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  • Video
  • 10 minutes

Understanding Statements of participation

Updated Thursday, 1 February 2018
Have questions concerning your Statement of participation or badged courses? Look no further, we're here to help!

This page was published over 6 years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see how we deal with older content.

This video demonstrates how you can create an account, enrol on a course, and gain a Statement of participation:

Transcript

You can access all of the free learning materials on OpenLearn without creating an account, but by doing so you will be able to gain access to a range of features including being able to obtain a statement of participation.

Once you have created an account, browse the hundreds of courses available on OpenLearn and select one that you are interested in studying. Click on the enrol button.

As you work through the course you can view your progress using the tracking bar. You can also see which sections you have completed when a tick appears next to the section heading.

The tracking bar will reach 100% when you have viewed all of the pages of the course and you have completed any quizzes and assessments, if they are available on that course.

After completing the course you will receive an email congratulating you and your statement of participation will also appear in your OpenLearn Profile. Please allow up to 24 hours for this to happen. You can then download, share and print the statement of participation if you want to.

In summary

  • If you haven't already done so you should create an OpenLearn account by following the steps in the video
  • Then enrol on an OpenLearn course
  • When you have completed the course, you will be able to access and download a free Statement of participation as a PDF file.

To gain a Statement of participation learners must:

  • Read the course Introduction and Guidance
  • Read every page of the course and submit any quizzes within it.

You will be notified by email if you have received a Statement of participation but please allow up to 24 hours for this to happen. At this point, it will also appear in your ‘My OpenLearn Profile’ in the Achievements section, and be available to you to download.

  • The Statement of participation is free.

Statements of participation can be downloaded, shared and printed off to show others that you have completed an OpenLearn course but they don’t carry any formal credit towards a qualification.

What is a 'digital badge'?

Some OpenLearn courses carry a free digital badge this is awarded in addition to a Statement of participation. These courses are generally 24 hours in length and require learners to read every page of a course and pass compulsory online quizzes. OU-branded digital badges do not carry formal credit but enable you to demonstrate interest in a subject and commitment to your career, and are used to augment CVs and ePortfolios. You can show your digital badges to others by sharing them on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and by making them public (should you choose) on your My OpenLearn Profile.

Instructions for sharing your badge on LinkedIn

From 'My achievements' in your OpenLearn profile click on ‘share’ and choose LinkedIn.
LinkedIn presents a form:

  • In Certification name enter name of course
  • In Certification authority ‘The Open University’
  • Tick ‘This certification does not expire’
  • Go back to OpenLearn Profile tab, right click on Download and copy the link
  • In LinkedIn paste in ‘Certification URL’
  • Leave others blank and click 'Save'

On LinkedIn your badge then appears in Accomplishments. If you click on ‘See certificate’ it takes you to the badge details page on OpenLearn.

How can I contact you?

Before you contact us, please bear in mind that we are a small team working with limited resources, so do please check the FAQs first to see whether this answers your question.

If you can't find the answer that you are looking for, please contact us at openlearn@open.ac.uk and we will try to respond as soon as possible.

How can we help?

  • How to start a course

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    Read now to access more details of How to start a course
  • My OpenLearn account

    My OpenLearn account

    Have questions concerning your OpenLearn account? Look no further, we're here to help!

    Read now to access more details of My OpenLearn account
 

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