Staff are balloting for strike action as OU plans to close seven of nine regional centres in England amid competition from free online courses such as MoocsWhen the Open University announced final month that it would be closing seven of its nine regional centres in England,it said it was a response to the changing demands of students, rather than funding.“The way in which we support our students has changed significantly, and ” says Keith Zimmerman,the university secretary. “It is now nearly entirely online. Very few of our students reach into our offices.” He says that by selling off university buildings and concentrating on just three offices in England and another four in the rest of Britain and Ireland, the OU will be able to release money to spend on responding to student queries more quickly and outside traditional working hours.
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Source: theguardian.com