every university and college has attached to it a distance and blended learning component?
This step must be taken before it is too late.
The first students should be on campus from September 2018.
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Radical thinking, to say the least.
But cripes, I do hope not!
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What else it can do Jonathan,
Is march in the opposite direction. Pitching expensive, inferior and outdated materials against free and better alternatives (in Computing and IT at least).
I don't see it as an exaggeration to say that anything not proven essential to study (books, human contact) is an unnecessary expense. From my 5 years study, most modules are now essentially correspondence courses, the sole remaining USP is a degree certificate at the end of study. Which reduces the OU to a retailer of Degrees.
Alternatives are available, perhaps the OU has run its course.
Chris