Student information

Improve your employability

Improve your employability and engineering knowledge with Teesside University open learning in engineering.

Developed over 25 years, our internationally renowned study materials let you progress at your own pace, when and where you wish. It's flexible.

All our course materials are self-contained and come with a full support and assessment package, allowing you to achieve your internationally recognised technical and engineering qualification.

Join the tens of thousands of successful technicians and engineers whose career progression has been vitalised and underpinned by qualifications gained through open learning from Teesside University.

Study guide

You are in control of your learning but to be effective you need to:

develop a 'habit of study'
have a place to work
set aside times when you will not be interrupted
produce a regular output of written work
file and store your books and notes.

In addition for HNC/D programmes, you will need to:

regularly check your targets against your learning agreement
maintain regular contact with your module tutor and programme leader.

Getting organised for study

While open learning means you study at your own pace, many people find it difficult to develop a 'habit of study' because of the self-discipline needed. To help you overcome this and achieve your long term aim of completing a module within a realistic time, we will help you to decide on a study schedule. Note you may negotiate with your tutor a different, more suitable schedule.

In your schedule you have to complete two main elements, lessons and tutor marked assignments (TMAs). Additionally, your module may include practical/project work and/or an examination.

Work through each lesson at your own pace. At appropriate points in the course you will complete and submit a tutor marked assignment (TMA). These keep you in contact with your tutor who marks your answers and returns them, together with constructive comments.

Revision and examination technique

Your course may include an final examination for which you may need to revise. If you've worked systematically through your lessons and completed the TMAs, you will have been learning, revising and gaining experience in answering questions all the way through the module. Often, you can use the summaries, at the end of each lesson, to check you can remember all you have covered.

Module or unit structure

Your main work involves completing lessons and Tutor Marked Assessments but the module or unit is actually made up of a series of topics composed of a number of lessons. All the lessons have common features:
The introduction helps you get started with an overview of the lesson.
Your aims tell you what you should have achieved when you have completed the lesson. They provide learning objectives to which it is worth referring while you are working through the lesson.
Study advice helps you plan your work strategy by pointing out any special resources needed or unusual time requirements.
Self-assessment questions enable you to check your progress and find out if you have achieved your objectives. Solutions or answers are provided but you won't help your learning if you look at the answers before you attempt the questions.
The summary reinforces what you've just done and generally provides a quick reference to the contents of the lesson.

The module also includes Tutor Marked Assignments. These keep you in contact with your tutor who will mark your answers and provide constructive comments. TMAs usually form part of the final assessment of a module so do make sure you complete and return them within the time allocated. While we encourage you to communicate and discuss with other students, the work submitted by you should be your own. Anyone who is found to have copied work from others (or have supplied other students with their answers) will have their certification withheld.

If you contact your tutor by telephone, it will be of help if you have the lesson in front of you with your queries clearly formulated.

Finally, we wish you success with your studies.