In reply to Clare:

Sorry thanks Clare

In reply to Lisa:

My reading list also included Study guides so not sure if these might also be of use?
R. Horn The business Skills Handbook
S.Cottrell The Study Skills Handbook

In reply to Clare:

Thank you!

Thank you so much everyone for your support and encouragement. I wish I had posted on here ages ago.

I’ve found a free 8 week course on the OU that teaches you how to break questions down, how to plan your answers, skim read etc. It’s called English Skills for learning. It’s proving really helpful. I started last weekend and I’m already on week 5!

I’ve booked a meeting with my tutor, face to face, and I’m going to explain to her how I’m feeling. She’s my 3rd tutor since joining the course and the first to agree to see me rather than just talk on the phone.

I’m feeling more positive and may even be back on here with questions when I get stuck.

Thanks again everyone.

Lisa

In reply to Lisa:

"I’m feeling more positive and may even be back on here with questions when I get stuck."

This is excellent news, Lisa... and we're here for you.

In reply to Laura Fazackarley:

Hi Laura

I found your response to Lisa enlightening and I recognise the format so I think I may have an idea as to who your provider was.

I have just signed up for the Level 5 Diploma and I just wante to hear your opinion on hrs per week you needed. I realise it will vary but an estimate would be helpful.

Kind regards

Mariana

In reply to Mariana:

Hi Mariana,

I'd say on average, I spent 4-5 hours a week made up of 3 hours studying the materials provided, 2 hours research. (Ignoring the first module - my learning was I spent WAY too long on studying and the assignment - I just didn't need to as my assessor explained).

I found I had to assess what else was going on when a module launched to work out how many hours I would need, and work backwards from the deadline - I typically had the 8 weeks, but occasionally (if for example I was on holiday) I had 5 or 6 weeks to complete to deadline so I would find myself devoting a Friday/Saturday to study so I didn't have to think about it at all whilst off.

I would always try to do as much as possible, as early as possible so that I could devote time to research and the assignment - I did not ever wait for the classes, and would go ahead in the materials then double back. This allowed me to collate lists of questions to submit to my tutor and the head of learning in plenty of time for the assignments, knowing there was frequently a delay in tutor responding, if at all (in all honesty, my tutor was the only downside to my course and is what put me off recommending my provider - different tutor probably would have made the difference for my experience)

Kind regards,
Laura

In reply to Laura Fazackarley:

Whilst mine was slightly shorter/less modules being a Certificate, interesting to hear other people's way of studying and time spend on assignments etc. My Coach/Assessor changed part way through due to their personal commitments and whilst the 2nd 1 was contactable, due to the extra work she had taken on, it would often take weeks to get a response if via email. But I was lucky in that I had a mentor at work and being in a large council, had lots of support from the rest of the HR team.
As I was also in the process of moving with around a 3 hour commute each day, it was often a struggle to fit studying in so I tended to allocate Sundays and then my employer gave me a day's study leave per assignment which I used to finalise and submit them.

I'm in a similar situation with my online HRM Diploma. The e-lessons were absolutely fine and easy to understand. The problem is translating it into the assignments to the required standard. Some of the things in the assignments haven't been covered in the e-learning.

I had hoped that this would have been the best way to get the qualification but I'm really struggling and don't seem to be getting much help from my online facilitator.

In reply to Lisa:

Hi Lisa, where did you find this please ?

In reply to Lisa J:

www.open.edu/.../view.php

Hope this works x

In reply to Lisa:

Thank you ... it did .... how are you getting on now with your studies :-)

In reply to Lisa J:

I’ve not finished the OU course yet and want to finish that before I continue so that I have all the tools to answer the questions, otherwise I’ll continue to feel frustrated.
I’m confident once I’ve complete the course I’ll feel more able to at least attempt them.
I’ve also had a really good 1:1 with my tutor. She’s my third one but her approach is totally different. She’s been really helpful and encouraging. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you for asking