Distance learning with the Open College of the Arts (OCA) brings arts education directly to you
Whether that is your office, your studio, or your dining room table., our courses are designed with flexibility and accessibility in mind, allowing you to study from the comfort of your own home.
This makes OCA an excellent choice for mature students, parents, individuals with accessibility challenges, and professionals balancing their creative ambitions with work or family commitments. With multiple monthly intakes throughout the year, you have the freedom to design a study schedule that truly fits your life.
Let’s take a look at how that works in practice here.
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On your confirmed start date, you will gain access to OCA Learn, our online learning environment. This is where your course materials live, where you’ll share your work and receive feedback, and where you can connect, collaborate, and share experiences with a vibrant, global student community.
You’ll need your OCA email to log into OCA Learn, which is provided in a welcome email on your course start date. Use this email to access student discounts!
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You will be paired with a dedicated tutor who is a practicing creative professional. Your tutor will review your assignments – which are uploaded to OCA Learn – and guide your development through constructive assignment feedback, highlighting your strengths and helping you refine your practice. Feedback is offered through written reports or live video tutorials to discuss your work openly.
Through OCA Learn, you’ll also have access to a dedicated Department Space where you can access further resources and sign up to events or workshops to support your learning.
For undergraduate students, the formative feedback provided by your tutor provides an opportunity to develop work and refine your portfolio before submitting work to assessment. Assessment involves submitting an online portfolio of work you have created within your unit of study, which involves a mix of creative work, academic writing and learning journals.
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The hours required for your course serve as a guide to help you stay on track, but how you distribute them is entirely up to you. You might choose to study intensively one week and scale back the next to fit around your life.
The only exceptions are scheduled online tutorials for specific cohorted programs—such as our short courses and the Film and Media Production Cert HE—which require attendance at set times. If you can’t attend a tutorial, get in touch with your tutor ahead of time.
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While distance learning offers incredible flexibility, your studies are guided by a structured academic framework. Depending on your course, you will learn through one of two methods:
- Self-Paced Courses (Undergraduate & Foundation): You will arrange your assignment submission dates directly with your tutor, allowing you to study at your own pace within the overall unit timeframe. Completion times vary based on the hours you dedicate each week, but please note that a full-time study pace is not available.
- Cohorted Courses (Short Course and Film and Media Production Cert HE): These courses follow a fixed timeline with a set finish date, providing a more structured schedule for submitting assignments and entering final assessments.
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Keeping in touch is a vital part of your academic journey. To get the most out of your experience and keep your studies on track, we ask that you log into OCA Learn regularly and check your student email for important updates. If you go long periods without signing in or registering a formal break, we may have to withdraw you from the course.
The Active Study Policy supports maintaining engagement with study, covering what you need to do, and what OCA has to do.
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Preparing your creative environment and gathering your tools is the exciting first step toward taking control of your learning experience. At Open College of the Arts, you don’t need a dedicated studio or a massive budget to thrive—success comes from setting up a functional, regular routine that works for your everyday life. By organizing your physical space, understanding your digital requirements, and preparing your toolkit, you will create a reliable foundation that supports your day-to-day focus and protects your growing creative practice.
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You don’t need a massive space to thrive at OCA; some of the world’s best art, writing, and design are created right at a dining room table or in a quiet corner of a bedroom. Even if you have to pack your materials away at the end of the day, aim to have a designated area where you study and create. This helps signal to your brain that it is time to focus whenever you sit down. For hands-on disciplines like painting, having a consistent space is also essential for keeping your work safe during drying times.
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Our courses are designed to be accessible, without the need to purchase expensive equipment. Lists are available on course information pages of what you’ll need to get started, and you’ll gradually expand your toolkit as you develop your creative practice.
Students are responsible for sourcing the materials required for their coursework, although essential reading materials can be reviewed through the online OU Library or OCA Learn.
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We know that creativity doesn’t always happen at a desk. Inspiration can strike at any moment, so keep a small notebook – or however you choose to document those inspirational strikes – or reading on hand to make the most of those in-between moments of your day.
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Because your core learning materials, assignments, and tutor feedback are all hosted digitally, all courses that OCA offer require students to have regular access to a desktop computer or laptop, and reliable internet access (please note that a tablet alone will not be sufficient for your studies).
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