was limited financial support for part-time students. The Open University saw a 30% drop in part-time students between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Enrollment numbers show a tremendous difference from 2009/10 to 2016/17.
While most of those studying are mature students, an increasingly large proportion of new undergraduates are aged between 17 and 25, to the extent that in 2010/11 the OU had more students in this age range than any other UK university. In the 2003/04 academic year around 20% of new undergraduates were under 25, up from 12.5% in 1996/97 (the year before top-up fees were announced). In 2010, approximately 55% of those under 25 were in full-time employment. and 29,000 undergraduates were in this age range. By 2011, 32,000 undergraduates were under 25 years old, representing around 25% of all new students. The majority of students in the 2015/16 academic year were aged between 25 and 34 years old, with the median age of new undergraduates being 28.
As of 2014, the OU's youngest graduate was a fifteen-year-old boy from Wales who gained a BSc with First Class Honours in 2014.
The OU works with some schools to introduce A-Level students to OU study and in 2009/10 3% of undergraduates were under 18 years old.
=== Courses ===
Unlike other universities, where students register for a programme, OU students register separately for individual modules (which may be 30 or 60 CATS credits (and formerly available in 10, 15, or 20 credits), equivalent to 15 or 30 ECTS credits). These modules may then be linked to degree programmes.
During the 2009/10 academic year, social studies was the most popular study area (with 16,381 full-time equivalent students), followed by biological and physical sciences (12,357) and historical and philosophical studies (8,686); student numbers even on smaller undergraduate programmes, such as creative arts and design are still significant (2,528) as are postgraduate registrations on programmes such as mass communications and documentation (123 full-time equivalent students).
The most popular …
