Change of direction

So I finished my OU degree, and I've gone into postgraduate studies in astronomy now. I did do one last OU course, SXP288, but really only for the residential component. The way education is funded has also changed, and this means the course fees have quadrupled. I can get some transitional arrangements if I was studying for another degree, but I think I don't really have time for that, and really I would only want to pick and choose which courses I would do.

So reluctantly, I've probably come to the end of my time with the OU, through pressure of time, finance and the changing face of education.

I'm learning a lot of new stuff in my postgraduate studies, and did 6 course last year local to the university, which I'll skip over. However chatting to a friend, she mentioned the new set of courses which are free through coursera.org - and I thought, why not give them a try, So here I am, signed up for something reasonably relevant - a course on Galaxies and Cosmology. Yes - I'm staying somewhat in my comfort zone, and partly worried I won't be able to manage it which would be embarrassing. I'm also just interested in what the format will be (this one comes from CalTech!) and how it will all work.

So slightly scary, but well worth the price!