Editing Open University (section)

===Demographics===
[[File:Open University MMB 10 Walton Hall.jpg|thumb|The Open University's Milton Keynes campus]]

In 2019/20, 99,834 students were from England, 14,903 were from Scotland, 6,668 from Wales, 3,667 from Northern Ireland and 4,900 from the [[European Union]], with others elsewhere. 60% of undergraduates were female, with 53% of those taking postgraduate modules being male.<ref name="Facts and Figures 2015">{{Cite web |title=Facts and Figures 2015–16 |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/sites/www.open.ac.uk.about.main/files/files/uk_fact_figures_1516_pdf(1).pdf |access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>

According to ''The Guardian'', a cross-sector fall in the number of part-time students was accelerated in 2012 when tuition fees rose and there 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fazackerley |first=Anna |date=2 May 2017 |title=Part-time student numbers collapse by 56% in five years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/may/02/part-time-student-numbers-collapse-universities |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Enrollment numbers show a tremendous difference from 2009–2010 to 2016–2017.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rebuilding British higher education's most unusual institution |language=en |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/09/15/rebuilding-british-higher-educations-most-unusual-institution |access-date=2018-09-19}}</ref>

While most of those studying are [[mature student]]s, 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.<!--OU 32,000 in 2010-11, Manchester 2nd at 28,690 in 2009-10 --><ref name="studentsMay11">[http://www8.open.ac.uk/choose/18to24/meet-the-students Meet the students | 18 to 24], Open University, accessed 2011-05-06</ref><ref>[http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0910.xls?v=1.0 Students in Higher Education Institutions: Table 1 – All students by HE institution, level of study, mode of study and domicile 2009/10] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927030416/http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0910.xls?v=1.0 |date=27 September 2011 }} [[Higher Education Statistics Agency]], accessed 2011-05-06</ref> In the 2003–2004 [[academic year]] around 20% of new undergraduates were under 25,<ref name="bbcAug05">{{Cite news |date=2 August 2005 |title=OU sees rise in younger students |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4738859.stm |access-date=2006-10-08}}</ref> up from 12.5% in 1996–1997<ref name="bbcAug05" /> (the year before [[top-up fees]] were announced). In 2010 approximately 55% of those under 25 were also in full-time employment.<ref name="aug2010stats" /> In 2010, 29,000 undergraduates were in this age range.<ref name="aug2010stats">[http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=19449 New generation of part-time learners focus on career progression: 1 in 4 of new OU students is under 25 – 55% work full-time] Open University, published 2011-08-11, accessed 2011-05-06</ref> By 2011, 32,000 undergraduates were under 25 years old,<ref name="studentsMay11" /> representing around 25% of new students.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jan/03/open-university-students-younger |title=Open University may be in its 40s – but students are getting younger | work = The Guardian | date = 3 January 2011 |access-date= 6 May 2011}}</ref>  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.<ref name="Facts and Figures 2015" />

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.<ref>{{cite web |date=2015-04-10 |title=15-year-old Charlie gets OU degree |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/wales/news/15-year-old-charlie-gets-ou-degree |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608124417/http://www.open.ac.uk/wales/news/15-year-old-charlie-gets-ou-degree |archive-date=2015-06-08 |publisher=The Open University}}</ref>

The OU works with some schools to introduce [[Advanced Level (UK)|A-Level]] students to OU study and in 2009–10 3% of undergraduates were under 18 years old. {{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}