OU helps 200 for free

The Open University in Scotland has offered free tuition to an extra 200 people on low incomes or benefits as part of a Scottish Office initiative to widen participation in part-time higher education. The OU already runs a Financial Awards Scheme to help students with financial problems, and this year has helped 916 students in Scotland. But the new grant of up to Pounds 100,000 from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council has allowed it to contact most of this year's unsuccessful applicants to offer them a free place in 1999.

Peter Sime, the OU's Scottish director said: "One third of those who apply to The Open University but do not take up a place cite the cost of study as a factor in their decision not to proceed with their study plans."